News from the Office of the Interim Chancellor, University of Hawai'i at Hilo
Members of the UH Hilo ‘ohana has some fun yesterday at the Chancellor’s Holiday Celebration. At the event, Interim Chancellor Marcia Sakai hosted a cookie contest and a photo booth to immortalize everyone dressing up in “ugly or festive” Christmas wear. A good time was had by all!
Photos by Raiatea Arcuri, click to enlarge.
Through applied learning in research, internships, and creative endeavors, students enhance their classroom learning and get a big boost toward advanced degrees, future employment, and leadership roles in their professions and their communities.
By Marcia Sakai.
Every student at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo is offered the opportunity to apply their textbook knowledge to the real world through research, internships, creative endeavors, student employment and more. Through this type of scholarly work, students enhance their classroom learning and get a big boost toward advanced degrees, future employment, and leadership roles in their professions and their communities.
I would like to share with you three of our student research programs and a few extraordinary students doing important research and inquiry of great benefit to the people of our state and the island environment. These accomplished students—and many others in these and other programs, too many to name here in this column—are already contributing in positive ways to the problems facing our island state.
Students of Hawaiʻi Advanced Research Program (SHARP)
SHARP is a relatively new program, largely supporting under-represented students, particularly Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, who would like to do research in preparation for doctoral studies. The students are mentored by expert faculty researchers to develop interest and competence in biomedical and behavioral sciences research. The program is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) and is administered through the UH Hilo Department of Anthropology.
Six SHARP students showcased their research at the 2nd Annual SHARP Symposium held on campus in August. Five of the students are undergraduates and one is in a doctoral program at the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy. The students worked with faculty researchers to develop their topics and learn skills to conduct their research.
Undergraduates Duke Escobar (biology major) and Kieran-Tiaye Long (psychology) are investigating the anti-bacterial efficacy of native Hawaiian plant-based medicines. Dallas Freitas (chemistry) is researching key mechanisms of ion channel signaling in cancer drug resistance and the tumor microenvironment.
Jasmine Hicking (biology) is researching medicinal plants, specifically anti-cancer and anti-bacterial agents from microorganisms and herbal medicine. Skyla Lee (chemistry-bioscience) is doing research on synthesis and evaluation of antibacterial and anti-cancer agents in natural products. Doctoral student Nathan Sunada (pharmaceutical sciences) is investigating neuroblastoma and the mechanisms that promote cancer progression through a native Hawaiian perspective.
Keaholoa STEM Program
The goal of Keaholoa is to increase enrollment, support, and graduation rates of Native Hawaiians and other underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the STEM disciplines. Over the years, Keaholoa has become a program where minority students can engage in scientifically rigorous research that is grounded in indigenous or native cultural practices and knowledge.
For example, anthropology student Rosa Motta has compiled water property data from nearshore marine environments using historical land use patterns and archaeological sites to determine the health of coastlines in terms of the ʻāina-kai (land-ocean) relationship. Physics major Gabriel Gutierrez mapped coral reef health using traditional Hawaiian canoes. Environmental science major Jowell Guerreiro is interested in restoring loko i‘a (fishponds) and collected data on flow rates during specific moon phases.
Marine Option Program (MOP)
MOP is a UH systemwide certificate program, offered on all UH campuses, providing educational opportunities for students from all disciplines who are interested in studying the ocean.
Earlier this year, three students from UH Hilo MOP came home with awards from the statewide MOP Student Symposium held at Windward Community College. The annual event features oral and poster presentations by undergraduate MOP students from UH campuses around the state. Our students were outstanding representatives of UH Hilo, and brought home major awards, including best research presentation, which has been won by UH Hilo MOP students in 24 of the past 29 years.
Julia Stewart won best research presentation for her research project on coral, an ambitious project using bioinformatics. Wheatley Crawley won best poster presentation for her project on conservation at Wai‘opae, one of the last research projects at the teeming tidepools before the recent lava flow tragically covered the area. Michelle Nason won the John P. Craven Child of the Sea award for her work establishing a coral nursery on Hawai‘i Island.
