UH West Oʻahu commencement ceremony, May 7

Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald to deliver keynote address

University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu
Contact:
Julie Funasaki Yuen, (808) 689-2604
Public Info Officer, Communications Department
Posted: May 2, 2016

Happy graduates at UH West O'ahu commencement.
Happy graduates at UH West O'ahu commencement.

KAPOLEI --- Graduates, family, and friends will come together this May to celebrate spring commencement exercises at the University of Hawai‘i - West O‘ahu on Saturday, May 7. Two hundred forty two graduates will earn bachelor’s degrees and certificates during a 9 a.m. ceremony at the UH West Oʻahu Lower Courtyard. The spring 2016 commencement marks the University’s 40th anniversary serving leeward area students and all of the people of Hawaiʻi. Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald will deliver the keynote address.

“I look forward to commencement every semester,” said UH West Oʻahu Interim Chancellor Doris Ching. “It is such a special time for our graduates and their families, and we honor and commend their hard work, persistence and dedication in the pursuit of a college degree. It is a time of fulfillment for our faculty and staff who mentor and coach the students, and I convey my deep appreciation of their commitment to the educational success of all students. We wish our graduates the best of luck in their future careers and academic pursuits. We invite them to stay connected with us as alumni after leaving UH West Oʻahu.”

Interim Chancellor Ching will preside over the ceremony and confer degrees. University of Hawai‘i System President David Lassner, University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents Chair Randy Moore, Regent Coralie Chun Matayoshi, and Regent Michelle Tagorda will congratulate the graduates. The UH West Oʻahu band will perform at the commencement ceremony, and UHWO Associate Professor Leilani Basham and her students will give the UH West Oʻahu Oli, He aloha no nā ʻEwa. UH West Oʻahu students Haylie Culp and Marousha Moore will be the student emcees.

Hauʻula resident Tiffany Shelton, one of this year’s outstanding UH West O‘ahu graduates, will speak on behalf of the graduating class. Shelton will achieve a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in English and is the recipient of the Humanities Division’s 2016 Outstanding English Student Award. She is an avid tennis player and plans to become an English professor following graduation. Her senior project is about the effects of ideology and cultural diversity on immigrants revealed through immigrant literature.

UH West O‘ahu graduates will receive their baccalaureate in Applied Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Public Administration and Social Sciences during the commencement ceremony. Graduates will also receive certificates in various programs including Applied Forensic Anthropology, Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, Health Care Administration, Risk Management and Insurance, Substance Abuse and Addictions Studies, and Democratic Principles and Social Justice.

The commencement ceremony will be streamed live on the UH West O‘ahu website at http://www.uhwo.hawaii.edu.

UH West O‘ahu Spring 2016 Commencement details:

  • Family and friends are welcome to attend commencement in the UH West O‘ahu Lower Courtyard. No tickets will be issued. Guests may arrive at 8 a.m. The seating area will be closed off once it reaches maximum capacity.
  • The parking lot is expected to fill to capacity. Carpooling is highly encouraged as there will be considerable congestion along the Farrington Highway entrance to the campus. The parking lot will close once it reaches maximum capacity.
  • Lei vendors will sell lei on the grassy area at the campus entrance near the Dining Commons. Balloons and strollers are not allowed in the commencement seating area for safety reasons.
  • First-aid stations will be available next to the UHWO Library and in the alcove area near the Laboratory Building.
  • A UH West Oʻahu Bookstore tent will be on-site selling UH West Oʻahu merchandise.
  • Graduates may greet guests following the ceremony at approximately 10:30 a.m. at the UH West O‘ahu Great Lawn near alphabetical signs.

Established in 1976, the University of Hawaiʻi - West O‘ahu is an indigenous-serving institution that offers quality education, small class sizes, and personalized attention. UH West O‘ahu has the newest bachelor's degree-granting campus in the University of Hawaiʻi System, serving approximately 2,700 students with academic programs that emphasize interdisciplinary and cross-cultural studies. UH West Oʻahu commemorates its 40th anniversary in 2016. For more information, visit www.uhwo.hawaii.edu, call (808) 689-2800 or toll-free (866) 299-8656. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.