UH Hilo 2024-2025 Annual Report

The following is the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo FY25 Annual Report (July 1, 2024—June 30, 2025).

On this page:

Student Success

Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani Class of 2025 undergraduates gather for photo with the college’s faculty and staff, May 7, 2025, at the graduates’ ʻAha Hoʻomoloa ceremonies. (Photo: KHUOK/UH Hilo)

Awards and recognitions

• For summary of the annual student academic achievement celebrations, read the June 2025 column by UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin: “We celebrate our graduates.”
• Here following are links to stories about outstanding students recognized for their academic and research achievements with awards, scholarships, and more:
  • College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management honors spring 2025 graduates at Senior Awards Recognition Night.
  • College of Arts and Sciences celebrates 46 awards received by students representing 15 programs at the 2025 Student Award Convocation Celebration. CAS’s School of Education celebrates first-year graduate students, now ready for teacher licensure.
  • College of Business and Economics closes out academic year with second annual awards and networking event.
  • Through awards and scholarships, outstanding students at the College of Natural and Health Sciences receive recognition at the annual Student Awards Celebration. CNHS’s School of Nursing honors its 2025 doctoral and bachelor’s graduates.
  • After four years of doctoral education and training at the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, 36 graduates are eligible to become licensed as practicing pharmacists.
  • Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language holds ʻAha Hoʻomoloa ceremonies for graduates with bachelors and minors of Hawaiian studies and also linguistics, and certificates in Hawaiian studies.
  • In the Department of Athletics, a total of 115 Vulcans receive Student-Athlete Academic Honors at the seventh annual reception.

More student achievements (selected)

• UH Hilo student and alumna win awards at statewide Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference.
• Five students are awarded scholarships to study abroad for the fall 2024 semester. From Japan to England to Korea, the students — majoring in business, Japanese studies, linguistics, English — expand their horizons studying abroad this academic year.
• UH Hilo’s student newspaper Ke Kalahea (and its writers) wins national awards.
• UH Hilo students place first in the Association for Computing Machinery’s Intercollegiate Programming Contest. A total of 15 teams from UH Hilo, Hawaiʻi Pacific University, and Brigham Young University-Hawaiʻi participated in the Hawaiʻi site competition, which was held on the UH Hilo campus for the first time.
• A UH Hilo astronomy student is the only undergraduate attendee among graduate students from all over the world to attend the 2025 Submillimeter Array Interferometry School.
• Six students are awarded scholarships to study abroad for spring 2025 semester. From Scotland to New Zealand to England and South Korea, the students are immersed in new cultures, expanding their education, eager to return home with new found knowledge and experience.
• Students compete at statewide health leadership competition, bring home medals.
• Delivering a standing ovation performance at a regional dance conference in Wyoming, dance students are selected to perform at national festival in Washington, D.C.
• An accomplished English major receives 2025 Matthew Somchai Therrien Memorial Award.

Commencement

Pharmacy graduates at 2025 Spring Commencement, May 17. (Photo: Tracey Niimi/TN Photography)

• 2024 Fall Commencement is held Dec. 21. The event honors accomplishments of 220 students who completed their graduation requirements during the summer and fall of 2024. Of these, 114 graduates — mostly from the fall semester — take part in the commencement ceremony. The students represent the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Business and Economics; College of Natural and Health Sciences; Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy; and Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language. Student speaker is Puʻuwai Tollefson-Kelly, a communication major with a certificate in educational studies.
• 2025 Spring Commencement is held May 17. Approximately 520 students petition for degrees and/or certificates and for various post-graduate credentials; 681 degrees are earned by those who registered to participate in commencement: 445 bachelors, 59 masters, 47 doctoral, 17 graduate, 113 subject certificates. One hundred and fourteen (22.22%) of the students petitioning to graduate were first-generation. The students represent the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Business and Economics; College of Natural and Health Sciences; Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy; and Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language. Keynote speaker is UH Hilo Professor of Biology Becky Ostertag; psychology major Gwynne Long is student speaker.

