Have you ever wondered who to call when you see an injured turtle on the beach? Or how to culture a black pearl? How small is a fish that is too small to keep?

Find out the answer to these and other fascinating questions concerning the ocean surrounding us at the 3rd annual Ocean Day Hawaii, hosted by the University of Hawaii at Hilo Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center (PACRC, pictured above) and Marine Science Department, in partnership with the University of Hawaii Sea Grant and Hilo Jaycees.

Admission is free for this family-friendly event on Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at PACRC on Kalanianaole Avenue in Keaukaha.

Ocean Day Hawaii is a community outreach event designed to increase public awareness of ocean issues such as conservation, ocean resources and ocean safety through fun, interactive displays, activities and booths. Over 1,000 people attended last year’s event. This year’s Ocean Day promises to be bigger and better, with additional and more diverse displays.

All ages will enjoy the hands-on activities prepared by UH Hilo Marine Science researchers and partners, including the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources, Marine Mammal Response Network, Hawaii Wildlife Society and Mokupapapa. For the keiki, there are fishing games, touch-tank exploration and face painting plus crafts and activities, including a poi pounding workshop. Artwork of our coastal Hawaii nei by Keaukaha keiki will be displayed as well as underwater remote operated vehicles (ROVs) courtesy of local robotics groups. Site tours will also be given.

In addition to providing information on current topics such as why plastic is harmful to marine life and what we can do to help identify and control aquatic invasive species, other booths will focus on our coastal heritage here in Hawaii. Information will be available on how to get involved with beach clean-ups, what you can do to help preserve and protect our ocean resources, and how to gain a career in the ocean sciences.

There will be a welcome by Patrick Kahawaiolaa of the Keaukaha Community Association and UH Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng. For more information, e-mail Sharon Ziegler-Chong at ziegler@hawaii.edu or Michele Kubojiri at mkubojir@hawaii.edu or call 933-3289.

Chancellor Tseng, at center in red, at US-China Energy Conference held at UH Hilo

From Big Island Video News:

March 19, 2009 – Hilo, Hawaii
VIDEO: David Corrigan

An international meeting of the world’s top two energy consuming countries took place on the Big Island Wednesday, as the Committee on U.S. – China Cooperation on Electricity from Renewables convened in Hilo.

The University of Hawaii at Hilo was the host for the joint U.S.-China delegation, which was comprised of leading scientists and experts on renewable energy from the National Academies of Science and Engineering in both countries.

According to a university press release, the committee met at UH Hilo to learn more about how the Big Island’s renewable energy strategies, initiatives and research can strengthen the economic foundation of the community.

Chancellor Rose Tseng, who greeted the Chinese delegates in their own language, took a moment to do a video interview about the important meeting.

Joining the two countries’ leading renewable energy researchers were representatives of Mayor Billy Kenoi, Hawaii Electric Light Company, Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association and local agriculture businesses.

A UH-Hilo press release notes that the U.S. and China rank as the world’s top two energy consumers, but remain largely reliant on fossil fuels.

The delegation is also visiting other parts of the state.

In today’s Honolulu Advertiser:

KAILUA, KONA, Hawai’i — The Big Island may become the center of the universe for U.S. space projects. At least that is the vision of the director of a space research program at the University of Hawai’i-Hilo.

Frank Schowengerdt, director of Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, or PISCES, said the Big Island is the ideal spot on Earth for kick-starting NASA’s plans to put men and women on the moon and Mars permanently. “We’re going back (to the moon) and we’re going back to stay by 2018 or 2020,” he said. “We want a permanent presence on the moon, and PISCES has a permanent place on the Big Island.”

The PISCES program, which scored $400,000 last year from the Legislature, bills itself as an international research and education center for the development of technologies to sustain human life on the moon and beyond.

Its mission is to advance the settlement of space through partnerships with industry, academia, NASA and space agencies around the world, Schowengerdt said. Future funding likely will come from federal and state sources, as well as private donations and grants.

The program last month was instrumental in NASA’s successful tests of equipment to turn soil into oxygen and water on the slopes of Mauna Kea.

Link

An agreement between the Academia Sinica and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo was signed this week by Chancellor Rose Tseng during a trip to Taiwan hosted by Hawai‘i Governor Linda Lingle.

The Hawai‘i-Taiwan joint partnership in undergraduate education, community outreach and astronomy research, stemming from the Taiwan-American Occultation Survey, will facilitate the enhancement of current TAOS research capabilities in Hawai‘i and initiate reciprocal educational, outreach, and research programs.

