Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2026

as approved May 1, 2026

Zoom

11:31am

Aldayne Adlam, Rebecca Arechiga, Katherine Aumer, Linda Axtell-Thompson, Bonnie Bittman, James Burrell, Ellen-Rae Cachola, Matt Cavert, Nicholas Chagnon, Kealani Cook, Olivia George, Samantha Giridhar, Ariel Gruenthal-Rankin, Cathy Ikeda, Osman Keshawarz, Jason Levy, Joy Mahiko, Stan Orr, Fiorella Penaloza, Keʻalohi Perry, Li-Hsiang Rosenlee, Megan Ross, Robyn Tasaka, Eli Tsukayama, Rouel Velasco, Stefanie Wilson, Kamuela Yong, Patricia Yu, and Konstantinos Zougris.

Guests:

Harald Barkhoff, Kalikolani Correa, Ricardo Galindez, Sarah Glancy, Rigo Gomez, Michiko Joseph, Masahide Kato, David McDonald, Leslie Opulauoho, Terri Ota, Carlos Peñaloza, Anna Pruitt, Lisa Spencer, Dee Uwono,

I. Opening Protocol

  1. Land Acknowledgement (Stan Orr)
  2. Mele Honouliuli (Keʻalohi Perry)

II. Administrative Reports

  1. .Office of the Chancellor (Chancellor Carlos Peñaloza)
    1. Legislative Updates: The proposed bill to sweep TSFS fund balances to the general fund has been pushed to 2029. The Senate version of HB1800 approved CIP funds using cash balances, taking $3 million for UHWO but diverting campus funds to Mānoa. The Chancellor is working to advocate against this model.
    2. A bill previously proposing baccalaureate degrees at Leeward CC was updated; the agriculture baccalaureate would come to UHWO instead. HB1800 also identifies three additional positions for UHWO.
    3. The Chancellor sent a campus-wide message clarifying the mechanics for reporting student behavioral concerns.
      1. From email on 4/9. Link to Individual of Concern Report.
    4. UHWO will host the Board of Regents in May, with a significant change in BOR members expected July 1.
  2. Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Administration (Vice-Chancellor David McDonald)
    1. Introduction of Ric Galindez, Island Film Group
      1. Film Studio: Introduced Rick Galindez, co-founder of Island Film Group, which was selected to build a film and television studio on 34 acres bordering Kualaka’i Parkway.
      2. Anticipating BOR approval, an advisory group comprising faculty, staff, and students will meet monthly to ensure the project benefits students and the community.
  3. Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs (Director of Student Development Dee Uwono)
    1. Events: We Go West was successful, awarding four scholarships sponsored by the Hawaii Pacific Foundation and the Takayama Foundation. The Career & Internship Fair needs more faculty to encourage partner companies to table.
    2. Advising & Registration: EAB is in the advising and testing stage; enrollment campaigns start in May, and faculty advisors will participate in the fall. Banner issues remain, requiring manual work for summer and fall enrollment.
  4. Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs (Vice-Chancellor Harald Barkhoff)
    1. Program Review: The Humanities division completed a highly successful external site visit.
    2. Staffing: The campus is conducting searches for 13 faculty positions, with two signed offer letters and one verbal acceptance. Two vacancies remain in the OVCAA office and remain a priority.

III. Action Items

  1. Approval of Faculty Senate Minutes:
    1. Approved as distributed without corrections.

IV. Committee Reports

  1. Academic Affairs and Planning (Sen. Tom Scheiding)
    1. The committee will look more closely at revising and updating the faculty evaluation form used for contract renewal, tenure, and promotion.
  2. Budget and Resources (Sen. Lisa Rosenlee)
    1. No actionable items; working on the BRC annual report to the administration
  3. Curriculum Committee (Sen. Robyn Tasaka, Vice Chair)
    1. Recommendations and approvals in the report were adopted without objection.
  4. Distance Education (Katherine Aumer, Chair)
    1. Updating curriculum for the badge for faculty-based certification based on Oscar standards; all faculty will be tentatively able to enroll in a Lamakū class to preview material.
    2. DE Committee action items and course approvals were adopted without objection.
  5. General Education (Sen. Megan Ross)
    1. Gen Ed approvals and recommendations were adopted without objection.
  6. Program Review (Sen. Joy Mahiko)
    1. Following a successful site visit, Humanities will develop an action plan in the fall.
    2. Three provisional programs (BSNS, Labor Studies, Cybersecurity) will submit applications to be established in the fall.
    3. The committee will compile a summary report of patterns seen across divisions to present to the Senate to identify opportunities to strengthen operational support.
    4. The Humanities division self-study was approved without objection.
  7. Sustainability (Sen. Rouel Velasco)
    1. SF designation course approvals were adopted for five courses taught by Stephen Litschauer and Matthew Lau.
    2. Reminded faculty to save cardboard boxes for weed suppression at the Māla.
    3. Upcoming Earth Day event/Share Fair on April 22.
  8. Student Affairs (Sen. Ke’alohi Perry)
    1. No actionable items; the committee continues to research the impact of course scheduling on VA students and their benefits.