A Hawaiian Place of Learning

2025 Ka Lama Kū: Five UH Hilo students receive leadership awards. Based on Native Hawaiian cultural values, the annual Ka Lama Kū awards recognize the exceptional contributions the honorees make as student leaders on campus. At the award ceremonies on April 15, 2025, from left, Tavan Nakamura, Gemmy Alegre, Campus Center Program Coordinator Vanessa Carlson, Kamalani Poepoe, Shayne Victor, and Hayden Niles. (Photo: Darrin Carlson)

UH Hilo is part of Hawaiʻi Papa O Ke Ao, an initiative established throughout the statewide 10-campus UH System that is working in concert to develop, implement, and assess strategic actions to make UH a leader in Indigenous education. Using the UH System plan as a framework, the UH Hilo Hawaiʻi Papa O Ke Ao Plan supports the advancement of the UH Hilo Strategic Plan whereby UH Hilo seeks to reflect Hawaiʻi, its people, history, cultures, and natural environment, and to embody the concept of a Hawaiian university. The main goals of Hawaiʻi Papa O Ke Ao are to 1) prepare more Native Hawaiians to assume leadership roles within UH and the community, 2) increase local and global community engagement in developing “a Hawaiian sense of place” on campus, and 3) advance the use of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) and culture though programs of study and informal learning.

Here’s a sampling of the work done in the 2024-2025 year at UH Hilo to reach those goals.

• UH Hilo leads a first-of-its-kind, three-university consortium to establish a National Native American Language Resource Center on the Hilo campus. The project is funded with a $6.6 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
• Pele Harman defines her role as UH Hilo’s first director of Native Hawaiian engagement. Returning to her alma mater, Harman is connecting staff to cultural resources, making space for Native Hawaiian students, and raising cultural awareness.
• Rooted in Native Hawaiian values, Mālama ʻĀina Campus Beautification Day, the first of an ongoing series of clean-up events, engages members of UH Hilo ʻohana to work together, care for gardens. “No kākou kēia wahi. Na kākou nō e mālama. This is our place. We shall take care of it.”
• UH Hilo celebrates International Mother Language Day with new children’s book in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.
• Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikolani College of Hawaiian Language turns to artificial intelligence to help secure the future of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. The new collaborative Lauleo project aims to collect audio Hawaiian speech data to begin the process of creating AI to move Hawaiian voice to text.
• UH Hilo celebrates U.S. Mint release honoring Mary Kawena Pukui. Pele Harman, UH Hilo’s director of Native Hawaiian engagement who is Mary Kawena Pukui’s great-granddaughter, says she is excited to see the coin released after working with the U.S. Mint on its launch.
• 2025 Ka Lama Kū: Five UH Hilo students receive leadership awards. Based on Native Hawaiian cultural values, the annual Ka Lama Kū awards recognize the exceptional contributions the honorees make as student leaders on campus.
• UH Hilo hosts weeklong cultural enrichment programs — rooted in creativity and connection — to celebrate Merrie Monarch Festival.
• Students, faculty, staff, and administrators from UH Hilo participate in the 2025 Annual Merrie Monarch Festival Royal Parade.
• UH Hilo academic advisors design a wellness program for peers. In collaboration with Hawaiʻi Community College, activities of the Hoʻolehua Advisor Wellness Program function through the lens of mālama i ke kino, the Hawaiian value of taking care of the body and mind.
• With an infusion of Native Hawaiian values, UH Hilo hosts international conference on the humanities. From the planning committee to the plenary speakers — all from the UH Hilo ʻohana — the international conference is infused with the university’s values as a multicultural, community-building, and Indigenous-serving academic institution.
• Event featuring panel discussion and kanikapila brings together scholars, cultural practitioners, and community members to reflect on Mary Kawena Pukui’s enduring legacy.
• UH Hilo celebrates renaming Mookini Library’s Hawaiian Collection in honor of beloved Kumu Edith Kanakaʻole. The Edith Kanakaʻole Hawaiian Collection is now named for Aunty Edith, a UH educator and internationally acclaimed Indigenous Hawaiian composer, chanter, dancer, teacher, and entertainer.

Academics

College of Business and Economics is awarded extended accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), a distinction held by only 6% of business schools around the world. (File photo)

Programs: Advancement, new launches, and planning

• Three new programs start in fall 2024 designed to directly impact workforce readiness: a bachelor of science in data science, a bachelor of arts in education studies, and a two-year pre-engineering program.
• New certificate program in applied social science is on track for fall 2025 launch. The program will focus on preparing students with skills needed for competitive employment opportunities and community projects.
• Faculty development program is held, designed to help faculty boost students’ career readiness.
• College of Business and Economics is awarded extended accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), a distinction held by only 6% of business schools around the world.