The purpose of the TAOS project (http://taos.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw) is to measure directly the number of Kuiper Belt Objects in the outer solar system. This knowledge will help scientists to understand the formation and evolution of comets in the early solar system.

“The TAOS-Hawai‘i partnership will lead to an increase in the number of under-represented minorities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professions, and expand the ability and mission of the UH Hilo ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i to interpret the relationship between science and culture,” Governor Lingle said.

“Astronomy and space science have become significant activities generating income and employment in Hawai‘i,” said Ted Liu, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. “On the Big Island it is topped only by tourism. The Mauna Kea observatories bring in over $150 million dollars to the local economy and employ over 600 workers, including many kama‘aina.”

TAOS is an ongoing international research program led by the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics with a number of other institutions, including the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Taiwan’s National Central University (Institute of Astronomy), Yonsei University (South Korea), and, through this agreement, the newest member – UH Hilo.

Academia Sinica was founded June 9, 1928. As a prominent academic institution in Taiwan, Academia Sinica has two basic missions: conducting scientific research in its own institutions, as well as providing guidance, channels of communication, and encouragement to raising academic standards in the country.

Link

Teams of scientists from four universities, led by the College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, are presenting a large-scale research concept to the National Science Foundation (NSF) in order to study traditional medicine. The universities involved are UH Hilo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rutgers University and Purdue University.

“Research is becoming more of a collaborative effort because of fiscal limitations and the complexity of problems we face,” said Dr. John Pezzuto (pictured), dean of the College of Pharmacy in Hilo. “It’s important for us to reach out to other schools to share our expertise and also to show we are a competitive force in the educational arena. It’s also an important step in gaining final approval in the accreditation process, which will take place when our first class graduates in 2011.”

Using advanced analytical technology such as X-ray diffraction, spectroscopy and bioanalytics, the researchers will investigate how characteristics of traditional medicines affect how they work in people. The relationships will be pulled together with informatics and bioinformatics, or the computational organization and analysis of the data. The researchers hope to fill a gap in how to identify the important elements of traditional medicine to treat serious diseases.

“Many traditional medicines have hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of history and it is almost certain that some of them could provide important leads for new drugs or new uses for old medicines,” Pezzuto said.

Team leaders from UH Hilo are Dr. Robert Borris, associate dean for research in pharmacy, and Dr. Kenneth Morris, professor of pharmaceutics. Faculty from the departments of biology and chemistry are helping to lead the effort, as well as other faculty from throughout the College of Pharmacy.

The NSF Science and Technology program is designed to support large-scale research across institutions to advance and create new science. This pre-proposal will be decided on after April 2009, and will be one of the many ways UH Hilo’s College of Pharmacy is building a strong research reputation in the global healthcare industry, Pezzuto said.

To help communicate this vision, Pezzuto is presenting an invited lecture, co-authored with Morris, to scientists at the Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. The conference, held in Washington, D.C. this week, is organized by the American Association for Cancer Research. Current work, conducted through a collaborative project involving UH Hilo College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, Scripts Institute of Oceanography and the University Illinois at Chicago, is funded by the National Cancer Institute. The lecture focuses on linking traditional medicine to advanced informatics, which is already used for the redesign of drug manufacturing and gene research.

Link to full story.

UH Hilo’s Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, or PISCES, hosts team of NASA scientists this week, who are conducting research at Mauna Kea in preparation for space exploration.

NASA tests ideas on Mauna Kea

From Big Island VideoNews.com:

NASA wrapped two weeks of tests on the volcanic soil of the Big Island of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, and invited the media to take a look at the technological concepts that will assist future space missions.

The goal was to test systems that will one day assist astronauts in maintaining a sustainable and affordable lunar outpost, by drilling into alien soil and extracting water that could be used to create oxygen.

NASA’s lunar exploration plan currently projects that lunar resources could generate one to two tons of oxygen annually, or the same amount that four to six people living at a lunar outpost might breathe in a year.

The tests were held on Hawaii because Mauna Kea’s soil is so similar to the regolith that covers the moon’s surface. Three prototype systems were tested.

The tests were hosted by Pacific International Space Center [for Exploration Systems], or PISCES, based at the University of Hawaii – Hilo.

In this video, William Larson, Chief of NASA’s Applied Sciences Division, explains the tests in greater detail.

