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Chancellor Bonnie Irwin was pleased to provide coaching for one of the projects conducted as part of the UH System President’s Emerging Leaders Program (PELP) this academic year.

Three members of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo faculty/staff community were in the 2025-2026 PELP cohort of 24: Jeanette Ayers-Kawakami, professor of nursing and former director of the School of Nursing (currently on sabbatical); Todd Inouye, associate professor of management and director of the College of Business and Economics; and Comfort Sumida, senior advisor at the Advising Center.

The annual professional development program is for highly motivated faculty and staff chosen from throughout the 10-campus UH System with the goal to develop future campus and system leaders. The program assists participants in furthering their knowledge about higher education; the three UH Hilo members of the cohort conducted significant projects to achieve that aim.

Cohort members worked on their projects in groups of four, with six groups total. Members of each group were chosen based on each participant’s top three choices of what types of projects they’d like to work on. Two UH Hilo participants — Ayers-Kawakami and Sumida — wanted to explore the same topic so they were in the same group; this is the group Chancellor Irwin co-coached.

Professor Ayers-Kawakami and Senior Advisor Sumida worked on the project, “Enhancing Student Success: Harvesting UH student voices to inform a Common Standard of Care.” Joining them were cohort members from UH System offices Lynsey Bow, program director of counseling and advising, and Merrissa Brechtel, a senior policy and advising program specialist for student affairs.

The group’s project was based on the recognition that in order to improve student success, students’ voices must be heard to fully understand their needs.

“Through surveys of first-year students, transfer students, advisors, and faculty across the University of Hawaiʻi 10-campus system, (our project) summarizes challenges and strategic opportunities to establish a ʻcommon standard of care’ that strengthens support systems and improves outcomes systemwide,” summarizes Ayers-Kawakami.

Coaches for the project were Deborah Halbert, UH System vice president for academic strategy, and Chancellor Irwin.

“I was excited to learn about the results of the student voices project,” says Chancellor Irwin. “It aligns well with other things we are doing on campus to capture student input so that we may improve our systems of student support.”

Associate Professor Inouye’s group project was titled, “Conducting Successful Faculty Searches.”

Inouye worked with PELP cohort members Jamie Simpson Steele, Lori Furoyama, and Xiaoxin Ivy Mu from UH Mānoa. Coaches were Laura Lyons, UH Mānoa interim vice provost for academic excellence, and Brandon Marc Higa, a licensed attorney and lecturer at UH Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law.

The group explored ways to improve hiring success for tenure-line faculty at UH’s four-year institutions. Findings include best outcomes in recruitment and networking, screening procedures, rigor and equal opportunity, addressing the “Hawaiʻi Factor,” and retention through mentorship.

Full story at UH Hilo Stories.

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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.

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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.

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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 spent the morning at UH Hilo and the afternoon at Hawaiʻi Community College.

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