Faculty Tenure & Promotion; Faculty & Staff Awards

Faculty honored for tenure and/or promotion at the 2024 Fall Welcome event Oct. 4, 2024, stand with Vice Chancellor and Chancellor: Front row from left, Kanani Kawaiʻaeʻa-Mākaʻimoku, Vice Chancellor Keiki Kawaiʻaeʻa, Leanne Day, Chancellor Bonnie Irwin. Back row from left, Amirhossein Mohammadian, Takehiro Iwatsuki, Rayna Morel, Li Tao, Pierre Martin, Sukhwa Hong, and Hualani Loo. (Photo: University Relations/UH Hilo)

Tenure and promotion recipients are recognized at 2024 Fall Welcome event.

Tenure and Promotion

• Leanne Day, Associate Professor of English, whose areas of expertise are in settler colonialism, Asian American studies, Pacific Islander studies, and ethnic studies.
• Bryce Tatsuo Park Fukunaga, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice, is an alumnus of UH Hilo specializing in ambulatory care. He has worked with and overseen student practice sites throughout Hawaiʻi Island.
• Sukhwa Hong, Associate Professor of Data Science and Business Administration, specializes in the use of artificial intelligence and natural language processing to investigate consumer behavior and ethical tourism.
• Michelle Kim, Assistant Specialist of Pharmacy Practice, is an alumna of two UH Hilo programs: business and pharmacy. Her pharmacy expertise is in anticoagulation, hypertension, and diabetes.
• Christopher Storr Knudson, Associate Professor of Geography, specializes in how people relate to the environment including climate change, economic geography, and environmental justice.
• Rachel Hualani Loo, Director of Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center, specializes in increasing Native Hawaiian student success and further developing UH Hilo as a Hawaiian place of learning.
• Kanani Kawaiʻaeʻa-Mākaʻimoku, Associate Professor of Hawaiian Studies and Director of Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher Education program, an alumna of UH Hilo.
• Amirhossein Mohammadian, Associate Professor of Economics, specializes in macroeconomics, money and banking, quantitative forecasting, international finance, and econometrics.
• Rayna Kehaulani Morell, Assistant Professor of Communication, known for engaging her students using clever and relevant examples that make abstract concepts more tangible and meaningful.

Tenure

• Francis Cristobal, Junior Specialist in Computer Science, is an expert in information technology known for his outstanding technical skills, resourceful ingenuity, and generous spirit.

Promotion

• Joseph Genz, Associate Professor of Anthropology, in his teaching and research focuses on Pacific cultures, notably the revitalization of voyaging and navigation in the Marshall Islands and elsewhere in the Pacific.
• Takehiro Iwatsuki, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Exercise Science, whose areas of teaching and research are in sport psychology, motor skills, and anatomical kinesiology.
• Su-Mi Lee, Professor of Political Science, teaches and researches international conflict management with a focus on mediation and negotiation.
• Pierre Martin, Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Director of the UH Hilo Educational Observatory, whose areas of expertise and research are in the evolution of the Milky Way, star formation, and telescopes and instrumentation.
• Julie Ann Mowrer, Acting Director of the Center for Community Engagement and Director of the English Language Institute. Her work focuses on teaching and designing curriculum for diverse student populations, and advancing community engagement in higher education.
• Li Tao, Professor of Biology, a biochemist and cell biologist with expertise in the regulation of cell division. His primary research provides insights into the fundamental mechanism to control the growth of cancer cells.

UH System Awards and UH Hilo Campus Awards

2025 Awards and Recognition Celebration honors top faculty and staff in May.

• UH Board of Regents Medal for Excellence in Teaching: Charmaine Higa-McMillan, Professor of Psychology. This award is a tribute to faculty members who exhibit an extraordinary level of subject mastery and scholarship, teaching effectiveness and creativity, and personal values that benefit students.
• The UH System Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching: Nick Krueger, Instructor at the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management. A memorial to the late Frances Davis, this award recognizes recipients for their dedication to teaching, for their demonstrated excellence as teachers, and for their attention to undergraduate students.
• Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching: Gladys Megargel, Instructor, School of Nursing. This award honors excellence in teaching by a lecturer or instructor, recognizes recipients for their teaching effectiveness, personal values beneficial to students, effectiveness as an academic advisor, and subject mastery and creativity.
• Outstanding Advisor/Mentor Award: Alexander Nagurney, Associate Professor of Psychology. Recognizes a faculty member (including instructors) who has demonstrated outstanding academic advising and/or mentoring of students.
• Outstanding Research Corporation of University of Hawaiʻi (RCUH) Employee: Lori Bufil, Project Coordinator of the Hawaiʻi Cooperative Studies Unit. This award recognizes a RCUH employee who has made demonstrable, significant, and outstanding contributions to their UH Hilo project throughout the past year or years.
• Outstanding University Support Employee Award: Diane Wissing, Athletics Compliance Specialist. This award is presented to a university support service employee who has made significant contributions to UH Hilo.
• Professional Staff Award: Donna Ohora, Librarian. This award is presented to a faculty/professional staff member who has made major professional contributions to their unit and to the university as a whole, and has made a positive impact on the welfare of students and colleagues at UH Hilo.

