Ka Pe‘ahi Lono: Monthly Message for August

Date/Time sent: 08/01/2023 12:00 pm

UH West Oʻahu Value Proposition

We prepare 21st Century leaders, career creators through integrated, transdisciplinary programs where learners and teachers, together, discover and innovate and engage diverse communities to create a vibrant and socially just world.

Section divider made up of two canoe paddles.

Hoʻokāhi ka ilau like ana (Wield the paddles together)

Aloha mai kākou e UH West Oʻahu ʻOhana!

Welina!! I am hopeful that you have all had a rejuvenating and productive summer. Are you ready for the new semester? Here’s a poem to get you started.

“Cleaning House in My Brain” by Kalli Dakos
I’m cleaning house in my brain,
It’s BACK TO SCHOOL Time again.
Shine windows, Paint doors, Vacuum rugs, Polish floors.
Brush away TV shows,
Picnics, beaches, Free time goes.
Bring my memory Back in gear,
Sweep the channels, Crystal clear.
My brain is an amazing tool,
And it’s all ready for BACK TO SCHOOL

I am excited and energized to start this new academic year! This year we will begin with a full slate of new campus executives! We will welcome Dr. Harald Barkhoff, our new Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and are cheering on our own Dr. Camonia Graham-Tutt as the interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs welcomes our new Vice Chancellor, Dr. Dee Uwono. While Vice Chancellor of Administration, Dave McDonald, and Executive Director for Strategic Directions, Assessment and Accreditation, Jessica Miranda, both started mid-Spring semester, we welcome them to their first fall and new academic year at UH West Oʻahu. Please see the brief introduction in the Hana Lawelawe section below. A more detailed and in-person introduction will be provided at our Fall Convocation.

Indeed, Fall Convocation is right around the corner. You will be receiving updates through our weekly bulletins and email announcements. I look forward to seeing you then. Here’s more information:

Fall 2023 In-Person Faculty and Staff Convocation
Wednesday, Aug. 16

8:45 – 9 a.m. Check-in & Pick-up Informational Packet
9 – 9:45 a.m. Informational Activity
10 – 10:45 a.m. Convocation Program
11 – 11:30/11:45 a.m. Unit Meetings (OVCA, OVCAA, OVCSA)
11:30 – 12:30 p.m. Lunch

RSVP here by Tuesday, Aug. 8 to secure your lunch.

Read on!

Please scroll through this lengthy August Ka Peʻahi Lono, from the highlights through to the Hoʻomanaʻo Mai sections. You will find the following messages: (a) Summer highlights and links to both our Summer Quarterly Report and Kūlana o Kapolei Report; (b) Introduction to our new UH West Oʻahu Executive Leadership team, and (c) Information about our new partnership with DreamHouse, Hawaii FoodBank Food Drive, Maʻi Movement, Travel Policies & Procedures, and Data Governance (keep yourself safe!).

Wishing you all a dynamic and fun beginning to the Fall 2023 Semester!

E ʻeleu mai ʻoukou! “Step lively, let’s move together!”

E mālama pono!
Maenette Benham, Chancellor

Health and Well-Being Reminder

Keep in mind, kūkūlu 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

– Here are our Summer (May – July) highlights you might have missed:

– Our Summer 2023 Kūkūlu Kaiāulu Building Community Quarterly Impact Report features our awesome summer programming. Each program makes a significant impact on the college going, e.g., registration and persistence, of our new and continuing students. See the report here: Summer Programs.

– See the the Kūlana o Kapolei Newsletter for Spring 2023.

Hana Lawelawe: On Leadership

Dr. Dee Uwono and Dr. Harald Barkhoff with the library tower in the background.

