Ka Pe‘ahi Lono: Monthly Message for November
Date/Time sent: 11/01/2023 11:30 amUH 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.
Hoʻokāhi ka ilau like ana (Wield the paddles together)
Aloha mai kākou e UH West Oʻahu ʻOhana!
In a blink of an eye – it is NOVEMBER!!! Where did 2023 go? We have been busy! There have been many changes this year resulting in a solid movement upward as we recover our pre-pandemic enrollment numbers, refocus our strategic programming to strengthen college-bound pathways for traditional students and transferring students, renew both established and new partnerships with community businesses and schools, recommit to an aggressive global engagement effort as more people are comfortable traveling, and revitalize our academic programs as new leadership encourages innovation, and so much more!! I am deeply grateful to all the helping hands, open hearts, and critical and collaborative thinking that everyone has contributed! Mahalo nūnui!
In this month’s Peʻahi Lono, there’s a lot of information so please do take the time to scroll through! Toward the end please see the UPDATE for our Mid-Year Commencement (held on campus, Dec. 9). Also, the date, time, and place for the Campus Finance Presentation (Monday, Nov. 20). You can also read Dr. Meyer’s Fall Kūlana o Kapolei newsletter and Dr. Loea Akiona’s Student Basic Needs report. Because this is the month we take time to give thanks, I have included my statement of gratitude in place of the Hana Lawelawe.
Here are two (2) November events not to be missed! Pass these opportunities along to your colleagues, students, and friends:
- Tuesday, Nov. 14: Screening of award-winning film documentary,”Patutiki: The Guardians of the Marquesan Tattoo.” Event to begin at 10 a.m. followed by a presentation and discussion with the director, Heretu Tetahiotupa, in the UHWO ACM Theatre. RSVP here.
- Tuesday, Nov. 14: You are invited to the artist presentation of a commissioned work of art to be installed on our entry circle. Time: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., Place: C-208. This is a multi-sculpture installation of six pillars, varying from 11′- to 15′ tall. They are placed in the center of the roundabout to form a representation of guardians. Light refreshments will be offered. Guest Artist: Jessica Kay Bodner and Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts: Alexandra Skees, Project Manager Art in Public Places Program.
If you missed the UH System’s Hawaiʻi Papa O Ke Ao Monday Mālama Maui Series, UH West Oʻahu’s presentation on Monday, Oct. 30, you can catch it again here. We screened Eddie and Myrna Kamae’s film documentary, Lāhainā: Waves of Change, and we provided a link to a pūʻolo of resources. You can access the the Lāhainā pūʻolo at the Eddie Kamae songbook site: https://eddiekamaesongbook.org/.
As you know, fund development is a kākou effort across UH and especially here at UH West Oʻahu. Every year, we work with an enthusiastic group of student employees who call alumni, current and prospective donors, and faculty/staff to share with them the good works at UH West Oʻahu and ask for a donation. We’re excited to announce that the UHF Calling Drive is underway. I recently had the pleasure of meeting our dedicated student fundraisers, and their enthusiasm is palpable. If you happen to receive a call from a UHF student in the coming days, they will be sharing updates and exploring support opportunities for our diverse programs. For any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Ty Yamaguchi at the foundation. He can be contacted at Phone: 808-956-0983.
“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!
Although we are no longer in a public health emergency in regard to the COVID-19 virus, please stay vigilant. Consider getting your COVID booster, flu shot, and RSV vaccine soon! Health officials are keeping watch on the latest variants and any rise in cases and their potential for causing serious illness. UH West Oʻahu updated our COVID-19 Guidelines for the Fall 2023 semester.
If you test positive for COVID-19:
- Isolate for 5 days.
- After 5 days, you may return to work or classes if you have been fever-free for 24 hours.
- Wear a mask for an additional 5 days around others.
You can notify your instructor or supervisor that you tested positive for COVID-19 or that you have been exposed but it is not required. You should let them know if you will be out sick as you would for any other illness that would cause you to miss class or work time. Masking is optional on campus and in offices, except where required, for example, in certain healthcare-related clinical situations. Again, please respect an individual’s personal choice to wear a face mask.
Important Highlights
Here are some October highlights you might have missed:
- UH West Oʻahu scholarship luncheon honors donors and student recipients
- UH West Oʻahu alum receives Hawaiʻi’s top teaching award
- UH West Oʻahu hosts high schoolers at career expo
Statement of Gratitude this November 2023
On Friday, Oct. 27, in partnership with Kapolei Chamber of Commerce, our regional high schools and Island Pacific Academy, and Kamehameha Schools, we hosted West Oʻahu’s Career Expo for close to 1,400 high school freshmen. The event was well organized, effectively implemented, and resulted in all participants walking away knowing that they had made a difference in the lives of our future professionals, business, and community leaders! I spoke with business/employers who shared that students were well prepared and made the following comments: “Every Kapolei High School freshman was carrying a clipboard and taking notes!” “Students asked thoughtful questions, they were curious, and loved our hats!” Another employer observed that the students were “extremely polite!” I spoke with freshmen who, for the most part, were having fun with their peers, were excited to meet with prospective employers, and were awed by our campus. One freshman said to me with a huge smile on his face, “Wow! Is this college?” The next time I saw him he was engaged in deep discussion with ICS Instructor Boris Bogaczewicz about cybersecurity!