Research

Professor of Marine Science Karla McDermid and Professor of Aquaculture Maria Haws, along with several of their students, establish over 40 species of native marine macroalgae at UH Hilo’s Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center. (Courtesy photo)

• Carnegie Foundation designates UH Hilo as a research university. The new designation given in spring 2025 to 216 colleges and universities across the country reflects an updated methodology to better represent the wide range of research conducted at higher education institutions in America.
• At UH Hilo in FY25, there are 59 research grants awarded totaling $13,118,285.

Faculty research (selected)

• Professor of Biology Patrick Hart and his lab team are developing artificial intelligence programs to help with monitoring bird populations in Hawaiʻi’s forests. After 10 years manually recording bird song throughout Hawaiʻi Island and the state, the researchers are now using AI to help process the lab’s huge database of bird song.
• Professor of Geography and Environmental Science Ryan Perroy is awarded $1.15 million to survey five national parks with high-resolution digital documentation to inventory and monitor of Pacific island historic and cultural resources impacted by climate change.
• In her new book, Assistant Professor of Sociology Ellen Meiser takes a close and personal look at how knowledge, power, and interpersonal skills determine who succeeds in commercial kitchens.
• U.S. Department of Defense awards UH Hilo biologist Natalie Graham and research team nearly $2 million to investigate Indo-Pacific invasive species. Assistant Professor of Biology Graham is a molecular biologist who investigates how the structure of biological communities change over time, in particular, how anthropogenic changes are altering species interactions and potentially driving communities past ecological tipping points.
• Professor of Marine Science Karla McDermid and Professor of Aquaculture Maria Haws, along with several of their students, establish over 40 species of native marine macroalgae at UH Hilo’s Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center.
• Assistant Professor of English Patsy Iwasaki is completing her documentary film bringing to life the legacy of Japanese immigrant Katsu Goto. The research started with a graphic novel, Hāmākua Hero, leading to research on the use of a graphic novel for cultural education which she presented at the 2024 International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, Sapienza University, Rome.
• Associate Professor of Computer Science Travis Mandel, coordinator of the UH Hilo data science program, researches how AI systems can best assist human scientists with their work. He adjusts his research aims to meet the needs of Hawaiʻi, and Hawaiʻi Island in particular, as he and his students explore problems in human-in-the-loop AI and its connections with natural science.
• Anthropology faculty and students present their research at national Society for Applied Anthropology conference in Oregon.
• Geologist Steven Lundblad explains on-and-off towering eruptions at Kīlauea that began in December 2024. Professor Lundblad, who researches active lava flows on Hawaiʻi Island, sees “a sawtooth pattern”: the ground tilt increases over the course of a week or so, an eruption happens, it drops, and then immediately starts to rebuild again.

Student research (selected)

• Keonekai Rabara, a double major in anthropology and Hawaiian studies, won the Student Presentation Award for his video showcasing his archeological research at the 2024 Society for Hawaiian Archaeology professional conference, October 2024, Maui.
• Astronomy student Raven Kromer receives NASA travel grant to present his Mars research, “Visual Comparison of Morphologies of Martian Basaltic Sand Dunes with Terrestrial Basaltic Sand Dunes,” at the 8th International Planetary Dunes Workshop in Italy.
• First-of-its-kind Pohnpei coastal water quality study conducted by UH Hilo graduate student Bryan Tonga is posthumously published. Coauthors of the study are fellow student Devon Aguiar (now at the Hawaiʻi Coral Reef Initiative, Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources, Hilo Office), and UH Hilo marine science professors Tracy Wiegner, Karla McDermid, and Steven Colbert.
• 5th Annual College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Student Symposium showcases student-led research and projects that highlight experiential learning and community-based projects.
• Computer science students conclude year-long software project on planetary rover.

