After more than 20 years of steadfast leadership at Punahou, Vice President and Treasurer John Field ’72 has retired from the School. Since 2000, Field has overseen a wide range of areas critical to Punahou’s daily operations, including the business office, physical plant and security, food services, information technology, human resources and the bookstore. He also headed up the School’s partnership with the Punahou Parent Faculty Association (PFA) and Punahou’s signature event – Carnival.
Overall, Field said the highlight of his time at Punahou has been working with professional people across departments. “They all do such a great job,” he said. “I’ve been able to work with wonderful teams, and I’m so proud of the work of all of these people.”
During his two-decade career at Punahou, Field was instrumental in the construction of major facilities and campus improvement projects, including the new Sidney and Minnie Kosasa Community for Grades 2 – 5, Case Middle School, Omidyar K – 1 Neighborhood, Josephine Flanders Dance Pavilion and the renovations of Alexander Field and Dillingham Tennis Complex. “We pretty much rebuilt all of kindergarten through eighth grade, and we were able to do all this through fundraising, so I’m happy with those efforts,” Field said.
He also was an early champion of Punahou’s ambitious push toward complete energy sustainability, which has involved installing significantly more photovoltaic power, implementing new technologies and ensuring that newly constructed or renovated buildings were built with energy efficiency as a priority. “It makes financial sense to do it – good financial sense,” Field said. “It also demonstrates to our constituents and students that we’re very interested in and serious about sustainability, that we’re concerned about our carbon footprint. That’s a great way to lead by example.”
Field loved his role with Physical Plant because he loves building and maintaining grounds and trees. “I know that kind of thing pretty well, and it’s fun for me to think about how to make the campus better and more beautiful.”
Prior to his arrival in 2000, Field worked as an executive at Bank of Hawai‘i. His move to Punahou made perfect sense considering his deep connection to the School. He met his wife, Susan ’72, at Punahou. And both she and their daughter, Sarah Field ’01 McKay, are teachers on campus. Their three other children, Charlie ’06, Robby ’03 and Jimmy ’09, also attended the School.
Again, when talking about his job and what he loved, he points back to the people. “Everyone is so supportive,” he said. “Everyone wants you to be successful, and everyone wants the School to be successful.”
