Bulletin No. 32
Date/Time sent: 01/04/2021 8:05 amE ala! E alu! E kuilima!
Awaken! Come together! Join hands!
Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou! Happy New Year!
I would like to express my sincere gratitude –mahalo nūnui— to each and every member of our UH West Oʻahu ʻohana! Indeed, much has been asked of you, and you have responded! I have felt your positive determination and have seen your collective strength in action, and I mahalo you for going above and beyond to keep our campus safe and healthy. Most importantly, mahalo for your steadfastness, your tenacity to ensure that ALL our students had every opportunity to succeed!
Yes, in 2020, many of our “norms” were challenged but what has not waivered is our commitment to mission. That continues to ring true. In 2021, the challenges will not subside and neither should our resolve. We must continue to connect and support one another as we pursue a better tomorrow by overcoming the challenges of today. Please tune in to our Spring 2021 UH West Oʻahu Convocation:
Spring 2021 UHWO Convocation and Professional Development
Friday, January 8, 9 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
RSVP to uhwochan@hawaii.edu by Thursday, Jan. 7, 10 a.m.
COVID-19 Update
As the spring semester begins, many of you may find it necessary to stop by your offices. Please know that our campus is open to all faculty, staff, students and vendors/contractors; however, we are still closed to the general public. So, please remember the Pueo Safety Promise and if you should come to campus always check-in using the UHWO Health App and wear your campus ID (on a lanyard or somewhere visible to security).
Remember: If you have tested positive, are symptomatic, or have had contact with a positive case, contact the campus COVID-19 Hotline at (808) 689-2525. For more information visit westoahu.hawaii.edu/covid-19.
Update on our Campus Budgeting and Planning Process
Campus leadership would like to “MAHALO NŪNUI” all the members of our campus-wide task force, the Pueo Stewardship Task Force, for the many hours of effort they contributed to developing two reports. Please visit westoahu.hawaii.edu/
As we know, the magnitude of the impact of COVID on Hawaiʻi’s economy is great. The UH System will realize next fiscal year 2022 (July 2021-June 2022) a $78 million reduction to our G-Fund (pays personnel/warm bodies). UH West Oʻahu’s share is 3.4%, which is a permanent reduction of $2.7 million to our G-Funds. The work that we have been doing is decreasing our operational costs (focusing on critical operational costs only) while at the same time adjusting our delivery of essential instruction. What we have had to do, as Dr. Jan Javinar reminds us, is to “do differently with the resources we have!” We have had to be creative and think out of and through the proverbial box while at the same time deliver our quality programs differently, strengthen our new enrollment strategies, engage everyone in our efforts to increase persistence and retention to graduation, streamline and work with our community colleges to increase transfers, build a vibrant distance education program portfolio, and intensify our returning adults initiatives.
Our next steps include sunsetting the task force and working with campus leadership to task campus-wide work groups and unit work groups (OVCAA, OVCSA, OVCA) who will employ what we already know and are doing + best practices/research and learning from others + the work and recommendations provided by the Pueo Stewardship Task Force = to build and live into a new business model for UHWO. Learn more about this direction at Friday’s (Jan. 8) Convocation and Professional Development Meeting.
E mālama pono!
Maenette Benham, Chancellor