University of Hawaii at Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney announced the appointment of Farrah-Marie Gomes as the university’s permanent vice chancellor for student affairs after the UH Board of Regents meeting last week on Oahu.
University of Hawaii at Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney announced the appointment of Farrah-Marie Gomes as the university’s permanent vice chancellor for student affairs after the UH Board of Regents meeting last week on Oahu.
The appointment is effective Dec. 1.
UH-Hilo also announced the appointment of two deanship positions.
Bruce Mathews was appointed permanent dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, and Drew Martin will serve as interim dean of the College of Business and Education. The positions take effect Nov. 1.
Gomes has served as interim associate vice president for student affairs for the UH system since April 1. Prior to that, she served as founding director of the North Hawaii Education and Research Center since its inception in 2006, and from 2011-16 also served as interim dean of the College of Continuing Education and Community Service. She is active in numerous university and community committees.
“Farrah is a dynamic leader who has effectively served our students and community in numerous administrative roles,” Straney said. “She also possesses tremendous energy, vision and a special capacity to connect with various constituencies, which will help the Division of Student Affairs serve the needs of our students.”
Gomes succeeds Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Gail Makuakane-Lundin, who returns to the position of executive assistant to the chancellor.
Mathews previously served as acting dean of CAFNRM from January-July 2012, then interim dean to present.
A 1986 graduate of UH-Hilo, Mathews joined the university in 1993 as a temporary assistant professor of soils and agronomy and became a tenure-track assistant professor two years later. His areas of research include plant nutrient cycling and soil fertility as affected by environmental conditions and crop management, assessment of the impact of agricultural and forestry production practices on soil, coastal wetlands and surface waters, and the development of environmentally sound and economically viable nutrient management practices for pastures, forests and field crops in the tropics.
Martin joined UH-Hilo in August 2004 and most recently served as professor of marketing. He has more than 25 years of higher education teaching experience that spans three countries. He also is an affiliate faculty member of Daito Bunka University’s (Japan) Business Research Institute and the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Center for Japanese Studies.
His intellectual contributions include extensive research on consumer behavior. He has published 65 research papers and book chapters.