Grants and Contracts

UH Hilo business student Kyson Kaneko is studying abroad in Japan and takes a selfie on the streets of Tokyo. (Courtesy photo)

UH Hilo receives grant in early 2025 to help up to 25 students obtain their first U.S. passport and open pathways to study abroad.

Most research activity supported by grants at UH Hilo focuses on high impact projects that have meaning for the island and state. Many projects are done in collaboration with county, state, and federal agencies. Research at UH Hilo advances the university’s teaching mission and incorporates both undergraduate and graduate students, with niche graduate programs creating areas of excellence.

Much of the research activity at UH Hilo has environmental impact around Hawaiʻi Island and economic impact in local communities. Non-research contract activity is most often for improving student services.

Administration

UH Hilo’s 2025-35 Strategic Plan and 2025-26 Strategic Enrollment Plan are now complete and available online.

• Column by Chancellor Irwin: UH Hilo’s priorities at 2025 State Legislative Session.
• UH Hilo’s 2025-35 Strategic Plan and 2025-26 Strategic Enrollment Plan are now complete and available online. See also Chancellor Irwin’s announcement.
• For summary of ongoing accreditation processes across campus, read column by Chancellor Irwin: “Accreditation process helpful in moving UH Hilo forward.” The recommendations from peers are helpful as the university moves forward, better serves students, and keeps programs up-to-date and relevant to student and employer needs.

Fundraising/Development

UH Hilo received over 80 gifts as part of Giving Day, the UH System’s annual fundraising drive held on April 9, 2025.

Total Fundraising Current Fiscal Year (FY25): $3,659,0667 (total gifts 2,107; total donors 1,797)

Total Fundraising Last Fiscal Year (FY24): $8,316,760 (total gifts 1,717; total donors 1,472)

Notable gifts

• UH Hilo received over 80 gifts as part of Giving Day, the UH System’s annual fundraising drive, on April 9, 2025.
• Hauʻoli Mau Loa Foundation gave over $300,000 to support the foundation’s Graduate Fellowship in Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science (2023-25).
• Hawaiʻi Pacific Foundation gave $126,000 to support Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science, a first-time gift to PIPES.
• John and Anja McVickar gave $100,000 to split between their three established scholarships, including the John and Anja McVickar Endowed Excellence Scholarship for Study Abroad.

Alumni

Overcoming immense odds (drugs, trafficking, incarceration), Renee Rivera blazes through a GED, gets an associate's degree from Hawaiʻi Community College, bachelor's from UH Hilo, master's from UH Mānoa, co-founds a local nonprofit on Hawaiʻi Island, and is about to start on her doctorate. (Courtesy photo)

From trauma to triumph: UH Hilo alum Renee Rivera pays it forward by helping women in need.

• Skylar Dentlinger investigates four decades of green sea turtle strandings on Hawaiʻi Island; her study is published in the journal Zoological Studies.
• Shania Tamagyongfal takes her heritage management knowledge to Yap.
• Josie Howard receives national award for championing health equity in Hawaiʻi.
• Katy Gaut launches online story map on Puakō; data shows reef in serious decline, community shows how to restore.
• Elise Inouye, press secretary for U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, crafts press releases, floor speeches and more on a daily basis.
• UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College alumnus Basanta Pahari returns to Hilo to teach math at his alma mater HCC.
• Kumu Hula Keliʻi Grothmann, with a UH Hilo degree in Hawaiian studies and a love of performing arts, merges his Native Hawaiian and Japanese ancestral traditions into a career that honors dance and language of both cultures.
• Video: Community activist Beverly Tese gives public talk on diverse representation.
• Conservation biologist Joanna Wu studies survival rates of North American songbirds.
• Marine science alumna Julia Hill interns on expedition mapping Pacific seafloor.
• Maria Steadmon talks about marine science, pathogens, and softball.
• Poli-sci alum Michael Taylor focuses on Hawaiʻi’s place in Pacific regionalism.
• Leinani Lozi is named Pacific Business News 40 Under 40 honoree.
• Athlete, coach, educator, and scholar Andy Liebner runs Athens Marathon while doctoral student in Greece.
• Video: Dennis Lin, now Hawaiʻi Island county deputy director of research and development, gives public talk on being a Chinese-American in Hilo.
• Anthropology alumna Marina Foster finds her calling in health research.
• Video: Lindsey Iyo, now recreation director for the County of Hawaiʻi, gives public talk on cultural programs for youth and adults.
• Geography alumnus Chris Wung shares his current Peace Corp assignment in Tonga.
• Award-winning teacher Whitney Aragaki inspires Hawaiʻi’s future leaders, educators; she also receives nation’s highest STEM teaching award.
• Biology alumna Kailee Yoshimura pursues doctoral degree at UCLA.
• Zaq Tman, now medical student, conducts award-winning research on sustainable practices in healthcare.
• Grassroots, women-led nonprofit co-founded by UH Hilo alumni Hannah Hartmann, Mio Kamioka, and Kauʻi Lopes offers bioremediation expertise rooted in Native Hawaiian protocols.
• Nursing alumna Jaedyn Janae Puahaulani Pavao captures Merrie Monarch’s Miss Aloha Hula title.
• Amanda Navine gives back to her alma mater, the island community, and the endangered birds of Hawaiʻi.
• Juggling family and work as a registered nurse, Kristle Akau Giraudy returns to her alma mater for doctor of nursing practice degree.
• UH Hilo launches biology major Rosemary Bearden into her dream career as a Hawaiʻi Island conservationist.
• From trauma to triumph: Renee Rivera pays it forward by helping women in need.
• One of six siblings educated at UH Hilo, Lucille Walsh builds a career enriching student life at her alma mater.
• Angel Wood, a newly graduated Chancellor’s Scholar, is on her way to a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree.

