UH President Search Update: Candidate Wendy Hensel's Vision and Kuleana
By Jade Silva
As the search for the UH system’s new president draws to a close, Wendy Hensel–one of two finalists for the role–shared her vision and commitment to Hawai‘i during a forum at UH Hilo on September 24, 2024. This session is part of a series of events held across UH campuses, meant to gather public feedback on both candidates for the Board of Regents to consider in their final decision. Their announcement is expected mid-to-late October, with the new president set to begin in January 2025.
Hensel is the current Executive Vice Chancellor of the 25-campus City University of New York (CUNY) System. She is a proponent of integrating technological advances into the UH system, including generative AI and more fully-online degree programs so UH’s offerings align more with workforce trends and what students are seeking.
Hensel asserted that offering more courses and programs that mirror economic development and local workforce needs would increase enrollment and lessen brain drain, helping to “keep families intact.”
Further, the Harvard Law graduate discussed the misalignment in instructional modalities, lamenting that even though over half of UH students are completely online, only 5% of degree programs are offered fully online. This makes it harder for those with associate’s degrees to transfer and continue their education at a four-year university, with only 13% of UH students doing so, Hensel said.
With a strong history of integrating AI into student services in her current position, Hensel expressed admiration for UH Hilo (UHH)’s data analytics and AI efforts. She stated, "That's the kind of innovation that will set you apart and continue to distinguish this campus."
Questions posed by the audience often centered around the candidate’s responsibility to Kānaka Maoli. Hensel, owning a home in Kohala and referring to Hawai‘i as her “second home”, emphasized that she feels connected to Hawaiian values, but will not claim to know everything about the culture or what the people want and need, without first engaging in deep conversation and cultural learning. She said, “I would approach it with humility and the question of learning and asking questions. I was excited in preparing for today, when I found out that there was a fully online Hawaiian culture and language degree program. And I’m committed to signing up for that program.”
She continued, “Whether I get this job or not, this is something that’s important to me... I come into this from the perspective of someone who cares deeply about it, is interested in it and wants to learn how to be as supportive as I possibly can, but without the hubris to suspect that I actually know what that is.”
Hensel promised to champion the work Native Hawaiians are already doing at UHH, including the Uluākea program run by Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Service Center. According to their website, they focus “on developing [UHH] into more of a Hawaiian place of learning.” The former provost of Georgia State University concluded, “Anything that I could do to support and elevate that work, I would be excited to continue.”
To address the lack of Native Hawaiians in faculty roles, Hensel proposed something that’s been done at CUNY: professorial pipelines where faculty identify students with potential early in their academic careers and provide them with research opportunities and mentoring.
The mission of higher education, the power to change students’ lives, is “an enormous privilege that excites and motivates me, and continues to inspire me on even the most difficult days, of which in this environment, there are many,” Hensel said.
Being president of a university or a university system is a notoriously difficult job, and it’s getting harder. In 2022, the average tenure for a university president was 5.9 years, down from 6.5 years in 2016 and 8.5 years in 2008. Although the data is not readily available for university system presidents, the numbers are thought to be lower, as being in charge of multiple campuses brings a host of unique challenges.
The president of the UH system oversees ten campuses across the state, split between two and four-year institutions in rural and urban settings, with diverse student populations. When asked how she will manage the needs of ten very different campuses fairly, Hensel emphasized asking questions, listening carefully, and the need for balance and a true systemic approach.

Dr. Julian Vasquez, the other finalist and current Provost and Vice President of Western Michigan University will participate in similar forums, stopping at UHH on October 1.
These forums mark the final steps in the national search for UH’s next president, following David Lassner’s September 2023 announcement that he will retire after ten years as president—the longest tenure among his recent predecessors by five years.