Over 400 new students and their families took part Tuesday in the first-ever Student Convocation at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Performing Arts Center.

The event, part of Fall Orientation and the brainchild of the Task Force on New Student Programs, is designed to be a bookend to Commencement. The new students gathered as an entering class to meet their faculty and deans at the beginning of their collegiate experience, as they do upon graduation.

“The Student Convocation was successful beyond our expectations,” said Chancellor Rose Tseng, who welcomed the new students to UH Hilo. “It was an opportunity for the students to celebrate their entrance into the University, as well as to reflect upon their very real commitment to strive for academic excellence.”

Students were introduced, college by college, to their respective deans. The student body president then led students in a pledge of commitment. UH Hilo administrators then expressed their expectations to the new students and impressed upon them the importance of the educational journey they are about to take.

“I believe the ceremonial nature of the Convocation provides the new students with a preview of the excitement and the accomplishment they will feel upon achieving the goal of graduation,” Tseng said.

Above, Chancellor Tseng addresses the standing-room-only crowd at UH Hilo’s first Student Convocation, held at the university’s Performing Arts Center. Photo by John Oshima.

Chancellor’s Message
Chamber Connection

August 2009

UH Hilo heads program to increase science and technology graduates throughout Pacific region

This month, I’d like to tell you about an exciting academic program headed by the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo that benefits the entire Pacific region. The Islands of Opportunity Alliance is a multi-nation program to increase minority students with baccalaureate and master degrees in science, technology, engineering and math, the so-called STEM fields, the most needed professionals in the global marketplace.

UH Hilo is the lead institution of the Alliance; we administer this $1.7 million five-year grant. The Alliance is made up of 18 postsecondary institutions throughout Hawai‘i and the Pacific and is funded by the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation or LSAMP program of the National Science Foundation. The program began in 2006, and I serve as principal investigator.

We set the bar high for our goals: To increase the number of underrepresented students in STEM disciplines, to focus on recruitment of qualified students, to create internships and research opportunities, to promote retention, and to improve STEM courses.

I’m happy to report the Alliance is meeting all its goals! Here are some shining examples:

At UH Hilo, students interested in conducting scientific research are doing internships in our Keaholoa LSAMP Scholars Program. Students are mentored in topics related to our island environment, combining field and laboratory work.

At UH Manoa, skilled upper classmen mentor freshmen and sophomores. This mentoring program helps underclassmen interact socially but also helps with course preparation and communication skills.

At Hawai‘i Community College, students intern at the Kohala Watershed, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, and the U.S. Forest Service’s Laupahoehoe Permanent Plot Project.

At Kapiolani Community College, a student coordinated the Health Service-Learning Pathway Program for over 80 students.

At Guam Community College, students with high ability skills in math and science tutor those with lower ability skills.

At Palau Community College, a student participated in a summer research and cultural exchange program at Biological Station in Las Cruces, Costa Rica. Another student participated in the Okinawa-Pacific Education Network Initiative Project forum in Okinawa.

In June, I attended the NSF Joint Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. We made plans for the International LSAMP program, where students will be allowed to travel to foreign countries to further their research.

Here at home, the second annual LSAMP Student Research Conference will be held at UH Hilo August 3-5. Forty students will present their research projects, Hokule‘a navigator Chadd Babayan will lecture, and there will be a field trip to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

The LSAMP program is just one example of UH Hilo’s success in reaching out to Native Hawaiian and Pacific island nation students interested in STEM disciplines. And because of the program, there is more local and international awareness of UH Hilo’s role and abilities to secure federal grant programs.

Since the start of our LSAMP program, STEM activities and participation have doubled at Alliance institutions. More importantly, underrepresented minority students increased their graduate rate in STEM fields from 26.6 percent in the first year to 35.1 percent in the second year of the grant.

I’m proud UH Hilo is taking the lead on this program, which benefits both Hawai‘i and Pacific island nations. As we increase student graduates in STEM fields, we enrich the pool of talented scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians for the Pacific region and the world, exactly what’s needed for workforce development in a global economy.

Thank you for all your support. When we all work together, great things happen!

Aloha,
Rose Tseng