UH Board of Regents Authorizes Lease of Land for Molokai Agricultural Park

Establishment of Hawaii State Center for Nursing also Granted

University of Hawaiʻi
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Posted: Nov 21, 2003

HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents (BOR) at its monthly meeting held today at Kauaʻi Community College has authorized the administration to enter into a long-term lease with the state of Hawaiʻi for approximately 28 acres of land located within the Molokai Agricultural Park. The land will be used by Maui Community College for classroom and office space, greenhouse and equipment storage facilities, and farmland for the Molokai Agricultural Program which offers an array of agricultural credit and noncredit courses. In addition, UH‘s cooperative extension program will use a portion of the premises to conduct agricultural research and demonstrations in support of the farmers of Molokai.

The BOR authorized the establishment of the Hawaiʻi State Center for Nursing within the UH Mānoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene. The center for nursing will have four distinct missions. First, the center will be responsible for collecting and analyzing data and preparing and disseminating reports and recommendations regarding current and future trends in the nursing field. Next, the center will conduct research on best practices and quality outcomes. Third, the center for nursing will be in charge of developing a plan for implementing strategies to recruit and retain nurses. Lastly, the center will research, analyze, and report data related to the retention of the nursing workforce.

The BOR also approved the use and occupancy agreement with the city and county of Honolulu for the Waialae Kahala bicycle staging area to be built at Kapiʻolani Community College. The staging area is intended to be a community facility providing neighborhood support for people engaging in bicycling activities. It will service bicyclists of all skill levels, including competitive cyclists and recreational users. The facility will provide restrooms, dressing stations, showers, lockers, bicycle racks, and picnic tables.

In addition, the BOR approved the reorganization of the office of the chancellor at UH West Oʻahu to establish the function and position of vice chancellor for academic affairs and to establish a campus institutional research function. The vice chancellor for academic affairs will provide critical leadership in academic program development and administration as well as provide analyses to develop or restructure programs and to assess program effectiveness and direction.

In other action, the BOR approved merging the six basic science departments in the UH Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine into three basic science departments. Consolidating the departments will ensure efficiency and productivity in research, teaching, and service/administration.

Finally, the BOR approved hiring educational consultants, The Implementation Group, to enhance UH system opportunities and potential to secure extramural funding through the development of larger scale, nationally competitive proposals.