The Pacific Postsecondary Education Council met on March 15 at UH West Oʻahu. (Courtesy photo)
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin joined the Pacific Postsecondary Education Council on March 15 at UH West Oʻahu. It was an opportunity for UH campuses to meet with colleagues from across the Pacific.
The council is a consortium of presidents and chancellors of higher education institutions in the U.S. and U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands who have agreed to work collaboratively to serve the needs of member institutions as they address regional and postsecondary education issues. Member institutions are from American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of Palau, and Hawaiʻi.
“It was helpful to discuss issues of mutual concern, such as the outmigration of students from our island communities and strategies for student success,” says Chancellor Irwin.
Members of the council, all higher education institutional leaders in the Pacific region, work together to serve the needs of member institutions as they address regional and postsecondary education issues. Some of the topics addressed are inter-institutional collaboration, transfer and articulation, teacher development and information sharing, and capacity building and development.
“A number of our Pacific Island community college partners praised UH Hilo as a good university to work with because we follow the Pohnpei accord which helps their students transfer more smoothly to UH Hilo,” says Chancellor Irwin.
The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo has received a new Carnegie classification known as “Research Colleges and Universities,” announced in February by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
The designation reflects an updated methodology intended to better reflect the wide range of research conducted at higher education institutions in America, and recognizes research happening at colleges and universities that historically have not been recognized for their research activity.
I am happy that Carnegie has added this new research classification because it allows UH Hilo faculty and staff and our partners to get the recognition they deserve for their many contributions to research that benefits our island community.
Let me share with you some of the exciting community- and ʻāina-based research that has led to this Carnegie recognition.
Several of our faculty researchers are utilizing artificial intelligence on their projects while training their students in AI, which will prepare them well for future employment.
Associate Professor of Data Science and Business Administration Sukhwa Hong conducts research focused on text mining, natural language processing, and social media analytics. He and his students work with AI and large language models to analyze big data and extract key insights to be communicated to the public. His students recently created an AI chat bot to help with academic advising.
Associate Professor of Computer Science Travis Mandel, who is coordinator for our data science program, researches how AI systems can best assist human scientists with their work. He has adjusted his research agenda to better meet the needs of Hawai‘i, and Hawai‘i Island in particular, as he and his students explore problems in human-in-the-loop AI and its connections with natural science.
Dovetailing with this interface of AI and natural science is the work of Professor of Geography and Environmental Science Ryan Perroy, who conducts — and trains his students to conduct — innovative drone work and mapping technology, using machine learning and AI to identify objects of interest such as invasive species in our native forests. Collaborator on this type of work is Assistant Professor of Aeronautical Science Roberto Rodriguez.
Professor of Biology Patrick Hart’s lab is developing AI programs to help with monitoring bird populations in Hawaiʻi’s forests. After 10 years of manually recording birdsong throughout our island’s forests, he and his students are now using AI to help process the lab’s huge database.
In other research of great benefit to our local communities, marine science professors Tracy Wiegner and Steven Colbert are investigating sewage hotspots along Hilo and Kona coastlines, examining inputs from onsite sewage disposal systems, such as cesspools, and Hilo’s wastewater treatment plant. Sparked by discussions with the affected communities, this research has produced data that will inform the community’s and county’s decisions regarding cesspool replacement and treatment plant upgrades.
Professor of Psychology Chris Frueh, who has extensively researched the medical and psychological injuries of former military special operators, has extended his research to include firefighters whose jobs involve regular exposure to chronic stress, lethal risks, and potential for a wide range of injuries, including traumatic brain injuries and toxic exposures. His work is recognized nationally and he is giving talks and sharing his findings with Hawaiʻi Island police and fire departments.
These are but a few examples of the research being conducted at UH Hilo. As I have emphasized throughout my six years as chancellor, the research conducted by our faculty and their students benefits not only our communities and our environment, but also hews to UH Hilo’s mission of creating academic opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, preparing our students well for important regional work when they enter the workforce.
