Jon Magnussen

UH West Oʻahu Associate Professor of Music Jon Magnussen has been honored with the 2018 Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching. The medal is given to faculty members who are exceptional in their work.

Medal winners demonstrate an extraordinary level of subject mastery and scholarship, are effective teachers, as well as being noteworthy in their creativity and personal values that benefit students.

Magnussen was cited for being a tireless proponent of music on the UH West Oʻahu campus, spending hours overseeing the program in addition to his teaching duties and those with the University Chorus and University Band.  

As one of his students noted, “The most significant factor to teaching is passion: passion for the subject, and passion to help others become better. Dr. Jon’s passion for what he does was obvious from the very first course I’ve taken from him.”

Medal for Excellence in Teaching

Magnussen also contributes to UH West Oʻahu in other ways that go well beyond working with students. He helped design the Humanities Division’s creative media concentration, has served on the campus’ Distance Education Committee and served as the vice chair/recorder for the faculty senate.

Remarked a colleague, “Throughout his teaching, creative achievements, and service, Jon infuses the Humanities Division and UH West Oʻahu as a whole with a wonderful spirit of collegiality.”

Magnussen was one of 15 faculty members from the UH System’s 10 campuses who were recognized by the Board of Regents with Medals for Excellence in Teaching.

UH West O‘ahu’s first graduates were honored during the Spring 2018 Commencement ceremony

UH West Oʻahu honored its pioneering graduates during its Spring 2018 Commencement Ceremony, presenting them with a special medallion commemorating their graduation in 1977.

The six were celebrated as Nā Lehua ʻŪla Scholars and cited for their role in UH West Oʻahu history. The May 5 ceremony included two of UHWO’s original faculty, Dr. Dan Boylan and Dr. Ned Shultz, who presented Mila M. Kaʻahanui and the families of Miles Hashida, Richard LaGory and Eulogio Tabisola with the Nā Lehua ʻŪla medallion and certificate. Pictures and a short article about the ceremony are on the UH Foundation Alumni website.

According to the book “The University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu: The First Forty Years,” by the late former UHWO Chancellor Edward J. Kormondy, the first commencement was held on May 21, 1977 in a classroom space within the Newtown Square Office Building in Pearl City, with Hilda Miwa, wife of then Chancellor Ralph Miwa, playing the processional on a piano and the post-ceremony celebration featuring a buffet from a restaurant on the first floor of the building, the Elephant Castle.

Hashida received a degree in Social Sciences, while Deborah Robbie Huggins was awarded a Humanities degree.  LaGory, Kaʻahanui and Christopher Wilks also received Social Science degrees, while Tabisola was awarded a Professional Studies degree, according to Dr. Kormondy’s book.

The commencement capped the Spring 1977 semester, during which 157 students were enrolled at West Oʻahu College. Kormondy’s book noted the school had begun in January 1976 with 75 students after years of opposition to the creation of another University of Hawaiʻi campus.

Dr. Richard Jones

UH West Oʻahu Associate Professor of Science Education and Earth Sciences Richard Jones is the new president-elect of the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA), an organization that strives to provide leadership and support to teachers so that K-12 students receive a quality earth and space science education.

On May 1, 2018 NESTA welcomed Dr. Jones as president-elect with plans for Jones to become president of the organization in 2020, and past-president in 2022. Jones has been a member of NESTA for several decades and has served on its board of directors since 2006.  Most recently he was an appointed director of the group and served as awards co-chair.

“We look forward to having as part of our executive board where he his long advocacy for the earth sciences, teachers of the earth sciences and their students will help to strengthen our organization,”  commented Dr. Carla McAuliffe, NESTA Executive Director.

NESTA claims to be the leading national organization representing K-12 earth and space science teachers and often collaborates with federal agencies and organizations to facilitate and advance excellence in earth and space science education. These include the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the American Geosciences Institute, and TERC.

NESTA leaders also are called upon as a nationally-recognized voice about earth science education.

Jones brings over 30 years of classroom experience as an earth science teacher and as a teacher of educators who teach earth science to his new role. He will continue to teach courses in earth sciences, including geology, meteorology, and oceanography as well as teach future science educators at UH West Oʻahu in addition to his responsibilities as NESTA president-elect.

A rendering of what the new building will look like when completed

The new Administration & Allied Health Building is about five months away from its scheduled completion, yet is attracting attention worldwide, with it the most recently appearing in World Architecture News.com in late April.

