University of Hawaii President Wendy Hensel visited the UH Hilo on Tuesday, her first visit to the campus since taking office on Jan. 1.
This was part of her systemwide tour of UH’s 10 campuses and five education centers, during which she is meeting with students, faculty and staff across the state in her first 90 days.
Hensel met with key campus governance groups, including the Hanakahi Council — a caucus of Native Hawaiian faculty and staff — along with the staff council, faculty congress and the campus executive leadership team.
Discussions covered key issues such as technology adoption, staff development, transparency, student fees and expanding interdisciplinary collaboration.
More than 80 people attended a campus open forum, where Hensel addressed questions about issues including the impact of recent federal executive orders, the role of the UH system in supporting individual campuses, and what it means to be a Native Hawaiian place of learning.
“I think it has been incredibly engaging and thoughtful,” Hensel said in a press release. “The questions were challenging and important, and we had a really good conversation about what matters to the people on this campus. That’s important.
“We don’t have all the answers, but we should be able to discuss the questions and how we come together as a community. I was really impressed with the level of engagement.”
The visit began in the morning with a kipaepae at Hawaii Community College to welcome Hensel to Hilo. The welcoming ceremony, conducted primarily in ‘olelo Hawaii, included an ‘awa ceremony, hula and an underlying message of unity.
On Monday, Hensel visited the summit of Maunakea, where she met with representatives from the UH Institute for Astronomy and the UH Hilo Center for Maunakea Stewardship (CMS).
“The staff was very appreciative that she took the time to visit and understand how the Center for Maunakea Stewardship and the Institute for Astronomy work together,” UH Hilo CMS Executive Director Greg Chun said in the press release. “This is a very unique research enterprise that takes extensive collaboration for the groundbreaking science and commitment to stewardship to work together.”
On Wednesday, Hensel visited Ke Kula O Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u, the largest Hawaiian immersion school on Hawaii Island serving students from kindergarten through 12th-grade.
That evening, she attended a reception for donors and alumni at the Hilo Yacht Club.
Hensel’s visit concluded Thursday when she attended the monthly UH Board of Regents meeting at UH Hilo.
On Monday, she will visit Hawaii Community College in Hilo.
