Wendy Hensel, the new president of the University of Hawaiʻi’s system of 10 campuses and five education centers, recently visited UH Hilo to address a variety of questions raised by students, faculty, staff and community members.
Questions included the role of the UH System in supporting the differences in the individual campuses, the need to improve and upgrade technological infrastructure, and what it means to be a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning.
“I felt that having that personal connection in a meeting and being able to ask her the essential questions for our campus is important,” said Celia Bardwell-Jones, a professor of Philosophy and the chair of the Gender and Women’s Studies program at UH Hilo. “I felt her answers were thoughtful” and not “boilerplate” responses.
About 80 people attended the UH Hilo open forum last week. It was part of Henselʻs tour to all campuses and education centers, where she has been learning about some common underlying needs throughout the system while experiencing the unique issues at each location.
“I think it has been incredibly engaging and thoughtful,” Hensel said after the open forum at UH Hilo. “The questions were challenging and important, and we had a really good conversation about what matters to the people on this campus. That’s important. We don’t have all the answers, but we should be able to discuss the questions and how we come together as a community.”
Hensel was unanimously selected by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents to lead the 10-campus system, succeeding David Lassner, who announced his retirement in September 2023.
The search for the president attracted 93 applicants, which was narrowed down to 12 semi-finalists and three finalists.
Hensel was serving as executive vice chancellor and university provost at the City University of New York when she was chosen for the job. While there was concern by some about not hiring someone with no roots to Hawaiʻi, Hensel has an impressive resume and showed during previous tours she is willing to listen and learn about local issues and culture.
Every campus visit on the Big Island — which also included the Kō Education Center and the Hawaiʻi Community College campuses at Manono and Pālamanui — began with a traditional kīpaepae (welcoming ceremony) followed by a campus tour, meetings with students, faculty, staff and community members, and an open forum for the public.
Discussions covered key issues such as adopting new technology, staff development, transparency, student fees and expanding interdisciplinary collaboration by encouraging shared knowledge, so students can gain more during their time in school.
Hensel said she was apprehensive at first about learning artificial intelligence systems, “but truthfully, it is astounding to see what schools are doing with AI,” she said. “It can be used for so many different subjects and areas of study and for things I never would have thought of.”
This week, the University of Hawaiʻi announced its partnership with Google to provide AI training to its students and employees across its 10-campus system, and at no cost.
The initiative offers access to the Google Career Certificates program, which equips people with skills for in-demand fields including cybersecurity, data analytics and IT support.
“We have a lot to catch up on in the next 10 years and I believe that consistently developing artificial intelligence skills will help students and faculty stay ahead in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape,” Hensel said
Students who participate in the Google Career Certificate program have access to an Employer Consortium of more than 150 companies that consider Google Career Certificate graduates for relevant roles.
Hensel also met with the Hanakahi Council — a caucus of Native Hawaiian faculty and staff at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo – to discuss perpetuating Hawaiian language, subjects and culture to University of Hawaiʻi students systemwide.
During her visit to the Hawaiʻi Community College Manono campus in Hilo, Hensel explored the elements of the welcoming ceremony. Through the College of Hawaiian Studies, Hensel learned to hoʻokani the pahu (to drum) and pū (blow the conch shell) while discovering the meaning behind the tradition.
“I really appreciated the hands-on learning opportunities, especially in understanding the cultural practices behind the Kīpaepae. That was particularly meaningful to me,” Hensel said. “I cannot pretend to know what the needs are of our Native Hawaiian faculty and students, but I am committed to asking questions and keeping an open dialogue with leadership across the board to make sure those needs are met.”
During the open forums, students at both the Hawaiʻi Community College Manono campus and University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo expressed frustration over the difficulty in transferring credits between degree pathways at the University of Hawaiʻi’s two and four-year campuses.
Hannah, who declined to give her last name, asked Hensel directly about the difficulties she has faced trying to get the correct credits to graduate after she transferred from a University of Hawaiʻi system school.
According to Hannah, her advisor and a couple professors misled her and she ended up taking classes she did not need for her degree.
“I was supposed to graduate in 2022, but I am still here and will not be done at the end of this semester,” she said. “I guess Iʻm asking if there is any protocol for advisors or professors who give you the wrong information. This has not been a good process for me at all.”
While Hensel could not answer about protocol for advisors or professors, she said she wants to update the course equivalencies so transfers can be a seamless process between UH system schools.
There is a course transfer equivalency site that has a library of previously evaluated courses, however, the current equivalencies are based on the unique characteristics of each college and university, and does not guarantee the course will satisfy the graduation requirement.
“This should be a stress-free process, but it is another great example of all the ways we need to upgrade our technology and basic infrastructure between all of the colleges,” Hensel said. “While each campus has its own unique differences, there are some basic things that need to be updated and uniform.”
“President Hensel is deeply committed to listening and becoming an active part of our community,” Hawaiʻi Community College Chancellor Susan Kazama said. “I sense that she understands our mission, recognizes the strength of our kauhale (village), and embraces the collaborative culture that defines Hawaiʻi Community College.”
During the trip to the Manono campus, Hensel met students and faculty from Electrical Installation and Maintenance Technology, Carpentry, Agriculture and I Ola Hāloa Center for Hawaiʻi Life Styles, during which she visited the 56th model home currently under construction by students in Keaukaha.
“President Hensel came up to our group and asked the students directly what improvements we wanted to see,” said KalaʻiI Davis, a student in the Electrical Installation and Maintenance Technology program. “We were all speechless. We were able to share our concerns and felt like she understood our point of view. It really made us feel like we could actually have a say in addressing the obstacles we face.”
Hensel also traveled to Honokaʻa to visit the Kō Education Center, one of the seven centers across the state that serve rural communities, and then to Hawaiʻi Community College – Pālamanui on the west side of the island.
“Their ambition to uplift their communities and make higher education accessible to everyone is truly impressive,” Hensel said of the Kō Center and Pālamanui. “Both campuses have beautiful facilities with the capacity to grow alongside their communities, and they each have bold visions for the future that I look forward to supporting.”