Ka Pe‘ahi Lono: Monthly Message for January 2024

Date/Time sent: 01/02/2024 1:30 pm

Hoʻokāhi ka ilau like ana (Wield the paddles together)

Aloha mai kākou e UH West Oʻahu ʻOhana!

Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou! Are you ready for 2024!?! Undeniably, 2023 was a year of recovery and revitalization. With new vision and wonder shared by new campus leaders, our drive and “oomph” regained renewed momentum and force. We will see our faculty and staff soon at our Spring Convocation to share lessons learned and get-up-and-go energy and inspiration for 2024.

UH West Oʻahu Spring 2024 Convocation
Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024
9 a.m. – noon
Convocation in C-208 Multi-purpose Room
Lunch – Nāulu Outdoor Learning Center

I am sure you have heard and/or read this greeting, “Hauʻoli Lono i ka Makahiki!” over the last month. Specialist Lilinoe Andrews, UH West Oʻahu ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and Hawaiian Culture consultant, provided a helpful explanation:

Makahiki is a traditional Hawaiian festival spanning up to four lunar months that starts when the constellation Makaliʻi (Pleiades) rises in the evening sky in Hawaiʻi usually but not always around the end of October and the beginning of November. Makahiki lasts until approximately February and is focused on the god Lono and celebrates land, fertility, and harvest. It corresponds to a change in weather when hot, dry conditions become wet, rainy, and windy. Traditionally, festivities during this time included feasting and games.

Please take a moment to read this month’s Ka Peʻahi Lono, which presents important information about the Spring 2024 Convocation presentation.

Before I close this section, I want to mahalo everyone for a successful 2023. I continue to be inspired and humbled by the acts of stewardship and support shared by so many. Again, I sincerely appreciate all that each of you do to provide a world-class education, conduct high-caliber scholarship, and offer impactful outreach and engagement locally and globally.

E mālama pono!
Maenette Benham, Chancellor

Section divider made up of two canoe paddles.

Important Highlights

Here are several highlights you might have missed:

Hana Lawelawe: On Leadership

A Preview of our Spring 2024 Convocation Presentation

I am excited to include a preview of our Spring 2024 Convocation Powerpoint Presentation. In the fall, I introduced our new administrative team to include VC for Academics Dr. Harald Barkhoff, VC for Student Services Dr. Dee Uwono, VC for Administration Dave McDonald, Interim Associate VC for Academics Dr. Camonia Graham-Tutt, and Executive Director for Strategic Directions, Assessment and Accreditation Dr. Jessica Miranda. This spring you will hear from the VCAA, VCSA, VCA, and Executive Director SDAA. Each will share what they have observed and learned about UH West Oʻahu in the time that they’ve been here, what efforts they have been working on, and what they envision their unit to be doing over the next year.

My presentation will begin with an overview of information about our campus operations. After each of our campus executives present, I will end by revisiting our core values as we move forward. I will provide more thorough details below. Here is a link to the Spring 2024 UHWO Convocation Powerpoint Presentation.

Campus Updates

Financial Presentation: The Review of Fiscal Year 2024 Budget was presented to the campus in November 2023. The powerpoint and video of the presentation was made available to campus community through a variety of channels. If you missed it here are links to the powerpoint and video.
UH System Strategic Imperatives: You will be hearing a lot about these imperatives in 2024. Representatives from both the UH System and campuses are working to clearly define and operationalize the imperative while each campus is working to align its strategic plan with the the System Strategic Imperatives. Here are the four Imperatives:
- Fulfill kuleana to Native Hawaiians and Hawai‘i: Model what it means to be an indigenous-serving and indigenous-centered institution: Native Hawaiians thrive, traditional Hawaiian values and knowledge are embraced, and UH scholarship and service advance all Native Hawaiians and Hawai‘i.
- Develop successful students for a better future: Educate more students, empowering them to achieve their goals and contribute to a civil society.
- Meet Hawai‘i’s workforce needs of today and tomorrow: Eliminate workforce shortages in Hawai‘i while preparing students for a future different than the present.
- Diversify Hawai‘i’s economy through UH innovation and research: Build and sustain a thriving UH research and innovation enterprise that addresses local and global challenges by linking fundamental scientific discovery with applied research necessary for technological innovation to create jobs and advance a knowledge-based economy.

Currently, each of the imperatives are being defined and operationalized by a team consisting of representatives from all 10 campuses. In 2024, we should be hearing more about the new strategic plan. To learn more here is the link to the UH System Strategic Plan

UH West Oʻahu Strategic Imperatives: Over the spring semester Dr. Miranda and our program Assessment Coordinators will be weaving together program assessment and accreditation efforts (both professional and campus/WSCUC) and aligning both to our UH West Oʻahu Strategic Action Plan. More information about this effort will be presented in Fall 2024. If you would like to review our Strategic Action Imperatives you can access it easily at https://westoahu.hawaii.edu/strategicplan/
Special Event Dates in Spring to keep in mind
Jan. 8 – First Day of Instruction
Jan. 18 – UH West Oʻahu Hosts the Board of Regents Meeting
Jan. 31 – APIA Scholars C-208 – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Jessica Miranda)
March – Installation of circle sculpture begins
March 18-22 – Spring Break
April 6 – Onizuka Day Hosted at UHWO
April 9 – AES (Solar Panels on Mauika lands) Ribbon Cutting Event
April 26 – Last Day of Instruction
May 4 – Commencement
Here are some helpful links to help you stay informed:
- Makahaiwaʻa – Weekly newsletter (emailed to students, faculty, staff on the first business day of each week). Includes weekly highlights, health and safety reminders, UH System messages, etc.
- Ka Puna O Kaloʻi – Online campus news site
- Quarterly Impact Report – Campus highlights covering topics such as summer bridge programs, workforce development data, etc.
- Communications Request Form (for faculty/staff submissions only) – Submit here to publicize events, honors, announcements campuswide.
- Current Students page – Information for students about registration, financial aid, and support services, among other topics relevant to UH West Oʻahu students.
- Faculty/Staff page – Information about campus departments, faculty/staff directory, and faculty resources, among other topics relevant to UH West Oʻahu employees.

