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UH Hilo Chancellor's Blog Posts

Message from the Chancellor: UH Hilo Changes to COVID-19 Related Restrictions

Published December 2, 2021 by admin

Message from the Chancellor: UH Hilo Changes to COVID-19 Related RestrictionsAerial of campus in 2014 with Hilo Bay in background.

Aloha UH Hilo Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Bonnie Irwin
Bonnie D. Irwin

Yesterday President Lassner issued an announcement regarding the changes to COVID-19-related restrictions across the State and County and the impacts to our operations taking effect December 1, 2021. For Hawai‘i County, these include increases to social gathering limitations (25 persons for indoor, 100 persons for outdoor) and increasing capacities at food service locations.

The updated State and County orders/rules defer to the CDC guidance for safety, hygiene, and physical distancing. Per the CDC guidance for Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) that are fully-vaccinated, there can be a return to full capacity for in-person learning. Masks must continue to be properly worn while indoors.

We are taking a moderate approach in returning to “normal,” and do so with you in mind. This approach may be different from other campuses, and that is because we are a different institution. We have different resources and needs than Oʻahu. What works on Oʻahu does not necessarily work here, and we feel this approach to reopening and returning to “normal” is the best fit for our community.

At UH Hilo, we are beginning the transition to full capacity in-person learning. For Spring 2022, while we are keeping the 3-foot distance capacities in classrooms, faculty may continue to work with their respective Chairs and Deans to increase in-person class presence or other adjustments informed by enrollment patterns before January. The Spring 2022 transition is with the expectation that schedules for Fall 2022 are developed with full capacity classrooms and learning environments in mind. Intentional, well-designed distance learning options will continue to be a vital component of our offerings as we have seen in the last 20 months that DL meets the needs of a segment of our student population.

Part of the transition includes the return to a form of in-person Commencement on December 18, 2021. We hope that through our continued efforts as a campus and community, that we can continue to provide more events and opportunities for everyone. This takes a campus effort: being safe, following our campus rules and guidelines, and remembering that your individual actions impact a host of individuals. With the emerging new Omicron variant, the selflessness of our actions and behaviors continues to be important.

Mahalo,

Bonnie D. Irwin
Chancellor

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Chancellor’s Monthly Column, Dec. 2021: Silver linings

Published December 1, 2021 by admin

Chancellor’s Monthly Column, Dec. 2021: Silver liningsMortarboard with the words: Be the Change You Want to See in the World.
Bonnie Irwin
Bonnie D. Irwin

The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo was recently invited to participate in the Transformation Accelerator Cohort, an initiative of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) which oversees the university’s accreditation. The program, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is designed to help institutions eliminate race, ethnicity, and income as predictors of student success.

We are excited to be part of this initiative because it will allow UH Hilo to improve the way we serve students and it will help us continue to lift up the region through providing educational opportunities for a diversity of students. The project aligns well with our strategic plan’s first goal, that of strengthening our commitment to our haumana, our students, and we hope it will enable us to move forward on our other strategic goals as well.

One of the things that AASCU has asked us to reflect upon are silver linings, those bright spots amid the dark days of the pandemic. What have we learned that can sustain us as we move forward? It is easy to focus on the negative when there is more than enough of that to go around—illness, isolation, exhaustion—yet as we emerge from the pandemic, we do so with a renewed sense of purpose, both at UH Hilo and across the UH System.

We are looking at developing programs to meet the post-pandemic needs of our island and our state; these programs have the potential to help UH Hilo increase enrollment while at the same time serving local needs for a trained workforce to see us into the future: programs in elementary education and data science are moving ahead and other programs are looking at ways to update their curriculum.

Another silver lining has been the need to exercise our creativity in problem solving. An example of this is the very quick change to online teaching that was required of our faculty and students in the spring of 2020. Though it was stressful and challenging on many levels, the successful switch opened up a world of possibilities about what we can do online, including expanding access to courses and programs.

Some professors say online teaching technology has helped to improve connections between students and expanded discussions. Online classes offer new ways to build a strong sense of community among peers, not just locally but also with international students and faculty. Examples of this are business students taking online finance classes with classmates located in Asia and North America. Students who are learning how to teach English as a second language are working with students in Oman and the Philippines.

The pandemic has also forced us to focus on our priorities: our students and our community, of course, but also ourselves. This importance of self-care reflects our third goal in the strategic plan, which focuses on strengthening our commitment to kākou, literally meaning “we,” which includes the self. The global impact of covid reminds us that people are our most precious resource, and that our attention must focus on not just our students but also ourselves, our family, and our personal networks.

Staff and faculty who have stepped up and done amazing things without a lot of resources have learned the value of self-care, not only because of the threat of illness but also because of the need for rest and reflection. Being part of our campus ‘ohana reminds us that our self-care is not just important, but essential to continuing to serve our students and our community.

