UH Hilo Chancellor's Blog Posts

Column by UH Hilo Chancellor Donald O. Straney
UH Hilo Today
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Oct. 2010

UH Hilo center to help improve health care in the islands

As an institution of higher education, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo plays a critical role in shaping the quality of life in the communities we serve. With the maturation of the College of Pharmacy, UH Hilo is ready to take a leadership role in addressing health care issues in the state.

Rural communities all over America suffer shortages of physicians, pharmacists and other clinicians, and rural hospitals struggle to stay afloat. These challenges are more complex in the remote islands of Hawai‘i, some 2,400 miles from the nearest continent. It’s clear that improved access to high quality health care for our rural citizens is not going to happen on its own. We need coordinated action to maximize the effectiveness of existing resources.

To this end, UH Hilo has established the Center for Rural Health Science, which will be housed in the College of Pharmacy. The center will draw together a wide range of health care providers to solve rural health problems through research, education, community service, and policy change. Our College of Pharmacy has the capacity to lead such a major initiative, and our School of Nursing embraces the opportunity to support the center’s work.

The center’s founding director will be Dr. Karen Pellegrin, the College of Pharmacy’s director of strategic planning and continuing education. She is also the principal investigator of the $16 million federal Beacon Community grant, which serves as the cornerstone for the center’s work.

Incorporated as a non-profit, the Hawai‘i Island Beacon Community recently hired its core management team. The president and chairman of the board is Dr. Ed Montell, a gastroenterologist who has practiced on the Big Island for 30 years and served in numerous leadership positions for health care organizations. Dr. Montell’s leadership has been critical in bringing the community together to pursue the Beacon Community’s goals: to improve access to primary care, specialty care, and behavioral health care; to avert the onset and improve management of chronic disease; and to reduce health disparities among Native Hawaiians and other populations at risk.

The new center will also be the home of a grant from the US Department of Agriculture to improve medication safety for rural Hawaii’s older adults. Dr. Anna Barbato, assistant professor of pharmacy practice in the UH Hilo College of Pharmacy and a certified geriatric specialist pharmacist, took the lead in developing community educational programs. To date, the College of Pharmacy has delivered medication safety programs to over 500 seniors in rural areas, including the Big Island, Maui, Lāna‘i, and Kaua‘i. Additional public seminars are being planned.

The USDA grant also provides funds for continuing education for physicians, pharmacists, and nurses to help them improve medication safety in the older adults they treat. Dr. Scott Holuby, affiliate faculty member in the College of Pharmacy, has taken the lead in developing this program, which has been delivered via webinar to over 20 clinicians to date. The convenience of attending via webinar has been a key factor for clinicians in rural areas, where opportunities for live continuing education are rare.  Additional sessions will be held to reach our goal of over 100 clinicians attending from rural areas throughout Hawai‘i.

These are examples of ways the Center for Rural Health Science will bring together health care resources on the island. Ultimately, the center seeks to produce measurable improvements in the quality of health care, its cost effectiveness, and the overall health of Hawaii’s rural communities. The center is an important means for UH Hilo to contribute to quality of life in the islands that sustain us all.

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Message from UH Hilo Chancellor Donald O. Straney
Chamber Connection Newsletter
Hawai‘i Island Chamber of Commerce
Oct. 2010

Input needed for UH Hilo’s next strategic plan

In tough economic times, publicly funded universities like the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo must be especially responsive to community needs for educational opportunities and economic development. Consequently, since becoming chancellor last July, I’ve been asking members of the public for their thoughts about how UH Hilo could enhance the well being of our island.

The comments I’ve received include encouragement to expand student housing, educate students for jobs needed in the community, develop a “college town” environment around the university, keep the public engaged in decisions affecting Mauna Kea, and expand access to the west side of our island. It’s clear that the public expects UH Hilo to continue evolving, improving and extending its reach throughout the island in order to deliver a solid return on investment into the future.

To ensure that we do, I’m taking this first year of my chancellorship to engage the energies of the university in strategic planning. In this process, UH Hilo will take stock of our current situation and commit to our vision of what our university could become and accomplish in the next five years. We will make sure our mission statement clearly conveys the unique benefits UH Hilo offers to students and the community. The plan itself, which should be complete by May 2011, will contain clear goals and the actions we will take to realize those goals.

In this way, strategic planning will help UH Hilo focus its tremendous funds of energy and creativity on an affirmed mission and a widely accepted set of goals. Moreover, UH President MRC Greenwood has challenged us to increase the number of our graduates by 25 percent over the next few years, and UH Hilo is expected to meet additional performance benchmarks set by the UH system.

Last April, the university started its “pre-planning” initiative to gather information from faculty, staff and students to use in developing the plan. Their views were solicited through a survey and a “listening tour.” Results are being made available at the strategic planning website.

We want to hear the thoughts and opinions that Chamber members have about UH Hilo. We would particularly value your feedback on what you think we currently do well, where you think we need to improve, and what our major priorities should be for the next five to ten years.

You can provide input by emailing uhhplan@hawaii.edu, or by writing to Siân Millard, Strategic Planning Coordinator, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, Hilo, HI 96720-4091.

Work on developing the strategic plan begins this fall. This invitation for input won’t be a one-time request. We will ensure that community groups have the opportunity to comment on the draft plan once it’s available.

University strategic plans are dynamic documents that respond to changing conditions, and as such they are frequently adjusted. Universities engage in more or less continuous planning and implementation of plans. We also monitor results, which are used to inform the next round of planning. I hope we can count on Chamber members to continue to give us their views and insights as UH Hilo plans for positive change into the future.

