Dustin Shindo delivers keynote at 2007 Fall Commencement. Photo by John Oshima.

UH Hilo celebrated Fall Commencement today! There were 233 candidates for various degrees and certificates. The UH Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Teaching went to Raina Ivanova, associate professor of mathematics.

Keynote speaker was Dustin Shindo, a fantastically successful “local boy” from Hilo, now CEO of Hoku Scientific in Kapolei, a publicly traded company that’s building a plant to produce silicon, a key component in solar energy systems and other electronics.

More on Commencement in press release here .

Watch tonight 8 p.m. on cable channel 55!

Tonight’s “Focus on UH Hilo” telecast will feature the university’s ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i . Executive Director Peter Giles (at left) and Experience Coordinator Ka‘iu Kimura will appear on the telecast to talk about the latest programs, exhibits and activities taking place at ‘Imiloa. The show airs live tonight on cable Channel 55 starting at 8 p.m.

This program will conclude the fall schedule of shows, which will resume on Jan. 16.

If you would like a video copy of this or a previous program, please contact Michelle Araki (melander@hawaii.edu) at the marketing and alumni office.

“Focus on UH Hilo,” hosted by Chancellor Rose Tseng and moderated by Mr. Ken Hupp, highlights UH Hilo academic programs, developments and community partnerships.

Chancellor Rose Tseng welcomed Mr. Barry Taniguchi (above left), president and CEO of KTA Super Stores, to the campus today where they signed the papers to launch new endowed faculty funds at UH Hilo. Photo by John Oshima.

Through KTA Super Stores and K. Taniguchi, Ltd, Mr. Taniguchi established five funds of $10K each, for a total of $50K, one for each of UH Hilo’s academic colleges: College of Arts and Sciences; College of Business and Economics; College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management; College of Hawaiian Language; and College of Pharmacy. The purpose of the endowments is to provide the dean or director of each college with a permanent source of funds to enhance their college’s recruitment and retention of faculty.

The gift is in honor of Koichi and Taniyo Taniguchi, founders of the company and Barry Taniguchi’s grandparents.

Chancellor Tseng and Barry Taniguchi are joined by son Toby Tanigichi (left front) and (left to right in back row) Kalena Silva, director of College of Hawaiian Language; Bill Steiner, dean of College of Agriculture; Robert Borris, associate dean of research at College of Pharmacy; Randy Hirokawa, dean of College of Arts & Sciences; and Marcia Sakai, dean of College of Business & Economics.

Barry Taniguchi was UH Hilo Alumni & Friends 2005 Distinguished Service Awardee. Learn more about him on the Alumni & Friends website (scroll down to Mr. Taniguchi’s bio), or continue reading here… Read the rest of this entry »

A travel writer sees UH Hilo’s ‘Imiloa Astronomy Education Center roof line as newest part of Hilo’s history

Writes Toni Salama of the Chicago Tribune, reprinted in the Seattle Times:

“The distinctive conical roofs of the Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii are up at the University of Hawaii-Hilo. The culturally sensitive center showcases ancient Polynesian navigation, Hawaiian language and culture, planetary science and a planetarium/theater with surround sound.

“I was mesmerized by its “Science on a Sphere” exhibit, where video projectors display images on a 6-foot-diameter sphere in such a way that the globe, our Earth, appears to be suspended and rotating in space.

“A different walk-though exhibit explains the universe from the Hawaiian tradition, bilingually in Hawaiian — a once-forbidden language that is enjoying a revival — and English. It provides a rare insight into the beliefs of the people who live here.”

Full article here (external news source determines link expiration).

Chancellor Rose Tseng

Chamber Connection

December 2007

Increasing access to higher education for Native Hawaiians

Since I arrived at UH Hilo in 1998, one of my highest priorities has been to increase access to higher education for all our state’s people. Our excellent faculty and staff have done a great job at the task, reflected in our student enrollment increases every year.

A high priority is to improve access for Native Hawaiians, who make up 20 percent of our student population. UH Hilo has more Native Hawaiian students than any other of the 10 UH campuses throughout the state.

One of our most successful programs is called Kipuka, which in Hawaiian means “an oasis within a lava bed where there may be vegetation.” The program provides our Native Hawaiian students a safe haven in a Hawaiian setting to ensure their academic success.

Kipuka has a professional staff that provides counseling, tutoring, computer training, mentoring and assistance with financial aid. Peer mentors tutor students in English, math, sciences and Hawaiian language.

Kipuka is funded and sustained through much collaboration. There was an arduous qualification process with the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) that resulted in a grant from 2000-2005 of about $2 million. The focus of that grant was Native Hawaiian student retention, and through a collaboration with our College of Hawaiian Language, to develop distance learning Hawaiian language courses and a Hawaiian Studies BA to Maui and Kaua‘i. The grant also renovated some offices and computer labs.

Kipuka’s current USDOE grant, covering 2005-2010, is about $2.5 million. The focus is to strengthen curriculum, develop faculty, and increase web access to Hawaiian language resources-another collaboration with the College of Hawaiian Language. We also further renovated Kipuka offices, classrooms, computer labs, and built a beautiful halau structure for Hawaiian cultural and protocol practices.

A requirement of the grant is to make Kipuka sustainable by the end of the funding period. To this end, I am very pleased that Kipuka has received seven new positions from the State Legislature.

But there is more work to be done to achieve lasting sustainability. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of everyone at Kipuka, and the collaborative efforts of faculty and staff at our College of Hawaiian Language, I know this program will continue to grow and flourish.

Another program supporting Native Hawaiians is our Keaholoa program that focuses on inspiring and supporting students in science, technology, engineering and math, the so-called STEM programs. Keaholoa is a $2.5 million federal program focusing on a rigorous curriculum as well as faculty development so that students and teachers are interacting in a culturally sensitive way. The program is creating a cadre of Native Hawaiian students versed in STEM fields, many of whom are continuing on to graduate school.

A statewide program based at UH Hilo is the Na Pua No‘eau Center for Gifted and Talented Native Hawaiian Children. Na Pua No‘eau serves K-12 students of Hawaiian ancestry with activities that embrace Native Hawaiian history, culture, values and language. For example, combining ancestral wisdom with contemporary STEM technology to nurture Native Hawaiian children and bring out their full potential. The goal is to increase numbers of Native Hawaiians who participate in the growth and development of local communities, the state and the nation.

UH Hilo’s Native Hawaiian programs and K-12 outreach enrich both our university community and our island communities. When we create threads of knowledge and support for our Native Hawaiian students that seamlessly extend from the university to our island communities, we strengthen and improve the lives of all our citizens, enriching public and private sectors.

Our Native Hawaiian students are a precious resource and I hope Chamber members will do all they can to extend a helping hand to these future leaders of island business, our communities and our state. When we all work together, great things can happen!

Aloha,

Rose Tseng