 

V. New Business

  1. CC Resolution Wording (dates) and CC Resolution
    1. DE Resolution suggestions
    2. Addressed the timeline for experimental courses due to Banner system constraints.
    3. DE Chair Aumer proposed an amendment to ensure the dates do not constrain developing Distance Education faculty-based certification processes.
    4. The amendment and the revised resolution were adopted without objection.
  2. Arts Resolution (Jon Magnussen)
    1. The resolution serves as a commitment to help secure external resources and support for campus arts programming to better serve students,.
    2. Adopted without objection.
  3. GE Resolution 
    1. Revised GE Resolution 
    2. Formally articulates campus concerns regarding GE recommendations and timelines,.
    3. The conference committee hopes for implementation at the student level in Fall 2028.
    4. Adopted without objection.
  4. Dr. Richard Jones Resolution (T. Scheiding)
    1. A special resolution from AAP honoring Dr. Richard Jones upon his retirement.
    2. Adopted without objection.
  5. From Dr. Puette
    1. Puette, How to– Composing Resolution Documents
    2. Parliamentarian Puette suggested changing Special Rules of Order #1 to distinguish between academic policy resolutions and courtesy resolutions.
    3. Recommended avoiding “whereas” clauses for courtesy resolutions, opting for Robert’s Rules standard format.
    4. Sen. Tasaka proposed an amendment to remove the “limited to one page” restriction for courtesy resolutions.
    5. The special rule change, as amended, was approved by unanimous consent.
  6. Faculty Senate Chair Election
    1. Addressed the eleven-month contract proposal for the Senate Chair, which is not currently approved by administration,. Currently, the position carries a one-course release per semester and a $500 monthly stipend.
    2. No nominations were received; the election was deferred to the next meeting.

VI. Faculty Senate Chair Reports

  1. ASUHWO Update (Pres. Rigoberto Gomez)
    1. Requested faculty flexibility and compassion for students impacted by recent weather events,.
    2. Conducting surveys on student needs like childcare and library hours. Passed resolutions supporting in-person courses and protections for military-connected students.
    3. Actively opposing SB2602 regarding the sweep of student fees.
  2. Faculty Senate Chair Report (FS Chair Stan Orr)
    1. Joint Advisory Group: The inaugural meeting with Leeward CC is scheduled for April 22,. A more substantial report will be provided at the next meeting.
    2. EP5.203 consultation
    3. Consultation on System Wide initiative to go from 16-15 week semesters.
  3. Faculty Senate Vice Chair:
    1. Highlighted a system-wide initiative led by Alan Rosenfeld to move to 15-week semesters; UHWO is sharing its successful 15-week pilot experiences
    2. 2025-01 Resolution posted
    3. Proposed draft revision EP5 204
      1. Current EP5.204
      2. Feedback form
      3. Requested feedback on EP 5.203 and DE consultations by May 20
    4. Created a dashboard to track Senate meeting metrics, quorum, and resolution outcomes,.

VII. Announcements

  1. Ali Mushtaq: faculty survey:
    1. Conducting a faculty experience survey on student skill gaps to help create an improved student orientation video.
  2. Leslie Opoulauoho (sign up for ambassador)
    1. Reminded faculty to sign up as ambassadors for the commencement faculty processional on May 9.

VIII. Faculty Discussion in Executive Session

  1. UHWO/LCC Integration Initiative
    1. Foregone due to lack of time; deferred to the next meeting

Adjourn 1:23pm

Minutes by Senate Vice Chair Katherine Aumer