Heartfelt condolences to the family of distinguished Emeritus Professor Tom Dinell, the founder of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) and its precursor, the Pacific Urban Studies and Planning Program. He passed away on December 9, 2025, at the age of 97.
“Tom was our first advisor and head of the department when we were graduate students around 1984-1986,” said DURP alumnus Bhishna Bajracharya, an associate professor of urban planning at Bond University in Queensland, Australia. “Tomʻs guidance left a lasting influence on us.”
DURP Chair and Professor Ashok Das said Hawaiʻi’s planning community has lost one of its finest. “Tom cared deeply about students, and instituted the Dinell Outstanding DURP Alumni Award. He and his wife, Kristi, supported the award for the past two decades, and it will continue to be supported by Kristi, their family and alumni. Tom was a visionary whose life’s work transformed Hawaiʻi by fostering a progressive planning community.”