I look forward to working with the Transformation Accelerator Cohort as we strengthen our commitment to students and continue moving forward through the pandemic and beyond.

I wish you all the very best this holiday season. Stay safe and be well.

With aloha,

Bonnie D. Irwin

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Message from the Chancellor about Thanksgiving Holiday and COVID Safety

Published November 19, 2021 by admin

Aloha UH Hilo Students, Faculty and Staff,

Bonnie Irwin
Bonnie D. Irwin

As we head into the holiday season and anticipate many of our campus community to be traveling to see family and friends or welcoming visitors from off-island, it is important in this season of togetherness that we are also mindful of the ongoing struggle with managing COVID-19. Please take note of guidelines on how we can gather and celebrate safely, locally and abroad.

Please note that campus offices will be minimally staffed this coming Friday, November 26, 2021, the non-instructional day following the Thanksgiving holiday in order to give staff the opportunity to take a vacation day for some well deserved rest. However, phones will still be answered and in-person services will still be available.

Thank you for all you have done to support students and colleagues! UH Hilo has had an extraordinarily low incidence of COVID cases in our campus community, and it is due to our employees and students who have been great about following protocols for safety. It is one of the many signs of our caring community. I am filled with gratitude for everything you have done for our campus. As we all look out for one another and share in this responsibility, we are keeping UH Hilo the safe and welcoming place we want it to be.

As a reminder, please check-in on LumiSight UH prior to arrival on campus. If you feel that you have been exposed to COVID-19, you should contact your doctor immediately and report this to your supervisor and the UH Hilo Campus Security.

Mahalo for all you do, and please enjoy a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Bonnie D. Irwin

Chancellor

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Faculty and staff are invited to next University Forum, Nov. 23, 2021

Published November 19, 2021 by admin

Poster: University Forum, with flags

Faculty and staff at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo are invited to the next University Forum scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021, noon to 1:00 p.m., via Zoom.

Zoom link: http://go.hawaii.edu/Vng

Meeting ID: 938 1911 5854
Passcode: 362055

Questions may be submitted in advance to urevents@hawaii.edu. Questions received less than 30 minutes prior to the session may not be addressed and will have to be asked during the forum.

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Chancellor’s Monthly Column, Nov. 2021: Transforming students, campus, and local community through service

Published November 1, 2021 by admin

Bonnie Irwin
Bonnie D. Irwin

The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo has thrived by cultivating relationships with the local community. We serve our community through giving access to higher education, but also through the support we give community projects in our research, volunteerism, and service projects.

UH Hilo is a placed-based university, meaning the importance of place is foremost in our strategic planning efforts now underway. Equally important to us are the relationships we build, which are at the core of everything in education; the most effective teachers are those who can establish rapport and meaningful relationships with students.

Similarly, the most successful universities are arguably those that have made themselves a part of the community in which they are located. I am grateful for UH Hilo staff and faculty who have served our community by serving on boards, giving guest lectures, or even rolling up their sleeves and pitching in on community projects.

One project that really brings place and people together in a powerful way is the Bonner Leadership Program.

Graphic with mortarboard: The Bonner Program, Access to Education, Opportunity to Serve

Launched through the UH Hilo Center for Community Engagement in collaboration with the Campus Center, the program is funded by a Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) grant and supported by the Bonner Foundation, a national organization with a mission to transform students, communities, and campuses through service.

The program moves students beyond volunteerism and engages them in four years of leadership training, basic service to a variety of community organizations, and gradually builds students’ self-awareness and skills to commit to a multi-year partnership with an organization they believe in.

Julie Mowrer
Julie Mowrer

Julie Mowrer, acting director of the Center for Community Engagement and head of the project, says local community organizations want to connect and support students, but it can take a significant amount of time to really mentor someone successfully.

This is where the support from the Bonner Foundation comes in. By building students’ skills in a Bonner cohort and creating multi-year relationships with organizations, the students have the time and support needed to contribute in meaningful ways.

We know this type of connection with others is one of the most important aspects of student success, especially during the pandemic when in-person interaction has been severely limited. The Bonner Program gives students a safe way to interact with members of our community while receiving excellent leadership training and the opportunity to use skills learned in their major.

On the community side, these student leaders can help our local organizations increase capacity and reach.

Once connected to an organization, Bonner students are encouraged to work with that organization to dig into the root causes of social or environmental issues, whether they revolve around policy, infrastructure, or other various influences. Bonner Leaders are challenged to do research to learn more and design capstone projects with guidance from a team of faculty, staff, and community mentors.

When the students finish their degrees, they will be prepared not only with skills they need to be successful, but also the values they need to make a difference.

Mahalo to all the faculty, staff, and members of the local community who are supporting our Bonner students in this important project. By working together, we can give our students this remarkable opportunity to build relationships and do good work that will benefit not only themselves, but also our local community for years to come.

Aloha,

Bonnie D. Irwin

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