A brief introduction of two new members of our Campus Executive Leadership

Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs: Dr. Harald Barkhoff, is coming to us from California State University, Monterey Bay, as dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services. Prior to CSU Monterey Bay, Harald was full professor and chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences at UH Hilo where he began in 2004. He was a member of the UH System’s 2017-2018 President’s Emerging Leaders Program (PELP). He has received many recognitions, one includes his 2013 UH Hilo Applied Learning Experiences Excellence in Teaching award, and the 2018-2019 Jerry R. Thomas Distinguished Leadership Award for Bachelor’s Degree Granting Departments. This award is the highest honor given by the American Kinesiology Association. He was honored with this award for his great contribution to curriculum development in the UH Hilo kinesiology and exercise sciences program and for inspiring dozens of undergraduates to collaborate in sports science research. His papers at conferences in Polynesia have introduced the integration of kinesiology in the context of island cultures and indigenous and Native Hawaiian knowledge and belief systems.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs: Dr. Dee Uwono comes to UH West Oʻahu after a long and impactful career as the Director and Title IX Coordination at UH Mānoa during which time she also served as the interim Director of UH Systemʻs EEO/AA office. She also spent 16-plus years as first a Judicial Affairs Officer and then the Director of Judicial Affairs at UH Mānoa. Prior to this she did a short stint as Interim Dean of Student at Honolulu Community College. Dee earned her doctor of education degree in educational leadership at the University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education in 2010. She holds a masters in educational administration and a BA in zoology from UH Mānoa.

Hoʻomanaʻo Mai

DreamHouse ʻEwa Beach

In addition to UH West Oʻahu students, faculty, and staff, the start of the 2023-24 Academic Year also brings a new group of guests to the campus. DreamHouse High School, a charter school based in Kapolei, will be using four classrooms in the D building this academic year (August 2023 to May 2024). The 100 high school sophomores will call our campus home while their future school is being completed.

Numerous planning meetings have occurred between DreamHouse and UH West Oʻahu administrators, staff, and faculty to prepare for the students’ arrival. The focus of all our meetings has been the provision of a safe and successful academic experience for all. Because the DreamHouse students are not UH West Oʻahu students and because they are all minors, we are taking additional steps to ensure student safety. These are listed below. We want to create a positive experience for our DreamHouse guests and the UH West Oʻahu community. If you have questions, suggestions, or concerns please contact your Vice Chancellor.

While we want to be polite and welcoming to our guests, please refrain from having conversations with the students unless a DreamHouse teacher or staff is also present.
All DreamHouse students will be wearing the same black polo-style shirts with the DreamHouse logo on the front. In addition, all DreamHouse students will be wearing lanyards with identification cards.
DreamHouse classes will be held in D145, D146, D150, and D151. The DreamHouse restrooms will be the former faculty restrooms on the Waiʻanae side of Classroom Building D. Please avoid these spaces.
DreamHouse students will always be accompanied by a DreamHouse teacher or staff member when they are outside their classrooms, including obtaining their lunch from the university dining service.
DreamHouse students will arrive and leave campus in a dedicated pick-up and drop-off area on the Waiʻanae side of the expansion parking lot. The students will walk to their classrooms using the sidewalk adjacent to the Access Road.
If you want to offer any activities to DreamHouse please work through your Vice Chancellor.

Hawaiʻi FoodBank Food Drive

HULO UH West Oʻahu Faculty and Staff!
Our final Foodbank numbers were released and here are the figures:

2023: $2,885.34 in monetary contributions + 446 pounds of food collected = 6,511 meals

2022: $1,388.42 in monetary contributions + 361 pounds of food collected = 3,286 meals

Comparison: +$1,496.92 in monetary contributions (more than double/107% increase) over 2022; +85 pounds of food collected (23% increase) over 2022; and +3,225 meals (almost double/98% increase) over 2022.

Mahalo kākou and a special shout out to our incredible UH West Oʻahu coordinators:

Lead Coordinator: Wendy Tatsuno
Chancellor’s Office: Leila Shimokawa
OVCAA: Serina Makaiwa
OVCSA: Ryan Perreira
OVCA: Ken Inouye

Supporting the Maʻi Movement

Sending a very special and deeply grateful the faculty, staff, students, and community allies who have supported the Maʻi Movement at UH West Oʻahu. Our representatives recently celebrated the good work of the movement. The core values of the Maʻi Movement are:

We believe that all individuals of menstruation age in Hawai’i have the right to access menstrual products and education without financial burden, shame, or stigma.

