New director announced for UH Hilo’s business college

Associate Professor of Management Todd Inouye is the permanent director of the business college in a newly defined role with the responsibilities of a department chair and a dean who works closely with other college leadership.

Todd Inouye pictured
Todd Inouye

By Susan Enright

Todd Inouye, an associate professor of management at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, is the new director of the university’s business college. The permanent position was announced today by Kris Roney, vice chancellor for student affairs.

AACSB logo in green and blue.The College of Business and Economics (CoBE) just completed a full cycle from the college’s strategic plan, says Inouye, which included ongoing program assessment related to accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

“Being one of only two accredited schools in the state of Hawai‘i, CoBE is well-positioned for impactful community-engaged opportunities now and in the future,” Inouye says. “With help from the CoBE advisory board, faculty, staff, and students both former and current, I am excited to see how we can contribute to cross-disciplinary collaboration both within and outside of UH Hilo.”


Red-roofed UH Hilo College of Business and Economics, covered walkway into the entrance.
College of Business and Economics, UH Hilo.

Inouye will continue to teach his classes for the remainder of the fall semester. “He will begin the full complement of responsibilities in January 2023,” says Roney in the announcement.

Inouye joined UH Hilo in the fall of 2019 from Niagara University in New York. He has served as department chair at the business college since 2021. He has a bachelor of arts in psychology (2002), an executive master of business administration (2007), and a doctor of philosophy in business administration (2016), all from UH Mānoa. He also has a master of science in sport management (2020) from Niagara University. His area of expertise is in competitive context and firm-level strategy of small to medium-sized enterprises.

Kris Roney pictured
Kris Roney

Roney says while faculty at the college was working on accreditation, they discussed the permanency of leadership given the structure and size of the college.

“The [director] position is modeled on the college directorship in Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language and contains the responsibilities of the department chair, significant elements of a dean role, and service to key leadership committees with other college leadership,” Roney explains.

She says the faculty of the college recommended and then voted for Inouye as the director.


By Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories.