With a track record of transforming higher education through innovation and strategy, Kim Siegenthaler is set to use technology to bring student-centered changes to the University of Hawaiʻi. As of March 3, 2025, Siegenthaler is a new senior advisor to President Wendy Hensel, tasked with coordinating across the system to modernize technology and programs, including integrating AI, expand access, and ensure that all students across the 10 campus system thrive.
“I’m very passionate about providing access and opportunity to higher education,” Siegenthaler said. “I really am a strategist, and so I think that the mindset that I bring to everything is, ‘How well is it working? How do we advance it? How do we take it to the next level, in terms of effectiveness or efficiency?’”
Siegenthaler’s appointment marks the latest chapter in her long-standing collaboration with Hensel. The two first worked together at Georgia State University (GSU) and when Hensel became the Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost at the City University of New York (CUNY), she recruited Siegenthaler to drive key initiatives.
“We are at a moment of incredible change for higher education, and though there are significant challenges, there are also tremendous transformative opportunities to take UH to the next level,” said Hensel. “I envision Kim leading many of those efforts, specifically when it comes to modernizing technology across the system and using artificial intelligence in all our operations to ensure that every student who enters our doors has an equal chance for success.”
A history of innovation and growth
After Hensel was appointed GSU Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, she tasked Siegenthaler with expanding online education. Within a year, GSU increased online program offerings by 47%. After bringing Siegenthaler to CUNY, she spearheaded a major expansion of online learning, increasing the number of programs from 63 to more than 230. She prioritized high-demand fields–including healthcare, business, technology and education—working with faculty to design programs that aligned with both student interests and workforce demands.
“Students have changed in their expectations of how they’re going to engage in higher education, and if we don’t meet that need, then they’re going to go somewhere else, because somebody’s going to do it,” she said, pointing to institutions like Arizona State and Southern New Hampshire.
At CUNY, she used data-driven strategies to expand online learning and improve seamless transfers for community college students moving to four-year institutions. At UH, she will focus on ensuring a baseline standard of care for every student across all 10 campuses by leveraging technology to provide equitable access across the system and expanding the use of AI to enhance student services and operations.
“So much of the technology that we already have incorporates AI,” said Siegenthaler. “We may think that it doesn’t, but it’s in virtually everything.The key is harnessing the tools we already have and strategically building on those to increase efficiency and effectiveness.”
At CUNY, she helped to found the Office of Academic Technology to streamline the procurement and implementation of technology tools that support teaching and learning. Siegenthaler also helped to hire CUNY’s first Chief Academic Artificial Intelligence Officer, a move designed to advance the university’s vision of integrating AI into its academic and administrative functions.
“When we talk about student success, we’re talking about wrap-around academic and nonacademic supports that enable students to be successful and providing these supports in multiple modalities to ensure that all students can access them,” she said. “Academic advice, tutoring and financial aid assistance are just a few examples.”
Siegenthaler has also championed professional development opportunities for faculty to enhance online instruction and has expanded student support services for virtual learners at CUNY. As she steps into her new role, she is eager to understand UH’s unique challenges and opportunities. Like Hensel, she is committed to listening and learning before implementing change.
“I’m eager to meet folks, eager to learn everything that I can about the university, about the community, and just make the best contribution I can for the future of UH.”
