University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Professor Mitchell Anderson was honored with the Willard Wilson Award for Distinguished Service. Named in honor of long-time UH administrator and secretary to the Board of Regents, the Willard Wilson Award recognizes exemplary service to the University of Hawaiʻi.
Anderson is a proud UH Hilo alumnus who has worked in the mathematics department for the past 28 years.
He is a proven leader when it comes to preparing campus departments for program review. His knowledge of WASC-mandated assessment has been invaluable to the campus. He was also instrumental in creating the Program Review Advisory Committee to strengthen faculty governance and morale, improve program review and assessment and create institutional memory. His efforts to educate faculty on programmatic commitments are both effective and inspirational.
Anderson has been commended for his work on developing the Hawaiʻi statewide high school mathematics curriculum in alignment with the common core state standards.
His leadership in developing curriculum content includes professional training for high school mathematics teachers across the state. His work for the State Department of Education has implications at the national level as well, as Hawaiʻi has been a model in curricular alignment standards for the rest of the nation.
Colleagues describe Anderson as a hard-working and dedicated original thinker. He is an enthusiastic doer, always quick to acknowledge the contributions of others and a true leader with a big heart and a ready smile.