We are grateful for the menstrual products we received and are able to provide these products free to anyone in need.

Female faculty and staff smiling while standing for a group shot.

Business Office: Revised University Travel Policies and Procedures

Effective August 15, 2023, Administrative Procedure (AP) AP8.851 will take effect. The following is a summary of the revisions:

To qualify for a travel advance, travelers must:
- Be enrolled in ePayment (NOTE: Processing time is approximately 5 business days) for payments made from the University and ACH for payments made from RCUH
- Not have any outstanding advances within 30 days
Standardize travel advances for Lodging and M&IE is capped at the Federal Allowable Rate
Remove 4 day minimum for travel advances (i.e., there will no longer be a minimum length of stay required for travel advances)
Encourage use of PCards and purchase orders for airfare and conference fees (NOTE: This helps alleviate the risk of travelers bearing the cost of these fees if the trip is cancelled. As an example, airfare is typically not refundable and a credit is provided due to a cancellation, which precludes the direct reimbursement to the employee until the credit is used for University-sanctioned business.)
Travel Advance Exceptions for Unconventional Travel:
- Student Athlete travel associated with athletic competitions and recruiting.
- Student travel relating to university sanctioned business as well as any travel related to a chartered student organization.
- Travel related to Study Abroad Programs
- Research travel to remote areas
The University Disbursing Office will be closely monitoring outstanding travel advances and strict action will be taken via Payroll in closing out travel completion reports.

All campus administrative staff have been briefed and shared updates of this new AP. Please contact Kyle Sergent at 808-689-2510 or sergent@hawaii.edu with questions.

Important Data Governance Information For Faculty and Staff

The University of Hawaiʻi is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of student education records and monitoring the release of information from those records, in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

UH employees with access to student education records have a legal responsibility to protect the privacy of students by using information only for legitimate educational reasons to instruct, advise, or otherwise assist students. FERPA also assures certain rights to students regarding their education records. These rights do not transfer to parents, guardians, spouses, or other family members without the express written permission of the student.

What is FERPA?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (also known as the Buckley Amendment), affords students four primary rights with respect to their education
records. They have the right to:
1. Inspect and review their education records;
2. Have some control over the disclosure of information from their education records;
3. Seek to amend incorrect education records;
4. File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Family Policy Compliance Office.

Learn more about how FERPA at:
datagov.intranet.hawaii.edu/ferpa/
datagov.intranet.hawaii.edu/ferpa-guidance-for-online-lectures-and-recordings/

Data Privacy and Security Best Practices

Protect your UH email account! Reduce the risk of your UH username and password from being compromised with the following cyber hygiene best practices.

Do not your UH username and password when establishing other accounts. If you are required to use your UH username to verify you are a UH employee, then be sure to use a different password. Duplicating your UH login information is a security risk because if the third party has a data breach, your UH username and password will be compromised. For example, many UH student accounts have been exposed through a massive data breach within the education technology company Chegg in 2018. If you require your students to use a third-party application for class assignments, please advise them to create unique account credentials.

Never re-use passwords that have been exposed. Once your login information has been exposed, hackers continue to have access to them.

Do not share your UH username and password with others. Keep your UH credentials confidential.

Check whether your UH email has been exposed.
https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Remain alert for phishing scams.
https://www.hawaii.edu/infosec/phishing/

Best Practices involving Third Party Software/Services
(Including online tools used in the classroom)

If students or other users need to create an account, inform them to not use their UH username and password, if possible. Mirroring credentials poses a security risk.

Do not forget about your data after a contract or subscription ends, especially if there is Sensitive or Regulated data involved. Remind students or other users to delete their account and materials when the software product is no longer being used (e.g., when the class is over).

Questions?
Email the UH Data Governance Office at datagov@hawaii.edu.