The online journal published a 700-word article accompanied by five images of the distinctively designed building in its “Top stories this week” section under the heading “Perkins + Will create new ‘landmark’ for Hawaiʻi.”  The U.K.-based World Architecture News describes itself as the leading supplier of news to the global architecture community with more than 10.8 million page views per month and a weekly e-newsletter distributed to more than 150,000.

The prominent exposure followed a similar spotlight for the building earlier this year when the project was featured in the projects section of architectmagazine.com, the website of ARCHITECT magazine, or journal of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The February article featured five images of the almost 44,000-square foot building and noted the project had won an 2015 Award of Merit from AIA Honolulu. (The UHWO campus design has won multiple awards, including the 2013 AIA Honolulu Award of Excellence)

The project also featured in Building Design + Construction on April 18, and Construction Curated.

The new building will be the sixth on the Kapolei campus, which opened in 2012 after operating for years in facilities adjacent to Leeward Community College.  The World Architecture News article said the building, with an unusual roof line, angles, and patterns on exterior walls, was intended to be a dynamic addition to the campus.  The building was designed by Perkins + Will’s Los Angeles studio in collaboration with Honolulu-based KYA Design Group.

The design is distinct compared to the five other buildings, with architects drawing inspiration from the area’s history, culture and intended use. The gable roof of sugar mills that once dotted Oʻahu have been employed, while the exterior masonry incorporates patterns that are similar to those on kapa, or traditional Hawaiian bark cloth.

Mark Tagawa, associate principal at Perkins + Will’s Los Angeles Studio, told World Architecture, “We wanted to create a facility that interacted with the landscape in a sympathetic way, through water management, landscaping, and materiality. Cultural and ecological appropriateness was our filter for all designs decisions.”

Another of the building renderings accompanying the World Architecture News article

The design also heeds UH West Oʻahu’s desire to set an example in land stewardship by including features to restore and rebuild topsoil with water and nutrient management along with  landscaping that uses plants native to Hawaiʻi. 

The article also quotes UH West Oʻahu Director of Planning and Facilities Bonnie Arakawa as explaining the building’s Administration wing, with its dramatic two-story portal and lanaʻi, is located at the campus gateway and will help define the campus’ mauka plaza with its two-story entry portal and lanaʻi.

“The Administration & Health Sciences Building is our first major capital improvement project since the Kapolei campus opened in 2012 and couldn’t come any sooner,” Arakawa told World Architecture.

She also was quoted as saying the building is a key component in strengthening the university’s 21st Century Learning infrastructure and kaiāulu–creating community–both physically and socially.

Construction on the building is currently scheduled for completion in mid-October 2018 and to be open and functioning by the start of the Spring 2019 semester. The building will house the campus’ administration and space or Health Sciences classrooms, labs, offices and workrooms. Opening of the building will allow the Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, support staff, along with the fiscal office, human resources, and communications to move under a single roof instead of being spread out across campus and at leased space at the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands building in Kapolei.

Dr. Cathy Ikeda

Dr. Cathy Kanoelani Ikeda, a UH West Oʻahu Assistant Professor of Middle/Secondary Education, will begin serving a three-year term on the state Public Charter School Commission starting in July.

Ikeda was appointed by the state Board of Education on May 17 to one of three seats opening up on the nine-member commission. Among candidate criteria were a demonstration of a commitment to education, record of integrity, civic virtue and high ethical standards; availability for constructive engagement and knowledge of best practices.

The charter school commission meets to consider applications by non-profit groups wanting to operate public schools that operate as so-called charter schools, or schools that operate under a charter or contract with the state and receive funding to operate, often with non-traditional and innovative learning methods.  The commission also monitors the performance and legal compliance of the state’s more than 35 charter schools.

Ikeda, in a letter to the Board of Education, noted she wanted to offer her time and services as a former teacher and now a teacher of teachers.  She explained that in her 26 years in education, she had observed that successful schools are built “on the backs and shoulders of strong teachers who carry their kuleana and live the mission of vision of their schools.”  She wrote that administrators are an important component of schools, but that truly innovative and game-changing work in schools is done by teachers, and that her work continues to be in nurturing those teachers.

Among those testimony in support of Ikeda were the Native Hawaiian Education Council, the administration of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Steve Hirakami, school director for the Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts & Science Public Charter School, and  Susie Osborne, Kua O Ka La NCPCS head of school.

