November Campus Update
Aloha!
This is my first chancellor's update to the campus. I hope to circulate these campus updates by email four or five times during the school year. Of course we welcome your comments and suggestions — there's an email address for that below.
As I begin my tenure here, my major activities certainly include listening and learning and, at the same time, absorbing the culture of UH Mānoa. You will often see me out and about on the campus — I always wear a name tag, so I encourage you to introduce yourself and share your views. My efforts are focused on fulfilling the goals and maintaining the values of UH Manoa — and each one of you is part of that endeavor.
Our efforts to address the campus' highest priorities are key to moving ahead together. That also requires communicating our activities to our community and state, because, if they understand and appreciate our contributions to their lives, their commitment to support us both with their voices and their resources will be strong. Thankfully, there are many reasons for folks to be excited about the great value UH Manoa adds to Hawaii and beyond — our university creates great social good and clearly plays a pivotal role in the future of Hawaii, as well as in each of our lives.
But it's also important that we communicate with one another on campus as well, and I hope the information in the Chancellor's Update will not only inform, but also serve to solicit your comments and ideas. To provide feedback, email my office. We will read and listen. Also, I hope you will watch the UH Manoa website we are working to provide current information to the campus. Also, please enjoy the advertisement created by our very own students in Academy for Creative Media on the homepage.
It's a privilege and joy to serve as the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa and be part of this campus community. Let me repeat my fervent belief that by working together, we can accomplish many new advances for our campus community. I do believe that our second century will be even more dynamic than our first — thanks to your impressive abilities to make things happen.
In this Chancellor's Update:
- Edmondson Hall and Hamilton Library — Planning Ahead
- Manoa Enrollment
- Priorities
- Arts and Sciences Academic Organization
- Supplemental Budget
- Congratulations to...
- Centennial Celebration and Inauguration Ceremony
Edmondson Hall and Hamilton Library — Planning Ahead
Well, we have certainly had some challenges this month with regard to our facilities. An electrical problem triggered a fire in Edmondson Hall that led to a burst water pipe that severely flooded several floors in office, classroom, and lab space. The subsequent cleanup and evaluation of the building's infrastructure confirmed what we knew for the most part — that this building, constructed in the 1960s, is in serious need of overhaul and has thus far competed unsuccessfully for scarce repair and maintenance funds with a number of other projects higher on the priority list that grows longer every year.
For health, safety and economic reasons, we are now proceeding with a plan to relocate current occupants from Edmondson to other temporary quarters. In determining the long term future of the building, an economic analysis will play a major role. Our current plan is to engage an architectural consultant to develop an architectural program, conceptual design, and scope of work for both Edmondson and Snyder as an integrated multi-phased project contingent on available funding.
We are fortunate that there were no personal injuries in the fire/flood incident. But we mourn the loss of irreplaceable research and recognize the emotional and physical stress it takes to recover from an incident such as this as best we can. We will provide updates as new thoughts and information emerge.
Hamilton Library experienced water leaks again after the heavy rains. Thankfully the team there responded quickly to the emergency and knew what to do to save the valuable collections there — thanks also to Facilities for their rapid response. The roof was scheduled for repairs next summer, but this really is a problem that can't wait. So we are seeking an earlier repair date for that facility. A number of buildings have leak problems so this has to be a priority since water does a lot of damage quickly. Stay tuned for new efforts in getting these issues addressed.
Many of you may have seen the news release about UH enrollment. You'll see that UH Manoa enrollment is down this semester by about 300 students — which is about one large lecture hall full of students. A small decline like this is nothing to wring our hands about, but it should be a reminder that one of our goals is to increase student recruitment and retention rates, which should mean a more stable enrollment and some increases down the road. Read the full article
I have made no secret of the issues that I think are first-target priorities for the relatively immediate future. I have been consistent in pointing out in several public venues that we should be working toward making UH Manoa:
- A destination of choice for students, faculty and staff, the citizens of Hawaii and beyond
- A leading, global research university performing at the highest levels and solving society's problems
- A respectful, inclusive community that welcomes and nurtures diversity
At another level, we are working hard on plans to improve the physical facilities on campus, and there is emphasis on that in the budget proposal we are formulating for the January 2008 session of the State Legislature. More information on the budget is included below in the supplemental budget section.
Arts and Sciences Academic Organization
I had the privilege of meeting with the Arts and Sciences faculty to explore some ideas about how the present four colleges (Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and LLL), as well as the School of Pacific and Asian Studies, might be best organized to achieve academic excellence. There are models that could serve us well, but we need to settle on one and let these organizations move ahead with vigor. Visit Arts & Sciences Reorganization
It's never too early to plan for the next budget go-round and our priorities for the supplemental budget session beginning in January focus on campus security and repair and maintenance. I reviewed the requests made by the campus and reprioritized the proposal to reflect the huge needs I see on campus; the following are a few top priorities in the request:
- Repairs and maintenance of our campus infrastructure
- Health, safety, and emergency preparedness
- Support of our graduate students
- Native Hawaiian programming for Access and Hawaiian Language
- Upgrading classroom technology
- Title IX compliance for gender equity in athletics
- Support for accreditation through WASC
- Support for faculty development
- Community outreach and communications
Visit the Vice Chancellor for Administration, Finance, and Operations for the FY 2009 program change request budget worksheet. If you have questions, contact Kathy Cutshaw.
Congratulations to the following members of our UH Manoa campus:
- Employees who provide leadership on our campus; I am so pleased that UH Manoa representatives make up more than half of participants in the new Emerging Leaders program. Read more
- Students at the John A. Burns School of Medicine who provide community clinics and other services to neighbors in need. Read more
- Students in the Academy for Creative Media who participated in the Hawaii International Film Festival. Read the complete story. In addition, ACM students' new TV commercial promoting UH Manoa is now being seen nationwide on ESPN broadcasts of UH football! Watch the video
- Our Wahine Volleyball and Soccer teams who won regular season WAC championships, and to our football Warriors who have been spectacular this season!
- Our medical school's Public Health Studies program that has been accredited for a full seven years. Read more
- Our CTAHR researchers who created the Tropic Sunrise Anthurium that won top honors from a national florists organization. Read more
- Lastly, congratulations to two of our students, Cecelia Hannides and John Porter, who were selected as Fulbright grantees for the 2007/08 academic year. Thanks also to Fulbright program adviser, Peter Garrod, who ensures the program's success and was instrumental in this achievement.
Centennial Celebration Inauguration Ceremony
You are cordially invited...
Many of you have already received an invitation to the Centennial Celebration Inauguration Ceremony on the afternoon of Monday, November 19. I want to emphasize that the entire campus community is invited to this event. Visit Inauguration for more information. Hope to see you there!