Budding scholars, future leaders
Many UH Hilo graduates have benefited greatly from our various applied learning programs. When they move on to graduate school, doctoral programs, or professional positions, they are already well-skilled in doing sustainability, conservation, health, community-based research projects and more that make an impact.
As we prepare for the close of the semester and Fall Commencement, I’d like to congratulate the graduating class, wish each student great success, and thank everyone for your contributions to UH Hilo, our students, and our community.
Sending aloha to you and your families this holiday season!
Aloha,
Marcia Sakai
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Interim Chancellor Marcia Sakai presented the UH Hilo Enrollment Management Report to the UH Board of Regents on Nov. 1, 2018, at the UH Mānoa campus. Here is the text of her PowerPoint presentation to the BOR.
| Measure | Historical Enrollment Count | Targeted Enrollment Count | ||||
| Fall 2015 | Fall 2016 | Fall 2017 | Fall 2018
(Planned) |
Fall 2018
(Actual) |
||
| Total Enrollment | 3,829 | 3,666 | 3,539 | 3,613 | 3,406 | |
| Percentage Change Total | -2.4% | -4.3% | -3.5% | 2.1% | -3.8% | |
| 1 | First-time Freshmen Total | 385 | 368 | 413 | 436 | 413 |
| Percentage Change FTF | -10.9% | -4.4% | 12.2% | 5.6% | 0.0% | |
| 1a | Hawai‘i Island High Schools | 164 | 160 | 166 | 172 | 182 |
| 1b | O‘ahu High Schools | 58 | 57 | 72 | 74 | 71 |
| 1c | Maui and Kaua’i High Schools | 32 | 33 | 30 | 34 | 20 |
| 1d | Mainland (1*) | 97 | 77 | 114 | 124 | 103 |
| 2 | Transfer Total | 408 | 397 | 371 | 371 | 337 |
| Percentage Change Transfer | -6.7% | -4.9% | -7.0% | 0.0% | -9.2% | |
| 2a | Hawai‘i Community College | 126 | 147 | 115 | 114 | 105 |
| 2b | Other UHCC | 57 | 45 | 51 | 50 | 48 |
| 3 | Continuing (Retention Rate Increase) (2*) | 2,135 | 1,979 | 1,873 | 1,880 | 1,853 |
| 3a | First-time Freshmen Retained (3*) | 272 | 271 | 248 | 289 | 270 |
| Retention Rates | 63.2% | 70.2% | 68.3% | 70.0% | 66.0% | |
| 3b | Transfer Retained3 | 285 | 277 | 276 | 246 | 247 |
*1 Includes U.S. Military.
*2 Increase of #.# percentage points to the retention rate in the second fall semester of enrollment, decaying by 0.1 percentage point through fall 12.
*3 Corrected.
