Ka Pe‘ahi Lono: Monthly Message for March
Date/Time sent: 03/01/2023 12:00 pmHoʻokāhi ka ilau like ana (Wield the paddles together)
Aloha mai kākou e UH West Oʻahu ʻOhana!
In this month’s Ka Peʻahi Lono, we feature a message from Dr. Jessica Miranda, our new Director for Strategic Directions, Accreditation, and Assessment. Learn more about her and how she is shaping the important work she will be doing at UH West Oʻahu. Also, we celebrate the birth of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Piʻikoi and the passage of the Hawaiian Homelands Act on Monday, March 27. Take a moment to learn more about the important endeavors and accomplishments of Prince Kūhiō, respectfully remembered as our Citizen Prince. Then scroll down for a handful of important announcements and reminders regarding “Hold the Dates” for the VC Student Affairs on-campus candidate interviews and reminder of our Pueo Protocol.
March marks the midpoint of our Spring semester. I know many are fully immersed in learning and teaching, mentoring, recruiting for summer and fall, and preparing for the final push toward graduation as well as the close of the fiscal year (#somuchmore). Through it all I hope that you continue to see the abundance of joy that embraces us all! Mahalo again for all you do to support the success of all our learners!
E ʻeleu mai ʻoukou! Step lively, let’s move together!
E mālama pono!
Maenette Benham, Chancellor
Health and Well-Being Reminder
The COVID-19 vaccines are still one of the best tools available to protect against the COVID-19 virus. The virus remains a serious health concern, especially for those in high-risk categories. Learn more about the COVID-19 bivalent booster, vaccination options for children, and vaccination sites near you.
The new booster is specifically designed to protect against original COVID-19 and Omicron sub-variants.
Keep in mind, kūkulu kaiāulu! Please strengthen our community with your passions, respect for one another, and patience! Please respect an individual’s personal choice to wear a face mask. Mahalo to everyone, for your patience and empathy, your good work and commitment to care for one another!
Important Highlights
In celebration of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Piʻikoi
On Monday, March 27, we will celebrate the birth of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Piʻikoi and the passage of the Hawaiian Homelands Act. Keaʻili Makaʻainana, the Citizen Prince, as he became known, was born to High Chief David Kahalepouli Pi‘ikoi and Princess Kinoiki Kekaulike, the youngest daughter of Kaumuali‘i, in the Kōloa District of Kaua‘i, on March 26, 1871. He served as the second delegate to U.S. Congress from 1903-1921, and among his notable achievements is remembered for getting Congress to designate public lands for Native Hawaiian families, the Hawaiian Homestead Act.
Learn more at this link.
Have a bit more time, watch this CNHA hosted presentation with Dr. Hailma Farden and Dr. Keith Akana.
February Highlights
Here are our February highlights you might have missed:
- UH West Oʻahu faculty awarded public humanities grant
- ‘Amazing’ shared experience at UH West Oʻahu for husband and wife
- IRS Special Agents host Citizen Academy at UH West Oʻahu
- Dad-daughter duo enjoyed taking class together
Hana Lawelawe: On Leadership
A message From Dr. Jessica Miranda, Director for Strategic Directions, Assessment, and Accreditation
Aloha! It is an honor to have joined the University of Hawai‘i–West Oʻahu ʻohana as the Director of Strategic Directions, Accreditation, and Assessment. In the month that I have been in this role, I have met so many wonderful people and there are many more of you that I still look forwarding to meeting. I would like to take this opportunity to give you a brief background about myself and my new role at UH West Oʻahu.
I grew up in Kailua and moved to Makaha almost five years ago. I have also lived on Kauaʻi and in California, Colorado, Virginia, and Brazil. As I was studying as an undergraduate student at UH Mānoa to become an English as a Second Language teacher, there were two questions that intrigued me and started me along my professional path. Those two questions were, “How do you really know if students are learning what you are teaching?” and “How do you know if you’re actually measuring what you think you are, in terms of student learning and growth?” It was during my undergraduate years that I took my first course on assessment and that is when I discovered my interest in educational measurement.
I went on to earn a Master of Arts in Second Language Studies with specializations in language assessment, measurement, and program evaluation, and a PhD in Educational Psychology with a specialization in measurement, statistics, and evaluation. Prior to joining UH West Oʻahu, I served as the Director of Assessment, Accreditation, and Accountability for the College of Education at UH Mānoa for 10 years and am a tenured Associate Specialist. My research is focused on psychometrics and educational measurement, program evaluation, and accreditation preparation, implementation, and research.
Here at UH West Oʻahu, I will be leading our institutional effectiveness efforts in the areas of strategic directions, assessment, and accreditation. My role in strategic directions is to collaboratively develop and implement processes and metrics to measure our progress and overall outcomes. Our current 10-year strategic plan was launched in 2018. The strategic plan articulates our mission, vision, and institutional values (Pahuhopu) that form the foundation for our goal setting. The plan lays out an aspirational course for the future of the university and impact strategies to guide us. In the strategic plan, it details three impact strategies and tactics corresponding to each impact strategy for us to implement. Every member of our UH West Oʻahu ʻohana has an important role in this work, and we all contribute to the university’s progress.
