CSEAS Welcomes New Director, Dr. Pia Arboleda
The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Pia Arboleda as its new director, effective August 2026.
About Dr. Arboleda
Dr. Pia Arboleda is Professor of Filipino and Philippine Culture, Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and Chair of the School of Pacific and Asian Studies (SPAS) Council at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
She formerly served as Director of the Center for Philippine Studies and Chair of the Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures. A recipient of the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching and the Lapu-Lapu Award for Education, her work focuses on Philippine language, folklore, literature, translation, digital humanities, and innovative approaches to language and culture education. She has led numerous national and international initiatives in language education and immersive learning technologies, and has published extensively on Philippine language and culture. As a creative writer and poet, her work has appeared in anthologies like Forbidden Fruit: Women Write the Erotic, Kung Ibig Mo: Love Poetry by Women, and The Baguio We Know, among others. She produces multimedia materials on Philippine folklore and is a Filipino<>English translator.
We are excited to welcome Dr. Arboleda to this new leadership role and look forward to the continued growth and success of the Center under her guidance.
Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Dr. Arboleda as she takes on this important position!