“Dr. Ikeda’s knowledge of Hawaiian culture-based education programming, curriculum, instruction, and assessment will assist the Commission in understanding and helping to advance the distinct goals, best practices, and needs of the Hawaiian culture-focused and Hawaiian language immersion schools that comprise nearly half of the Commission’s charter school portfolio,” wrote Kamanaʻopono Crabbe, OHA chief executive officer, in his testimony.

Crabbe also expressed that Ikeda’s history as a teacher professional development facilitator and her current service nurturing future teacher candidates at UH West Oʻahu would contribute to the Commission’s understanding of the need for teacher support and retention in the charter school system.

Also appointed at the meeting were Dr. Harald Barkhoff, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Professor and Chair of the universityʻs Kinesiology and Exercise Science program, and Shannon Cleary, the director of advancement for Le Jardin Academy.

Kureha Pambid

When Kureha Pambid begins her full-time college career at UH West Oʻahu in the fall, she’ll do so with a two-year start on other recent high school graduates.

That’s because the soon-to-be 2018 Waiʻanae High School graduate  has done something so rare that she’s known as an Academic Olympian – a title coined by Keith Hayashi and Mark Silliman of Waipahu High School – to denote a student who receives an associate degree in addition to their high school diploma. Pambid will step onto UH West Oʻahu’s campus after leaving Waiʻanae High School as a valedictorian and member of the National Honor Society, in addition to being a Leeward Community College graduate.

“I was very busy with my schedule,” noted Pambid, an award-winning creative media student who attended Waiʻanae High Schools’ Ninth Grade Success Academy and its Searider Productions Academy. She also at one-time was a member of the schools’ student government and tennis team.

She is the first Academic Olympian from Waiʻanae High School and has achieved all this despite English being her second language. She’s been part of Searider Production teams that have won gold awards for graphic design and animation from the Pele Awards, considered Hawaiʻi’s top awards competition for advertising and design. One of her teams captured first place for best animated film 2016-2017 from STN Film Excellence, a national competition.

“I would not recommend people do my schedule, but I do encourage people to take early college classes because it will help them out in the future.”

Pambid is one of a growing number of high school students taking college courses while in high

school. This fall UH West Oʻahu will enroll three Academic Olympians — Kureha and two students from Waipahu High School. More incoming high school students with associate degrees are expected on campus in the future as UH West O’ahu’s participation in early college programs pays dividends.

Pambid was enrolled in the state’s Running Start Program, a partnership between the State Department of Education and the University of Hawaiʻi that allows eligible public and charter high school students to take dual-credit courses in which they earn high school and college credits. In addition to the Running Start Program, UH West Oʻahu also has an Early College program that allows high school students to take college courses delivered on their high school campus, and an Early Admit program that allows students to take college courses on the UH West Oʻahu campus.

UH West Oʻahu’s Academy for Creative Media has an Early College partnership with Waiʻanae High School’s Searider Productions, Waipahu High School, James Campbell High School, and Kapolei High School that provides high school students with an academic pathway and seamless transition to post-secondary education.

Pambid’s journey to UH West Oʻahu began six years ago when she moved from Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan to Waiʻanae. She excelled in her school work and in the ninth grade  received approval to take upper-level math courses. Given her drive and progress with math, Shane Nakamura, Pambid’s former counselor at Waiʻanae High School, encouraged her to sign up for the Running Start program. In the tenth grade Pambid started in the Searider Productions program, Waiʻanae High Schools’ nationally recognized academy for video production, digital media, and journalism.

Pambid and fellow Searider Productions winners at Pele Awards

“She (Pambid) had to learn how to balance her busy schedule of taking her Searider Productions classes, college courses, sports, internships, and student government,” wrote Michael O’Connor, a digital adviser for Searider Productions, and coordinator of the Waiʻanae High School Searider Productions Early College Program, in an email. “Most students would crumble under the pressure. For Kureha, it only made her more determined.”

Pambid credits Searider Productions for teaching her time management, something that was an essential ingredient for juggling her many obligations. On a typical day she would spend 3 hours on homework and sometimes toil into the night to meet deadlines. Her weekends, reserved for friends, family and rest, were sometimes given to working on graphic design, animation, or films for competitions. If a college class wasn’t offered at her school she would ride a bus to Leeward Community College.

O’Connor wrote he had never met a student like Pambid: “She has tremendous drive and perseverance unlike anyone I know. When she is determined to do something, she makes sure she completes it on time and with quality.”  

