May, 2008 Vol. 33 No. 2
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Published May 2008

Campus News

Eric Dela Rosa and his award-winning poster presentation

Poster presentation earns student computer science honors

Hawaiʻi Community College student Eric Dela Rosa received an award for best poster presentation in computer science during the national Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science in Kansas City, Mo.

He reported on his involvement in creating a user interface for telescope instrumentation during an internship at the Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope observatory atop Mauna Kea.

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UH Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng and Hawaii Community College Chancellor Rockne Freitas

Partnership will ensure smooth transfer, encourage completion of degrees

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College established a degree pathways partnership program in January 2008 to ensure that students beginning their college education at Hawaiʻi CC can complete it easily at Hilo.

The inaugural articulation agreement under the program creates a seamless transition from Hawaiʻi’s business emphasis associate degree to a College of Business and Economics major at Hilo.

The program expands on informal collaborations, such as that by administration of justice programs at both campuses, and commits to improved admissions and advising for students and better alignment between the learning goals at each institution. Officials hope it will encourage more community college students to complete four-year degree programs.

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Children’s center among first to receive national accreditation

The Keiki Hauʻoli Children’s Center at Honolulu Community College is one of the first childcare programs in the nation accredited under new professional standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

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Team takes top honors for lunar outpost design

winning lunar outpost design

Honolulu Community College students’ plan for a habitat capable of sustaining human life on the Moon won top honors in the 2007 Lunar Outpost Student Design Competition.

Honolulu’s entry—featuring four interconnected 26-foot, three-level spheres with units for sleeping, command, biomass production and community activities—bested designs from universities across the nation, including Purdue, Southern California and Maryland.

The only community college team to enter, the Honolulu students drew on expertise in the college’s marine, aeronautic and science programs. They incorporated carbon-fiber laminate construction, a 3-D nanotube solar system and other technologies, and they addressed aesthetic concerns, including greenery and special view windows to ease adaptation to prolonged confinement.

The competition was sponsored by the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, an international research and education center created by the Hawaiʻi Legislature in 2007 to support development of technologies needed to sustain human life on other planets and promote testing in the Big Island’s lunar-like environments.

Both PISCES and Boeing have expressed interest in constructing a model based on the design. PISCES is based at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, which recently signed a partnership with second-place winner Colorado School of Mines to support faculty and student research opportunities.

Download the Honolulu team’s report PDF.

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dental students

New degree addresses dental care demands on Maui

Supported by the professional community, Maui Community College has added an associate in science program in dental hygiene to help alleviate island dental care needs.

A 2001 survey suggested that more than 3 in 10 Maui residents lack access to dental care, and more than 9 in 10 dentists reported a shortage of dental assistants and hygienists.

The new degree creates a career ladder, building on the college’s dental assisting certificate program, which has graduated 52 students.

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Campus receives national award for workforce development

Maui Community College received the 2008 National Bellwether Award for workforce development, for groundbreaking practices in sustainability and efforts to meet workforce needs.

Read more.

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West Oʻahu offers new BA in healthcare administration

Beginning in fall 2008, the University of Hawaiʻi at West Oʻahu will offer healthcare administration as a new concentration in its public administration BA program.

"Current and future healthcare managers will be expected to focus on improving access, containing rising costs, enhancing efficiency in healthcare facilities and improving quality of care," says West Oʻahu Associate Professor Kristina Guo.

The program addresses the increasing need for healthcare managers and provides future administrators with the skills needed in a constantly evolving field. Those already employed in the healthcare field can fully develop management, legal and behavioral skills for more effective job performance.

Read more or call 808 454-4732 for more information.

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Unexpected collection creates mystery surrounding designer

fashion students holding up dress from the collection

When Ethel Shiraki de Saussure Guyer’s family moved their aging aunt into a care home, they discovered an extraordinary collection of dresses, costume jewelry and memorabilia from her days as a designer among her things.

Born Ethel Yoshiko Shiraki on a Kohala plantation, Guyer studied at New York’s Traphagen School of Fashion in the late 1940s and worked at the house of Mainbocher, designer of Wallis Simpson’s wedding gown for her marriage to the Duke of Windsor.

Guyer opened the boutique Ethel de Saussure Designs in Honolulu and in 1962 moved to California, where her family believes she created innovative gowns for Hollywood stars, including Walt Disney’s wife.

Guyer’s family donated her designs to the Historic Costume Collection in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Apparel Product Design and Merchandising Program. Pieces reflect Guyer’s wide-ranging inspiration, including kimono fabric and Indian saris on western dresses and Mexican, Spanish flamenco and Egyptian stylings.