Donald O. Straney
Chancellor, UH Hilo

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Column by UH Hilo Chancellor Donald O. Straney
UH Hilo Today
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Sept 2010

UH Hilo seeks public input for next strategic plan

The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo is proud of the role we play in educating students and supporting economic development on Hawai‘i island. We have the potential to do more, however, and since becoming chancellor last July, I’ve been asking community members to tell me their thoughts about how UH Hilo could increase its contributions to the island and state.

The responses I’ve been hearing clearly show that the public expects UH Hilo to continue evolving, improving and extending its reach throughout the island in order to deliver a solid return on investment into the future.

It’s fortunate therefore that UH Hilo’s strategic plan expires this year. UH Hilo has a timely opportunity to revisit our mission, re-envision our future, and perhaps adjust our course. We’ve begun a new round of strategic planning and hope to have a completed plan by May 2011.

In the planning process, UH Hilo will take stock of our current situation and commit to our best guess for what our university could become and accomplish in the next five years. We will make sure our mission statement clearly conveys the unique benefits we offer to students and the community within the UH system, and we will publish clear goals toward which we can strive together.

Last April, the university started its “pre-planning” initiative to gather information from faculty, staff and students to use in developing the plan. Their views were solicited through a survey and a “listening tour.”  Results are being made available at the strategic planning website.

We want to hear more from community members so that we can take into account your thoughts and opinions about UH Hilo. We would particularly value your feedback on what you think we currently do well, where you think we need to improve, and what our major priorities should be for the next five to ten years.

You can provide input by visiting www.surveymonkey.com/listening, by emailing uhhplan@hawaii.edu, or by writing to Siân Millard, Strategic Planning Coordinator, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, HI 96720-4091.

Work on developing the strategic plan begins this fall. We will ensure that the community has the opportunity to comment and provide feedback on the draft plan once it’s available.

I very much look forward to hearing your views as we work together on this important initiative.

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Message from UH Hilo Chancellor Donald O. Straney
Chamber Connection Newsletter
Hawai‘i Island Chamber of Commerce
Sept. 2010

UH Hilo’s College of Business and Economics

One of the ways the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo meets the needs of Hawai‘i island is by preparing future members of the business community. More than ever, our fragile economy demands that knowledge of business practices and economics be widely distributed throughout the island. In addition, we need to prepare students for the workforce–not just for jobs (though these are critical) but also for careers.

UH Hilo’s College of Business and Economics (CoBE) seeks to meet these needs through its programs of study and, by meeting the rigorous standards set by its accrediting association, the college can assure the public that its programs are of the highest quality.

Quality Assurance through Special Accreditation

CoBE is able to document the high quality of its BBA programs through its maintenance of accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB International). The college earned initial accreditation in 2005.

Within the state, only UH Hilo and UH Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business have attained this internationally recognized accreditation. Accredited colleges undergo a lengthy process of self evaluation and extensive scrutiny, including onsite visits, by teams of experts.

Some established business programs at other universities have had to struggle to achieve and maintain accreditation from AACSB International.

This accreditation certifies that CoBE meets 21 rigorous standards, assuring a challenging, up-to-date curriculum and a commitment to continuous improvement. Faculty must be active in their field and remain current in their knowledge. A degree from an AACSB-accredited school is widely recognized as excellent preparation for the workplace or graduate study.

Continuous Improvement

CoBE practices continuous improvement through assessment activities, which include measuring student progress in achieving learning goals and assessing student satisfaction.

Assessment practices led CoBE to create an upper division, writing-intensive course to improve writing skills. Assessment also prompted CoBE to offer its College Fair, directly linking our students with community businesses and organizations for internship and job placement, as well as career planning.

Programs

CoBE offers majors in general management, accounting and economics. The general management program is UH Hilo’s largest major. The accounting major started in Fall 2008 and already has 60 student majors. Taken together, general management and accounting enroll approximately 10% of all UH Hilo undergraduates.

For those who have already earned a bachelor’s degree in an area other than business, CoBE also offers a certificate program in business administration. Comprised of seven courses in such areas as accounting and marketing, the certificate provides a well-balanced, up-to-date foundation of business knowledge.

In addition, UH Hilo and Hawai‘i Community College have established a Degree Pathways Partnership, allowing students who began their business education at the community college to make a seamless transition to CoBE’s business administration program.
CoBE also provides informal learning opportunities through its speaker series, which is free and open to the public. Speakers have included local entrepreneur Allan Ikawa of Big Island Candies on entrepreneurship, Darren Kimura on solar energy technology, and UH Mānoa Professor Emeritus Seiji Naya on income distribution and poverty alleviation for the Native Hawaiian community. Mayor Billy Kenoi will be the next speaker in the series September 16 at 3:30 pm in the Ho‘oulu Terrace (UCB 127).

Future Growth

CoBE is discussing its future direction for growth and new programs. We plan to extend the bachelor of business administration degree to one or more sites on the island. There may also be potential to develop programmatically in partnership with UH Hilo’s College of Pharmacy. CoBE welcomes input from the business community about how best to meet future needs.

In addition, the college is looking forward to moving into prime space on campus. Because a new building for the Division of Student Affairs will be constructed this year, CoBE will be able to move into the existing Student Services Building. Ever mindful of the need to use the learning environment to enhance students’ career skills, the college is making plans to assign space in the new building for students to work in groups and for state-of-the-art technology.

Donald Straney
Chancellor, UH Hilo

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