UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin on the presidential leadership panel that opened the 2025 SSEI Impact and Sustainability Summit, Nov. 17, Nashville, TN. (Photo from Bonnie Irwin)From left, Director of Institutional Research Jennifer Stotter, UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin, and Registrar Chelsea Kay-Wong, at the SSEI Impact and Sustainability Summit held Nov. 17-18, 2025, Nashville, TN. (Photo from Chancellor Irwin)
Following the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) 2025 Annual Conference in Nashville, TN, UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin, along with Director of Institutional Research Jennifer Stotter and Registrar Chelsea Kay-Wong, attended AASCU’s Student Success Equity Imperative (SSEI) Impact and Sustainability Summit on Nov. 17-18.
Chancellor Irwin was asked to participate in the presidential leadership panel that opened the summit.
SSEI is an initiative hosted by AASCU and funded by the Gates Foundation. It’s a cohort-based learning community that builds connection, accountability, and shared learning among institutions. Campus teams include students, faculty, staff, administrators, and senior leaders, all working together to create conditions where every student can thrive.
“It was a great meeting, sharing strategies for success with colleagues and learning from other campuses,” says Chancellor Irwin.
WSCUC commissioners play a central role in shaping the accreditation agency’s work, setting strategic priorities, establishing standards for institutional quality, and determining accreditation status of member institutions.
Bonnie D. Irwin
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin has been elected to the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), the regional accrediting agency for colleges and universities in the western United States and the Pacific including UH Hilo.
Irwin is among eight new members welcomed to the commission in July. The new 2025-2026 commissioners are a group of executives with deep experience in academic and student affairs, assessment, finance, policy, law, and other key areas that help drive quality and accountability at WSCUC-accredited institutions.
“I am both honored and humbled to be elected to the WSCUC commission,” says Chancellor Irwin. “I look forward to advancing the standards and values of higher education in this new role and the opportunity it gives me to help other campuses achieve their goals as we continue to pursue our ambitious goals at UH Hilo.”
WSCUC commissioners play a central role in shaping the agency’s work, setting strategic priorities, establishing standards for institutional quality, and determining accreditation status of member institutions through formal actions. Commissioners are elected each spring by the presidents of WSCUC-accredited institutions following a nomination process led by WSCUC’s nominating committee. They serve an initial three-year term and may be reappointed for a second term.
In Irwin’s new role as a WSCUC commissioner, she not only brings her experience as chancellor of UH Hilo and an officer of the UH System since 2019, but also her previous experience in senior academic leadership roles at CSU Monterey Bay and Eastern Illinois University. Chancellor Irwin is active in both local and national organizations, serving on boards focused on economic development, stewardship, public radio, and higher education leadership.
She was recently elected to the Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and will serve as vice president of the board and chair of the chamber’s Committee on Economic Development. She also serves on the boards of the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, the ʻIole Stewardship Center, and Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
Irwin has served on the Hawaiʻi State and County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Strategic Advisory Committees, and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Regional Engagement and Research Council. She is a fellow of the National Collegiate Honors Council and previously served as president of that organization, as well as a board member and treasurer of the American Conference of Academic Deans.
Irwin earned her bachelor of arts, master of arts, and doctor of philosophy in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley.
The Pacific Postsecondary Education Council met on March 15 at UH West Oʻahu. (Courtesy photo)
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin joined the Pacific Postsecondary Education Council on March 15 at UH West Oʻahu. It was an opportunity for UH campuses to meet with colleagues from across the Pacific.
The council is a consortium of presidents and chancellors of higher education institutions in the U.S. and U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands who have agreed to work collaboratively to serve the needs of member institutions as they address regional and postsecondary education issues. Member institutions are from American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of Palau, and Hawaiʻi.
“It was helpful to discuss issues of mutual concern, such as the outmigration of students from our island communities and strategies for student success,” says Chancellor Irwin.
Members of the council, all higher education institutional leaders in the Pacific region, work together to serve the needs of member institutions as they address regional and postsecondary education issues. Some of the topics addressed are inter-institutional collaboration, transfer and articulation, teacher development and information sharing, and capacity building and development.
“A number of our Pacific Island community college partners praised UH Hilo as a good university to work with because we follow the Pohnpei accord which helps their students transfer more smoothly to UH Hilo,” says Chancellor Irwin.
On UH Hilo campus Dec. 3, from left, Jeanne Kapela, Stephanie Kim, Chris Todd, Kalbert Young, Lisa Kitagawa, with Bonnie Irwin and Kalei Rapoza leading the campus tour. (Photo: University Relations/UH Hilo)
Chancellor Bonnie Irwin and Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs Kalei Rapoza hosted three state legislators on the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo campus Dec. 3, 2024.
The delegation included State House Representatives Lisa Kitagawa, Chris Todd, and Jeanné Kapela. Also with the group was University of Hawaiʻi System Vice President for Budget and Finance Kalbert Young, and UH Director of Government Relations Stephanie Kim.
Rep. Kitagawa is House Majority Whip and serves as Capital Improvement Projects manager for the House Finance Committee. Rep. Todd is the Minority Caucus Leader. Rep. Kapela is Vice Chair of the Higher Education and Technology Committee.
The representatives toured a residence hall room, the main campus, and the UH Hilo Agricultural Farm Laboratory in Panaʻewa.
“Rep. Kitagawa was particularly interested in some of the capital improvements for which UH Hilo is seeking support,” says Chancellor Irwin. “It always helps to see things in person, so that our legislators understand the particular needs of our campus and our community.”
The group was welcomed on campus with Native Hawaiian protocols led by Pele Harman, UH Hilo’s Director of Native Hawaiian Engagement, and Kekoa Harman, Associate Professor of Hawaiian Studies and Hawaiian Language. (Photo: University Relations/UH Hilo)Kalei Rapoza talks to the group during a tour of the UH Hilo Agricultural Farm Laboratory in Panaʻewa. (Photo: University Relations/UH Hilo)
Student-athletes gather for a photo during the 5th Annual Student-Athlete Academic Honors Reception on April 24, 2023, where a total of 105 Vulcans across 12 varsity sports were recognized for their stellar academic achievements. (Spencer Honda/UH Hilo Athletics)
Chancellor Bonnie Irwin attended the 5th Annual Student-Athlete Academic Honors Reception on Monday evening where a total of 105 University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Vulcans across 12 varsity sports were recognized for their outstanding academic achievements. The student-athletes have each earned a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.30 over the 2022-23 academic year.
“Our scholar athletes are great role models for their fellow students,” says Chancellor Irwin. “They have mastered time management and persistence in the face of challenges. I am so pleased to see more and more students being honored every year as our Vulcan athletes’ GPAs continue to rise. I am grateful for the flexibility of their faculty and the mentoring of their coaches in support of their academic success.”
Chancellor Irwin at the 5th Annual Student-Athlete Academic Honors Reception, April 24, 2023. (Spencer Honda/UH Hilo Athletics)Olivia Jarvis
Graduate student Olivia Jarvis from the women’s cross country team was scholar-athlete speaker at the event. In her remarks, she paid tribute to “all the teachers in the classroom and the professors and faculty who support us in our academic journeys.”
“I’d like to thank you for teaching us with passion and love for your subjects, providing helpful resources for all students, responding to our emails, working with us while we are away competing, being patient with our chaotic lives and our brains, being our mentors and offering wisdom, and providing us with many opportunities we could not have earned without you.”
Also delivering remarks at the event were Director of Athletics Patrick Guillen and Director of the College of Business and Economics Todd Inouye who serves as assistant coach for the men’s soccer team.
