Philanthropist and former First Hawaiian Bank Chairman and CEO Walter Dods Jr. is donating $5 million to the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s new Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs, or RISE.
In recognition of the gift, the building will be renamed the Walter Dods Jr. RISE Center, it was announced Sunday.
According to the announcement, Dods — an alumnus of UH Manoa’s Shidler College of Business — is a longtime donor to UH and former president of the UH Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
The student entrepreneurship and innovation center, which can house 374 students, opened in August. Programs at RISE are operated by the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship, or PACE, at the Shidler College of Business.
RISE was built as the first public-private partnership between UH, UH Foundation and Hunt Development Group Hawaii.
According to the announcement, the new gift builds on Dods' earlier gift to PACE. In January 2022, Dods and The First Hawaiian Bank Foundation partnered to donate $500,000 to the University of Hawaii Foundation in support of the RISE project, Pacific Business News reported at that time.
“I’m honored to champion a program that’s growing new generations of critical thinkers and entrepreneurs who will create the businesses that grow Hawaii’s economy,” Dods said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing the future these PACE at RISE students will create for themselves, our state and the world.”
Dods — who retired from First Hawaiian Bank in 2004 after a 36-year career, including 15 years as chairman and CEO — has been an "active community volunteer and fundraiser since early in his career," the announcement noted.
“Walter Dods has embodied leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation over his long career at First Hawaiian Bank as well as through his expansive and generous service to the community,” UH President David Lassner said in a statement. “It is beyond appropriate to link the Dods name to the premier place and program that will nurture our future leaders who will drive Hawaii’s economy, and we thank Walter for his forward-thinking and generous commitment to our students.”
“Walter’s incredible vision and generosity enables us to attract passionate students, cutting-edge professionals and faculty, and offer meaningful programming at RISE,” Sandra Fujiyama, executive director of PACE, said in a statement. “It’s so exciting to see these students transform into the next generation of changemakers and problem-solvers to start their own businesses or join existing ones.”
According to the announcement, Dods was born to a blue-collar, working-class family in Honolulu. He went to work after graduating from Saint Louis School and later attended night classes at UH Manoa while working full-time.
He graduated in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. His philanthropic support of the university dates back to 1975, when he was among the founders of the UH Foundation's President's Club, the announcement noted.
Among other philanthropic and fundraising efforts, Dods and his late wife, Diane, established the Walter A. and Diane N. Dods Endowed Scholarship Fund with a gift of $1 million, for students who are immigrants or children of immigrants, according to the announcement. Dods also helped raise $1.6 million to establish the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals and co-chaired the committee to establish the Sen. Daniel K. Akaka Regents Scholarship Endowment.
“Walter’s long dedication to community service and to UH is exceptional,” Tim Dolan, UH vice president of advancement and UH Foundation CEO, said in a statement. “His exemplary leadership in business and philanthropy is inspiring and we couldn’t be more grateful for this special gift.”
