Dear Chancellor Tseng:

Thank you for taking UH Hilo so far forward as a comprehensive university.

Under your leadership, we have established our academic reputation as a quality institution of choice to Hawaii residents and others. The creation of the College of Business and Economics, which has achieved AACSB accreditation, has been a major accomplishment for this institution. The creation of the College of Pharmancy will further establish our campus as a campus of choice for many.

Thank you for all the work that you have done for us with the legislature and with private donors.

I honor your service and dedication and professionalism. You are a true role model for me, and I appreciate the opportunity to learn from you, and look forward to working with you in your last months at UH Hilo as Chancellor.

Sincerely,

Barbara Leonard, Ph.D., CMA

Associate Professor of Accounting

UH Hilo Faculty Congress Chair

Aloha,

Yesterday I informed the UH Board of Regents that I am stepping down as chancellor on Dec. 31, 2009.

My years at UH Hilo have been some of the best of my life and very rewarding. Soon I will commence on my next phase of intellectual stimulation working on projects in which I am personally interested.

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

We moved together in the same direction and overcame many obstacles to take advantage of many opportunities. Now that UH Hilo has permanent deans and vice chancellors, I feel it’s in a good position to keep the momentum going.

December 2009 is 19 months from now and should give the university enough time to plan and strategize. 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 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. Together we make great things happen!

Mahalo for all your support,

Rose

Chancellor to leave post, but not university, in 18 months

by John Burnett

Hawaii Tribune-Herald

University of Hawaii at Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng will step down from the top post in December 2009 under an agreement struck Thursday with the UH Board of Regents in Honolulu.

“I will be returning, just not as chancellor,” Tseng told the Tribune-Herald Thursday night.

Tseng, who has been UHH chancellor since 1998, was given a “special salary adjustment” — an unspecified raise — retroactive to July 1, 2007 during the closed meeting. She was also granted a one-year “professional improvement” leave starting Jan. 1, 2010. In addition, Tseng had requested a waiver of return service obligation, which would have allowed her to retire from the university. She said the regents declined that request.

“Some people think that’s a special favor,” Tseng said. “The reason (UH President David McClain) and I requested that is because we believe that -people’s return is not always the best for the university — when high-level people return to teach or return to whatever when they are no longer chancellor.”

Tseng, who is in her mid-60s, is also a full professor at UHH and has a Ph.D. in nutritional science with minors in biochemistry and physiology from the University of California at Berkeley. She said it has not been decided in what capacity she will serve at the end of her sabbatical.

“It will probably be in some executive position,” Tseng said, but did not rule out a return to the classroom. “I was a very good teacher,” she said, adding, “I don’t mind returning. Later we will discuss what I will return to do.”

She made no bones about her original intention, however, stating, “I was going to retire, but they didn’t approve it.” Tseng says she does not know how much longer she must serve before she could retire with benefits.

“I was thinking it would be a clean cut, and it would be better for the university if the high-level executives (were to) just leave at the end. But the BOR for the faculty says ‘if you take a leave, you shall come back for service.’ So they wanted to apply that for the executives, too.

“That’s OK. It doesn’t hurt me.”

Tseng, born in Northern China and raised in Taiwan, has held the position longer than any other chancellor in the school’s history.

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Chancellor Tseng announced yesterday she’s stepping down on Dec. 31, 2009. She will then take a year’s leave in 2010, and return to UH Hilo in 2011 in a position not yet determined.

Story in today’s Star Bulletin here.

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!

Dustin Shindo delivers keynote at 2007 Fall Commencement. Photo by John Oshima.

UH Hilo celebrated Fall Commencement today! There were 233 candidates for various degrees and certificates. The UH Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Teaching went to Raina Ivanova, associate professor of mathematics.

Keynote speaker was Dustin Shindo, a fantastically successful “local boy” from Hilo, now CEO of Hoku Scientific in Kapolei, a publicly traded company that’s building a plant to produce silicon, a key component in solar energy systems and other electronics.