Community Outreach

Keiki from the Hilo community in a mask-making workshop at the Lā Honua Earth Day Celebration, April 17, 2025, library lānai, UH Hilo. (Photo: Lā Honua Earth Day planning committee/UH Hilo/HCC)

Events

• UH Hilo launches series of talk story events to strengthen the university’s connection with the community. “Kuleana and Community: Building Community Through Conversation” is a series of 12 talk story events each semester covering topics such as youth-focused government programs, health care, food systems, climate challenges, and more. Following a short talk by a featured guest, attendees break out into discussion groups and then share their manaʻo (thoughts) with everyone.
• 2024 PacYES event motivates and inspires high school students of Pacific Islander heritage.
• ʻImiloa Astronomy Center soars into fun hosting 3rd Annual ʻIkuwā Festival. The free public festival connects people and communities with the island’s natural resources and landscapes.
• 2024 Pacific States Biennial North American Juried Print Exhibition opens to the public in Nov-Dec 2024. Hosted by the art department at UH Hilo, the exhibition is one of the most prestigious juried printmaking shows in the country.
• The fall 2024 “Mālama Maunakea Volunteer Invasive Species Weed Pull” is held in September; the first community weed-pull of 2025 was held in January. The events are part of the Center for Maunakea Stewardship’s ongoing Mālama Maunakea efforts started in 2012 to protect the resources on the mountain.
• UH Hilo Botanical Garden, a community-based success, achieves international accreditation in plant conservation.
• Meet & Greet: UH Hilo alumni, now local employers, help connect students to internships, work.
• 2025 Peace Corps Week: UH Hilo hosts several events featuring former Peace Corps volunteers with ties to Hawaiʻi Island.
• Chinese studies students perform traditional music, dance, and song at local veterans’ home.
• Hundreds of island keiki enjoy Earth Day activities at UH Hilo. The 37th Lā Honua Earth Day Celebration brought together keiki, college students and professors, with community conservation and environmental organizations, agencies, and groups for fun educational activities.
• Annual Bee-Coming Sustainable event held at UH Hilo agricultural farm highlights beekeeping program.
• 2025 International Night celebrates 50th anniversary; UH Hilo students and community share their cultures through song and dance.
• Students in peer-based mentoring program distribute food to local communities. The student leaders participate in “Kaukau 4 Keiki,” a collaborative effort headed by the local non-profit Vibrant Hawaiʻi.

Internships in the community

• International students gain experience, contribute through internships. From developing AI chatbots to surveying coral reefs, student interns gain new knowledge and skills while contributing to their fields and local communities.
• UH Hilo political science students intern at local organizations, review proposed bills, draft testimony.
• The Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES) and its ʻāina-based activities launches 2025 program with first huakaʻi (journey) of summer to Kealakekua and Kaʻawaloa. The group looks forward to growing their pilina (relationship) with the community and wahi pana (legendary place).
• Geology major Kamalani Poepoe spends two summers as an intern with Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. In both 2024 and 2025, the summer work includes field research for volcanic response plans as well as work in the UH Hilo geology laboratory.

