Chancellor’s Farewell Address
Campus Center Plaza
June 30, 2010

Thank you for that warm introduction! Aloha! Thank you for this reception, it means a lot to me. Thank you for organizing, the food, presents, lei… You have made me very happy today.

When I first came to Hilo, I didn’t think I would be chancellor as long as twelve years. That’s a long time for this work, but I was energized by our common dream to have the best university possible. Today, as I reach the end of my appointment as chancellor, I feel very grateful for your support.

It’s been an exciting journey for all of us—a team effort. Your dedication and enthusiasm has kept me going. All the people I’ve met and worked with have kept me going. I really do feel like you are my extended family, my ‘ohana: students, faculty, staff, community and legislators. We proved that when we all work together, great things happen! Let me share with you some of my favorite “great things” that we accomplished together:

• Together, we increased enrollment, built new facilities, started degree programs, increased grants and research, and increased global recognition of UH Hilo.
• Together, we celebrate UH Hilo’s six colleges, 36 bachelor’s and six master’s degrees, and two doctorates.
• Together, we added three new colleges – Hawaiian language, business and economics, and pharmacy – and built excellent liberal arts and professional programs.
• Together, we launched innovative programs integrating culture, science and hands-on learning, which are now models for other universities.
• Together, we grew our infrastructure with the University Classroom Building, Marine Science Building and Student Life Center.
• The new Science and Technology Building will be completed soon, a Student Services Building is on the way, and the Hawai‘i State Legislature recently approved $28 million for a new College of Hawaiian Language Building. A College of Pharmacy complex is in planning. We all look forward to their completion!

You should all feel very proud of these accomplishments, I know I do.

I have truly enjoyed working with each and every one of you to reach our dreams. I know this university is on its way to becoming a true residential campus and Hilo a true college town. With the foundation we built these past 12 years, this campus will soon serve our state as a true second university. That will be exciting to see!

It has been an honor and a privilege to be UH Hilo’s Chancellor. I have tried to provide leadership and support, with the help of many good and talented people. I leave my post knowing UH Hilo is in a good hands to keep the momentum going!

Mahalo to each and every one of you for your hard work, dedication, and unfailing support. You have shown that when we all work together, great things happen!

Aloha and mahalo!

Rose Tseng

Chancellor Tseng makes her last Commencement Address at UH Hilo, May 15.

Chancellor’s Address:

E nä malihini hanohano,
nä kamaÿäïna,
nä kumu,
nä limahana
a me nä haumana,
aloha pumehana käkou.

Aloha and Good Morning!

As Chancellor of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, and, on behalf of the entire University of Hawai‘i system, I am very pleased to welcome you to the 2010 Spring Commencement.

I’d like to extend a warm aloha to UH Vice President Linda Johnsrud; Regent Michael Dahilig; Mayor Billy Kenoi; our graduating students and their families; UH Hilo faculty and staff, and distinguished guests: It’s wonderful to see you all here to celebrate this special occasion.

Commencement is always the pinnacle of every year filled with excitement, energy and anticipation about the future. This year, especially, as my last year as Chancellor of UH Hilo, I, too, am graduating in a sense, and filled with enthusiasm about possibilities and future endeavors.

Today is yuor story, your mo‘olelo and your celebration. The memories and experiences you have had at UH Hilo will remain with you for a life time. For many of you, and for me, we pushed the envelope of discovery and accomplishment and reached down deep to the potential of excellence that is within all of us.

We have all made lifelong friends, had extraordinary mentors, and discovered untapped capabilities. Your rigorous education challenged you to use your critical thinking skills preparing you for your future.

You also learned about the importance of community and how the Aloha Spirit contributed to your success as a student and your own personal evolution.

In my 12 years at UH Hilo, community has been very important to me. It is because of community– our UH Hilo ‘Ohana, our friends and supporters– that we have achieved such remarkable growth.

It’s about community! It’s always about community, no matter how you define that: Local, national or global, we are all one community!

