Kalei Rapoza has been serving as director for the Office of Human Resources since 2016 where he has worked collaboratively with leadership across the UH Hilo campus in a range of human resources matters.
Kalei Rapoza
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Interim Chancellor Marcia Sakai announced today the appointment of Kalei Rapoza to serve as acting vice chancellor for administrative affairs starting immediately.
Rapoza has been serving as director for the Office of Human Resources since 2016 where he has worked collaboratively with leadership across the UH Hilo campus in a range of human resources matters. He joined UH Hilo as associate director of HR in 2013, moving from the Department of Education. He has a juris doctor degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at UH Mānoa and is a graduate of the UH President’s Emerging Leaders Program.
Rapoza will serve in an acting capacity until the appointment of an interim vice chancellor for administrative affairs.
Though I will be working for the UH System, please know that my commitment to and appreciation of UH Hilo and Hawai‘i Island remain strong.
Aloha UH Hilo ‘Ohana,
It has been my great honor to have served as chancellor for this campus for the past seven years. I am stepping down as chancellor of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo effective August 1, 2017, and will be taking a position at the University of Hawai‘i System as vice president of academic planning and policy, subject to Board of Regents approval. An open search for our next permanent chancellor will begin in fall 2017.
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Marcia Sakai will be appointed interim chancellor of UH Hilo by UH President David Lassner, subject to Board of Regents approval. Dr. Sakai joined the UH Hilo faculty in 1991. She was the founding dean of the College of Business and Economics, leading the college through its initial AACSB accreditation which made UH Hilo’s CoBE just one of 579 institutions worldwide, at that time, with such accreditation. She brought her experience and ability to bear in serving as vice chancellor for administrative affairs since 2011. She is eminently qualified to lead our campus during this interim period, and I ask everyone to support her and to continue to do the great work that you are doing day in and day out.
After seven years at UH Hilo, please know that this was an extremely difficult decision. My time here in Hilo has been such a rewarding professional experience. UH Hilo is an amazing institution that provides invaluable service to our community, our island, our state and beyond. The campus welcomed me with open arms and I enjoyed remarkable warmth and acceptance from total strangers, who quickly became great friends. The aloha spirit is real and it is alive and well on our island.
Though I will be working for the UH System, please know that my commitment to and appreciation of UH Hilo and Hawai‘i Island remain strong.
It was my privilege to serve in this special place, with so many dedicated and passionate faculty and staff. I want to thank each and every one of you for your commitment to our campus and community.
Two student success webinars are scheduled, offered by Ruffalo Noel Levitz, consultants for higher education enrollment management.
Both webinars will be held in Student Services Center W-201 and are open to university faculty, staff and administrators.
GROWING ENROLLMENT BY INCREASING RETENTION
Date: Thursday, June 22, 2017
Time: 8 a.m.
Key topics of the webinar will include: how a retention plan can benefit our university developing the right team to implement our plan, the best key performance indicators for retention, and the data we should know to inform our plan.
IMPROVING PERSISTENCE AND COMPLETION RATES OF SECOND-YEAR AND TRANSFER STUDENTS
Date: Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Time: 8 a.m.
Key topics of the webinar will include: identifying the specific needs of at-riak, second year students, and transfer students, prioritizing sophomore and transfer student engagement by matching interest and concerns to campus service improvements, comparing students’ receptivity to assistance in the second year vs. their use of campus services in the previous years, and college completion plans for students.
MOTIVATING MILLENNIALS: 3 UNEXPECTED REASONS WHY FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS DROP OUT
Date: Monday, June 19, 2017.
Time: 9:00 am-10:00 am.
Location: Student Services Center W-201.
Open to university faculty, staff and administrators.
This webinar will discuss how to connect, engage, and motivate millennials. Discover the top three unexpected reasons freshmen drop out and learn how millennials think about college and how to motivate then with experiential learning.
Tam Vu, professor of economics, will serve as interim dean of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo beginning June 17, 2017. Matt Platz, vice chancellor for academic affairs, made the announcement today in an email to the UH Hilo community. He says a national search for a permanent dean of the college will soon be launched.
“Prof. Vu has demonstrated herself to be a staunch advocate for students and the university community,” says Platz in the announcement. “She is adept to working with multiple constituencies on campus and has nurtured relationships with the community.”
Prof. Vu received her master of arts in economics and doctor of philosophy in macroeconomics from UH Mānoa. She was appointed as an assistant professor of economics at UH Hilo in 2006. In 2011, she was promoted to associate professor, and in 2015 achieved the rank of professor. She is also a graduate cooperating faculty at UH Mānoa.
At UH Hilo, Vu has served as a department chair, chair of the Program Review Subcommittee for the Graduate Council, chair of the Instructional Technology Subcommittee for the UH Hilo Long Range Budget Committee, chair of the Faculty Congress Budget Committee, interim director of the Master in China-US Relations Program, and numerous other services to the university.
Prof. Vu has also been the recipient of several research travel grants and was nominated for the Board of Regents Excellence in Teaching Award in 2014. Vu’s scholarly activity includes more than 30 refereed journal publications in the past ten years, multiple books and presentations, both national and international.