Said Nakamura, her former counselor, “This is an outstanding accomplishment. As long as I have known Kureha, she was always a very ambitious student who needed to be challenged academically.”

Pambid was accepted into Creighton University, Columbia College Chicago, Ringling College, and other schools, including University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which offered her a scholarship.  She decided to stay home given the community and family support has here, the number of people she knows in UH West Oʻahu’s Academy for Creative Media, and the inspiration she can draw from nature here.

“I could have time to give back to the community,” Pambid said in an email. “I was busy this semester but I will have time to do those kind of things.”  

Dr. Gloria Niles

UH West Oʻahu Assistant Professor of Special Education Gloria Niles will be part of a new initiative by the Council for Exceptional Children to identify, cultivate, and recruit well-qualified and diverse candidates for the organization’s board of directors and committee positions.

Dr. Niles is one of 10 members of the CEC’s Leadership Development Committee, which will help bring greater diversity to the board of directors. CEC is a professional organization that strives to help expand the educational achievement of students with special needs and/or talents and gifts.

According to the organization, diversity is a key to understanding the changing environment from a broader perspective, helping develop creative new solutions and understanding client populations while providing stronger programs and services. The Arlington, Va.-based organization reached out to 60 members with diverse backgrounds, and an effort was made to match committee needs and requirements with potential member’s skills, knowledge, and abilities.

Niles said the creation of the committee represents a significant restructuring of the process for identifying and training leaders to serve on CEC’s board and committees. She was quoted in CEC’s announcement as saying the organization’s newly restructured model of leadership development has tremendous potential to recruit and engage new members while inspiring existing members to explore leadership opportunities.

Niles previously helped re-active the Hawaiʻi state unit of CEC that had been suspended because of low participation. She currently serves as Hawaiʻi CEC’s immediate past president.

Niles joined UH West Oʻahu’s Division of Education in 2015 to help establish a Special Education licensure pathway for Bachelor of Education Teacher candidates.

The University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu has redesigned its website with a cleaner, more contemporary look to accompany a focus on helping students find information. The site is located at westoahu.hawaii.edu.

The responsive, accessible site adds features such as a 360-degree guided video tour of the campus hosted by staff and students. Other new pages and content were created to help interested applicants get a feel for the campus, its student services, activities, co-curricular programs, and academic support.

Besides providing an easier-to-use and fresher-looking website, the redesign seeks to enhance the site as a way of attracting and providing helpful information to future college students. According to an Inside Higher Ed article, college websites are an important digital tool for prospective students and for that reason the sites should provide easily found information regarding basic costs, be easy to navigate, and be mobile-phone friendly.

The UH West Oʻahu redesign is the result of work that began last year by a small team from the University’s Communications Department and members of its Information Technology staff.  

Chancellor Benham

UH West Oʻahu Chancellor Maenette Benham will travel to Japan in June to explore potential partnerships with universities as part of a trip organized by TeamUp, a campaign to foster student exchange between the United States and Japan.

Benham will be one of five university administrators on the familiarization trip, during which the travelers will visit Tokyo, Osaka, Okayama, and Sendai to explore partnership opportunities with Japanese universities and colleges. Participants are expected to develop at least one relationship with a Japanese school during the trip, which is scheduled from June 19 to 28.  

The TeamUp is a campaign funded by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and facilitated by the United States-Japan Bridging Foundation to increase the number of exchange students studying in each otherʻs countries. University of Hawaiʻi Maui College participated in a 2016 tour and entered into partnership within months of completing the trip, according to a TeamUp report.

“The TeamedUp Familiarization Tour enabled faster, deeper connections on both sides. Typically, partnerships require many meetings, trips and sometimes years to establish,” the TeamUp report said. “Within two months, Maui College signed an MOU with the University of the Ryukyus.”

UH West Oʻahu is looking to expand international opportunities for students looking to study abroad as its enrollment rolls. UH West Oʻahu currently offers students learning opportunities at Tokai University – Sapporo (5-week language and culture program in Sapporo, Japan), Tongmyong University (16-week language and culture program in Busan, South Korea) and Incheon National University (4-week international summer studies program in Incheon, South Korea).

According to TeamUp, four other administrators will join Benham on the tour and include Torian Lee, director of Xavier University of Louisianaʻs Center for Intercultural and International Programs; Vanessa Tatiana Makliff, executive director of Miami Dade College’s Office of International Education; Radecka Appiah-Padi of Harrisburg Area Community College; and Gerda Reeb, Flathead Valley Community College’s director of international student services.

