UH Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng and Hawai‘i Community College Chancellor Rockne Freitas sign the articulation agreement between the two campuses. The agreement ensures a student-friendly, virtually seamless process for transferring credit for courses taken at HCC to the UHH. Photo by William Ing/Hawaii Tribune-Herald.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald covers the signing of the articulation agreement that will move university toward seamless transfer of students from the community college to UH Hilo four-year degree.

Summary:

Chancellors of Hilo’s community college and university signed an agreement Wednesday that’s designed to ease student transfers between the two centers of learning.

The agreement calls on faculty, advisors and department chairs to coordinate undergraduate courses so that students who transfer from Hawai‘i Community College to the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo will already be set on a course to graduation, rather than finding that courses they took at HCC don’t meet UHH degree requirements.

“Students who get an associate’s degree with us will know they won’t have to retake anything at the UHH. They’ll be full-fledged juniors,” said HCC Chancellor Rockne Freitas. “Our students will now have the confidence that the credits they completed and degree they earned will count.”

Chancellors signed the agreement during a traditional Hawaiian ceremony at the HCC campus.

The Degree Pathways Partnership Program will spell out the courses that students must take for a seamless transfer to the UHH College of Business and Economics and other programs. The agreement between the UHH College of Business and the HCC — the first to be signed — goes into effect this fall.

Articulation agreements for other programs are in the works. Faculty from Hawaiian language and Hawaiian studies at the two campuses will meet to discuss expectations for first and second-year language courses so students transferring to the UHH will be able to go directly into junior-level course work. Another partnership is being discussed between the UH Hilo College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resource Management and HCC’s forestry program, with an eye to getting students on the way to a bachelor of science degree in forestry.

Full story here (outside news source determines link expiration).

Remarks by Chancellor Rose Tseng
Ho‘oulu Terrace

Aloha and Welcome to the Spring 2008 semester!

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us today.

Before I start, I’d like thank faculty and staff for advising our students this semester. I appreciate your dedication and commitment. Your Spirit of Aloha makes UH Hilo a very special place!

Today, I’d like to share some highlights of the university with you.

As background, when I came to UH Hilo in 1998, I surveyed our faculty and staff and the community. Together, we established three major goals: academic excellence, enrollment growth, and resource development.

The most important highlight today is UH Hilo’s commitment to excellence. It’s a commitment to high-quality programs and the best education possible. It’s a commitment to build strong communities, a thriving economy and professional workforce for the 21st century.

Thanks to your vision and hard work, UH Hilo has transformed into a comprehensive university with 36 baccalaureate, six master, and two doctoral degree programs.

Our six master programs are in response to our state’s social, economic and cultural needs. Thanks to your dedication, the programs were approved so we can bring dynamic education to our students.

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Full press release here .

Summary:

UH Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng and Hawai‘i Community College Chancellor Rockne Freitas will sign an historic articulation agreement on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 3 p.m. The signing ceremony will be held at the Manono Campus in Hilo, room 1 in building 379.

The agreement signals great progress toward seamless and student-friendly transfer policies between the two campuses.

Faculty members, students, and other guests will be present to discuss curriculum alignment and answer questions from the media.

The Honolulu Star Bulletin has a story in today’s paper on the incredible 3-D show at UH Hilo’s ‘Imiloa Astronomy Education Center.

Full story here (outside news source determines link expiration).

Here’s how the story starts:

The new three-dimensional projection system at the Imiloa Astronomy Education Center has transported you to Earth orbit, 1957, just as the Soviet Union’s newly launched Sputnik satellite sails by.

You reach out your arm, sure that you can touch it. You miss, but by no more than two feet, as the satellite coasts onward.

Installation of the new definiti 3-D system, making Imiloa the only planetarium in the world with true three-dimensional images, coupled with the movie “Dawn of the Space Age” by Mirage3D, makes for marvelous entertainment.

But is this 21st-century 3-D system of any real use to science?

Astronomers attending a daylong preview of the system and the movie this week gave a resounding “yes.”

“It’s wonderful!” said Imiloa’s astronomer in residence, Richard Crowe.

“I’ve never seen (data) presented like this before. I could not do this with a slide show. Flying around, you can see all kinds of things you couldn’t see before.”

