About 230 faculty and staff at the University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu attended the Spring 2023 Convocation — Jan. 6 at the Campus Center multi-purpose room — a semesterly welcome event that provided campus updates, including accomplishments and challenges from 2022, and goals for 2023 and beyond.
Before the program began, attendees greeted each other with smiles and hugs. The event opened with the singing of “Mele Honouliuli” and offering of Hō‘oia ‘Āina (Land Acknowledgement), as well as a moving welcome by Kupuna-in-Residence Aunty Lynette Paglinawan and Chancellor Maenette Benham, and recognition of UH West O‘ahu’s new employees.
The convocation program featured high-level overviews of the previous year and upcoming plans for the campus. The updates provided included a look at UH West O‘ahu by the numbers presented by Institutional Research Director John Stanley, campus finances by Fiscal Manager Sheri Ching, academics by Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Jeffrey Moniz, and student success by interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lokelani Kenolio.
The program continued with an Information Technology update by IT Director Therese Nakadomari and a Planning & Land Use update by Director of Planning & Design Bonnie Arakawa.
Convocation concluded with Benham sharing her thoughts on looking forward to the new semester, emphasizing UH West O‘ahu’s commitment to stewardship.
“We are the stewards of this community in which we sit,” Benham said. “We serve in particular in a way of investing —investing our time, our knowledge, our skill, our resources — to strengthening the programs that you provide, strengthening the people that we serve and the pathways that serve them, that enable all of our students to achieve their life, family, and career aspirations. That’s a really big responsibility and you have done it marvelously.”
Following the program, faculty and staff enjoyed time for fellowship at the Nāulu Center and Outdoor Learning Space.
To see more photos from the event, visit the Spring 2023 Convocation album on Flickr.
Click here to see the Convocation PowerPoint presentation.
Click here to watch a recording of the Convocation program.