August 2011
APEC update
We hosted education ministers and officials from 20 of the 21 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) economies at the APEC Symposium on Quality in Higher Education at the East-West Center early thismonth, attended by U.S. delegate Eduardo Ochoa, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, and other key education ministers.
As a member of the APEC Hawai‘i Host Committee, I’ve called upon our faculty, staff and students to help get ready for APEC in a myriad of ways. UH was selected to train the volunteer and hospitality staff for the November conference. We’ve been busy over the summer organizing manpower to service not only the official delegates and their entourages, but also the 2,000-plus international journalists expected to cover the conference. Thank you to Honolulu Community College and Windward Community College for opening their facilities for training. This Saturday’s training will be at themedical school, and two sessions in September will be at our Leeward and Manoa campuses.
Thanks to the support of Chancellor Clyde Sakamoto, our Maui, Kaua‘i, and Big Island campuses will start training airport employees and TSA personnel on their islands next month.
Last week, Vice President Rockne Freitas and I, along with other members of the host committee, participated in a protocol ceremony at Mauna‘ala, the Royal Mausoleum, to pay respect to the ancestral leaders of Hawai‘i on behalf of APEC. This event was sponsored by the Hawaiian Cultural Host Committee for APEC and we were happy to participate.
University and campus news
- UH/PACOM initiative
- Kuali update
- Hilo opens new building
- Students participate in field archeology
- Hawai‘i offers photovoltaic course
- Johnson Hall remodeled
- Bookstore offers textbook rental
- Awards convocation scheduled
UH Community Colleges News
Hawai‘i offers photovoltaic course
Hawai‘i Community College celebrated the completion of its first photovoltaics course, which was offered this summer through the college’s Office of Continuing Education and Training for individuals wanting to enter the solar field.
Students attended a rigorous 40-hour course for five Saturdays from July through August at Kealakehe High School.
Many programs and individuals came together to make the course possible, including the Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training based at Honolulu Community College,, instructors and students from Hawai‘i Community College and Kealakehe High School and the University Center in West Hawai‘i.
A State Energy Sector Partnership grant funded tuition for many students through the Department of Labor, Workforce Development Division and Hawai‘i Community College.
