May 2011
Commencement
This past weekend was a very exciting weekend for the University of Hawai‘i as our campuses and programs statewide celebrated Spring Commencement. We awarded more than 5,000 degrees and certificates this semester. That puts us over 9,200 degrees and certificates awarded this academic year, which is well ahead of our Hawai‘i Graduation Initiative goal.
I had the privilege of attending commencement ceremonies this year at Hawai‘i Community College, UH Hilo, UH Manoa and the John A. Burns School of Medicine. Hawai‘i Community College’s commencement was a special occasion for the campus as they celebrate their 70th anniversary. At UH Hilo, we recognized 84 students who made up the first graduating class of the College of Pharmacy, and 63 new doctors are now in the field after the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s annual convocation ceremony.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie spoke to our advanced degree graduates at UH Manoa and gave a rousing talk on the impact of the University of Hawai‘i to him personally and the important role we will play in the future of Hawai‘i.
Also, I’d like to recognize our University Centers on the neighbor islands for their continued efforts to help make baccalaureate and advanced degrees accessible to our neighbor island residents via distance learning. The UH Center on Maui celebrated its commencement ceremony last week with more than 100 students receiving degrees and certificates from our baccalaureate campuses.
Commencement is a time for us to rejoice in the important student and faculty success that it represents. I extend my congratulations to all our graduates as well as our faculty and staff who support our students every day and help them towards their goal of graduating from the University of Hawai‘i.
University and campus news
- Legislative/budget update
- PACOM agreement
- Skin cancer prevention campaign
- PURE Math initiative
- Net-0 model home
- Kaua‘i scholarships
- MELE award nominees
UH Hilo News
National grant for PURE Math
UH Hilo has been awarded a share of a nearly $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant entitled Pacific Undergraduate Research Experience in Mathematics (PURE Math). Hilo’s share of the five-year award totals $707,718, while Sam Houston State University in Texas will receive the $765,973 balance.
The program, which will be housed at Hilo, will be administered by two faculty members at each institution.
PURE Math is an academic mentoring program that will heavily recruit undergraduates from the Pacific and underrepresented groups for a research program not usually available to those populations. The two primary goals are to increase the number of native Pacific Islanders earning degrees and pursuing careers in the mathematical sciences and to provide mentoring experiences to junior faculty who will be trained in directing undergraduate research.
Read the news release or visit the project website..
