Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin Biography

Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin, a champion of regional stewardship for comprehensive universities, began her tenure at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo on July 1, 2019. Irwin previously served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Monterey Bay, and held two dean positions at Eastern Illinois University.

Irwin leads UH Hilo — a Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Serving university with 2,700 students, 660 employees, $85M annual budget, and a 120-acre campus — honing to a primary mission of strengthening the campus in lifting up the region, in this case Hawaiʻi Island.

First and foremost is her work in strengthening campus retention and graduation rates. Wanting to work from a foundation based in current data, Irwin received a grant from the Stupski Foundation to acquire CalState-designed student success dashboards for the campus. Further, with full awareness of rapidly changing workforce needs, she has focused full support of new interdisciplinary AI and data science programs designed to prepare students for those rapidly approaching workforce needs, and also led the first campus team for the CSU-hosted Data Analytics Certificate Program.

Irwin is a natural leader in building diverse teams to discover and implement common goals. In her first years at UH Hilo, she oversaw the launch of an institutional strategic plan focusing on equity and place-based education. She also fostered a team working- relationship among the vice chancellors.

Among her top priorities is in supporting the university’s faculty and staff, providing administrative leadership for hiring, evaluation, recognition and development. This includes supporting programs that mentor faculty and staff in providing high impact experiences for students; a new Staff Council serves in an advisory capacity to the administration.

In her community outreach, Irwin has re-established a Community Advisory Board with diverse members of the local community representing business, culture, research, philanthropy, ethics, downtown improvement, economic and workforce development and more, while she also fully participates in the stewardship of major donors and community partners, efforts that led the campus to a 10-year high in extramural gifts and grants.

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 among eight new members welcomed to the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) in July 2025. As of summer 2026, she is president-elect of the Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and serves as chair of the HICC Government Affairs Committee. She also serves on the boards of the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, 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 also serves on the AASCU Board of Directors. 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 received her bachelor of arts, master of arts, and doctor of philosophy in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley.