Missing from photos is Chancellor Irwin’s meeting with US Representative Ed Case.
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin attended “AASCU on the Hill” on March 25, an annual American Association of State Colleges and Universities event where members and leaders of regional public universities throughout the country meet with members of the U.S. Congress in Washington, DC. The purpose of the event is to promote the successes of each regional university and share positive social and economic impacts on surrounding communities.
AASCU represents over 500 regional public colleges, universities, and systems with a shared goal to expand student access, success, and opportunity.
“AASCU on the Hill was a wonderful opportunity to engage with colleagues across the country and raise awareness among our federal legislators about the issues we’re having in higher education,” says Chancellor Irwin.
This year’s discussions included impacts due to the loss of federal funding. The one-on-one discussions Chancellor Irwin had with Senator Mazie Hirono, Senator Brian Schatz, Representative Ed Case, and Representative Jill Tokuda helped the lawmakers better understand specific impacts happening at UH Hilo from the loss of federal investments, notably on student success and university goals that directly affect regional social and economic prosperity.
According to the AASCU website, the association is “accentuating this call to protect federal institutional and student support programs, including Pell Grants, Postsecondary Student Success Grants, Minority-Serving Institutions Grants, TRIO and GEAR-UP, and the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Grants.”
Special attention was paid to federal policy issues including preservation of federal funding for student financial aid and institutional assistance, development and implementation of accountability provisions in H.R. 1 (“One Big Beautiful Bill Act”), preserving the authority to fund Minority-Serving Institutions, and showing lawmakers the crucial role of regional public universities.
“I was also there to thank our delegation for their support of UH and UH Hilo,” says Chancellor Irwin. “We are indeed fortunate to have their kōkua.”