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 - January 25, 2021

Relationships Committee Meeting: Monday, December 25 at 9:00am Present: Julie Mowrer, Justina Mattos, Pat Guillen, Kathleen Baumgardner

Meeting purpose: A look at our project progress and challenges and the bigger picture

Wailau

The idea: The purpose of Wailau events 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 our name, we will showcase five storytellers at each event - a UH faculty member, UH staff member, UH student, UH alum and a community member.

The English Club has selected Wailau’s storytellers for February and set the order of talks.

Storytellers are scheduled for filming on the Performing Arts stage on Thursday and Friday, January 28-29. We will give them lei as a mahalo gift, something simple so it is camera friendly.

Student host auditions were held (Jusina took the lead, and Kathleen and Braden participated) and we also have a topic expert on board:

Student hosts will be filmed on January 27 and 29. Ron Gordon segments will be filmed on January 29. The student hosts have written and are filming a fun promotional video on the 27th and will film storyteller introductions and other parts on the 29th.

Mookini Library is co-sponsoring the event by lending equipment (cameras, lavalier mics, LED lights, as well as 1-2 camera operators) and Glenn Fernandez and his students will work on editing and captioning. UH Performing Arts Center is also a co-sponsor, with their generous donation of the filming space and technical support. Justina asked Lito if he might contribute some music for the event. A shared credits document was established on Google drive by Justina to capture all the mahalos for the production credits.

The event watch page is in place along with storyteller and host bios and we are working through the pathway to ensuring ADA compliance with closed captioning. Our student hosts have established an Instagram account for Wailau and are posting content @uhhwailau

The goal is the full episode, with the captioning in place, filedropped on February 10 for the premiere on February 14 at 2pm. Once the video is uploaded, we will embed a file on the watch page and an event countdown will appear on the watch page until the launch.

In addition, Julie reconnected with Julio from The Moth. He suggested storyteller workshop dates of April 8, 9, 12, 19, 22 and 23. We are thinking of including the committee, hosts, English Club, and storytellers. There are spaces for 23 participants.

Action items for Wailau:

  • Kathleen will purchase lei for the storytellers.
  • Julie will check with Julio to see if he is thinking of one or two sessions for the workshop. Then she will send a message to potential storytelling workshop participants with a Doodle poll to determine workshop timing.
  • Kathleen will produce a Wailau press release and work on social media with Nyssa.
  • Kathleen will create a flyer for committee members to distribute.
  • Julie will send info about Wailau through UH Hilo listserv.
  • Kathleen will explore submitting info about Wailau at the UH System level.

The Bigger Picture

Kathleen provided an update on strategic planning. There is a plan in the early stages. There will be a basic external-facing document and an action plan document that has much deeper content. That action plan will be used for one year, then revised and updated based on progress toward institutional goals/benchmarks. An institutional profile will be set forth each year and collectively over the years of the plan that is tailored to measure relevant data points based on identified initiatives.

The four overarching thematic goals are Equity, ʻĀina-based Education and Applied Learning Experiences, Campus Culture (includes relationships), and Resource Development and Capacity Building.

Via emails during exchanges regarding this meeting date and time, Kathleen posed the question that was on her mind - What does UH Hilo need to do to truly become the University for the Island - how do we serve students before, during, and after UH Hilo and how do we best serve the Island?

Makamae, who had a last-minute conflict and was unable to attend the meeting, started our conversation with her response via email. She commented, “Before UH Hilo, I attended KS Keaau and they focus quite a bit on college prep. This helped build my relationship with UH, mostly the admissions office. They were always the ones recruiting. During: UH Hilo is currently helping me the most via a specific program. SSSP (student support services program) really helps me maintain my educational goals by providing a place to study and materials I need to be a successful student. I am also a part of the Professional Business Fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. They help me a lot too. After: I assume this would be alumni relations? I am unsure at this time. Best serve the island: In the long-run, it would be nice if our island looked at our university as a place they can get reliable information. This could maybe happen by creating events for the community?”

We then briefly discussed how UH Hilo might become the University for the Island - the entire Island.

One committee member commented that the University does more than people know, even people on campus. We do have newspaper stories, but those may not be read as often as before. The Collaboratory database effort (just starting up at the Center for Community Engagement) will be a big step forward in showcasing our efforts.

Another mentioned that some athletic games have been played on the Kona side and there is a plan to play more there to extend our presence. People come out to watch, sometimes more people than in Hilo.

The discussion moved to the concern that we may not be able to focus on our external relationships before we build stronger relationships internally. COVID may have caused more silos on campus. Post-COVID, we need to work on campus relationships.

And, we need more contact with the community and especially alums, with more boots on the ground, perhaps quarterly events. Pre-pandemic we played some basketball games in Seattle and hosted a pre-game tailgate and alums were excited to attend. We need to build that kind of excitement among alumni. With the golf tournament gone for several years now, there is so little for alumni.

We need more “doers” on campus. On another campus, a person in charge of the Student Union would regularly put out a call for volunteers and once said, “There are about 16 doers on this campus and we need more.” How do we get more doers at UH Hilo?

One problem noted is that structurally we are set up in a way where we compete for resources. When one program is awarded resources, it means others feel that they are without resources. We need a systemic shift.

We also need a stronger collaborative spirit across campus. Don Hemmes, now retired, was known for reaching out to others, on- and off-campus, in the work he did.

One member commented that when they receive their alumni magazine from their alma mater, they are proud of all that is happening. We need a greater sense of pride across campus for the important work being done. It feels like so many people hold onto grudges from situations in both the long and short term. How do you motivate and inspire people to go the extra mile? Perhaps, more gratitude, acknowledgement.

In terms of collaboration with the community, sending an email may not get results, but if you personally ask people, the result is much stronger. That is why strong relationships make so much difference.

We discussed two important actions:

  1. Acknowledging/honoring the efforts of people across campus - faculty, staff, and students.
  2. Creating more opportunities for interacting and getting to know each other. It’s difficult to collaborate when you have never met or you know nothing about each other.

In the past (1980s), there were potlucks at a local park, charter buses for trips to Hapuna Beach. People got to know each other.

If UH Hilo were the center of the community, people would consistently pack all types of events - performances, athletics events, lectures, cultural events - knowing that they were welcome on campus and being at ease coming to campus. Perhaps, in the future, we could host an evening farmers market with vendors and food trucks, with a department or college assigned to each event so they could have a booth(s) and show off their programs.

In terms of coursework, there was an effort to encourage lifelong learning, but it became community members teaching community members. Thus, few relationships were being formed between the community and the University.

Perhaps we should look at offering non credit courses in new ways:

  • Could grad students or upper level students teach?
  • Currently, community members cannot audit courses. Could this change?
  • Might we host community/faculty panels on themes?
  • Could we offer one-night lectures or a lecture series rather than full courses?

We should work together to enact a vision. We should align ourselves with critical needs. Advisory boards with community members and alums need to be active (it is our understanding that these are being reestablished now). We also need a strong and active relationship with the UH Foundation.

People leave campus each day because there is nothing FUN to do after work. A monthly on-campus pau hana would be a great start. Many campuses have pubs, breweries, and are not dry. One University has a fermentation program and the students brew beer on campus and serve it in the student center pub. There were even contests to name new beers. One committee member shared that they thought a former UH Hilo employee might be starting a new brewery - might there be an opportunity for partnership?

At this point in the discussion, the 90-minute meeting time expired. The meeting was adjourned.