Mid-Pacific's leader walked a long, tough road to success

By Michael Tsai

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 23, 2012

~~<p>When Joe Rice retires as president and CEO of Mid-Pacific Institute at the end of the next school year, it will mark not just a key transition point in a remarkable era of growth for the Manoa private school, but also the close of a lengthy chapter in Rice's stranger-than-fiction life.</p>
<p>Rice has been with the school for 16 years, during which the school expanded to include a preschool, elementary and middle school and invested heavily in technological upgrades that radically redefined the way its students and teachers were able to interact. Earlier this month Rice announced his intention to leave his post at the end of the 2012-13 school year so he and his wife can move to Washington state to help care for his ailing mother-in-law and be closer to his two daughters.</p>
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When Joe Rice retires as president and CEO of Mid-Pacific Institute at the end of the next school year, it will mark not just a key transition point in a remarkable era of growth for the Manoa private school, but also the close of a lengthy chapter in Rice's stranger-than-fiction life.

Rice has been with the school for 16 years, during which the school expanded to include a preschool, elementary and middle school and invested heavily in technological upgrades that radically redefined the way its students and teachers were able to interact. Earlier this month Rice announced his intention to leave his post at the end of the 2012-13 school year so he and his wife can move to Washington state to help care for his ailing mother-in-law and be closer to his two daughters. Login for more...