• Together, we have watched UH Hilo grow from a little-known campus to one of international recognition.
• Together, we increased enrollment, built new facilities, started degree programs, increased grants and research, and increased global recognition of UH Hilo.
• We added three new colleges– Hawaiian Language, Business & Economics and Pharmacy– and built some wonderful liberal arts and professional programs.
• Together, we built and designed one of UH Hilo’s jewels, the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i.
• And look at our beautiful University Classroom Building, Marine Science Building, the new Student Life Center; the nearly completed Science and Tech building and the Pharmacy Modular buildings that will double in size over the next year.
• Stay tuned for the new Student Services building, the new Book Store, a permanent building for the College of Pharmacy and the long anticipated building for the College of Hawaiian Language.
• UH Hilo now has six colleges, 36 bachelor’s degrees, six master’s degrees, and two doctorates.

These are all programs that help build strong communities and a better economy. How very proud we are as a community, because we have developed innovative programs that integrate culture and science and now stand as a global model for other institutions of higher learning.

There are so many champions who have contributed to your success, and to mine, and have influenced your positive experience at UH Hilo.

Together, with you, I want to express my profound gratitude to the UH Administration, the Board of Regents, members of our Big Island community, our elected officials, our esteemed UH Hilo faculty and staff and to the broader global community for the friendships and partnerships that have connected UH Hilo throughout the world. Everyone I mentioned is an integral part of the success you have achieved here at UH Hilo.

So today, at your Commencement, you celebrate a rite of passage among your family and friends. Your professors are here celebrating, too, filled with pride at all you have accomplished.

This Commencement marks a rite of passage for me, too! This is my 24th Commencement address and it is my last as Chancellor at UH Hilo. I will forever feel privileged to have served in this capacity and honored to address you as the class of 2010. I look out at you and feel pride! You are UH Hilo’s ambassadors to the world! We all share with you the excitement of a future full of possibilities.

Before I close, I’d like to say another sincere mahalo to the faculty and my administration.

I think the most important words that I have used today are “together” and “we” because together we can, and together we certainly did!

My years as Chancellor at UH Hilo have been some of the most challenging and the most rewarding of my life. I thank you for your steadfast support and your graciousness in allowing me a moment to offer this farewell message.

This is your day and I want you to know that I feel great pride at seeing you graduate today.

Thank you and aloha!

Chancellor’s Remarks
UH Hilo 2010 Spring Highlights
January 27, 2010
Ho‘oulu Terrace

Aloha and welcome to our annual Spring Highlights!

I want to wish you a very Happy New Year! As we start the new spring semester, I want to say thank you for all your hard work during orientation, helping our students plan their schedules and get settled in. It is this Spirit of Aloha, and sense of ‘ohana, that makes UH Hilo a very strong community — a safe and comfortable home-away-from-home for our students.

This is a special Spring Highlights for me, as it will be my last. I’m stepping down in the summer. My years at UH Hilo have been some of the best in my life — very challenging and rewarding. With everyone working together and all of your efforts, a lot has been accomplished during the 12 years I’ve been chancellor. We have increased enrollment, built new facilities, started degree programs, increased grants and research, and increased global recognition of UH Hilo.

With all of our duties and responsibilities from day-to-day, it’s easy to lose track of how far we’ve come. To document some milestones in UH Hilo’s development, we’ve prepared a booklet in-house called the Timeline of Progress. If you’d like to have a copy, they are at the entrance desk.

Here is some of the progress we’ve made together.

Read the rest of this entry »

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

Presented before the House Committee on Finance
January 20, 2010
Hawai‘i State Legislature
Honolulu, Hawai‘i

On behalf of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, I express our deep appreciation to the legislature for its investment in us over the years. With your support, UH Hilo has become a comprehensive university, with 36 bachelor’s, six master’s, and two doctoral degree programs.

However, at this time, budget cuts are devastating our small but growing campus. Our share of the UH budget cut totals $7.4 million, which is 21% of our General Funds; it will increase to $7.8 million in 2011. Even while absorbing this drastic reduction, UH Hilo is serving record numbers of students, and we are using multiple strategies to cope. They include using tuition, extra-mural and other funds to make up some of the general funds lost, deferring hiring, eliminating temporary positions, freezing civil service positions, and implementing collective bargaining and efficiency measures.

