Connecting Learning, Life and Aloha
‘O ka ‘imi na‘auao, ke ola a me ke aloha kā kākou e huliāmahi ai

UH Hilo Strategic Planning

Meeting Notes - November 24

Importance of Place Committee Meeting: Tuesday, November 24 at 1:00pm

Present: Bruce Torres Fischer, Heather Kaluna, Michele Ebersole, Hualani Loo, Kathleen Baumgardner

Meeting purpose: Focus on our upcoming projects set for Spring semester.

Ka Leo o ka Uluau Podcast

The idea: Ka Leo o ka Uluau will be a 24-episode podcast, with installments released twice monthly starting in January 2021. The purpose of the Ka Leo o ka Uluau podcast is to hoʻokamaʻāina listeners to the island of Hawaiʻi, starting in Hilo and making our way clockwise around the island (Hilo, Puna, Kaʻū, Kona, Kohala, and Hāmākua). Storytellers from the Island who are associated with each place will visit to share moʻolelo. Episodes will acquaint the listener with key places, histories, people, traditions, and lessons from each place. There will also be a blog associated with the podcast that includes additional resources - images, video, maps, bios of each storyteller, and other supporting resources related to each place. We now have a blog space on the UH Hilo website. This is the format recommended by the web team. The Chancellor has committed to a $500 stipend for each of the projects leads in the Spring and again in the fall, $3000 total. Heather passed along information about StoryMaps that has great potential for the project (A fun example.

Hualani asked about the official home for the podcast. Would it be housed in the Chancellor’s Office in partnership with Kīpuka or housed in Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center in partnership with the Chancellor’s Office. Kīpuka Center may have grant monies available that exceed the funding available through the Chancellor’s Office and this project is a fit for grant funding. Kīpuka could certainly take the lead on this podcast and have already been instrumental in development.

Other questions: Would there be potential for buyout for Drew? Is makana available, in the form of bookstore credit, ‘Imiloa memberships, etc. Do we need a media release for our all podcast talent? Yes, we should obtain releases.

We still need help with editing. Bruce said he would be able to do the editing until we have someone on board. Is there royalty-free music that we might use?

The first episode will be recorded this Friday in the ‘Ulu Room at Mookini Library.

Action items for Ka Leo o ka Uluau Podcast:

  • Bruce will reach out to Drew to see if he has used StoryMaps.
  • Hualani will talk to Aunty Gail regarding Kīpuka taking the lead and funding for the podcast. She will also inquire about the intricacies of honoraria for some of our storytellers. There may be complications if those people are employed by the UH System in some capacity. Hualani will also ask if the two IT people at Kīpuka have editing skills and whether they might take this on.
  • Kathleen will inquire about buyout for Drew.
  • Kathleen will contact Nyssa regarding release forms, so we have these by this Friday when the first episode is recorded.
  • Bruce will check with Joseph at the library about royalty-free music.

Garden or On-campus Improvement Project/Event

The idea: There are multiple garden efforts across campus. Students participating in an on-campus improvement/garden project or event might learn about native plants, history, and the host culture, while getting their hands in the dirt and finding new ways to spend time in nature. These experiences will help students connect to our campus and the Hilo community in meaningful and authentic ways and provide healthy outlets to keep them grounded. Garden efforts could also work during this time when distancing is important and after that eases.

The focus is on Spring semester. Lito is still excited and interested in the project. There is a meeting set with Malu and an Ag students to discuss students gardens. Heather met with Lisa, a TCBES student to learn more about the native plantings in the Life Sciences space. Maile provided information about the implementation of Make a Difference Day.

Might a StoryMap work for campus gardens, given that so many people on campus are unaware of the many efforts? And, there could be a QR code or URL on like-designed signage at each site. If signage is not possible due to cost, we may be able to develop posters dedicated to the gardens to be displayed at the exit/entrance of buildings near each garden.

The student survey and subsequent conversations have made us wonder if a fruit/veggie stand might make sense. Could the woodworking shop build this? Should it be located near the Hale Paʻi ʻAi Food Pantry? Might we use the Free Box that already exists at Kanaka‘ole Hall? Who should be brought into this part of the discussion to move it forward?

Items to consider:

  1. How do we plan for a post-COVID world so this project is sustainable?
  2. Where is this housed in two years?
  3. Can we build a map of the gardens now?
  4. Do we include composting efforts?
  5. Who can access fruit and vegetables from gardens? Do people taking fruits and vegetables need permission?

Michele and Heather have compiled documents in the committee’s project folder:

  • Campus Gardens - Roadmap
  • Includes links that could be used, regarding fire ants, rat lung, Plant Pono, etc.
  • Gardens and Caretakers on Campus
  • Plant Reference Document

Action items for garden project:

  • Heather will look into the process for campus signage appropriate for the garden spaces.
  • Kathleen will work with Brennan on a web presence for this project.
  • Michele will talk to Darin about maps of campus.

UNIV 101/102 Class

The idea: The UNIV 101/102 class could help ground students in a sense of place and introduce them to skills and resources needed to thrive at a UH Hilo. These introductory courses could use place-based, community-engaged learning. In our last full committee meeting, we talked briefly about UNIV101 and the question posed to VCAA Roney after a subgroup (Kris Roney, Michele and Hualani from this committee, Julie Mowrer, and Kerri Inglis) met in late October to discuss the possibilities: How realistic is it to expect resources (course release, dollars, coordination) to make this project possible given the current budget situation? Might this be a priority? I received a very positive and encouraging answer from VCAA Roney. So, we discussed moving forward.

Hualani brought up a Title III grant, Manai-a-Maui: Transforming Institutions With An Indigenous Framework. Hawaiʻi CC (lead), UH Hilo and UH Maui College collaborate on a joint effort to transform the institutions by incorporating Native Hawaiian culture, values and traditions to impact student success. There may be a Spring 2021 pilot of an intro class through this grant. It would have to be virtual programming. There may be webinars and guests. The podcast could be used. Details are uncertain at this point and time is very short. Aunty Gail is waiting to hear from Farrah. Challenges include the lack of living learning communities right now, financial aid coverage, teaching around place and doing it online, starting with primarily second semester students, etc.

If this grant leads to a course in spring, we may want to continue on both tracks, helping as we can in spring and moving forward with a longer-term vision for the class.

Action items for UNIV 101:

  • Hualani will let us know when she knows more about spring 2021 course plans and we will then determine how we might help.
  • Kathleen will set a follow up meeting with the subgroup in order to move forward with longer term plans.

We then wrapped the meeting up by talking about the University Strategic Planning efforts coming in the near future.

Mahalo to all for your efforts!