In February the UH Board of Regents held its monthly meeting on the Hilo campus, and coincidentally, there were several things on the agenda regarding University of Hawaii at Hilo beyond the regional presentation I did with my colleague, Interim Chancellor Kazama of Hawaii Community College.
We kept them busy while they were here: a welcoming protocol at Hawaii CC, a trip to the Ag Farm, a short film before lunch at ‘Imiloa, and all before their formal meeting started. The exercise of co-presenting by the two campuses that serve the island was challenging in some ways, but felt like a natural outgrowth of work we have been doing together and independently both since and before the so-called “divorce.”
What I reflect on in the aftermath of that meeting and as the UH Hilo campus prepares for a special visit from our accreditors, is how well we engage with our local community and the ‘aina. One of the slides in our presentation was a map of Hawaii Island with dots where research or community engagement is happening. The story is a compelling one. There are dots all over that map, and that flurry of activity tells the story of our campus, its mission, and its history.
Just a few examples …
UH Hilo faculty in the School of Education partner with schools on island to develop resilient schools and families. Business faculty conduct studies on how to make local tourism more sustainable and regenerative. Marine science faculty conduct water quality and coral reef health studies. Geology faculty and students recently mapped black cinder resources on Hawaii Island. Pharmacy faculty are studying the healing properties of native plants. A geography faculty member is using GIS to map ‘ohia and study rapid ‘ohia death. Hawaiian language faculty continue to revitalize the Hawaiian language and help other indigenous groups make similar strides in their communities. Social science faculty study local history. Faculty in English document Korean and Japanese culture on our island. Biology faculty study how to protect and nurture our native forests and the birds that live within them. Most of the projects involve students in the work as well.
In addition to research, community engagement abounds. UH Hilo students mentor local high school students. Students volunteer in senior centers, with Boys and Girls Club, in conservation projects on Maunakea. Students intern with local businesses, NGOs, and governmental agencies. Faculty volunteer as judges in high school and middle school competitions. Nursing, kinesiology and pharmacy students engage in health fairs and related projects to keep our local citizens healthy and to address health disparities in our communities. Performing and visual arts faculty and students partner with local arts organizations to ensure that our local arts scene remains vibrant.
The scope of these activities is broad and the impact significant. The local students who attend UH Hilo know the value of interacting with their communities. They have seen aunties and uncles do it for generations, and they often choose to attend UH Hilo because they wish to help their neighbors and families thrive. Students from elsewhere come here because they have heard that UH Hilo is a safe and nurturing campus within an environmentally and ethnically diverse place where they can learn about the world from experts in many fields. We impart on those students our island values and to engage them in hands-on work that addresses environmental and social challenges faced not only here but also in the places they come from.
A lot of colleges and universities advertise such opportunities, but few are birthed with such community engagement as part of the DNA. Our community recognized the need for educational opportunities here on island, and those opportunities have always come with an expectation of giving back.
We know that expectation leads many students to our doors. Faculty and staff also come to our campus knowing that this kuleana to our community and to our students is a deeply held value. UH Hilo is not only a university on Hawaii Island, we are a university of Hawaii Island. Whenever we can give the students a real-world experience and benefit the community as well, we all win.
Bonnie D. Irwin is chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Her column appears monthly in the Tribune-Herald.