More on Commencement in press release here .

Aloha,

It is with pleasure that I am writing to announce that Dr. Luoluo Hong has just accepted the position of Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

Dr. Hong’s most recent administrative position was serving as the Dean of Students at Arizona State University-West. Before this she was the Dean of Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also has served as the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at Shepherd College and Director of Wellness Education and Outreach Services at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

Dr. Hong has been a faculty member in Criminology and Criminal Justice and Women’s Studies. She is a nationally known speaker and consultant in the area of leadership, health, and social justice.

She holds her BA degree in Psychology from Amherst College, her Master’s of Public Health, Health Promotion, Policy and Resources from Yale University, and her PhD from Louisiana State University in Educational Leadership.

Dr. Hong will begin at UH Hilo on January 1, 2008. Please join me in welcoming her.

A special note of thanks goes to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Search Committee, which was comprised of Search Chairs Bill Chen and Gail Makuakane-Lundin and Search Committee Members Sonia Juvik, Jeff Scofield, Emmeline De Pillis, Kainoa Kaumeheiwa-Rego, and Kehau Cortez-Camero.

Mahalo,

Rose Tseng
Chancellor

[12/3 UH Hilo press release here. ]

Chancellor Tseng is welcoming hundreds of scientists, researchers and administrators to our island today for an impressive national conference.

The 20th annual Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research conference kicked off at Waikoloa and will continue through Friday. EPSCoR is a National Science Foundation (NSF) program designed to develop a state’s academic science and technology resources in a way that supports the creation of wealth and enhances the life of the state’s citizens.

Under the leadership of Chancellor Tseng, UH Hilo took the lead in 2001 and headed the drive to have Hawai‘i declared an EPSCoR state. Chancellor Tseng served first as chair and now as co-chair of the Hawai‘i EPSCoR State Committee that oversees and provides direction for the statewide program.

EPSCoR has brought over $40 million to the state for research in evolutionary genetics, ecosystem studies and cyber infrastructure.

Read the rest of this entry »

UH Hilo’s ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i is one of the island’s newest attractions, presenting real-time information from the observatories high atop Mauna Kea, along with permanent and traveling exhibitions at its home on the UHH campus. Starting in mid-November 2007, the center will be the yearlong host of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s major exhibition, “Cosmic Questions.”

Full story at SFGate.com (external news site determines when link will expire). SFGate.com is affiliated with the San Francisco Chronicle .

Summary:

‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i is one of the island’s newest attractions, presenting real-time information from the observatories high atop Mauna Kea, along with permanent and traveling exhibitions at its home on the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo campus. Starting in mid-November 2007, the center will be the yearlong host of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s major exhibition, “Cosmic Questions.” The show includes four components: “Our Place in Space,” “Observing the Universe,” “Our Place in Time” and “Great Mysteries,” the last covering topics such as dark matter and black holes. ‘Imiloa’s permanent exhibitions include “Origins,” which presents the Hawaiian view of creation along with the Big Bang theory, and “Voyages,” which contains a one-fifth scale model of a voyaging canoe and Hawaiian cultural exhibits. Throughout the center, you’ll see Hawaiian display text as well as English, reflecting the islanders’ renewed respect for their Polynesian heritage.

The College of Pharmacy Class of 2011 at the White Coat Ceremony held today on campus.

The new College of Pharmacy held its inaugural White Coat Ceremony today. The event formally kicked off the four-year program that will produce the college’s first graduates in 2011.

“This is an exciting day for UH Hilo and especially for these students,” said Chancellor Rose Tseng. “Years from now, when the College of Pharmacy is recognized as one of the finest institutions of its kind anywhere, they’ll be able to look back on this day and realize that they were part of history in the making.”

The White Coat Ceremony is a rite of passage for students in the health care field to affirm their commitment to the values of their profession, which include professionalism, respect, integrity and caring. They wore their white consultation coats, a symbol of their place in the health care profession as a care provider.

Full press release here .