A design-build contract was awarded for the new University of Hawaiʻi Academy for Creative Media building – designed to engage, educate, and incubate. The building, located on the UH West Oʻahu campus, will link complementary facilities and programs throughout the UH System and across the state as a catalyst for Hawaiʻi’s intellectual property workforce.

The base contract of $33,275,000 was awarded to local contractor Kiewit Building Group and local architect firm Next Design.

Rendering of the new Academy for Creative Media building.

“This 24-hour, state-of-the-art student production center will cement UH West Oʻahu’s role as the hub for creative media education for the UH System and serve as a catalyst for Hawaiʻi’s creative economy,” said Chris Lee, the Founder and Director of the Academy for Creative Media System. “All of us are grateful to the Legislature and the Governor as well as the Board of Regents for their support and funding for this unique facility for our students.”

The new Creative Media facility at UH West O’ahu will be a 42,000 square foot facility consisting of production spaces that include a two-story sound stage for filming, 100 seat screening room, Foley stage for sound reproduction, editing suites, sound mixing suites, mill shop to create film sets, and equipment cages.

“The Creative Media Building will be the center of our campus and system efforts to push the boundaries of advanced media/technology production in unprecedented and entrepreneurial ways,” UH West Oʻahu Chancellor Maenette Benham said. “In partnership with Hawaiʻiʻs professional media and art industry and businesses, our interdisciplinary Creative Media program prepares graduates for a variety of dynamic, advanced technology and creative careers. Our portfolio features a wide range of opportunities in video, popular media production, web design and development, photography, game media, interaction design, moving image, social media and transmedia production, smart phone apps, animation, virtual and augmented reality and so much more.”

Rendering of the new Academy for Creative Media building.

Teaching spaces will include a 3,000 sq ft sound stage, maker space for set building and 3d printing, four editing suites, an adr and foley studio, a digital intermediate color mixing suite, flex classrooms, three computer labs, an emerging media lab for advanced interactive cyber visualization applications, as well as an incubator for student run companies. Various collaborative spaces are spread throughout the facility to accommodate small and large groups interaction and include an incubator space for students to gather in a professional environment to encourage entrepreneurial ideas.  Support spaces include a café, lobby, faculty offices, workrooms, faculty lounge, meeting rooms, storage, and server room.

The building will feature a 100 seat screening room with dolby atmos mixing panel, 4K laser projectors, a 16’ wide x 9’ high LED video wall in the lobby to display student work, interactive teaching boards, remote learning/video conferencing equipment, video/sound editing equipment and digital signage. An outdoor screening area will allow hundreds of students to enjoy special evening screenings and presentations. The building is designed for 24 hour access and will include a “grab and go” coffee bar in the lobby.

The project is in the design development phase, which is expected to be completed in December 2018. Construction activities are anticipated to start in January 2019.  Substantial completion is expected in June 2020 with the new facility being ready for classes in Fall 2020.

Rendering of the new Academy for Creative Media building.

About the Academy for Creative Media System

The Academy for Creative Media System (ACMS), engages all of the campuses within the University of Hawaʻii system and works collaboratively across the system, drawing upon

programs, faculty and students system-wide. ACMS is fulfilling its mission by

supporting complementary creative media programs at all ten campuses. The programs teach the 21st century skills at the nexus of evolving technology, art, storytelling and content creation that students need, not just in the media fields, but across all industries. ACM System is part of the UH Systemʻs Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. For more information visit www.acmsystem.hawaii.edu.

The 2017 workshop also included training in archaeological recovery

An intensive, five-day forensics workshop covering the analysis of human skeletal remains will be hosted by the University of Hawaiʻi’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) next month and include instruction by UH West Oʻahu faculty members and a trip to the Kapolei campus for training in archaeological recovery of human remains.

UH West Oʻahu’s Dr. Jennifer Byrnes, an assistant professor of forensic anthropology, and Dr. William Belcher, an assistant professor of archaeology and board-certified forensic anthropologist, will help teach the workshop that is scheduled from July 23 to 27.  

Both Byrnes and Belcher were involved in last year’s workshop, which attracted more than 40 participants from the U.S., Thailand, Germany, Japan, Guatemala, and Chile and won accolades from Western Association of Summer Session Administrators as the Best Non-Credit Summer Course in the Western United States. The 2017 workshop also included recovery of (replica) human remains and the non-human skeletal remains.

