About Us
The College of Continuing Education & Community Service (CCECS) was in place for over 50 years at UH Hilo, offering non-credit courses for community members, as well as providing programming for a number of special groups and needs that emerged organically over the years. The College also housed Summer Session, the English Language Institute (ELI), the North Hawaiʻi Education & Research Center (NHERC), SeniorTech and the Testing Center.
In early 2018, UH Hilo made the very challenging decision to restructure the College in an effort to consolidate resources, more strongly align the CCECS with the UH Hilo mission and rethink how UH Hilo engages with its community.
The units that were housed within CCECS are not being eliminated, but simply moved to different reporting lines. NHERC and the ELI will report directly to the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Summer Session will be organized in the Academic Colleges following the same model as fall and spring semesters, the Testing Center will be moved under Student Affairs, and the non-credit programming and SeniorTech will remain in a Center for Community Engagement.
The Center for Community Engagement will continue to offer non-credit courses in a variety of areas that are open to all community members, as well as low-cost, non-credit technology courses for seniors taught through SeniorTech, and have a new role of providing support for faculty who are interested in community-engaged teaching, which supports UH Hilo’s mission, “One learns from many sources.”
This new venture of the Center for Community Engagement looks to the community to direct how the university can best serve our community members. To do this, we are reaching out to community organizations to submit proposals for how they would like to partner with the university in ways that are meaningful and beneficial for both students and the community. Please see our Community Resources for more information.
We are looking to help create a university culture that places value in our students’ backgrounds and experiences, in community wisdom & expertise and in learning outside of classroom walls, from and with the ʻāina.
We look forward to working with you!
Meet the Team
Julie Mowrer
Julie spent 12 years of her career in higher education in the classroom, teaching English to students from all over the world, and designing curriculum that maximized the benefits of working with the diverse student population here in Hawaiʻi. In 2013, she became the Director of the English Language Institute at UH Hilo and in 2016 became Acting Director of the College of Continuing Education & Community Service. This new role ignited an interest in community engagement, and she returned to school to pursue her EdD in Educational Professional Practice at UH Mānoa, with a research focus on community engagement in higher education. Contact Julie Mowrer.
Marisa Miyashiro
Marisa has been designing community-based personal enrichment courses at UH Hilo for 11 years, ranging from educational keiki camps to free community events on Japanese culture to language, arts and movement courses. Originally trained as an Occupational Therapist, Marisa’s experiences working in healthcare, organic farming and managing a yoga studio have shaped her ability to be in tune to the needs of others, with the overall desire to contribute to the strong emotional, physical and mental health of our community. Contact Marisa Miyashiro.
Sara Hayashi
Born and raised on Hawaiʻi Island and a graduate of Hilo High School, Sara Hayashi graduated from UH Hilo with high honors, triple majoring in Japanese Studies, English and Performing Arts. While still a student, she worked on campus as a writing tutor and at the Registrar’s Office, and also began teaching dance at the Island Dance Academy which she continues to this day.
Her strong connections and commitment to the Hawaiʻi Island community and UH Hilo campus led her to stay and work with the College of Continuing Education & Community Service after graduation in 2012, and she is now bringing her extensive knowledge of this unique place to help CCECS in our transition into a Center for Community Engagement. Contact Sara Hayashi.
Contact Us
Julie Mowrer
200 W. Kāwili St.
Hilo, HI 96720
USA
jmowrer@hawaii.edu
(808) 932-7830
Or visit us on the UH Hilo Campus in PB-5.