Budget reductions and priorities were developed via campus wide committees and collaborative processes. UH Hilo has already initiated the following:

• Our Long Range Budget Planning Committee has worked diligently to plan resource use and encourage innovative budget efficiencies. We are addressing student needs in creative and cost effective ways. For example, we recently equipped a residence hall cafeteria to double as a large-capacity classroom certain hours of the day. To be more efficient and user friendly to students, we merged all of our various academic support services into one center, which offers tutoring and other instructional services in the library.

• Our Campus-wide Enrollment Management Team led our successful effort to offer fewer classes but to more students and at a higher fill-rate. We also generated more student semester hours. But we cannot continue indefinitely to stretch our limited resources.

• We deferred hiring in all types of positions. Some of the faculty positions deferred are in such high demand fields as biology, chemistry, psychology, communications, and English.

• We protected certain operating priorities to maintain forward momentum. These include the College of Hawaiian Language, first-year student success, student health services, campus security, classroom instruction, enrollment growth, workforce development, and essential repairs and maintenance.

• Our Sustainability Initiative is reducing energy use and utility costs. Roof-top photovoltaic projects are planned using grant funds. Our Cost Savings Initiatives are examining campus operations to improve efficiencies. Areas identified include travel, supplies, service agreements, equipment, among many others.

• Through entrepreneurial efforts, we are generating new revenue streams by obtaining research and educational grants to supplement resources.

The cuts have been painful. Further reductions would undoubtedly harm our student body, which has a high percentage of first-generation and Native Hawaiian students. Our students would not be able to get needed courses nor graduate in a timely manner. Further reductions would also harm our community. For every $1.00 in state investment, UH Hilo generates an additional $3.06 in direct expenditures. UH Hilo is highly involved in fostering our community’s economic development. We oversee the statewide Small Business Development Center and the Office of Mauna Kea Management, both of which are crucial to the state’s economy.

We want to thank you for this opportunity to present testimony. We look forward to partnering with you as UH Hilo evolves as a comprehensive university meeting state higher education and workforce needs in the years to come.

August 18, 2008

3:00 p.m.

Campus Center Dining Hall

Thank you, Jim. Let me say thank you, Jim, for involving students in hands-on learning in the Geography Department and for your work in faculty governance.

Did you know that a scholarship was endowed in honor of the founders of the Geography Department last spring by a former student, Ron Terry? The scholarship honors Jim Juvik, Sonia Juvik, Jim Kelly, and Jack Healy. Jim and Sonia, your dedication is greatly appreciated.

Aloha!

I’d like to extend a special welcome to Regent Marlene Hapai. Thank you for all you have done for UH Hilo. Marlene was a faculty member here for many years. Many people don’t know she helped us get the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center started. And now, she’s serving on the UH Board of Regents.

I’d also like to welcome Mr. Eugene Nishimura, president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and president/regional manager of Hawaii National Bank.

In addition, Catheran Hashimoto is here. She is Education Committee Chair of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and East Hawaii Executive Director of the American Cancer Society.

Welcome!

Today is the beginning of a new academic year. It’s exciting to welcome newcomers, and reunite with all of you, our university ‘ohana.

This week is busy with Orientation. Thank you for your time helping students and new faculty and staff.

Today, we’ll be introducing over 70 newcomers, more than ever before. So we “old-timers” will need to reach out more than ever to welcome and integrate new students, faculty and staff into the life of the university.

Your spirit of aloha has made it all possible. I’d like to thank everyone who served on the many search committees we had in the past year.

For the benefit of the new members of our ‘ohana, I’d like to give a brief overview of our university and share a few recent highlights.

Since I came to UH Hilo in 1998, we have been developing from a liberal arts institution into a “comprehensive university” with a more diverse mix of professional and liberal arts programs as well as graduate programs.

We are now much better able to meet the expectations of students as well as the workforce needs of the state of Hawai‘i.

We are trying to boost services and infrastructure to support our students and make this a true comprehensive university. It’s a very exciting time for UH Hilo.

But with it comes growing pains. Change is always hard. I want to sincerely thank you all for bearing the inconvenience. Your patience and understanding will benefit our students in the long run. Thank you!

Academic excellence is our foundation. You are the best teachers, and your aloha spirit creates a very special learning environment.