UH-Hilo student research assistant Mary Chapman, left, undergoes a full-body scan on the Hologic QDR-4500W bone densitometer, while exercise physiologist Linc Gotshalk looks on. The machine was donated to UHH by Dr. Doug Hiller, a Waimea orthopedic surgeon and sports doctor. – William Ing/Hawaii Tribune-Herald

by John Burnett

Tribune-Herald Staff Writer

A Waimea orthopedic surgeon has donated a piece of equipment to the University of Hawaii at Hilo that could make the school’s exercise laboratory a leader among the nation’s small colleges.

Dr. Doug Hiller also specializes in sports medicine and has served as the chief medical officer for the Olympics triathlon since the 2004 Athens games. The North Hawaii Community Hospital practitioner gave UH-Hilo a used Hologic QDR-4500W bone densitometer. The machine is nine years old, but runs about $100,000 new, and should have many more years of productive use, Hiller said.

“There are very few of these machines available to exercise physiologists. It’s a really expensive piece of equipment,” Hiller said. “We used this originally to look at a group of Olympic-bound athletes who came to the Big Island in 1999 and 2000. It was designed for NASA to look at bone density in astronauts. … This machine has an upgrade that allows us to look also at (percentages of) body fat and lean muscle mass. So it’s a perfect machine for looking at the effects of diet on people, the effects of aging on people, the effects of exercise on people.”

Hiller is working with exercise physiologist Lincoln “Linc” Gotshalk on a study of men and women student-athletes at UHH to note changes in bone density, muscle mass and body fat during pre-season, regular season and post-season.

“We’re looking at stress and how stress changes body composition or bone density,” said Gotshalk, a veteran powerlifter who coached nine NCAA powerlifting championship teams at Temple University in Philadelphia before coming to UHH. “We’re looking at factors such as eating patterns, grades, how they feel on the road.

“What we’re hoping to see is the difference, or no difference, between the pre-season training, when they’re settled on campus and eat and train on campus on a regular basis, and then — especially at the University of Hawaii at Hilo — travel, and have to take courses and do tests on the road and meet their academic needs while on a demanding athletic schedule.

“Hopefully we can help prevent some of the muscle loss, bone density loss and body fat gains. That’s difficult to do because of all the stresses that the season affords.”

Read the rest of this entry »

UH Hilo’s Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) hosts teams from the around the country to test robotic instruments that will be used in upcoming missions to the moon.

Scientists and engineers, assisted by PISCES staff and Hilo students will conduct a full mission simulation featuring three NASA developed robotics, including the Selectively Compliant Articulated Robot Arm Rover. The tests are designed to provide participants hands-on experience with specific technical challenges to be anticipated when humans return to the moon by 2020, explore the lunar surface and set up outposts.

“It’s one thing to test an instrument in the laboratory. But that really doesn’t tell you how it will perform during a lunar mission,” says John Hamilton, research operations manager. “Our challenge is to replicate those conditions as closely as possible to ensure that the test results will be a true reflection of how these instruments will perform on the Moon.”

Link

Link to PISCES

Mauna Kea’s summit is short one telescope: its first. The first telescope to be placed atop the volcano, in 1968, has been retired and removed, to make way for a new, larger telescope for UH-Hilo astronomy faculty and students. AP photo.

Associated Press

August 24, 2008

KAILUA-KONA » The first telescope to be placed atop Mauna Kea has been retired and removed.

Scientists used the 24-inch telescope, built in 1968, to conduct pioneering observations on asteroids, outer planets and other objects in the solar system.

“This telescope had a lot of history,” UH-Hilo Astronomy Professor William Heacox said. “Even though the years of wear and tear had eroded its capabilities, we were still sad to see it go.”

Many University of Hawaii astronomy students learned the craft using the instrument. UH-Hilo faculty and students used it to collect data for more than 13 published research projects since 1995.

“It is fair to say that most, perhaps all, of our astronomy graduates have learned how to ‘do astronomy’ with the old 24-inch telescope in its unheated dome,” Heacox said.

“I have probably spent more than 100 nights using that instrument, and did most of my Ph.D. thesis research with it in the mid-1970s.”

The recent removal of the old telescope and installation of the new dome clears the way for a larger telescope for UH-Hilo astronomy faculty and students.

The new telescope is being funded by a $650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. University repair and maintenance funds will pay for the building reconstruction.

The new telescope is being built by Equinox Interscience, Inc. of Golden, Colo. It will be shipped to Hilo in October and, once installed, will be remotely operated from the new Science and Technology Building on the Hilo campus.

Mauna Kea, one of five volcanoes that form the Big island, is the highest point in the state at 13,796 feet. It houses 12 of the world’s leading observatories for optical, infrared and submillimeter astronomy.

Link

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!