UH Hilo hosts faculty development program designed to boost students’ career readiness
The University of Minnesota faculty development program’s goal is to engage faculty in helping undergraduates develop and express a set of core career competencies.
By Susan Enright.
This summer the Center for Community Engagement at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo hosted a faculty development program presented by the University of Minnesota designed to ultimately boost students’ liberal arts career readiness. The focus of UM’s Career Readiness Institute is to engage faculty in helping undergraduates develop and express a set of core career competencies.
The University of Minnesota was chosen to present the program at UH Hilo because UM has developed highly successful career readiness strategies over the past 10 years and is now sharing their program with other campuses across the country. Expected outcomes are participants having an understanding of career readiness that can be embedded into their own curricula; connecting UM’s workforce development strategies to the state of Hawaiʻi and the UH System; and determining next steps for a local working group.
“In partnering with (UM), we want to learn from their experiences and adapt what would be most relevant to our teaching and learning, understanding the support that will be needed to do that,” says Julie Mowrer, acting director of UH Hilo’s Center for Community Engagement who also participated in the summer event.
The Hilo program held June 2-3 was led by UM’s Director of Career Readiness Judy Anderson and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education Ascan Koerner, and was attended by UH Hilo faculty:
- Keith Edwards (Computer Science)
- Mazen Hamad (Chemistry)
- Masafumi Honda (Japanese Studies)
- Sarah Marusek (Political Science)
- Colby Miyose (Communication)
- Rayna Morel (Communication)
- Michael Peterson (Computer Science)
- Xuan Xie (Marketing)
- Ben Zenk (Business)
Also attending were Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Brian Wissman, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Michael Bitter, Director of Career Services Marcy Martinez, student Leiya Torrano (Business), and alumna Shania Tamagyongfal (Heritage Management).
Joining the group to connect the learning process to a local context was UH Hilo’s Director of Native Hawaiian Engagement Pele Harman, UH System Director of General Education Christine Beaule, and Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi Workforce Funders Collaborative Matt Stevens.
Topics covered were conceptualization and planning, coalition building, resources, assessment, and curriculum and classroom integration.
The Career Readiness Institute was funded by the Bonner Foundation Career Connections grant with the goal to extend the best practices of the Bonner Student Leader program to the wider campus community. The UH Hilo Bonner Program is part of a national network whose mission is to help develop student leaders who will have a positive impact on their communities. The Hilo program was launched four years ago by the university’s Center for Community Engagement. Through paid employment with community organizations, the students, who are called Bonner Leaders, acquire real-world skills that help build self-esteem and confidence as they tackle their academic studies to prepare for meaningful careers.
The University of Minnesota’s Career Readiness Initiative aligns with the Bonner program to help students learn how to reflect on and articulate what they are learning and why their knowledge is important in the world.
This type of faculty development program also aligns with the UH System’s 2023-2029 Strategic Plan, particularly the third imperative that focuses on meeting Hawaiʻi’s workforce needs both current and future. A main objective is to help faculty better articulate how the learning done in the classroom is building students’ durable skills needed in today’s workforce such as critical thinking, problem-solving, innovation, teamwork, engaged citizenship, ethical reasoning, and digital literacy.
In addition, in the 2025 Report by the Hawaiʻi Workforce Funders Collaborative, “From Crisis to Opportunity: Building Hawaiʻi’s Workforce Resilience,” one of the recommendations for higher education is to “develop and integrate curricula that emphasize transferable skills, ensuring that educational programs equip students with competencies applicable in multiple industries.”
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