Our island inspires the spirit of discovery, and many of our programs make the most of our living laboratory: culture, the sciences, geography, business, and more. There is hardly a field of study that isn’t enriched by our unique island environment.

At the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, we have exciting programs that are helping local and international business and economy: aquaculture, horticulture, animal science and more. Last semester, a fundraiser was held at the new covered livestock pavilion and raised about $30,000. The college is moving into studies of food security and sustainable energy.

The College of Arts and Sciences is our largest college and offers degree programs in many, many areas in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. With our campus emphasis on using the island as a learning laboratory, our STEM programs have really come into their own. Our programs are educating increasing numbers of students from underserved groups and encouraging them to pursue graduate studies.

At the College Of Business And Economics, I’m very pleased to say that students can now declare a new major in Accounting. The college has also entered into articulation agreements with Hawai‘i Community College and Kapi‘olani Community College. These “Degree Pathways” are crucial efforts to reach out underserved populations and enable student success. Watch for the college’s speaker series in entrepreneurship and economics.

The College of Hawaiian Language offers programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral level. They’re also deeply involved in language revitalization and immersion education at the K through 12 level. They have their own teacher education program to serve Hawaiian immersion schools.

The College of Pharmacy is rapidly establishing itself. They welcomed their inaugural class of 90 students last fall. And, for this fall’s class, they received over 1,200 applications. We plan to break ground this October for Phase I of their new temporary facilities.

Let me tell you about enrollment. From 1997 to 2007, we’ve had an overall increase in students of 35.4%. Growth was more or less slow and steady. The Fall 2007 headcount of 3,573 was the highest enrollment in the history of our campus. This year, we’re experiencing a spike in enrollment, we don’t know by how much yet. So we should see a record number again. The increase will be mostly in Hawai‘i residents.

Now to the budget. The bad news is, because of economic forces, the entire state of Hawai‘i is subject to budget reductions. We have already received reductions in the amount of $845,000. We’ve been told another reduction is coming, we don’t know how much. At the same time, utility costs have gone way up. This week, the campus-wide Long Range Budget Planning Committee will meet. This committee includes faculty and will help Administrative Affairs with a transparent process. For now, we are drastically slowing down spending. As we get more information, we will let the campus know.

On a happier note, I wanted to share with you the progress on our Student Recreation Center, opening early this Fall semester. It will really improve student life on campus. The facility is state-of-the-art and has received LEED gold-standard certification. There are indoor recreation rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, a snack bar and a lounge. The Board of Regents approved a student fee of $78 per semester to support student wellness programs, intramural events, and other activities. A faculty/staff member plan will be introduced later in the fall.

Many building projects will go forward this year. We really need the space! The Science and Technology Building, Student Services Building, temporary facilities for the College of Pharmacy, and we’re renovating a small astronomical observatory on Mauna Kea to use for instruction. There will also be a number of renovations and upgrades on and around campus.

I ask for your patience with the noise and inconvenience. We are working hard to provide you with adequate space and up-to-date facilities. To address the current space crunch, we’re exploring some off-campus leases.

On accreditation, our last review with WASC a few years ago was very good, and we were accredited for a full 10 years. The WASC team commended us for transforming from liberal arts college to a comprehensive university. We received a special visit from a WASC site team last spring. They were looking at a number of areas: budget and finance, governance and decision making, diversity, assessment of student learning, and the doctoral programs. I want to thank April Komenaka for engaging the whole campus to prepare for this visit and participate in the meetings.

The WASC site team had many commendations for UH Hilo but also a number of concerns and recommendations. The WASC Commission sent us an “action letter” with a set of requirements we must meet. These are reasonable and do-able. WASC will follow up with another special visit in Fall of 2009 to look at our governance structure and the PhD in the College of Hawaiian Language. We have not been censured by WASC, but we have been informed that we are now out of compliance in a number of areas. WASC standards have been steadily growing more rigorous over the past decade. It’s our challenge to develop as a university along with the standards. A lot of people, faculty and administration, will need to work together to meet all requirements set by WASC. I know we will be fully prepared by the time the site team arrives for the next visit.

