Weekly Newsletter for Faculty and Staff, August 25, 2020

Posted on August 25, 2020April 10, 2025 by Staff

This issue: Health check-up app, new faculty and staff, relaxed parking rules and new library hours, research in the age of covid, more!

During the fall and spring semesters, Haʻilono o UH Hilo is a weekly e-blast of news and information, produced by University Relations, for faculty and staff at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

What does #VulcanPride mean to you?

COVID-19 Updates

Continue to stay informed through the UH Hilo COVID-19 webpage for up-to-date information and advisories. Information can also be found on the UH System COVID-19 page.

Administration

Hands holding smart phone with app on the screen. — Use of the app LumiSight UH is required for everyone who has to come onto a UH campus.

Everyone is reminded to download the new UH daily check-in app for students and employees, LumiSight UH, which is required for everyone who has to come onto a UH campus. More information can be found on the Information Technology Services COVID-19 resource page. Questions can be submitted via this web form.

All UH employees, including the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaiʻi (RCUH) and student employees, are required to take the online COVID-19 safety training program that was developed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Go to UH COVID-19 Employee Safety Training program.

View the UH System Office of Institutional Equity website to learn how the UH System is implementing the new Title IX regulations. The U.S. Department of Education recently released new regulations for implementing protections of equal access to education under Title IX of the Higher Education Act of 1972.

Academics

Red-roofed UH Hilo College of Business and Economics, covered walkway into the entrance. — College of Business and Economics, UH Hilo.

Record enrollment in money and banking course as students seek to understand current events.

Research

Man in taro field. — Genetic researcher Roshan Paudel in taro field. Courtesy photo.

Researchers generate high-quality genome assembly for taro.

Group of students and professor stand under a large tree, everyone is wearing masks and six feet apart. — Travis Mandel (front) and his students, who participated in an innovative research program over the summer, pose for photo while wearing masks and practicing social distancing. From left, Emily Risley, Sebastian Carter, Mark Jimenez, Travis Mandel, James Boyd, Kostadin Devedzhiev, and Edward Cashman. Courtesy photo, click to enlarge.

AI student research conducted while adhering to COVID-19 protocols.

People

UH Hilo welcomes new faculty and staff to the UH Hilo ʻohana!

Congratulations to UH Hilo’s 2020 tenure and promotion recipients!

Congratulations to faculty members who received a Certificate of Completion for the following training opportunities held over the summer by the UH Hilo Distance Learning Team:

TOPP To Go! Program: Four-week community-based program covering course planning, Laulima site setup, course development, and the integration of creative ways to engage students using Web 2.0 tools.
- Ruthie Clearwater, Nursing
- Leanne Day, English
- Harry “Keith” Edwards, Computer Science
- Yoshiko Fukushima, Languages
- Ann Gleason, English Language Institute
- Jenni Guillen, Biology
- Kirsten Møllegaard, English
- Alex Nagurney, Psychology
- Yoshiko Okuyama, Languages
- Michael Skinner, History
Preparing to Teach Online (PTO) at UH Module: Introductory, self-paced module covering engaging tools, best practices, distance learning regulations, and policies.
- Julie Adrian, Pharmacy Practice
- Cheryl Gansecki, Geology
- Monica Minnitt, Languages
- Yoshiko Okuyama, Languages
- Grady Weyenberg, Mathematics

Ron Gordon, professor of communication, authored The Way of Dialogue: 1 + 1 = 3 (Wipf & Stock, 2020), a person-centered approach to generative dialogue as a means of genuine “shared inquiry” (as contrasted with “win-lose” debate or problem-solving group discussion).

Adam Pack with snorkel and mask. — Adam Pack

Adam Pack, professor in psychology and biology, founder of the UH Hilo Marine Mammal Lab and co-founder of the LOHE Bioacoustics Lab, is a co-author on the recent article “Variations in received levels on a sound and movement tag on a singing humpback whale: Implications for caller identification,” published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

Comfort Sumida, senior advisor, Division of Student Affairs, has been appointed to the NACADA WebEvents Advisory Board (WAB) for 2020-2022. NACADA is the professional organization for academic advising. In fall 2019, she published a book review of Smart but Scattered and Stalled for NACADA. Writing a book review is the first-step in writing for NACADA’s other publications and further contributing to the scholarship of advising.

Congratulations to Kauanoe Kamanā! UH Hilo’s Kauanoe Kamanā, advocate for Hawaiian language revitalization, on Hawaiʻi Women of the Century list. A majority of wahine (women) on Hawaiʻi’s list are notable University of Hawaiʻi faculty or alumni.

Human Resources

Employees who plan to telework after September 1, 2020, must complete the new Voluntary Telework Request and Agreement and a Voluntary Telework Work Plan, including those who received supervisor approval under the previous COVID Work from Home program. Contact the HR office at 932-7626 with any questions.

Mookini Library

Library hours have been changed through September 7, 2020.

Operations and Services

Parking on the UH Hilo campus remains in “non-instructional day” status. While parking zones are not restricted, a parking permit is required for Housing. The Parking Office will be issuing full refunds for fall 2020 and spring 2021 parking permits. Parking enforcement will remain in place for rule violations.

Employees may obtain a new Campus ID or validate an existing one by making an appointment using the UH Hilo Campus Center Lava Landing Request Form or by calling 932-7365.

Campus Center Dining Room and Deja Brew are now open and offering take-out orders only at this time. Visit the Sodexo website for food service hours and menu offerings.

Community Engagement

Faculty and staff are encouraged to sign up for the 2020-2021 UH Hilo Virtual Speakers’ Bureau program. Deadline is Friday, August 28. Call 932-7339 with any questions.

Campus Events

Faculty and Staff are invited to a Brown Bag with University Leadership, Wednesday, August 26, noon – 1 p.m. via Zoom. Zoom link: http://go.hawaii.edu/3Xh; Meeting ID: 973 1359 2868; Passcode: 865948

Activism Through Art – Discussion 4: “Art in Critical Response” with Michael Marshall, Huliau Series, Wednesday, August 26, 2-3:30 p.m., via Zoom. This presentation series is open to all UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College students, faculty, and staff. Register here. The Huliau Series is a safe space for the UH Hilo community to engage in critical conversations around racial disparities and systemic injustice.