Chancellor's Address to Faculty Congress
February 18, 2009
Mahalo for the opportunity to share ideas with you today. There are several issues to address but first I want to talk briefly about learning experiences during my first year and a half in serving as your chancellor. When anyone first arrives, it is like drinking out of a fire hose, but after some time goes by, you start thinking about what you're learning, what's working and what isn't, what's feasible, do you have the same passion as when you arrived, does the work feel important? I'll share a few of my answers to those types of questions.
I quickly learned that UH Mānoa is THE most important university to its state of any in which I have worked so UH Mānoa's contributions are pivotal to Hawaiʻi and its future. That is certainly evident and makes serving UH Mānoa an awesome and highly meaningful endeavor—for me and for each of you.
I also learned that folks didn't know as much about the many impacting contributions being made by this university. And a big part of a chancellor's job is to communicate the activities of the university because we are asking for their support with their voices and resources. That led me to review the campus vision statement to see what most critically needed to be communicated and I'll repeat it today: "Mānoa is a premier research institution whose scholars are leaders in their disciplines and whose students are prepared for leadership roles in society. Mānoa strives for excellence in teaching, research, and public service. Mānoa is an innovative institution, comfortable with change. Mānoa celebrates its diversity and uniqueness as a Hawaiian place of learning. We build on our strengths including our unparalleled natural environment and tradition of outstanding Asia-Pacific scholarship." I had passion for that vision before I came here and, after a year and a half serving as your chancellor, I have an even greater passion for that vision and for UH Mānoa.
Based on that vision, I created three goals for Mānoa to serve as: a destination of choice for great faculty, staff, students, the citizens of Hawaiʻi and beyond, a global leading research institution solving society's problem and a respectful, inclusive community that nurtures and supports diversity. Those may be my choice of words but they are based on this campus' vision statement—one which I strongly support. It is critically important to have a shared vision.
When you first arrive, people always tell you a lot about the problems, so that can be pretty oppressive. However, I am no stranger to problems—all institutions have them and have to deal with them. And to do that, you have to confront them—put them out there and let folks have a go at solutions. That is best accomplished with committees of folks with varied viewpoints who will study the issue, develop ideas, and share them with others. Then that has to be followed by frequently listening to each other and making sure the messages are getting through to all. Sometimes, you have to work extra hard to get input because folks are busy with their endeavors and information overload is a frequent problem. As chancellor, I hear lots of voices, making it sometimes difficult to know the feelings of the many so, last fall, I had a number of listening sessions with small groups from across the campus and I asked them two questions: What is most special about UH Mānoa that you want to keep? What about UH Mānoa do you most want to change?
The unified response from faculty, staff, and students as to what they want to keep was: the multicultural global experience in an Hawaiian place of learning—a reflection of our unique setting here in Hawaiʻi which truly cannot be matched by any other place. So, from what I heard, that is what we must keep.
What to change? That depended a little more on the specific individual's situation but there were many responses. Common themes were: improved facilities, streamlined processes, less paper, enhanced sustainability programs, improved student services, better coordination among units across the campus, more autonomy, less administration, and others. Only rarely did I hear that change is not needed here.
How to change in the best way? I still hold dearly to the statement by Jimmy Carter that you must adapt to changing times but hold to unchanging principles. The principle I first went after was that appropriate facilities must be provided to support the work of this institution—that is related to my statement that UH Mānoa is a jewel in many ways—particularly intellectually—but badly tarnished physically. Acting as Mrs. Repairs and Maintenance, I was able to carry that message so we did generate more support and the polishing has begun—yet I recognize the reality that we have a lot to do and it won't be done overnight but by constant vigilance we will get there. In fact, this year, the UH System's budget is focused on the priority of repair, renew, and replace so it was contagious.
We've had opportunities to celebrate too and I make the most of them because they are symbolic—like Ching field—the Ching Foundation and the Legislature coming together to help the campus, the delays provided the opportunity to highlight problems with the procurement process, the largest gift ever for Athletics but supporting campus and community programs.
