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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Ho‘oulu Terrace, UH Hilo

Aloha Chair Lagareta, members of the Board of Regents, President McClain and colleagues. Welcome to UH Hilo.

Today I will highlight UH Hilo’s commitment to excellence.

It is a commitment to being both an institution of access and a destination-point institution. We are committed to offering high-quality programs to the citizens of our island, state, nation and world.

It is a commitment to our students to deliver the best quality education possible.

And it is a commitment to our island and state to help build strong communities, a thriving economy and professional workforce for the 21^st century.

UH Hilo is in the ideal position to build the professional workforce needed for our state’s rural communities.

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Wainaku Executive Center, Hilo

Those of you here tonight represent several generations of Big Islanders, so I don’t have to tell you how far UH Hilo has come since our founding 60 years ago. A few of you even helped get us started, and you can probably tell our history better than I can.

Some of you remember the tiny two-year extension program in the Hilo Boarding School, which grew into a small undergraduate liberal arts college, which evolved into the multi-faceted university we are today.

You’ve watched us take advantage of our island’s unique geographical setting to develop signature programs in marine science, astronomy, and conservation biology. You’ve seen us add six master’s programs and two doctoral programs. You’ve seen us double our enrollment, and burst at the seams!

Some of you may have joined your children or grandchildren for exciting adventures at our ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. Or you may have hired our graduates and experienced firsthand the powerful economic impact of UH Hilo.

I wonder, however, how many of you have had an opportunity to look beyond these achievements and see some of the critical problems that the university is working to solve.

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Chancellor Tseng delivers Convocation at Ho‘oulu Terrace. Photo by John Oshima.

Aloha!

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 activities. Thank you for your time helping students and new faculty. Your spirit of aloha makes UH Hilo a very special place. Before we introduce new members of our ‘ohana, I’d like to share some highlights of our university.

When I came to UH Hilo in 1998, I surveyed our university and local communities and together we made three major goals to achieve our Strategic Plan: 1) academic excellence, 2) enrollment growth, and 3) resource development.

We have all been working hard on all three. 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, science, art, and more.

Student and professor collect data at the summit of Hualalai. Photo courtesy of Keaholoa STEM program.

At UH Hilo, we integrate science, culture and technology to prepare students for the 21st-century global economy and society.

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Chancellor Tseng’s Remarks
National Science Board*
June 7, 2007
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo

Good morning and aloha. I’m delighted to welcome you to the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

There are exciting things happening at our university, and more exciting things that we envision for the future.

UH Hilo has made a rapid transformation from a liberal arts undergraduate institution to a comprehensive university. Caring for and transforming the lives of our undergraduate students remains the soul of UH Hilo, but we have added opportunities for them with research experience and graduate study options.

The hallmark of UH Hilo is to integrate research and teaching. We believe this is an excellent model for all education, but especially so for the sciences.

Pacific peoples accomplished one of the greatest achievements of ancient times with their remarkable colonization of the Pacific. We try to tap into the science-based nature of Pacific cultures to make our science courses and research activities relevant for our students.

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Chancellor’s Remarks
End-of-the-Year Celebration & Recognition Ceremony
May 10, 2007
Ho‘oulu Terrace

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 and commitment to work together result in many achievements, and we can all be proud. Thank you for your hard work to achieve the best teaching and learning environment for our students.

SERVICE AWARDS

Today we celebrate and honor our university colleagues for their exemplary service and dedication to our university.

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Remarks by Chancellor Rose Tseng
2007 Spring Highlights
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Ho‘oulu Terrace

Aloha and Welcome to the Spring 2007 semester!

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us today. Kudos to you for advising and guiding our students as we open spring semester. I know you have been working hard to give our students a successful start. Please know how much I appreciate your dedication and commitment. This is what makes UH Hilo a very special place.

I am pleased to share with you our opening spring enrollment. We increased our count to 3,287, with a gain of 18 students or 0.6%. We are the only campus in the UH system to show steady enrollment increases every spring semester for the past nine years.

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

Presented Before the Senate Committee on Higher Education and the House Committee on Higher Education

January 5, 2007
Hawai‘i State Legislature
Honolulu, Hawai‘i

Aloha. On behalf of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, I would like to first say thank you. Your support to UH Hilo enables us to meet our commitment to offer our students excellent academic opportunities, and to achieve our mission to meet the economic and professional workforce needs of the Big Island and the state.

UH Hilo, the state’s comprehensive university, has the academic rigor and ambience of a small private college. The positive difference is that UH Hilo is accessible to students of many varied and diverse backgrounds– residents, commuters, nontraditional and international students, and distance learners. As the state’s comprehensive university, we focus and create our programs to provide the needed professional workforce with an outreach to the underserved rural communities of our island and state. In this way, our mission and goals are ongoing solutions to improve the overall quality of life and increase and revitalize the education and economic opportunities for our students and the citizens of our state.

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Remarks by Chancellor Rose Tseng
Meeting of the University of Hawai‘i Board Of Regents
October 19, 2006
Ho‘oulu Terrace
UH Hilo

“Transforming Our Students, Our Island, Our State and the Pacific Rim”

Aloha members of the Board of Regents, President McClain and colleagues. Welcome to UH Hilo.

My presentation today will be in three parts. First, I will highlight UH Hilo’s development and transformation, then speak of our distinctions, and conclude with how we measure our excellence.

Let’s start with a question: What do you identify as opportunities for UH Hilo? Several weeks ago, my Advisory Board members had a lively discussion about UH Hilo. Here are excerpts of their responses to the question:

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Chancellor’s Remarks
Fall 2006 Convocation
August 30, 2006
3:00 p.m.
Ho‘oulu Terrace

Aloha!

Welcome to a new academic year and the opening of Fall 2006. I hope you enjoyed your summer and are now ready for another productive and excellent year at UH Hilo.

Before we proceed with the program, I ask you to join me in a minute of silence in honor of our beloved friend and colleague, Haunani Bernardino.

Thank you.

This week students are busy attending their classes and learning their way around. I want to thank you for the extra time and effort you give to help students have a successful start. Your dedication, commitment and aloha make UH Hilo a very special place. Please know how much you are valued and appreciated.

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