Aloha,
I’m pleased to report Dr. Kenith Simmons’s appointment as University of Hawai‘i at Hilo’s interim vice chancellor for academic affairs is now official.
Dr. Simmons came to UH Hilo in 1979, after receiving her PhD in English literature from the University of Wisconsin. She joined UH Hilo’s Department of English as a contemporary literature and film specialist with considerable experience in teaching English as a second language.
Dr. Simmons’s scholarly work includes numerous publications related to film and contemporary literature. For the past fifteen years she has devoted her creative time to the writing of poetry. Well represented in Hawai‘i literary publications, her work has also appeared nationally and internationally in poetry journals and anthologies.
Since the early 1990s, in addition to continuing to teach, she has served in administrative positions, including chairing the English department and the women’s studies and honors program steering committees. She was humanities division chair for nine years and was the first assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the first assistant vice chancellor for administrative affairs.
An active member of the community, Simmons has served as vice president of the Hawai‘i Concert Society and as a board member of the Hawai‘i Literary Arts Council. She is also a mediator with Kuikahi Mediation Center.
Dr. Simmons received the UH Board of Regents’ Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1984.
Donald Straney
Chancellor