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North Hawaiʻi Education and Research Center

Home > Undergraduate Education > University Centers for Community Service > North Hawaiʻi Education and Research Center

Farrah-Marie Gomes, Director (fmgomes@hawaii.edu)
45-539 Plumeria St., Honokaa, HI 96727
Phone: (808) 775-8890
Fax: (808) 775-1294
www.uhh.hawaii.edu/academics/nherc/

The North Hawaiʻi Education and Research Center (NHERC) is UH Hilo’s outreach center located in Honokaʻa, 40 miles away from the main campus. The Center opened in May 2006. NHERC was designed to serve the approximately 19,000 residents in North Hawaiʻi from Laupahoehoe through the Hamakua Coast to Kohala and Waikoloa. The five core missions of NHERC include:

  1. Serving as a distance learning center for UH Hilo programs;
  2. Providing higher education outreach services to the North Hawaiʻi region;
  3. Providing lifelong learning opportunities to the North Hawaiʻi region;
  4. Serving as a base station for field research in the North Hawaiʻi region;
  5. Serving as a community center.

NHERC currently features a computer lab, 20-seat, 30-seat, and 40-seat classrooms, a distance learning lab, a 140-seat conference room, eight staff offices, and reception and work areas. The Center is home to Dr. Adam Pack’s marine laboratory which will open to the public sometime in 2009. In addition to students who attend credit and non-credit classes, community users also utilize the facility for meetings, training sessions, and workshops. Phase IIB of NHERC is currently under construction and is designed to include three large rooms where a Heritage Center will be housed.