Research that impacts island communities

• UH Hilo alumna Katie Gaut launches online story map on Puakō; data shows reef in serious decline, community shows how to restore. The story map presents alarming data through interactive multimedia, but also delves into how the Puakō community is working together to solve the water quality problems and restore the reef.
• Marine science professors Tracy Wiegner and Steven Colbert are investigating sewage hotspots along Hilo and Kona coastlines, examining inputs from onsite sewage disposal systems, such as cesspools, and Hilo’s wastewater treatment plant. Sparked by discussions with the affected communities, this research has produced data that will inform the community’s and county’s decisions regarding cesspool replacement and treatment plant upgrades.
• Professor of Psychology Chris Frueh, who has extensively researched the medical and psychological injuries of former military special operators, has extended his research to include firefighters whose jobs involve regular exposure to chronic stress, lethal risks, and potential for a wide range of injuries, including traumatic brain injuries and toxic exposures. His work is recognized nationally and he is giving talks and sharing his findings with Hawaiʻi Island police and fire departments.

Infrastructure (Administrative Affairs Report)

An outdoor canopy is completed outside the Campus Center dining room. (Photo: Sodexo)

Status of projects for FY25

Completed

• Nurse laboratory: Renovations include demolition work, concrete work, structural steel work, carpentry, architectural finishes, laboratory equipment, plumbing, air conditioning, ventilation, electrical, telecommunication, fire alarm.
• Campus Center: Modernization of kitchen, upper floors offices and conference rooms, interior and exterior of the building including paint, roofs, walls, doors. Improvement to equipment, electrical/mechanical systems and pedestrian pathways. (Kitchen and outdoor canopy work is ongoing.)
• Hoku Kea Observatory: Decommissioning and removal of building, generator building, and associated telecommunications and electrical infrastructure.

Underway

• Biology building: Renovations of two biology classrooms, structural and architectural, laboratory equipment, plumbing, air conditioning and ventilation, electrical, telecommunication, fire alarm. Anticipated completion July 15, 2025.
• Agricultural farm laboratory in Panaʻewa: New 1,400 square-foot workshop together with plumbing, electrical, work benches, emergency shower and central vacuum system. Project to be completed summer 2025.
• Student Life Center: Conversion of pool from the current liquid chemical chlorination system to a saltwater chlorination generation system. New pump system complete. Pending conversion to saltwater system.
• Hale ʻIkena student housing: Replacement of all exhaust fans on buildings A through H. Project completion date Jan. 14, 2026.
• Edith Kanakaʻole Hall: Significant renovation of building including paint interior and exterior, electrical, light fixtures replaced with LED fixtures, replace all locksets with Salto electronic security card key system, replace fire detection/fire protection systems. Project to be completed summer 2025.
• Psychology laboratory: Renovations include painting interior, replace HVAC controls and distribution system, replace flooring, new lighting system and acoustical ceiling, new ductless chemical fume hood, new eye wash, installation of new biosafety cabinet, adequate power for four freezers, replace all locksets with Salto electronic security card key system. Project to be completed summer 2025.
• Sciences and Technology building: Demolition of existing HVAC insulation and replacing new refrigerant insulation and installing new pre-cooler to HVAC unit, related electrical work, and hazmat removal. Project to be completed Oct. 2025.
• College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management building: Construction for new exterior air conditioning unit, replacing HVAC equipment and controls, replacing refrigerant piping and insulation and all related electrical work. Project estimated completion date is Oct. 2025.
• Administration building: Replace existing exterior soffits and gutters. Project to be completed summer 2025.

Notice to proceed

• Theater building: Replace existing air conditioning equipment in central chilled water plant yard. In addition, a dehumidifier in the costume storage room. The approximate delivery date for new chillers to arrive is winter break 2025.
• College of Agriculture building: Re-roof and replace gutters. Anticipated completion date is projected Jan. 04, 2026.
• Student Services Center: This project is a replacement of two existing chiller units. Project completion date projected Oct. 2026.

Construction documents completed

• Chiller building: Replacement of existing York Chiller and all associated appurtenances. Construction tentatively scheduled to start in Jan. 2027.

Design phase completed

• Student Life Center: New central ducted air conditioning system for the weight/fitness area and replacement of exhaust fans in the men’s and women’s locker rooms. Project anticipated to be completed early January 2026.