Let's talk about some of the current efforts on our campus:
Arts and Sciences
I truly believe that Arts and Sciences must be strong because their efforts impact every student on our campus and they also graduate the most students—excellence there is required, not optional.
I will say right off that I have paused the reorganization of Arts and Sciences, including the recruitment of a dean, for several reasons: (a) there is a lot of stress for folks right now, based on the current economic challenges which weren't there when we started; (b) the prioritization process will require time and energy from everyone and is really important to get into place for UH Mānoa's future and we can only do so much at one time; and (c) we obviously need more discussion and commitment from folks to decide how best to deal with strengthening Arts and Sciences.
Let's review how we got to this point. What I heard from folks here when I first came was that Arts and Sciences felt they had been picked apart over the years with units splitting off, that the current structure and support was not providing a cohesive experience for students, that there were uneven services and support across the Arts and Sciences units, and that "interim" had a totally new meaning there—i.e., deans retiring with 12 years as interim. Most people said they simply wanted this resolved in one way or another. To be honest, this is not an item that a new chancellor wants to undertake initially but I felt it had to be addressed for the sake of the campus. Two committees spent a great deal of time working on options that might work and made their recommendation. The committees did a really good job in my view but sometimes you have to step back and ask is the timing right and is more input needed? I use the word pause because we need resolution for Arts and Sciences since it is really central to the university's ability to fulfill its mission and provide a liberal education that distinguishes our students from others. Continuing "as is" doesn't really work very well since that won't address the issues that A&S has faced for a long time. So I will be listening for the solutions that people have to move forward and at a moment that will enable us to focus on implementing.
Another issue in which we are engaged is the Prioritization Process.
This is a highly important endeavor for this campus because it will help determine our future and really deserves the attention and approach our colleagues have designed for us to use. The Process Committee worked well into the holidays and late into the evenings to help the campus in this way and I respect their efforts. I should say that this effort started well before any economic crisis appeared, because I believed it was important for faculty to determine what we are doing well, what we could do better, and what we shouldn't do. This was not focused on budget although the two have now become overlaid because of circumstances. The process should prove helpful in determining how we invest our resources. Let me give you one example. Currently we have a freeze on non-instructional positions—that is equivalent to a lay-off because we no longer have those people doing those jobs—and there is nothing strategic about a freeze, it is random. Well, into the future, we need to decide which positions we must keep in order to excel in a strategic manner and ones we can't. At the same time, I am pushing to be sure we have the freedom to implement the decisions that are made. Another aspect of Hawaiʻi that I have learned is the significant fear of job loss because you can't easily go to another place within the state to secure employment so that is a bigger fear here—we have to respect that fear. The freeze has already reduced our number of positions but the actual goal is to ensure that people's efforts are directed at activities that add the greatest value. There is plenty of work to do but we surely better be sure we're doing the right work.
I want you to know that the Hawaiʻi Legislature is really interested in this process because they think it is admirable that we are examining ourselves to see how we can do better. They respect the fact that we recognize we have to do our part and that we can handle our own business. In fact, they asked if other campuses were doing this. Being critical and honest about what we do builds much needed trust with them and we have to earn that trust.
Will this be a smooth process? Probably not, since it is the first time and we will discover glitches. But it is a start and it isn't in concrete: the more we do it, the better we will become at defining our priorities. It is a healthy exercise for the campus in knowing the focus of people's efforts because that determines the future.
Another issue I should mention is the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs search: All of us want a permanent VCAA and I am right at the front of the line. I also appreciate Peter Quigley's stepping forward to help in very critical areas. I need to thank the Senate Executive Committee for their advice regarding this issue because I started the process in a way that I had used for the last six years—i.e., serving as co-chair, and continually seeking names to consider. I found that process to be very successful in recruiting diverse leaders with expertise for their units combined with the ability to be university citizens when needed. What I lost sight of was the fact that this wasn't UH Mānoa's experience so the SEC helped me see the problem in that approach. So I no longer use that approach.
