May marks the end of the academic year and is a special time to show appreciation to the university ‘ohana for the many achievements of 2003-2004. Exemplary professors, staff members, students, and many from the local community were recently honored at the End-of-the-Year Celebration and Recognition Ceremony. I would like to share with you the names of the individuals and groups that were recognized for their commendable contributions to UH Hilo.

UH Hilo awards

Our tradition is to recognize outstanding individuals at this time of the year through several different achievement awards, some of which rotate in alternate years. This year we honor four individuals for their extraordinary service in the following areas.

Karlen Suga received the Student Employee of the Year Award. Our student employees are valuable to our operations, and we cannot do without their support. Karlen is an exceptional student employee and it is our hope that her work experience at UH Hilo will be valuable to her professional growth and development. I know she has a bright future ahead of her.

Jacquelyn Pualani Johnson, professor of theatre arts, was the recipient of the Excellence in Service Award for her outstanding service performance and valuable contributions to the university. Jackie’s immense talent and expertise in her field enriches many areas of the university from the classroom to the stage, and the entire island community benefits from her dedication to her craft and her generosity of spirit.

Jean-Pierre Michaud, assistant professor of chemistry, was the recipient of the Outstanding Advisor/Mentor Award for his exceptional academic advising and mentoring of students. Effective and caring advising is critical to the success and retention of our students, and J. P.’s commitment to mentoring makes a tremendous positive difference in the lives of the students who work and study with him.

Alvin Miyashiro, janitor, received the Excellence in Building and Ground Maintenance Award for his contributions to improving the appearance of our beautiful campus for the benefit of students, faculty, staff and visitors to the university. Alvin’s hard work and dedication to the job helps make our campus one of the most beautiful in the state.

Congratulations to this year’s award recipients! To be nominated and selected by colleagues is a distinct honor–an honor well deserved for these recipients. Hats off to all!

Service awards

In addition to the UH Hilo awards, we also honor faculty and staff for their length of service at the university.

We salute those who have served at the university for 10 years:

· Jerry Calton, professor of management
· Beata Cheng, library assistant
· Normand Dionne, information technology specialist
· Kamila Dudley, instructor of French
· Darin Igawa, graphic artist
· Bruce Matthews, associate professor of soil science
· Doug Mikkelson, associate professor of religious studies
· Debbie Ogata, mail clerk
· Kerry Ogawa, clerk-typist
· Callen Perreira, softball coach
· Irene Sakamoto, personnel clerk
· Jackie Sales-Iyo, secretary
· Michael Shintaku, associate professor of plant pathology
· Janis Shirai, academic coordinator
· Sharon Whittington, office manager

And those who have served for 20 years:

· Ron Gordon, professor of communication
· Carole Kuba, secretary
· Susan Maesato, librarian
· Larry Joseph, theatre manager
· Grace Viernes-Dela Cruz, secretary
· Susan Yugawa, graphics coordinator

And the “survivors” of 30 years:

· Jim DeMello, assistant to the athletic director
· Coreen Ishimaru, librarian
· Avis Nomura, library technician

Retirees honored

We also honor this year’s retirees with our thank you, best wishes, and envy as they begin their new journey with the esteemed title of retiree:

· Robert King, associate professor of marketing
· Jane Muramoto, secretary to the director of athletics
· Karen Nishida, library technician
· Pat Okamura, associate university librarian
· Robert Okuda, media coordinator
· Dorothy Oliveira, clerk-stenographer

Thank you for your many years of contributions to our university. We wish you the very, very best. Good luck and take care!

University Congress

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and give special thanks to Jerry Calton, acting chair of the University Congress, and to the members of the Congress, all of whom work very hard to establish and clarify university process and procedures. Thank you all for your time and dedication to a difficult undertaking. Your work is very much appreciated.

WASC Review Steering Committee

The Western Accreditation of Schools and Colleges (WASC) team visited our campus earlier this year, and many members of the university community worked very hard to get the university ready for the review. We are still awaiting the final report, but at the exit interview the team shared that they were impressed with our progress and had several commendations for the university.

A very special thank you to April Komenaka, assistant dean at the College of Arts and Sciences, for chairing this important accreditation review process. Our success is due to April’s vigilant coordination efforts and perseverance. Kudos also to the accreditation steering committee for their coordination efforts and successful completion of the WASC site visit:

· Nina Buchanan, professor of education
· Jerry Calton, professor of management
· Bill Chen, interim vice chancellor for administrative affairs
· Linda Golian-Liu, university librarian
· Steve Hora, interim dean at the College of Arts and Sciences
· Keith Miser, vice chancellor for student affairs
· Bill Sakai, professor of horticulture
· Kalena Silva, director of Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elik?lani
· Lynne Stamoulis, director of institutional research

And finally, I would like to thank everyone who helped in so many ways, including those who participated in interviews with the visiting WASC team. Thank you so much for your time and dedication to the entire review process.

Chancellor’s Advisory Board

Special thanks to the Chancellor’s Advisory Board for their steadfast support of the university:

· Elizabeth Buyers
· Robert Fujimoto
· Wayne Hamano
· Isamu Kanekuni
· Alec Keith
· Robert Kihune
· Megumi Kon
· Beatrice Lau
· Roy Nakamoto
· Russell Oda
· Monty Richards
· Toshio Serizawa
· Gladys Sonomura
· Hiroshi Tanaka
· Barry Taniguchi
· John Tolmie, Jr
· John Tsui
· John Ushijima
· Sheila Watumull
· Jim Wilson
· Vern Yamanaka

Special tribute to volunteers

The university is very fortunate to have volunteers to help us take care of the campus landscaping, provide us with beautiful flower arrangements, and volunteer other services to the university. Thank you to the following individuals for their generosity of time and expertise:

· Ramon Abong
· Harue Kaneshiro
· Chiyono Kinoshita
· Robert Koga
· Caroline Madrid
· George Matsubara
· Junko Nowakai
· Philomena Rabago
· Sueno Saruwatari
· Lynn Shimazu
· Helen Snyder
· Hoichi Ueda

Chamber of Commerce

The members of our local chambers are strong supporters and loyal friends of the university, and I thank them for sharing in the vision of a strong partnership between the university and the local business community. Special mahalo to the presidents of our local chambers:

· Jim Kennedy, Hawai‘i Island Chamber of Commerce
· John Santangelo, Hawai‘i Island Portuguese Chamber of Commerce
· Barry Taniguchi, Japanese Chamber of Commerce

Congratulations and mahalo to all!

Once again, my congratulations to all the award recipients, and mahalo to everyone for your unwavering support of the university. Great things can happen when we all pull together–faculty, staff, students, and the local community–to move the university forward.

Have a great summer!

Aloha,

Rose Tseng