The University of Hawaii announced Wednesday that UH Hilo received $23.9 million in the 2025 fiscal year as part of a fourth consecutive year of record-breaking external funding to the university system.
Eric Matsunaga, UH’s director of research and administrative operations, said the funding from outside sources for UH Hilo was “in the ballpark” of previous years. He said UH Hilo was awarded $22.6 million in fiscal year 2024, and that the $1.3 million fluctuation is typical.
Matsunaga said UH Hilo’s Department of Geography received substantial funding in 2025 to support environmental and cultural protection efforts. The department received $2.25 million from NOAA to support remote sensing and data modeling to help forecast and monitor the spread of rapid ohia death across all islands in an effort to help land managers develop decision support tools, he said.
Additionally, the department was awarded $1.49 million from the National Park Service to “improve on previous high-resolution documentation and identification of cultural resources by remote sensing to help with condition assessment and monitoring protocols,” Matsunaga said.
UH Hilo’s Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes also was supported, receiving $620,873 from the U.S. Geographical Survey to conduct research and analysis of volcanic hazards to aid in improving forecasting and disaster response associated with Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai, Masunaga said.
The UH system received $734 million in external funding for fiscal year 2025, an increase of $118.3 million, or 19.2%, from the record-breaking 2024 fiscal year donations of $615.7 million, according to a UH press release.
The press release said the funding “includes investments from external agencies such as the federal government, industry, and nonprofit organizations that support research and training conducted by UH faculty and staff.”
“The University of Hawaii is not only our state’s higher education system — it’s a critical driver of innovation, health and economic resilience,” Gov. Josh Green said at a press conference about the funding Wednesday. “This record-breaking year of research funding underscores UH’s essential role in tackling our most pressing challenges, from health equity to climate resilience. As governor, I’m committed to continuing our partnership to ensure that UH has the support it needs to serve the people of Hawaii.”
The 10-campus university system’s research flagship, UH Manoa, received the bulk of the outside funding at $570.4 million, including tens of millions in federal funding to the UH Cancer Center and UH John A. Burns School of Medicine.
The UH community colleges totaled $31.3 million, and UH West Oahu was awarded a total of $9.7 million in donations, the release said.