Mahalo to the UH West Oʻahu team members who worked diligently with our partners! Mahalo to the entire Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs faculty and staff for your commitment, hard work, and shared passion! Mahalo to all our faculty and staff from the Office of Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs — thank you for sharing your programs with prospective students as this is an important and impactful moment in their lives. Mahalo nui to our staff in both the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Chancellor’s Office for their leadership and support! And a very special mahalo to all our students who welcomed our guests to campus — you made every freshman feel special, acknowledged!!
As I have done every November issue, here is my selected poem of gratitude written by Joy Harjo, first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate and member of the Mvskoke Nation. The poem is, Reconciliation, A Prayer, from her collection, The Woman Who Fell from the Sky. This poem is a memorial to African American poet, Audre Lorde, who died in 1993.
Reconciliation, A Prayer
I
We gather by the shore of all knowledge as peoples who were put here by a god who wanted relatives.This god was lonely for touch, and imagined herself as a woman, with children to suckle, to sing with – to continue the web of the terrifyingly beautiful cosmos of her womb.
This god became a father who wished for others to walk beside him in the belly of creation.
This god laughed and cried with us as a sister at the sweet tragedy of our predicament – foolish humans –
Or built a fire, as a brother to keep us warm.
This god who grew to love us became our lover, sharing tables of food enough for everyone in this whole world.
II
Oh sun, moon, stars, our other relatives peering at us from the inside of god’s house walk with us as we climb into the next century naked but for the stories we have of each other. Keep us from giving up in this land of nightmares which is also the land of miracles.
We sing our song which we’ve been promised has no beginning or end.
III
All acts of kindness are lights in the war for justice.
IV
We gather up these strands broken from the web of life. They shiver with our love, as we call them the names of our relatives and carry them to our home made of the four direction and sing:
Of the south, where we feasted and were given new clothes.
Of the west, where we gave up the best of us to the stars as food for the battle.
Of the north, where we cried because we were forsaken by our dreams.
Of the east because returned to us is the spirit of all that we love.
While you will each find parts of the poem that speak to you, I am moved by the appeal to the elements:
Oh sun, moon, stars, our other relatives / peering at us from the inside / of god’s house walk with us as we climb / into the next century / naked but for the stories we have of each / other. Keep us from giving / up in this land of nightmares which is / also the land of miracles. / We sing our song which we’ve been / promised has no beginning or / end.
Then, the cataclysmic line:
All acts of kindness are lights in the war for justice.
This prayer reminds us that all that we have learned is rooted in the original teachings from an ancestral realm. It is important, in this season to express our gratitude for all that we have learned and share this knowledge forward.
Hoʻomanao Mai
UPDATE: UH West Oʻahu Mid-Year Commencement
The Mid-Year Commencement Ceremony is quickly approaching! We are pleased to celebrate our graduates with a return to the UH West Oʻahu campus for this occasion on Saturday, Dec. 9, starting at 9 a.m. in the campus Courtyard. It is anticipated that the Annual Ceremony in the spring will be at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoaʻs SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center (more details to follow).
We will need campus ambassadors/volunteers to support our candidates for graduation and their loved ones at the Mid-Year Ceremony, so be on the lookout for signups, which will come out in the following weeks. Due to capacity constraints on the UH West Oʻahu campus, the Mid-Year Ceremony requires that guests who attend the ceremony have a ticket. Each graduate receives six (6) guest tickets and two (2) parking passes. However, non-ticketed guests are invited to join their graduates on the Great Lawn following the ceremony for lei giving. The ceremony will also be live streamed and the recording will be on the website at a later date.
Please see the Commencement page and FAQs, which are constantly being updated.
Campus Finance Presentation
Chancellor Benham and Kyle Sergent, Budget Director, will present:
UH West Oʻahu’s Campus Finances: FY 2013-2023 and Beyond
Date/Time: Monday, Nov. 20, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Location: ACM Theater
RSVP by Friday, Nov. 17. Space is limited.
A recording will be available at a later date.
Student Basic Needs Presentation
Dr. Loea Akiona presented an overview on how UH West Oʻahu is meeting our students’ basic needs and what we need to strengthen and add. We provide his powerpoint presentation.
Kūlana o Kapolei Newsletter
Mahalo to Dr. Manu Meyer for her continued commitment to and passion to provide us all with the opportunities to live into the ʻōlelo noʻeau, He laha ʻāina ko kākou e mahi ai (Our ancestral land is the source of our strength). Take a moment to learn more about these efforts in her Fall 2023 Newsletter.
Learn more about the Hawaiʻ State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
Capitol Modern is the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum, formally called “HiSAM” for two decades, decided it was time to rebrand the gallery to better reflect the museum’s location in Honolulu’s historical Capitol District and its selection of vibrant modern art that people have come to love. While the museum is somewhat new, the agency that runs the museum, the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA), has been around since the 1960s, responsible for promoting and supporting the arts and culture of Hawaiʻi. As part of SFCA, the Art in Public Places Program was established along with the Art in State Buildings Law requiring that 1% of construction and renovation costs of new state buildings be used for the acquisition of art. Hawaiʻi became the first state to have a “Percent for Art” law with the idea to beautify spaces and increase public access to art. We are grateful that they have funded beautiful pieces of art on our campus (i.e., Library Tower and our Circular Art installation).