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| Measure | Historical Enrollment Count | Targeted Enrollment Count | |||||
| Fall 2016 | Fall 2017 | Fall 2018 | Fall 2019 | Fall 2020 | Fall 2021 | ||
| Total Enrollment | 3,666 | 3,539 | 3,406 | 3,520 | 3,634 | 3,781 | |
| Percentage Change Total | -4.3% | -3.5% | -3.8% | 3.3% | 3.0% | 4.3% | |
| 1 | First-time Freshmen Total (1*) | 368 | 413 | 413 | 460 | 505 | 550 |
| Percentage Change FTF | -4.4% | 12.2% | 0.0% | 11.4% | 9.8% | 8.9% | |
| 1a | Hawai‘i Island Direct Entrants (2*) | 160 | 166 | 182 | 200 | 215 | 230 |
| 1b | O‘ahu Direct Entrants | 57 | 72 | 71 | 80 | 90 | 95 |
| 1c | Maui County and Kaua‘i Direct Entrants | 33 | 30 | 20 | 30 | 35 | 40 |
| 1d | Mainland | 77 | 114 | 103 | 150 | 165 | 185 |
| 2 | Transfer Total (1*) | 397 | 371 | 337 | 375 | 390 | 405 |
| Percentage Change Transfer | -2.7% | -6.5% | -9.2% | 11.3% | 4.0% | 3.8% | |
| 2a | Hawai‘i Community College | 144 | 114 | 105 | 125 | 130 | 135 |
| 2b | Other UH Community College | 45 | 50 | 40 | 55 | 55 | 60 |
| 3 | Continuing / Returning (3*) | 2,058 | 1,927 | 1,853 | 1,872 | 1,927 | 2,079 |
| 3a | First-time Freshmen Retained (4*) | 271 | 248 | 270 | 281 | 317 | 354 |
| Retention Rate – First-Time, Full-Time | 70.9% | 68.2% | 66.0% | 68.0% | 69.0% | 70.0% | |
| 3b | Transfer Retained (4*) | 277 | 276 | 247 | 246 | 277 | 292 |
| 3c | Retention Rate – Full-Time | 72.1% | 75.4% | 70.4% | 72.9% | 73.9% | 74.9% |
*1 Data from UH IRAO Tracking system – numbers will not tie to other sources.
*2 Direct entrants are students who enrolled in college directly from high school without delay after high school graduation.
*3 Data from IRO Base, Census; includes classified undergraduate students only.
*4 First-time freshmen and transfers retained from prior fall semester tracking cohorts.
More information and documents are on the UH Hilo Enrollment Management website.
Non-perishable food items and monetary donations are being accepted and will be donated to the Hawai‘i Island Food Basket
The Fall Food Drive is underway at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. The event, hosted by the the Campus and Community Service program is happening from Oct. 29 through Nov. 14, 2018.
Non-perishable food items are accepted and will be donated to the Hawai‘i Island Food Basket. The UH Hilo goal is to raise $550.00 and collect 350 lbs of food. As of Nov. 2, $115.50 and 46.2 lbs of food has been collected.
Food donations can be left at the following locations on campus:
Monetary donations can be made at the Campus Center Sodexo Dining Hall at each of the registers or online. Online donations should include the notation “TO UH HILO” in the memo so that it will count towards UH Hilo totals. Checks can also be made, payable to “Hawaii Island Food Basket”—the Campus Community Service office will provide pick up of checks (send an email request for pick up).
Hunger Banquet
The campus community is invited to the Hunger Banquet on Nov. 8, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., in Campus Center, room 301. The event highlights the disparity in access to food and resources globally.
Contact
National events of the last two weeks have furthered the resolve of the UH Hilo community to be unflinching in its commitment to embrace diversity and inclusion on our campus while fostering and practicing the spirit of aloha in all that we do.
Aloha UH Hilo ‘Ohana,
Just last week, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo celebrated Global Diversity Awareness Month by recognizing student art, performances, and writings on what it means for our campus to be ranked as the most diverse four-year public university in the country. A winning entry was artwork done by business major Allison Dupre. She created a mixed media piece of a tree in a rainbow of colors with a quotation by American entrepreneur Malcolm Forbes: “Diversity, the art of thinking independently together.”
At UH Hilo we take pride in our diverse campus community, and embrace all who come here to work, study, and grow. Universities are places where ideas and cultures intersect, and we strive to ensure this is a place where the exchange of diverse ideas can occur in a safe and productive environment.
National events of the last two weeks have furthered the resolve of the UH Hilo community to be unflinching in its commitment to embrace diversity and inclusion on our campus while fostering and practicing the spirit of aloha in all that we do. I ask that each of you make a personal commitment to do your part to ensure our campus is a place where our differences can make us better, within a framework of respect and aloha.
As the most diverse four-year university in the country, we serve as an academic model to the world where people from across the globe live in harmony, thinking independently together.
UH Hilo is here to support you with a variety of services for our students, faculty and staff. Should you need assistance, please reach out or make referrals to the available campus services below:
Mahalo for caring for each other.
Marcia Sakai
Interim Chancellor