The application deadline for this year’s workshop is June 29 and is structured to suit the diverse needs and interests of teachers and professors, crime scene specialists, forensic pathologists and other medical legal specialists, physical anthropologists, archaeologists, anatomists, dentists, and police.

Applications consisting of a letter stating interest and a list of courses or relevant professional training are being accepted online at jabsomworkshop@gmail.com.  Enrollment will be limited to about 45 participants. More information about fees, instructors and applications is available at http://jabsomforensics.org/2018-forensics-workshop-2/.

The forensics workshop is designed to fit the interests and needs of a wide range of experience and expertise levels ranging from novice to expert. The workshop this year will include new  known-identity skeletons for examination and analysis, and provide sessions on estimating age and sex; ancestry and stature; interpreting trauma and disease; and methods of identification.

Fall 2016 Graduate David McDowell

By the time you read this UH West Oʻahu graduate David McDowell will be back in Afghanistan, most likely dressed in traditional perahan wa tunban and pakul clothing as he provides security for U.S. and other officials visiting remote mountain villages.

Or he might be at Camp Vance near Bagram Air Base, resting up for the next day’s visit somewhere in the Kabul or Parwan provinces. It’s an intense, sometimes seven-day a week grind thatʻs far different from his days taking history classes at UH West Oʻahu.

“The job is busy and dangerous but I love it,” says McDowell, back in Hawaiʻi for a brief vacation. “It’s a rewarding job. Every day is different.”

There’s also a benefit for someone who’s a history major and appreciates experiencing someone else’s culture. “It’s very interesting. Their culture goes way back – thousands of years.”

McDowell holds the title of Protective Security Specialist, a position thatʻs easiest to describe as the equivalent of a U.S. Secret Service special agent who provides security and protection for Department of State, Department of Defense, or Afghani officials who visit the distant villages to build a relationships with local leaders and help promote stability. He’s part of a program initiated by the Department of Defense known as the Village Stability Operations, which is aimed at improving security, governance, and development in certain rural regions of Afghanistan.

The program recognizes local villages are sometimes a key to stability in some areas of Afghanistan and promotes relationships with village leaders. It some cases it might be helping them with health issues or water pumps or other efforts to improve their lives. In effect, the program recognizes that stability is difficult with a top-down, or central government in Afghanistan. Instead, some analysts favor a mix of central government and strong local village governance to stabilize the country.

In his parlance, what McDowell does is known as close protection security. McDowell, often dressed in the indigenous garments during visits, will scan and assess for possible threats and quickly evacuate officials should an incident occur. In April, McDowell was providing security to a group in Kabul, when ISIS suicide bombers conducted two attacks nearby, killing dozens of people. McDowell said the reaction to such incidents isn’t to “pursue the fire” but to get their protectees to safety as quickly as possible.

McDowell joined the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from Leilehua High School

McDowell believes he got the job based on his decade of U.S. Marine Corps service, with two tours of duty in Iraq, including serving in a reconnaissance company and helping push the Mahdi Militia from the city of Najaf. McDowell grew up in Wahiawā and graduated from Leilehua High School in 1996, enlisting in the Marines the following year.

After his initial tour, McDowell said he took time off from the military to earn an associate degree from Honolulu Community College before re-enlisting. He eventually rose to Sergeant E-5 before leaving the service in 2010, returning to Hawaiʻi and enrolling at UH West Oʻahu.

McDowell said he chose the school because he liked the smaller classes, closeness to his home in Wahiawā, and student body that included veterans and active duty military.

“The school is more interpersonal as far as professors interacting with students,” McDowell said. “I think every professor here contributed to my development as a student.”

He credited Associate Professor of History Jayson Chun, Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Alan Rosenfeld, and Emeritus Professor of History Daniel Boylan as always being available for advice on a range of issues, from academics to matters outside of school.

“They were there for me from the get go,” McDowell said.

Rosenfeld, who served as a professor of history before assuming a new role, said McDowell stood out from the crowd. When it came to McDowell’s senior project, Rosenfeld assigned a rigorous reading load, to which McDowell added to on his own. Rosenfeld said the result was an impressive 43-page, thoroughly researched scholarly study of the evolution of Greek notions of democracy and citizenship over a 500-year period.

“David possessed an extremely high level of self-discipline and pride in his work. He was very well organized and could be counted on to turn in assignments (of high quality) on time. He was also extremely self-reliant,” Rosenfeld wrote in an email.

