University of Nevada, Reno Nursing School Director Julie Johnson Named New UH Manoa Nursing Dean

UH Board of Regents also approves awarding of honorary degrees to U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye's Chief of Staff, Henry Kuualoha Giugni, and AOL Time Warner CEO

University of Hawaiʻi

The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents (BOR) at its monthly meeting held today at the Mānoa campus approved the appointment of Julie E. Johnson, PhD, RN, to be the new dean of the UH Mānoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene. Johnson will come to UH from the Orvis School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she has served as director and professor since 1993.

"I was pleased to recommend Julie Johnson to the Board of Regents," said UH Mānoa Chancellor Peter Englert. "I believe she is the right person to lead the nursing and dental hygiene programs at Mānoa as we reinforce our commitment to this critical area of healthcare delivery for the people of Hawaiʻi." The search advisory committee was headed by UH Mānoa Professor Kem Lowry who had high praise for the new dean. "Among a number of very good candidates for dean, Julie Johnson stood out," Lowry said. "She understands the mix of challenges and opportunities confronting the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene and the multiple issues of health service delivery here in Hawaiʻi. She brings the right combination of leadership, scholarship and advocacy to address these issues and opportunities," he added.

While she was director at the Orvis School of Nursing, Johnson also served as acting director of the university‘s Graham and Jean Sanford Center for Aging. She was previously associate dean of the College of Nursing at Montana State University and director of the college‘s Office of Research Support. Her bachelor‘s, master‘s and doctoral degrees in nursing are from the University of Texas at Austin.

Johnson‘s appointment is effective August 1, 2003. She succeeds Rosanne Harrigan, who now chairs the Department of Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

In other action, the BOR approved the awarding of the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to Henry Kuualoha Giugni, former chief of staff for U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye, and Richard Parsons, chief executive officer of AOL Time Warner. Giugni served as chief of staff to Senator Inouye in Washington, D.C., for over 20 years after nearly a decade of service with Senator Inouye in the Hawaiʻi territorial legislature. He also served as sergeant-at-arms of the U.S. Senate from 1987 to 1990, where he is noted for his part in the advancement of minority leaders in government through his appointment of numerous African Americans, Hispanics and other minority community members to important positions within the Capitol. Giugni will be presented with the honorary degree at commencement ceremonies at the UH Hilo campus on Saturday, May 17.

As chairman and CEO of AOL Time Warner Inc., Parsons heads the world‘s leading media and entertainment company, whose businesses include interactive services, cable systems, filmed entertainment, television networks, music and publishing. While receiving his undergraduate education at UH Mānoa, he met his wife, Laura, a history major. In 1997, they established the University of Hawaiʻi Laura A. Parsons Scholarship, endowed for a Hawaiʻi high school graduate seeking a degree in liberal arts. In that same year, he was honored by UH as a Distinguished Alumni. Parsons received his law degree in 1971 from Union University‘s Albany Law School. Parsons will be presented with his honorary degree at UH Mānoa commencement exercises on Sunday, May 18, where he will also serve as the keynote speaker.

The BOR also authorized the administration to enter into a lease agreement with the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaiʻi (HCDCH) for classroom, office, and kitchen training space for Windward Community College — Employment Training Center (ETC) to offer a culinary arts education and training program through the new multicultural community and education center at Kuhio Park Terrace. Students will have the opportunity to learn under simulated working conditions and receive training in job readiness skills and workplace expectations such as punctuality, initiative and problem solving, and the program will also cover the theories and principles of basic cooking, including safety and sanitation.

In addition, the BOR authorized the university to enter into negotiations with Kulamalu Science, LLC for the purchase of property in Kula, Maui for the development and construction of a research facility for the Institute for Astronomy (IFA). In addition, the university will negotiate the purchase of preliminary work done by Kulamalu Science in the event the university contracts with another developer or completes the project in house. Regent Everett Dowling has an ownership interest in Kulamalu Science. In May 2002, the Hawai‘i State Ethics Commission determined there would be no conflict of interest if Dowling did not participate in discussions or vote on the project. Dowling excused himself from all proceedings related to the project.

Also granted was a consolidated lease of more than 18 acres to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for their Hawaiʻi Fruit Fly Production Facility at the Waimānalo Agricultural Experimental Station, expanding on a previous 6.98-acre site that was subleased. The expansion will allow the USDA larger space to build new facilities and implement new programs, which in turn will create more employment opportunities and the possibility for greater collaborative research and training programs through UH Mānoa‘s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

A biotechnician certificate of achievement was approved at Kapiʻolani Community College that is designed to prepare students for employment in biotechnology industry and research, and permanent status was granted for Ph.D. programs in Civil Engineering in the College of Engineering and Social Welfare in the School of Social Work, both offered at UH Mānoa. The Center for Russia in Asia within the School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies (SHAPS) of the Mānoa campus was abolished based on recommendations and full support by faculty, deans, and the Council on Program Reviews, citing budgetary constraints and the fact that the center has become less central to the mission of SHAPS.

Other items approved include an amendment to BOR policy on coaches‘ salaries at UH Hilo that increases the salary ranges for coaches at UH Hilo, and the use of private sector housing accommodations to meet the increasing demands for student residency at UH campuses, following on the success of a pilot project conducted last year using hotels to supplement the residence halls.

Finally, BOR Chairperson Bert Kobayashi assigned Regents Kathleen Thurston, Patricia Lee, and Kitty Lagareta to form a subcommittee to review the UH system graphic identity project.