UH Hilo has always excelled at research and I’m thrilled our university is now recognized as a Research University by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The place-based research and education conducted at UH Hilo benefits our communities and environment and beyond, prepares students to deal with the complex issues of today and tomorrow, and allows us to give back to this community and land that we are honored to call our home.
This message was shared with the UH Hilo ʻohana on March 3, 2025.
Aloha kākou e ka ʻohana o UH Hilo,
Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin
I am pleased to share that UH Hilo’s 2025-35 Strategic Plan and 2025-26 Strategic Enrollment Plan are now complete and available online. These plans are the result of thoughtful collaboration across our campus community, shaped by the voices and insights of many who engaged in conversations, provided feedback, and contributed directly to their development.
I extend my sincere gratitude to everyone who played a role in bringing these plans to fruition.
As we move forward, I want to emphasize that these are living documents — designed to guide our collective efforts while remaining adaptable to the evolving needs of our students, campus, and community. Your continued engagement will be vital as we refine and implement these strategies in the years ahead.
To explore the plans and their accompanying FAQs, please visit the following links:
UH Hilo 2025-26 Strategic Enrollment Plan: View Plan | FAQs
I encourage you to take a look, reflect on the aspirations and priorities we have outlined together, and continue to be part of this journey. Your insights and contributions will remain essential as we bring these plans to life.
As a final note, per President Hensel’s ongoing communications, we are actively assessing the potential impacts of the Trump administration’s recent executive orders and subsequent agency guidance on UH Hilo’s current and future programming. As we move forward, we will carefully review these developments and adapt our 2025-35 Strategic Plan and 2025-26 Strategic Enrollment Plan to ensure alignment with federal law while upholding our institutional values and commitments.
Mahalo for your dedication to UH Hilo and our shared vision for the future.
With UH President Wendy Hensel (left) at a welcome reception, Feb. 19, 2025, Hilo Yacht Club. (Photo: UH Alumni)
Presidents’ Day week was a busy one at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, as we had a number of important visitors to our campus and community, first and foremost, new UH President Wendy Hensel on her first official visit to Hilo and the UH Hilo campus since becoming president in January.
On the Monday holiday we spent several hours on Maunakea in order to brief the president on the operations of the Center for Maunakea Stewardship (CMS) and the Maunakea Observatories (MKOs). We discussed the conservation efforts underway at CMS as well as the education and outreach programming. Our rangers and staff discussed some of the challenges we face on Maunakea, and the president was able to see those in effect firsthand when we observed some folks trying to snowboard in an area where it was not safe, and our ranger was there to greet the foolhardy visitors as they trudged back up the slope. Institute for Astronomy Director Doug Simons briefed the president on the amazing science that takes place at the MKOs, and how the observatories work collaboratively.
Welcoming UH President Wendy Hensel (left) at kīpaepae ceremony held Feb. 18, 2025, at Hawaiʻi Community College. (Photo via UH System News)
Tuesday brought us back to Hilo where the joint UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College Hawaiian protocol committee, accompanied by many members of both campus’s ʻohana hosted a beautiful welcome for President Hensel. The visit was part of the president’s statewide tour of UH’s 10 campuses, meeting with students, faculty and staff across the state in her first 90 days. She met with important campus governance groups, including the Hanakahi Council (a caucus of Native Hawaiian faculty and staff), the Staff Council, Faculty Congress, and the campus executive leadership team. Among topics discussed were staff development, transparency, student fees, how the campus will integrate new technologies, and expanding interdisciplinary collaboration.
Many of the UH regents arrived on Wednesday and participated along with President Hensel in a huakaʻi, which featured our Hawaiian immersion pathways and educational partnerships with Punana Leo and UH Hilo’s partner charter school Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu in Keaʻau, finishing the UH Hilo portion of the day at Haleʻōlelo, home base for Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language.
While at the college, regents heard from faculty and students about Hawaiian immersion education, the ways in which Ka Haka ʻUla supports it through Hale Kuamoʻo Hawaiian Language Center, and the partnership between Ka Haka ʻUla and ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, all of which are joined together under the umbrella of Hawaiʻi ʻImiloa Institute, a statewide consortium of schools and nonprofit organizations that supports a P-25 Hawaiian Indigenous Language Cycle that spans from preschool to doctorate.