Read more here .

Photo courtesy of UH Hilo.

Front page story in today’s Hawaii Tribune Herald (outside news source determines link expiration).

Summary:

New plans for the China-U.S. Center at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo call for the construction of 200 student apartments — not dormitories — as the first phase of the project.

Plans are for four buildings, each four stories high with about 50 apartments each. The 1,000-square-foot apartments would have three bedrooms, with two students sharing each bedroom, plus a kitchen and living area. Proposed rent is $780 per month per student.

The estimated cost for the four buildings and supporting infrastructure is $71 million.

Testimony by Rose Tseng
Chancellor of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo

Presented before the Senate Committee on Education and
The House Committee on Higher Education
January 14, 2008
Hawai‘i State Legislature
Honolulu, Hawai‘i

Aloha. Chair Sakamoto, Chair Chang, Members of the Senate Committee on Education and of the House Committee on Higher Education, I thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

On behalf of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, I would like, first of all, to express my sincere appreciation to you for your investment in UH Hilo last year. Your support enables us to meet our commitment to offer our students excellent academic opportunities while making significant contributions to the economy and professional workforce on the island of Hawai‘i and throughout the state.

UH Hilo has evolved into a comprehensive university, with 36 baccalaureate and six master degree programs in liberal arts and professional areas. Yet UH Hilo preserves the ambiance of a small private college.

The positive difference is that UH Hilo is committed to being accessible to students of many varied and diverse backgrounds. Many of our students are the first in their families to attend college; many are holding down full-time jobs and raising children at the same time that they are pursuing college degrees; and many are from underserved rural communities of our island and state.

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The accomplishments of UH Hilo’s Women’s Cross Country and Volleyball teams will be recognized in the opening day of this year’s Hawaii State Legislative session.

Through the initiative and encouragement of State Rep. Jerry Chang, House Speaker Calvin Say will acknowledge UH Hilo teams in his speech on opening day at the Capitol Rotunda after the opening ceremony celebrating UH’s 100 year centennial.

UH Hilo’s women’s cross country team repeated as Pacific West Conference Champions and coach Jaime Guerpo was named PWC (women’s) Coach of the Year. Team members are Kari Andrews, Ashley Benson, Alison Engle, Nina Hagemann, Kelly Rogers, Alejandra Sanchez and Malia Williams. Laura Hernandez was the assistant coach. Kari Andrews, Kelly Rogers and Alejandra Sanchez were named to the All-PacWest Conference first team, while Nina Hagemann and Ashley Benson were named to the second team.

UH Hilo’s volleyball team also captured Pacific West Conference Championship and coach Bruce Atkinson was named PWC Coach of the Year. Team members are Desiree Agader, Lauren Bayer, Mary Claire Bolo, Morgan Bonney, Kelli Ann Chun, Kaniu Hernandez, Hillary Hurley, Shawna Kaiura, Kauwila Laveu, ‘Eleu Novikoff, Hoku Oleole, Josemara Pinheiro, Laura Rodriguez, Fabiane Seben, Chelsea Spadaro, Laura Thompson, Lauren Tonokawa and Kiani Yasak. Assistant coaches were Gavin Rudder and Taina Savage. Fabiane Seben was selected Player of the Year. Laura Rodriguez was selected Libero of the Year. Hillary Hurley was selected Freshman of the Year. Lauren Bayer was selected Newcomer of the Year. Seben, Rodriguez and Hurley earned first-team All-PacWest Conference recognition while Bayer, Desiree Agader and Josemara Pinheiro were on the second team.

Congratulations to the Vulcans!

Chancellor Tseng announced the appointment of Michael P. Crosby (at left) as UH Hilo’s interim vice chancellor for research.

The appointment is funded by the National Science Board for one year with an option to renew for an additional year. During this period, Crosby will be on a leave of absence from his current position as executive director of the NSB, which sets policies for the National Science Foundation and serves as an independent advisory body to the U.S. president and Congress on science and engineering research and education.

Dr. Crosby will be responsible for strengthening science and engineering research at UH Hilo, as well as developing the university’s research competitiveness.

Full press release here .