Tammy Haili’ōpua
Baker
2023 Board of Regents Medal for Excellence in Teaching
As steward of Indigenous knowledge and extension of her kumu, Professor Tammy Haili’ōpua Baker fulfills that kuleana from her position in the Department of Theatre and Dance, by building the Hawaiian Theatre Program, the only one of its kind focused primarily on performance. A colleague who’s also been her student in Hawaiian language views the experience of acting in her productions as a master class in pedagogy. “Professor Baker is continually supporting students and others in the production of 40 performers in speaking and singing lines individually and collectively. [She was] clearly the director throughout, nevertheless each actor (students) and production staff (teachers) were all made to feel their work was necessary and appreciated.” Dr. Baker is internationally recognized, the first from Hawaiʻi to receive the Kennedy Center’s Medallion of Excellence. A reviewer of her plays describes them as “guides to restoring language and reclaiming the stories of generations of Indigenous populations; gifts to a culture whose language and history have been suppressed. Her transformative work shines through the passion, voice, and aloha spirit of her students.”
2023 Faculty Awardees