That evening, the UH Foundation hosted more than 150 friends, donors, faculty and alumni from the community to join us for a reception welcoming President Hensel at the Hilo Yacht Club. It was a wonderful gathering and a joy to see the level of support and aloha for UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi CC; everyone was eager to meet the new president and show her their strength of commitment to our campus. Along with myself, guest speakers were Hawaiʻi Community College Chancellor Susan Kazama, Board of Regents Chair Gabe Lee, and Hawaiʻi County Regent Mike Miyahira, each of whom represents the strong sense of partnership between our campus and the Hilo community.
Overall, it was a busy but rewarding week, as we were able to demonstrate to both President Hensel and the Board of Regents how we live the vision in our new Strategic Plan, “to be a model university and community, seamlessly woven together (hilo), where higher education is inspired by our beloved Hawaiʻi Island environment — rich in Hawaiian values, language, and culture — and empowers learners from any place to discover purpose, foster well-being, and leave the world a better place.”
The Hawai‘i State Legislature is soon opening its 2025 session and University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s priorities are foremost on my mind.
At the UH System level, we join the 10-campus system in again asking state lawmakers to expand the Hawaiʻi Promise Scholarship program from the community colleges to include the system’s four-year institutions — UH Hilo, UH Mānoa, and UH West Oʻahu. The program covers qualified students with their direct costs of education that are not covered by federal grants and other scholarships. We believe this program will enable more Hawaiʻi students to complete four year degrees.
Here at our home campus, we are seeking permanent funding in two key areas that support UH Hilo’s community stewardship. We’d like to make permanent UH Hilo Athletics funding for team travel expenses, training table for athlete nutrition, and training and conditioning supplies. We are also asking for a full year of funding of the FY 25 appropriation for the bachelor of arts in educational studies and the Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher Education Program.
In our quest to increase our enrollment and provide students with the support they need in an environment that’s conducive to learning, we’d like to secure several positions, including a student achievement and retention specialist, several positions dedicated to implementing a strategic enrollment management plan to address critical staffing and operational needs in enrollment services, and an internship coordinator who will work closely with local businesses on internships that support workforce development.
I think it’s important to note here that internships are one of the most valuable out-of-class experiences we can provide our students, and having more centralized support will allow us to work with our local community to create more internship opportunities and make sure that these are high quality experiences that complement our students’ classroom learning. There are also numerous compliance requirements for internships that will be much easier to track with a centralized support person.
For workforce development, we also are asking for positions and funds for the School of Nursing to increase the baccalaureate of science in nursing pre-licensure annual graduate size by 40 students to meet general Hawaiʻi island and State of Hawaiʻi nursing workforce needs. In addition, we’d like a position and funds for our Department of Administration of Justice program to support state and community needs in law enforcement and criminal justice reform.
I’d like to mention here that for an administration of justice career, students who want to go into law enforcement cannot do so straight out of high school — they have to be 21 or older. So it makes sense to pursue a university degree, giving them the needed knowledge to not only enforce the law but also understand administration of justice in the context of the communities we serve. This is also the only free-standing program for this degree in the UH system. We can thus serve other Hawaiʻi residents outside our island.
Two additional programs in need of position and funding support that are crucial for future workforce development needs are UH Hilo’s new bachelor of science in data science program, and the biocultural science program to train students in Hawaiian biocultural studies and Hawaiian conservation biocultural studies.
Our campus is also in need of more groundskeeping and maintenance workers to care for and mālama ʻāina our campus grounds to provide a beautiful and welcoming atmosphere, enhancing the overall campus experience for students, faculty, and staff.
Our primary mission at UH Hilo is to fulfill the needs of our county through challenging students to reach their highest level of academic and professional achievement. The goal is to improve the quality of life for families and communities by producing highly skilled graduates who can answer the workforce needs of our island, state, and region. With the full support of the State Legislature, we can continue to get the job done.
