Meeting Notes - June 14, 2022
Relationships Committee Meeting: Tuesday, June 14 at 2:00pm
Present: Justina Mattos, David Kurohara, and Kathleen Baumgardner
Meeting purpose: Focus on Action Plan work
Wailau update
The idea: The purpose of Wailau is to build connections across campus and with the wider community that go deeper than the roles we hold while honoring our complex, fragile and brave selves. In keeping with the meaning of Wailau, we will showcase five storytellers at each event - a UH faculty member, staff member, student, alum and a community member.
Fall’s episode of Wailau will be live. We discussed the draft press release. If we can determine the topic expert early, we would like to plug in a quote from that person. We discussed the possibility of including a quote from one of our new student hosts, but it is summer and the chances of a back and forth with students might not work out. Bob may have someone to recommend through Revitalize Puna. Justina recalled that Jennifer might have mentioned a potential topic expert in an earlier conversation.
Bob provided feedback on various platforms used for RSVPs in his work. Eventbrite was the favored platform. It isn’t ideal to use an RSVP system, but it will allow us to get a better idea on attendance for food ordering and it will allow us to collect data for future followup.
Regarding the venue, Justina reported that campus staff no longer set up the room for events, so we will have to handle setup and breakdown. We discussed the event being live streamed so that the audience can experience it live and people at home can watch on YouTube.
There was a question about whether there is some sort of teleprompter on campus. Or perhaps, we could have a TV running a rolling script. Storyteller coaching by Krystal and Mary at Hawaiʻi Lit Production Co has made a difference and becomes even more important with this live event.
Wailau action items:
- Kathleen will connect with Bob and Jennifer about possible topic experts.
- Kathleen will ask Julie to touch base with Krystal and Mary from Hawaiʻi Lit Production Co. to make sure they will be working with our storytellers in the Fall.
- Kathleen will ask Brennan, Blaine, and Lei about teleprompter options.
- Kathleen will ask if there are any budget monies for a student to help with set up, break down, and chat moderation.
Online Recognition System
7.1.1. Strategy 7: Nurture and strengthen campus relationships and campus culture. Action 1: Increase opportunities to express gratitude and celebrate success in large and small ways across campus. Deliverable 1: Communicated the work of campus groups/committees recognizing that the work was meaningful and acknowledging the impact or efforts that came to fruition.
An Online Recognition System was briefly discussed. One of the topics of discussion was about the directory and how it is populated.
We also wondered if we might simplify and untie from the directory to move forward more quickly. We looked again at EIU’s Shout Outs page. This webpage goes back to 2015 and it appears that the number of kudos is on the rise this last couple of years.
Online recognition system action items:
- Kathleen will ask questions about if everyone has an email and if they are in the directory system.
- Kathleen will touch base with Brennan.
Employee Resource Groups (Affinity Groups)
4.1.1. Strategy 4: Improve interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts to ensure student success. Action 1: Develop affinity groups across campus in order to bring people together whose paths might not normally cross. Deliverable: Established affinity groups.
Jennifer was unable to attend this meeting due to travel. We briefly touched on ERGs. David mentioned that Hawaiian Electric has a new DEI staff member. They have introduced activities and a brown bag series with a DEI core, meant to nurture a culture of care. There has also been a focus on AAPI - Asian American Pacific Islander - with talk story sessions.
An idea that came up - Pila Wilson used to have language lunch sessions. Perhaps one ERG might be a group that builds a place for beginners to practice the Hawaiian language.
Additional Discussion
Hawaiʻi Papa O Ke Ao will soon present their report with their plans for campus. They have developed recommendations and actions centered on Leadership Development, Community Engagement, and Hawaiian Language & Culture Parity. They may be looking for collaborators and there may be an opportunity for us to get involved in a good fit like community engagement.
At this point our time had expired, and we closed the discussion.