UH West Oʻahu faculty and staff at the 2015 Convocation and Professional Development Day event.
UH West Oʻahu faculty and staff came together before the start of the fall 2015 semester for Convocation and Professional Development Day on Aug. 18. Following a welcome from Chancellor Rockne Freitas, University employees were honored with service awards and recognized for promotions and tenure. Among the many employees honored, Professor of Sociology Joyce Chinen was recognized and thanked for her 40 years of service at the University.
UH West Oʻahu Interim Vice Chancellor for Administration Kathy Wong-Nakamura updated the campus community with information about the University budget, and future plans for campus facilities including the construction of Road B and the new Allied Health and Administration Building. She also discussed plans for campus lands surrounding the University that are zoned for mixed-use commercial purposes including a University Village. Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Judy Oliveira and her team presented information about UH West Oʻahu’s enrollment, student early intervention programs, counseling services, student life club and intramural sports activities, U.S. Department of Education Title III grant programs, Title IX, the Chancellor’s Committee on Enrollment and Student Success, and more.
UH West Oʻahu Chancellor Rockne Freitas accepts hand-made pueo quilt from Associate Professor of Science Education Richard Jones during Convocation and Professional Development Day.
Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Doris Ching discussed new academic concentrations, the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence and the newly developed Center for Professional Development that will provide new resources and professional development opportunities for UH West Oʻahu faculty.
Professor of Psychology Mark Hanson presented the outcomes of the Conversion to Majors Committee’s exploratory discussions about converting the current degree and concentration structure at UH West Oʻahu to one with major programs under newly formed degrees with or without concentrations.
Hawaii Tokai International College (HTIC) Chancellor Takuya Yoshimura also addressed the group and discussed the developing partnership with UH West Oʻahu, including opportunities for UH West Oʻahu students to study abroad and take Japanese language courses through HTIC programs. UHWO Interim Academic Program Officer and Director of Strategic Initiatives Sherry Proper updated the campus community about the University’s Comprehensive Internationalization Plan as well as the work completed by the UH West Oʻahu Strategic Plan Implementation Committee over the summer.
Hawaii Tokai International College Chancellor Takuya Yoshimura addresses UHWO faculty and staff during Convocation and Professional Development Day.