The current search committee with Mary Boland as chair decided to bring Reed Deselbroek to campus as a candidate; he had been invited earlier but the timing had not worked since he had just been confirmed as Secetary of Education for New Mexico. As many of you know, he had also been a finalist for the position I now occupy. The current search committee assessed the input from his campus visit, including from the SEC, and interviewed people at his university in addition to the information provided by the search firm. Last Friday, Dean Boland informed me that, based on those positive reports, the committee is recommending Reed for this position. I have spoken with him and he is most definitely interested and could be here as early as April if all works out. So that is where we are and where I hope we can go.
I must mention budget—everyone's favorite topic.
Needless to say, along with the rest of the world, we are all stretched and stressed in the budget department. We anticipate that we have addressed the restrictions for 2009 and there won't be any more so now we must plan for the biennium. My priorities have been to protect support for Repairs and Maintenance and Native Hawaiian efforts during this time. The reduction for next year is estimated to be as much as $20 million/year in general funds for UH Mānoa—that is definitely impacting and we don't yet know what the figure really is. The Budget Workgroup chaired by Kathy Cutshaw is working on ways in which we can save, ranging from energy conservation to fees to merged services—and we need to examine all of those because every dollar we save means we can meet the reduction, but even hopefully, be in a position to invest the dollars we have in a better way. Last week, I attended the American Council of Education meeting in Washington and met with our federal folks—the stimulus package was definitely the topic on everyone's minds. Certainly the increase in Pell grants will be helpful to our students—and, during tough times, students are looking more toward UH Mānoa for the value we can provide to them. The stimulus money goes to the governor who will decide the direction it takes so that is not yet known. Much of the university infrastructure money did not make it through the process, but there may be other options for that outside of education, so we can be hopeful. Regardless of how the stimulus bill alleviates some of our current challenges, I believe UH Mānoa is preparing itself to deal with its academic future in an appropriate way.
And our alumni think so too. I met with them again while in Washington and are they excited about the campus. With the help of UH Foundation, particularly Kathy Nelson, and UHAA, we are reconnecting these folks with UH Mānoa and their enthusiasm is delightful to see. They are passionate about this university and that is because they are proud of being alumni and friends and want to make a positive difference for us. There are so many stories I can share with them—great new faculty such as Aaron Ota in Engineering, a Kalani High graduate who was a Regents' scholar and graduated from UH Mānoa, received the prestigious NSF fellowship and then returned home; pioneers like Dr. Donis Thompson who led the nation in opportunities for women and minorities; students who won the music competition and will represent us nationally; grants in wave energy to improve Hawaiʻi's sustainability, and the list goes on. These are your stories and I am proud to communicate those stories and that is key to generating support for you.
Let me close with a success story.
After I arrived here, I attended the new student-parent orientation for the campus—the goals of which are to warmly welcome students and parents in a positive way and inform them about the opportunities available for them at UH Mānoa. To be honest, it simply did not achieve those goals in a good way and, to be fair, I don't think the "tuition dependence" approach, which means service is important, had yet been applied to this endeavor. I surely heard from the parents about that problem. In discussing this with folks in charge, they were encouraged to think creatively about how the orientation could be done differently and better—there was no big new budget but there were some new members to generate ideas and they welcomed the opportunity to try different approaches. I always make it clear too that, if they try, I will be standing with them whether the changes work or not—all we can do is try to get better—some changes will work and some won't. This year I attended the same event and the orientation went beautifully and exceeded its goals—and I heard that from the parents as well—one email from a parent I met said, "I again wanted to thank you, your staff and the volunteers on doing a fantastic job. The whole process from the New Student Orientation to Moving In Day was very well planned and executed. We're glad that our son chose to attend the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. We know that he will enjoy his experiences there and hope that he too can play a role in making others feel as welcome at the university as we felt yesterday."
That, to me, is the UH Mānoa way.