We have a lot of exciting academic initiatives moving forward this year. New faculty, be sure to attend the New Faculty Orientation sessions Wednesday and Thursday in UCB 127. The Faculty Congress will be laying the groundwork to roll out the new General Education program in Fall of 2009. The new program has been many years in the making, and I’d like to thank the General Education Committee once again for championing this improved program.

A full service Academic Support Center is being developed. To be located downstairs in the library, it will provide supplemental instruction for all students and should open its doors in Fall 2009. The Office of Student Affairs is deeply involved in the planning and implementation of many academic initiatives. Academic Affairs and Student Affairs work closely together for the betterment of our university.

We’ve finally got dual enrollment for Hawai‘i Community College students. This will help them make a seamless transition to UH Hilo.

Student Affairs and Academic Affairs are working closely this year to improve the First Year Experience. We hope the expanded programs will help students feel connected to peers, the faculty, their studies, and the university.

We’ve also requested funds for this for the next biennium, but in the meantime, we’re trying to make improvements with the resources we have.

I want to recognize our athletes’ and their stellar achievements last year. We were thrilled last spring when our UH Hilo athletes won the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup for the Pacific West Conference. I couldn’t be more proud of them! System President David McClain has declared that the first Friday of each month during the academic year will be “UH Athletics Pride Days.”

So we’re encouraging everyone to show their pride by wearing UH Hilo athletics colors (red and white) or logo attire on the first Friday of every month.

And I’m also extremely proud of our faculty. Thank you for all your hard work with grants and research. Faculty are working on major grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, NASA, USDA, and others.

UH Hilo also has a college responsible for outreach and community service, the College Of Continuing Education And Community Service. It offers non-credit courses and serves the entire Big Island. At this time, I’d like to call upon April Komenaka to talk briefly about an important initiative in CCECS.

[…]

HONORING TENURE AND PROMOTION

The awarding of tenure and promotion is the university’s recognition of excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. We honor these faculty members on their past achievements. We also look forward to the future, when we will see how they help shape our university for the better. Please come up and assemble on stage as your names are called. I’d appreciate the audience holding the applause until the end.

For tenure and promotion:

• Todd Belt, Associate Professor of Political Science
• Michele Ebersole, Associate Professor of Education
• Bryan Kim, Professor of Psychology
• The following faculty members have been awarded promotion:
• Kathryn Besio, Associate Professor of Geography
• Peter Mills, Professor of Anthropology
• Cheryl Ramos, Associate Professor of Psychology
• Philippe Binder was also promoted to Professor of Physics. He is on sabbatical in Texas.

The following faculty members have been awarded tenure:

• Philip Castille, our Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, was received tenure as Professor of English
• Edward Fisher, the College of Pharmacy’s Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Drew Martin, Associate Professor of Marketing
• Mark Okamoto, Professor of Pharmacy Practice

A round of applause for everyone receiving tenure and promotion!

Thank you all. You may take your seats.

INTRODUCTION OF NEWCOMERS

Today we are pleased to introduce our newcomers. I’m truly thrilled to say that there are over 70, more than twice as many as last year.

We were successful in arguing for new positions during the last budget round. The campus also worked hard on search committees all last year.

May I ask that the introductions be brief so we have time for everyone?

In the interest of time, I’m asking that each introducer bring their newcomers up to the stage in a group. Each newcomer should step forward to be introduced as his or her name is called.

I will now call upon Debra Fitzsimons, vice chancellor for Administrative Affairs, to make the introductions for her unit.

[…]

Dean Bill Steiner will introduce for the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management.

[…]

And now, the College of Arts and Sciences. Division Chair, David Miller, will make the introductions for the Humanities Division.

[…]

Rick Castberg, who is the Division Chair for Social Sciences, will introduce the newcomers in his division.

[…]

I’ll now call upon Leon Hallacher, Division Chair for Natural Sciences, to introduce his newcomers.

Moving on to the College of Business and Economics … I’d like to call up Hank Hennesey for Business Administration and Tam Vu for Economics.

[…]

Kalena Silva will make the introductions for the College of Hawaiian Language.

[…]

Dean John Pezzuto will introduce the newcomers from the College of Pharmacy.

