Denise Eby Konan has been selected to serve as interim provost of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She began her new appointment as the university’s chief academic officer on August 7.
Dr. Konan, a full professor of economics, has been dean of the university’s College of Social Sciences for the past 14 years. She first joined the faculty in 1993 and has since served in several leadership roles, including interim chancellor and interim assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs. As a scholar, Dr. Konan studies regional economic integration, trade in services, intellectual property rights, foreign direct investment, and energy. She is a research fellow at the UH Economic Research Organization, founding director of the Center for Sustainable Coastal Tourism at the UN Sea Grant College Program, and the academic lead for the Daniel K. Inouye Democratic Leadership Program.
“It is an honor to serve UH Mānoa in this capacity,” said Dr. Konan. “I look forward to working alongside our faculty, staff, students, and campus leadership to strengthen academic excellence, expand opportunities for student success, and build on the many strengths that make UH Mānoa a world-class university. Together, we will continue advancing our mission of education, research, and service for Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific region.”
Dr. Konan is a graduate of Goshen College in Indiana, where she majored in economics. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Colorado Boulder.