Skip to content
Reading time: 2 minutes
thompson school finalists
Alexander Ortega, Michael Spencer and Halaevalu Vakalahi

Three finalists have been identified for the position of dean of the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The finalists are each scheduled for in-person visits over a two-day period that include meetings with senior administrators, faculty, staff, students, internal and external constituents and a public presentation.

Campus and community members, as well as the general public, are encouraged to attend the public presentations.

The campus visits for the three candidates have been scheduled as follows:

  • Alexander Ortega, visiting October 27–28, 2022
    Director, Center for Population Health and Community Impact
    Professor of Health Policy
    Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University
    Public Presentation: Thursday, October 27, 3:30–4:30 p.m., Crawford Hall 105
  • Michael Spencer, visiting November 1–2, 2022
    Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
    Presidential Term Professor
    University of Washington School of Social Work
    Director, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Oceania Affairs
    Indigenous Wellness Research Institute
    Public Presentation: Tuesday, November 1, 3:30–4:30 p.m., Crawford Hall 105
  • Halaevalu Vakalahi, visiting November 3–4, 2022
    Dean and Professor
    College of Health and Society
    Hawaiʻi Pacific University
    Public Presentation: Thursday, November 3, 3:30–4:30 p.m., Crawford Hall 105

“The search advisory committee did a terrific job in identifying these three finalists, and I would like to thank them for their time, hard work and commitment to the search process. We are excited to meet the candidates as we take these next steps toward identifying the next dean of the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health,” said UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno. “As always, we encourage UH faculty, staff, students and the public to come out and meet the candidates, and we look forward to receiving their feedback.”

Following the visits and review of the feedback from the search advisory committee and others, Bruno will be making a recommendation on this appointment to UH President David Lassner.

For more information about the search process, including a list of the members of the search advisory committee, daily schedules and candidate biographies, see the search website. Members of the community can provide feedback on the search through the link on this page.

Back To Top