[…]

Dean April Komenaka will make the introductions for the College of Continuing Education and Community Service.

[…]

Kathleen Stacey will introduce new Library staff.

[…]

Vice Chancellor Luoluo Hong will introduce for the Office of Student Affairs.

[…]

I’d now like to call upon Ka‘iu Kimura, Associate Director of the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii, to make her introductions.

[…]

This should conclude our introduction of newcomers. Please speak up if I’ve overlooked anyone.

If not, I’ll move on to the last segment of the program, which recognizes our volunteers.

Our university is fortunate to have volunteers to add a special touch to our campus. Our gardens are beautiful because of the hard work of our retired senior volunteers known as RSVP volunteers. Please join me in recognizing and thanking them.

• Ramon Abong
• Robert Koga
• Harue Kaneshiro
• Carolina Madrid
• George Matsubara
• Philomena Rabago
• Sueno Saruwatari
• Jean Funai

Other volunteers help with many projects. We want to thank you for giving of your time and expertise:

• Chiyono Kinoshita. Chiyono does many different things
• Junko Nowaki also helps in many different areas
• Lynne Shimazu makes our beautiful flower arrangements!

Thank you to all our volunteers!

CLOSING

We have many achievements to celebrate, and we have many challenges ahead. But for now, let’s get to know one another over refreshments.

Please take the time to reach out newcomers and help them integrate into the life of the campus.

Thank you, everyone, for working together to build the best university that truly benefits our diverse students and the entire community. When we all work together, great things can happen!

Have a great fall semester!

Aloha!

Chancellor’s Message
Chamber Connection
July 2008

I recently informed the University of Hawai’i Board of Regents that I am stepping down as chancellor on December 31, 2009.

My years at UH Hilo have been some of the best and most rewarding of my life. Soon I will commence on my next phase.

In 2010, I will be on sabbatical, when I will take a look at the broader picture of higher education and its role in preparing students for a global and more competitive marketplace. I will then return to UH Hilo for a couple of years in a position yet to be determined where I will continue to help our momentum into the future.

A lot has been accomplished during the 10 years I have been chancellor. We have reached the next level of excellence. With everyone working together, we increased enrollment, built new facilities, started new degree programs, increased grants and research, and increased global recognition of UH Hilo.

I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, and I have greatly enjoyed meeting and working with so many wonderful, dedicated people over the years.

I’ve always been very impressed with and grateful for the level of support UH Hilo receives from the community. The Chambers, elected officials, community and business leaders, champions of culture and science, and many, many others, are the foundation of all our progress. I want to thank you all for your unwavering support.

I also want to thank our outstanding, hard working faculty and staff, who are always an inspiration to me. I am very proud of their dedication to making UH Hilo the very best comprehensive university in the Pacific region.

I want to thank all the members of my administration teams for their hard and tireless work. Some members have changed over the years, but we have always moved together in the same direction and overcome many obstacles to take advantage of many opportunities.

With a very strong team of permanent deans and vice chancellors in place and the successful launch of the Centennial Campaign, I feel the university is in a good position to keep the momentum going.

December 2009 is 18 months from now and should give the university plenty of time to plan and strategize for my departure. Our momentum has been so positive that I’m confident UH Hilo will attract excellent candidates to be its next chancellor. I’ll be in contact with UH President McClain about initiating a search with broad participation from the UH Hilo campus and the community.

I look forward to working with all of you in the months ahead to continue our string of accomplishments. When we all work together, great things happen!

Mahalo and aloha,

Rose Tseng

Chancellor Tseng gave a talk last week on “Higher Education’s Role in Addressing Women and Aging” to the Organizing Committee for the 4th World Women University Presidents Forum. The international forum will be held in Beijing in 2009. Chancellor Tseng is the United States representative on the committee, which met at Josai University in Japan, June 3-6, to discuss higher education issues and plan for the forum. Below are her remarks on higher ed’s role in addressing women & aging.

The 3rd World Women University Presidents Forum (at left) was held in Beijing in 2006. More than 100 women university presidents from 34 countries and regions attended. Chancellor Tseng currently represents the United States on the committee organizing the 4th World Women University Presidents Forum to be held in Beijing in 2009. Xinhua Photo. Link

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng’s Remarks

“Higher Education’s Role in Addressing Women and Aging”

Organizing Committee for the 4th World Women University Presidents 2009 Forum

June 4, 2008

Japan

Aloha! Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today.