Guyer said little in the past and now suffers from Alzheimer’s disease; the family hopes news of the donation will encourage people who knew their aunt to share information about her career.

Learn more about the Historic Costume Collection, or contact curator Carol D’Angelo, 808 956-2234.

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Biography conference addresses life writing

About 200 scholars, librarians, archivists and activists from around the world will converge on the Imin Center at Mānoa June 23–26 for Life Writing and Translations, the sixth biennial conference of the International Auto/Biography Association.

"The conference explores the intricacies of translating from language to language, culture to culture and media to media and what effect translation has on biography, autobiography and the telling of lives in general," says Craig Howes, director of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Center for Biographical Research. "Participants are coming into a place that has a very long tradition of preserving and celebrating lives through narratives."

Public presentation of genealogy chants, hula, dramatic re-enactment and song at Kennedy Theatre June 24, 2008 highlights different methods of recording Pacific life narratives. In keeping with the theme, some seminars and presentations will be in languages appropriate to the speakers. Keynoters include autobiography scholar Philippe Lejeune; Barbara Harlow, who studies life writing in resistance movements; former political prisoner Alicia Partnoy; and UH Mānoa Associate Professor Noenoe Silva, a Native Hawaiian rights activist.

In a related seminar for professionals and the public on July 1, 2008, Yvonne Young, archivist for The Troubles in Ireland and Northern Ireland, will talk about preservation of ephemera as personal history.

Read more at the conference website, or call 808 956-3774 or email.

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Breathe easier with houseplants

The value of houseplants is more than aesthetic. They can actually absorb and break down volatile organic compounds responsible for indoor air pollution.

Considered one of the top five threats to public health, indoor air pollution results from gases released by combustion, synthetic building materials, household chemicals and, in Hawaiʻi, vog. Plants have been shown to remove dust, reduce allergy causing particulates and release phytochemicals that help control airborne microbes and mold spores.

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources’ offers "Using Houseplants to Clean Indoor Air," a list of species that are good candidates for natural indoor air conditioners.

Download the brocure PDF.

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group of WAC champion athletes

Four UH teams win conference trophies

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa athletes captured Western Athletic Conference championships in three fall sports.

Proudly displaying their teams’ trophies are (front row) Julia Siljestrom, Kori Lu, Tehane Higa and Taryn Fukuroku from Wahine Soccer; (middle row) Raeceen Wolford, Jamie Houston, Juliana Sanders, Stephanie Brandt and Dani Mafua from Wahine Volleyball; and (back row) Ryan Perry, Antwan Mahaley, Dan Kelly and Joey Lipp from Warrior Football.

The women’s teams won both league and tournament titles; the football team lost to in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

The men’s tennis team added to the trophy count in April, capturing their first WAC finals and postseason tournament wins. UH also won the PCCSC Coed Sloop Sailing championship—finishing the season sixth in the nation— and was conference runnerup in women’s indoor track and field and men’s swimming and diving.

In other sports honors—

  • The UH Cheer Squad won the West Region and finished seventh in the nation in Universal Cheerleaders Association division IA collegiate competition in January. To view their routine, enter "University of Hawaii" in the search bar at the association website.
  • Emma Berry captured top WAC honors in 500-yard freestyle swimming and Emma Friesen won the WAC 1-meter diving championship and was named NCAA a national Tri-Diver of the Year.
  • Annett Wichmann made the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American team after finishing fourth in the pentathlon at the national NCAA Indoor Championship.
  • Former star UH athlete Natasha Kai made the U.S. women’s soccer roster for the Olympic qualifying tournament in March.
  • Men’s Tennis Coach John Nelson was named WAC Coach of the Year.
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Online show, student filmmakers win recognition

award statuette

Project Freshman 2007, a reality webcast and blog feature by America Online’s RED youth lifestyle division, followed University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa first-year students Elliott Winter, Sarah Riordan and Bri Lagat-Ramos. The show won a Telly Award in the broadband programming documentary category.

Meanwhile, work by two UH student filmmakers was included in the Riverside International Film Festival in April 2008. The films, which explored darker themes of local life, were produced by Academy for Creative Media students Seong Kyu Whang (Atonement) and Russell Blanchard (My Brother’s Keeper).

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Expanded headline

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Professor of Tourism Pauline Sheldon was elected president of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, an elite group of tourism scholars that promotes research in the field.

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Part-time law program launched

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law is launching a part-time program this fall with an anticipated inaugural class of 24 students.

The program is designed to be flexible, but students meeting three evenings a week could complete their degrees in five years. Watch the website for information on application procedures and deadlines for fall 2009.

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