Design phase underway

• University Classroom Building: Demolition work, paint exterior and interior, replace flooring, replace all locksets with Salto electronic security key card system.
• Library: Air conditioning improvements include hazmat removal, demolishing existing HVAC equipment/piping and controls, replace HVAC equipment and controls, replace refrigerant piping and insulation and any related electrical work.
• Athletics: Demolish interior walls and ceilings, remove and replace existing lockers, repair and renovate restroom facilities, replace existing light fixtures, repair and renovate existing office buildings, replace the temporary canopy with a permanent roof structure, replace HVAC equipment and controls.
• Portables 5-7: Replace roof, replace wooden lānai handrails, repair damaged structural floor framing, install new ADA unisex bathroom, replace all interior existing chalkboards with whiteboards, replace all light fixtures with LED fixtures, replace AC system, replace existing locksets with Salto electronic security key card system.
• Agricultural farm laboratory in Panaʻewa: Horse barn including removal work, concrete rehabilitation, re-roofing and roof extension, painting, carpentry work, architectural finishes and all incidental related work, replace all locksets with Salto electronic security key card system.
• Marine Science building and Wentworth Hall: Re-insulate air conditioning ductwork and refrigerant piping. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in summer 2027.
• Small Business Incubator: Mechanical systems improvements. Construction tentatively scheduled to start in January 2027. Construction funds in FY26.
• Theater building: Renovations include selective removal work, concrete rehabilitation, exterior and interior painting, carpentry work, architectural finishes, replace all locksets with Salto electronic security card key system. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in summer 2027.
• Hale ʻIkena student housing: Renovations (Bldgs. A&B) to include selective removal work, concrete rehabilitation, exterior and interior painting, carpentry work, architectural finishes, and all incidental related work. The project is essential for the removal of the backlog and provides adequate facilities to meet the program needs.
• ʻImiloa Astronomy Center: Removal and replacement of building’s built-up roofing, painting, carpentry work, architectural finishes, and all incidental related work. The project is essential for the removal of the backlog and provides adequate facilities to meet the program needs.

Information Technology Services

• Upgrading Wi-Fi access points in several buildings, including Edith Kanakaʻole Hall, Marine Science building, Wentworth classroom and lab building, Sciences and Technology building, Life Sciences building, and residence halls Kanelehua and Kehau.
• Replacing core switches to enhance network stability and performance.
• Expanding Wi-Fi at the agricultural farm laboratory in Panaʻewa.
• Classroom Upgrades: Verifying current technology and performing preventive maintenance. This is start of technology refresh plan for all of audio and visual systems.
• Student Lab Upgrades: Refreshing computers in selected student labs. Replacing all student computers in Marine Science Building room 103, University Classroom Building rooms 104 and 105. Moving away from older Single Sign On solution, Comtarsia, and moving to Google Credential Provider for Windows (GCPW), providing better experience when logging into the new workstations.

Office of Equal Opportunity/Title IX

On April 30, 2025, the Office of Equal Opportunity/Title IX co-sponsors campus resource fair to mark Denim Day, an internationally recognized day when wearing denim is a sign of support for survivors of sexual assault. At the info table on the Library’s lānai is Suzy Travis, the OEO’s new confidential advocate and prevention educator for students. (Courtesy photo)

• The Office of Equal Opportunity participates in New Student Orientation and Week of Welcome to kick off the 2024-2025 academic year. The office also provides Title IX training for various groups across campus, including both student athletes and athletics employees, new faculty, and housing staff at the start of the new school year.
• OEO office marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month, October 2024, with a community resource fair. Community agencies and campus partners gathered to provide information and highlight support resources both on and off campus.
• Suzy Travis is welcomed as OEO’s new confidential advocate and prevention educator for students.
• From February through March 2025, the OEO office encourages students to take system-wide Survey on Sexual Harassment and Gender-Based Violence. UH Hilo maintains its tradition of having the highest survey participation rate within the UH System, with a 25.7% response rate.
• In April 2025, the office hosts events in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Notably, the office partners with on-campus housing to hold multiple opportunities for students to participate in a group activity to solve multiple puzzles called Breaking the Cycle: Unlocking a Bystander’s Story. In solving the puzzles, students gain information about consent, healthy relationships and on-campus resources. The office also sponsors another resource fair in April to mark Denim Day, a day when wearing denim is a sign of support for survivors of sexual assault.
• Title IX training is conducted throughout the year with students and employees from various units on campus. The office also holds bi-monthly Equal Opportunity Employment briefings for all those sitting on search committees. The office continues work to ensure a discrimination-free learning and working environment, as required by UH System policies on nondiscrimination.

Report compiled by Susan Enright, public information specialist, Office of the Chancellor. Comments and corrections are welcome.