In the area of assessment, I will be supporting our work in academic assessment of student learning and assessment within student affairs and administration. Within academics, assessment is deciding what we want students to learn and making sure they learn it. It is a continuous cycle of establishing learning goals, providing learning opportunities, assessing student learning, and using the results to improve our practices. Assessment in other contexts can be similarly defined just thinking broader than student learning. When we engage in assessment, we are gathering evidence of learning or, in contexts outside of academics, we are gathering evidence of progress towards our goals. The best assessments are those whose results are used to inform meaningful, important decisions.
I will also be supporting accreditation of the university and its programs. Accreditation is a review of educational quality based on standards and peer-review. UH West Oʻahu is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). There also are accrediting agencies that accredit programs within specific fields: Our Business Administration and Education programs are accredited by their programmatic accreditors. In leading accreditation, I serve as our WSCUC Accreditation Liaison Officer. What’s important to know about that is that we must obtain approval from the WSCUC before offering new programs or making substantive program changes. The root of accreditation is really about creating and sustaining a culture of evidence across campus, and this aligns with our work in strategic planning and assessment. A culture of evidence also is a cycle in which we collect data, engage in regular analysis of data, and, most importantly, we use what we learn from our analyses to inform our decisions and actions.
I look forward to engaging with our campus community and strive to support all of the important work that is happening throughout UH West Oʻahu. Please feel free to reach out to me at: wellsjes@hawaii.edu or 808-689-2780. For a visual self-introduction, you can check out this brief powerpoint.
Mahalo,
Jessica L. W. Miranda, PhD
Hoʻomanaʻo Mai
Save the Dates!
March 20 – 31, 2023, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Final Candidate Campus Interviews. More information forthcoming.
UH West Oʻahu’s Pueo Protocol
Recently, I was asked about our campus efforts to protect the Pueo (Asio flammeus sandwichensis) endemic to Hawaiʻi. We thought it a good time to remind you of our efforts and our Pueo Protocol. Upon my arrival to the UH West Oʻahu campus, January 2017, I was apprised of the concern by members of the Neighborhood Board regarding pueo sightings on UH/UHWO makai lands. Results of UH West Oʻahu (UHWO) actions include:
- UHWO participated in the Pueo Project Study, 2017-2018. In brief, during the year-long study there were two sightings of pueo on UH/UHWO agricultural lands. However, there was no evidence of nesting in large part due to the “the high level of threats that this species faces in Hawai’i” (Pueo Project Final Report), i.e., predators (mongoose and feral cats), housing and other development.
- UHWO hosted ʻAha Pueo, April 16, 2018, co-hosted by Kanani Wood from the Kapolei Neighborhood Board. UHWO’s Dr. Manu Aluli Meyer, Konohiki Kūlana o Kapolei, and Aunty Lynette Paglinawan, Kupuna in Residence, opened and facilitated the ʻaha. Students provided historical information and moʻolelo of the pueo in Honouliuli, Bishop Museum provided information, and the Pueo Project Report was presented and discussed. Neighborhood Board Chair, Keoni Dudley, was in attendance.
- UHWO strengthened our Pueo Protocol and has been vigilant in the execution and surveillance of our ʻāina. We post our Pueo Protocol in all of our classrooms and public areas. In addition, prior to construction grubbing and grading activities, a botanist consultant performs a walking survey, visually scanning for the endangered red ʻilima plant (koʻoloaula) and bird ground nests. The construction contractor is notified of the Pueo Protocol at the pre-construction meeting and provided with the educational poster for their jobsite trailers.
- Prior to COVID, UHWO regularly messaged the Pueo Protocol through our weekly campus newsletter. Post-COVID we are returning to regular reminders of our Pueo Protocol, annual reminders to our ground crews, and on-boarding new faculty and staff to the Pueo Protocol.
Should you have any questions about the Pueo Protocol please reach out to VCA Dave McDonald at davidamc@hawaii.edu or 808-689-2513.
Back by popular request: Speak Your Aloha
Speak Your Aloha
Share these affirmations. It is a great way to manifest aloha. Try these in ʻōlelo Hawai‘i!
I love you – Aloha wau iā ʻoe
I am proud of you – Haʻaheo au iā ʻoe
I am thankful for you – Mahalo au iā ʻoe
You’re my cherished friend – ʻO ʻoe kuʻu hoapili
You look great today – Nani loa ʻoe i kēia lā
You are strong – Ikaika ʻoe
You are important – Koʻikoʻi ʻoe
I am here for you – Aia au me ʻoe
You are kind – ʻOluʻolu ʻoe
I believe in you – Hilinaʻi au iā ʻoe