Anonymous donor inspired to expand and cement Mid-Pacific's leadership role in shaping education in Hawai'i and beyond
Mid-Pacific Institute announced it has received the largest single gift ever in the school’s history: $10 million from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. This gift is truly transformational and will reverberate throughout the entire Mid-Pacific community.
“We are hyper-focused on our students, making sure they are world-ready and able to navigate whatever comes their way as our society advances,” said Mid-Pacific President Paul Turnbull, PhD. “This gift is an affirmation of our commitment to our students, and also to our community. This donor knows where we are going. They understand that Mid-Pacific gives students from all walks of life the skills and provides them with the mindset to shift and grow as the world around them evolves and expands.”
The $10 million will be used to exponentially expand all that Mid-Pacific offers, by providing a significant endowment to support the financial sustainability of the institution.
“A gift of this magnitude truly underscores the impact Mid-Pacific is making in Hawaii, and beyond,” said Mid-Pacific Vice President of Institutional Advancement Shannon Cleary. “In keeping with our roots, we have always been quite humble about our accomplishments. We cannot keep our successes a secret anymore, and in addition to further strengthening our financial sustainability, these funds will support our multiple planned capital improvements, while also providing many more scholarship opportunities to students from all backgrounds who value the benefits of a Mid-Pacific education and experience.”
Mid-Pacific prides itself on being at the forefront of deeper learning, a philosophy and practice that leads to deeper levels of student engagement and mastery of academic content. By combining the core elements of creativity, critical thinking, and effective collaboration, deeper learning helps students retain lessons for life versus the 20th century education model of memorizing and forgetting content.
“At Mid-Pacific, our goal is to inspire our students to become ‘Learn It Alls’ versus ‘Know it Alls’,” Dr. Turnbull said. “One of the greatest gifts we can instill in students is to embrace life-long learning, and to celebrate curiosity. This gift ensures we will continue to serve each student well as they go off into our ever-changing world.”