Summer 2007

UH Hilo celebrated 2007 Spring Commencement on May 12. It was a joy to see the support of friends, families and the community for our graduates. Many state and county elected officials also attended to honor our graduates. Keynote speaker was Jack Gifford, a pioneer in the analog microchip industry and founder of Maxim Integrated Products.

Each commencement is more exciting than the last with our growth of enrollment and degree programs. Not long ago, UH Hilo was a small liberal arts campus on a few acres. Now, we are a comprehensive university excelling in liberal arts, professional degrees and applied research with room to grow to 700 acres. We now have five academic colleges and offer 35 baccalaureate degrees, six master degrees and two doctorates.

Our master programs were established in response to the state’s social, economic and cultural issues. The university currently serves over 100 graduate students in the fields of China U.S. Relations; Counseling Psychology; Education; Hawaiian Language and Literature; Indigenous Language, Culture and Education; and Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science.

We just received news that the university’s College of Pharmacy has achieved the first step in the Pharmacy School Accreditation Process. The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education has granted the College of Pharmacy Pre-Candidate Status. Our college is the first recognized by the ACPE to offer the Doctor of Pharmacy degree in the State of Hawai‘i. It is expected to enroll an inaugural class of 90 students beginning this fall with 45 students from Hawai‘i and 45 students from the mainland and elsewhere in the world.

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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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June 2005

• Four UH Hilo students receive the prestigious UH Presidential Scholarship. Marla Garcia, biology major; Heather Kaluna, astronomy major; Branden Lohrey, natural science major; and Faye Plescia, psychology major. The four, along with six others from throughout the 10-campus UH system, are selected by the UH Board of Regents. Each has a grade point average of 3.7 or better, a record of sustained academic progress, and has attained superior academic achievement or creative endeavor. The students receive a full tuition waiver for two years of undergraduate study, $4,000 a year, and a one-time travel grant of $2,000.

July 2005

• William Steiner is appointed dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management. Previously, Steiner served as director of the Pacific Islands Ecosystems Research Center in Honolulu. Born in Hawai‘i, Steiner was adjunct associate professor at the University of Missouri from 1986-1995 and adjunct professor at UH M?noa from 1995. He is an associate in research with the Bishop Museum and serves on the State of Hawai‘i Endangered Species Review Committee.

• Marcia Sakai, UH Hilo professor of tourism and economics, is appointed dean of the recently established College of Business and Economics. Previously, she served as director of the college, director of the School of Business Administration, and chair of the Division of Business and Economics at UH Hilo. Under her leadership, the new college receives accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, the worldwide hallmark of excellence. Out of the 482 business schools with accreditation, only 34 prior to UH Hilo are undergraduate-only programs. UH Hilo is one of two Hawai‘i institutions earning this distinction.

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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 House Committee on Higher Education
Hawai‘i State Legislature
Honolulu, Hawai‘i
December 15, 2005

Aloha. I would like to first of all say thank you for all the support you give to UH Hilo. Your help enables UH Hilo to provide excellent education to our students and to meet the needs of the state of Hawai‘i.

UH Hilo, the state’s comprehensive university, has a rigorous and engaging curriculum, and one of the country’s most diverse student bodies. Our size and setting mirror the look and feel of a small private college. The positive difference is that UH Hilo is accessible and affordable to students of many varied backgrounds.

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Chancellor’s Remarks
Fall Convocation
August 16, 2005
Ho‘oulu Terrace
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo

Aloha and welcome.

Fall Convocation is my opportunity to welcome all of you, both newcomers and old timers, to a new academic year and the opening of Fall 2005.

This week of Orientation is a busy one, and I want to thank all of you for the extra time and effort you give to helping our new students have a successful start. Your dedication, commitment and aloha make UH Hilo a very special place. Thank you, thank you.

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Testimony by UH Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng
Hawai‘i State Legislature
Honolulu, Hawai‘i

Senate Committee on Higher Education
House Committee on Higher Education
Jan. 25, 2005

Good afternoon and Happy New Year. The beginning of a new year brings with it new hope and exciting possibilities and opportunities. Thank you for this opportunity to come before you to highlight the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo is recognized and applauded as a national public university with a rigorous and engaging curriculum and one of the country’s most diverse student bodies. Our size and setting mirror the look and feel of a small private college, yet we are accessible and affordable to a wide range of students.

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Summer of 2003

• Outside magazine, with a readership of outdoor adventurers, took a look at hundreds of colleges across America, and ranked UH Hilo 19 out of 40 schools that turn out “smart grads with top-notch academic credentials, a healthy environmental ethos, and an A+ sense of adventure.”
• U.S. News and World Report ranks UH Hilo sixth among national liberal arts colleges in campus diversity in its 2004 edition of America’s Best Colleges. The university also tied for fourth in percentage of international students with 12 percent of the school’s undergraduates.

September 2003

• Fall 2003 enrollment is at an all-time high of 3,340 students, an 8.8 percent increase over last fall, the largest percentage gain in the entire 10-campus University of Hawai‘i system.
• UH Hilo enters into a master cooperative agreement with the US Geological Survey’s Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center to jointly develop research, monitoring, and educational partnerships with the university and its students.

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