Revisiting our Campus Core Values

We have held true to our core values that uplift and inspire the work we do to meet our vision and mission and live into our value proposition. Our pahuhopu engages us in deep thinking, thought-provoking discussions, and both individual and collective action. Our values are:

Kaiāulu: We value viable, healthy communities where everyone feels included, welcomed, and respected.
Hana Lawelawe: We value conscious service to community that builds the capacity to offer one’s excellence for the benefit of others and our environment.
Mālama ʻĀina: We value environmental responsibility that links our love and care of land, water, and people.
Waiwai: We value abundance/wealth that develops a culture of philanthropy and sustainable use of resources through the cultivation of quality relationships, creativity, exploration, and transdisciplinary learning.
Poʻokela: We value excellence in education to meet the high aspirations of student, faculty, and staff, and the needs of our community.

Grounded on these core principles, let’s consider just four opportunities that we as a campus community have been working at since my arrival in 2017:

Shared Equity Leadership
Social Responsibility
Commitment to Stewardship
Poʻokela

Shared Equity Leadership (SEL) is a term that the American Counncil on Education (ACE) has adopted that commits ACE member institutions to stand committed to eliminating systemic racism while promoting high-quality institutional policies and equity practices. This can only be done if everyone on campus takes on the roles and responsibilities to develop and to move forward actions that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion. I am reminded every day that this is a core strength of our campus. What I have seen over the last 7 years and what each of our new campus executive team members (VCs) have observed — through the good work of faculty, staff, students, and graduates — is that equity is everyone’s responsibility. Your efforts to build shared teams within your divisions and across our institutions are successfully implementing and increasing equity activities and movement on our campus. At the same time, we/you are nurturing both your own and others’ equity mindedness. We can and we should do more, that is to say we must keep growing together! I am committed to nurturing our continued development in this important core value.

Social Responsibility is a “core higher education value” whose definition – in this time – has been politicized and contested. I believe that the social responsibility of higher education is to use the freedoms afforded to us, that is academic freedom and institutional autonomy, in a manner that engages us in seeking and imparting truth according to our ethical and professional standards. And, moreso to respond to the contemporary conundrums, challenges, and needs of the communities we serve. I would like to continue this discussion of how we step up our efforts to meet the core values of higher education and to look to our programming in a manner that engages everyone in this effort of quality and value-added service and stewardship.

A Commitment to Stewardship requires that we not only hold to our pahuhopu but that we also enact practices that embody our shared commitment and leadership to these values. As I reflect on the efforts of faculty, staff, and students, I can easily identify ongoing, regular activities performed individually and collectively to accomplish our strategic imperative of centering our students’ needs. Stewarding our commitment to learning and teaching that has a transdisciplinary focus, pursues innovation and transformation, strengthens leadership that commits to place and people, and fosters Aloha ʻĀina (all that nurtures us) is what makes UH West Oʻahu distinct!

Some concrete actions I see us practicing includes (this is by no means an exhaustive list):

Setting realistic expectations for both the short and long term. I have observed that more and more we are working to understand problems within a larger systemic perspective and thoughtfully enacting solutions that are not quick fixes or a singular silver bullet. Instead, solutions have been cohesive in its approach to the work.
More of our community members have mentioned the need for building trust and the extra challenge that this often presents. There are more opportunities to build trust across difference and more efforts to cultivate positive relations. Please consider participating in these efforts.
Aligned with the above observation, I also see more (and would hope for more efforts in this arena) welcoming and gracious discussions that address disagreements and tensions. Disagreements and tensions are inevitable as we all bring different experiences, identities, and opinions. While creating an environment where disagreement is productive and dealt with openly is difficult, I am so pleased to see us learning how to respectfully unpack our differences while working together to make good decisions.

Learning and engaging in these practices will support our efforts to be excellent in our commitment to stewardship.

Poʻokela, excellence is what we strive for! What I have learned as a teacher and a leader is that achieving excellence requires us to tap into our core energies/capacities that triggers us to achieve. Tapping into our core occurs when we are centered and focused, and can identify our north star—our purpose/our why. That clarity presents us with the ability to do three things: (1) be open and receptive to multiple perspectives and ideas, (2) be curious and open to querying and learning, and (3) be connected with colleagues. This dynamic engagement produces collective wisdom that swiftly unlocks your and your colleagues’ (students, partners, etc.) peak performace. I am seeing more and more of our UH West Oʻahu community members stepping up, reaching into their core, and successfully moving mountains! Mahalo nūnui!

Kūlia i ka nuʻu. Strive for the summit.