DR. ELIZABETH MISAO KEITH
Dr. Elizabeth Keith is a university administrator, faculty member, media broadcaster, and interpreter. She was born and raised in Japan, where she graduated from the International School of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo. She earned her B.A. in Japanese and French and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Japanese Literature at the University of Hawaii. She is bilingual in Japanese and English. She has lived and worked in Japan, France, Hawaii, and Singapore. She joined Hawaii Tokai in 2016 and has served as Dean of Instruction and Vice-Chancellor.
Dr. Keith served as a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Transcultural Studies of Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore, and Lecturer in the East Asian Languages and Literature Department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her areas of focus as a lecturer are Japanese language, literature, and culture; transnational studies; cross-cultural communications; cultural awareness; global citizenship; and diversity.
From 1986 to 2012, Dr. Keith was Correspondent in Hawaii for NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), researching, developing, and assisting in the broadcast of news stories. She broadcast live radio reports to Japan for the popular NHK “World Report” radio program which had an estimated 34 million listeners. From 1976 to 1983 she hosted her own Japanese-language radio program on KOHO Radio in Honolulu. Dr. Keith has interpreted for Prince Hitachi of the Imperial Family and former Prime Minister Fukuda of Japan. She also served for twenty years as an interpreter during depositions, trial preparation, or trials for Honda, Kawasaki, Toyota, Bridgestone, and Suzuki Motor Company.
Keith was a member of the team conducting research on social integration of students at Temasek Polytechnic, as well as a member of the team that launched the campus-wide Cultural Awareness Program. She also served as Co-Subject Leader for Japanese, organizing faculty and course schedules, lecture content, and classroom labs. Dr. Keith has Certificates from Temasek in Teaching in Higher Education, Teaching Global Citizenship, and Teaching Sustainable Community Development. She has conducted adult training sessions in Japan and Singapore on transnational studies and cultural awareness.
Dr. Keith is a member of the Association for Asian Studies and the American Association of University Administrators. From 1983 to 1991 she was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Japan-America Society of Honolulu, and from 1995 to 2005 she served as Vice-President and member of the Board of Directors of the Japanese Women’s Society in Honolulu.