I’ve been asked to talk to you about the role of higher education in addressing the problems of women and aging.

I’m not a sociologist, but I do have experience in starting gerontology programs– I understand the importance.

I also consulted with colleagues who are experts in gerontology, and they helped me to put together some data for you about women and aging in America and the state of Hawai‘i.

Today’s Talk on Women & Aging

Today I’d like to share with you:

• Trends and projections about women and aging in the United States and Hawai‘i.
• Some ideas about how universities can help older women improve their quality of life, with examples about programs and research at UH Hilo.
• And I will conclude with some ideas about how we, as women leaders, can help address the problem of women and aging.

Read the rest of this entry »

Psychology professor and “local girl” Cheryl Ramos (center) receives the Taniguchi Award for Excellence and Innovation at the 2008 End-of-the Year Celebration. Funding for this award comes from the Koichi and Taniyo Taniguchi Memorial Endowment Fund, which was established in memory of the founders of what is known today as KTA Superstores. The award was presented by Barry Taniguchi (left), president of KTA and the grandson of the endowment founders, and Randy Hirokawa (right), dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and chair of the award selection committee. Photos by John Oshima.

Aloha!

Once again, we celebrate the end of the academic year. This is a special time to recognize our colleagues, and my special time to say thank you to all of you. Your dedication to working together results in a great learning environment we can all be proud of.

This year, we’re also celebrating UH Hilo’s 60th year. We’ve been reviewing how far we’ve come in that time and the obstacles and hardships many people here have had to face as we struggle to advance our university. I want to say that I appreciate more than I can say how we all pull together for the betterment of UH Hilo.

Here are just a few highlights of what you all have achieved this semester.

Our terrific student athletes won the Commissioner’s Cup for the entire Pacific West Conference. This is a wonderful achievement! It means that ours is the top athletic program in the league. Our coaches and student athletes are to be congratulated.

Our faculty passed a new General Education program that had been years in the making. Our Faculty Congress led the way and developed a successful proposal. We’re all looking forward to seeing it implemented.

The hard work of many, many people goes into our budget requests. In this second year of the biennium, we were only allowed to request positions and funds to enhance health, safety and security on campus.

The legislature was generous to UH Hilo. We were given:

• A security director position
• Personnel for health and safety as well as safety education
• Personnel to improve physical and mental health services
• Restoration of a position in the library and five rangers on Mauna Kea

This is a very good showing for the second year of the biennium.

We had a great visit from the WASC site team. Many thanks to April Komenaka and the many people who took the time to meet with the visiting team.

In a few months, we’ll have the grand opening of our Student Life Center. We’ve been waiting for this a long time, and it will be worth it. We’ll finally be able to offer the exercise and recreational activities our students so badly need.

After decades of work, we will break ground on the new China-US Center this summer. This is another long-awaited project, which will double our student housing capacity.

Each and every one of these achievements were made possible by our faculty and staff, and often students, too, pulling together for the betterment of the university.

Read the rest of this entry »

Chancellor’s Remarks

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
International Conference & Annual Meeting
April 13, 2008

Honolulu

“The Role of Universities in Regional Prosperity”

Good afternoon and aloha! Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today.

This afternoon I would like to share with you some thoughts about the role of universities and business schools in workforce and economic development, tell you a little about UH Hilo’s role as an economic engine, and then share with you some strategies that I hope you’ll find interesting and useful.

Compared to other developed countries, the U.S. lags in the proportion of its population who have an associate degrees or higher. This is a gathering storm. We need to enhance our human capital, and in the new knowledge economy, universities are recognized as the engine of economic growth.

The Big Island is a microcosm of the world: an island the size of Connecticut, surrounded by water, thousands of miles from the mainland. In fact, you could say our university is at the center of a big economic experiment. UH Hilo plays a huge role in the local economy, including direct expenditures on the island, second largest employer in east Hawai‘i, and workforce development. On the Big Island, it’s easy to see the effect UH Hilo has on the economy.

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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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