“He always arrived to class early, maintained his focus throughout class lectures and activities, and willingly and meaningfully contributed to class discussions. He was not afraid to speak his mind and be honest about his views and opinions, yet at the same time he refrained from making inappropriate or offensive comments. He was definitely a pleasure to teach!”

McDowell said he would recommend UH West Oʻahu to anyone, and says the school proved to be veteran friendly. He admits, however, he thought about quitting at times (during his time at UH West Oʻahu he was deployed to Jordan for a year as a Marine Corps Reserve), but stuck with it.  He said his resilience became an important lesson in itself.

“My message to the students is you have to push through whatever,” said McDowell, explaining the determination to obtain a degree despite challenges helped build character and made him a more mature person along with helping him learn about more about dealing with adversity.

After graduation McDowell obtained part-time jobs while waiting for something to come along. As it happened, he traded studying history to being part of it when he was hired by contractor SOC LLC for the Afghanistan work in June 2017. McDowell said the history degree has helped him in comprehending materials, being a better writer, speaker and analytical thinker.

But the degree may also open a door to his life’s next chapter.

He hopes to one day secure a position as a Diplomatic Security Agent for the State Department. McDowell said such agents are in charge of enforcing laws and overall security measures at embassy compounds worldwide.

“Some of the basic requirements of a DSS agent a job that requires applicants have a bachelor’s degree,” said McDowell, who recently was back on the Kapolei campus to pick up his transcripts. “Which I have.”

A survey of Hawaiʻi farmers conducted by University of Hawaiʻi researchers is now underway to better understand the barriers and needs of growers when it comes to increasing food production in the state.

The Hawaii Farmer Needs Assessment is being conducted by UH West Oʻahu Assistant Professor of Sustainable Community Food Systems Albie Miles in collaboration with Hunter Heaivilin, a PhD student in the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Dr. Albie Miles

The survey is designed to help identify the key structural obstacles to farmers doubling food production in Hawaii which is a goal set by the governor and other agencies. Increasing local food production is one of the key goals of Gov. David Ige’s Sustainable Hawaiʻi Initiative and the Hawaiʻi Green Growth Aloha + Challenge, a public-private partnership involving state government agencies and large Hawaiʻi corporations and organizations.

The survey will help define the kinds of support, extension, training, research and public policy that may best meet the needs of the state’s growers.  The online survey takes about 5 minutes to complete and will be open from June to August, with results posted to the hawaiifarmerysurvey.com site in late 2018.

Farmers, 18 years and older, may participate in the survey by visiting hawaiifarmersurvey.com, or going directly to the survey here.

A chapter on Japanese Americans who helped shape the Japanese popular music history by UH West Oʻahu Associate Professor of History Jayson Chun has been included in the textbook “Introducing Japanese Popular Culture.”

Dr. Chun’s chapter is one of five on music in the 568-page textbook, which uses case studies as a vehicle to travel broader themes in Japanese culture and provide an analysis of the historical and contemporary trends shaping artistic production, as well as, politics, society, and economics.

Chun penned the passage titled “The ‘Pop Pacific’: Japanese-American Sojourners and the Development of Japanese Popular Music.”  The chapter will be used in a class that will be taught at UH West Oʻahu for the first time this fall, HIST/MUS 369, “K-Pop and J-Pop: Korean & Japanese Popular Music & Society.”  Chun, who teaches the course, said it will be offered every other year thereafter.

“Two of the people I am featuring are Johnny Kitagawa (a music producer with three Guinness World Records for most groups with #1 hit singles, most #1 singles produced by a individual, most groups with a #1 songs, and most concerts produced) and Utada Hikaru, a popular Japanese American from New York,” wrote Chun in an email. “So what we call J-pop is actually transnational music.”

He said he is working on a book to be called “Pop Pacific,” which will delve into U.S. influence on the music of East Asia (Japan and Korea) and how much of it is transnational music.

“A lot of people in the U.S listen to K-Pop (Korea pop) and J-Pop these days, so the circle is now complete,” Chun said, explaining research for his work was done by combing through old newspaper articles and others found on the Internet.  He’s used the research to teach summer classes at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with Dr. Pat Patterson, an assistant professor of history at Honolulu Community College.

Introducing Japanese Popular Culture (ISBN 978-1-13-885210-5) was edited by Alisa Freedman, an associate professor at the University of Oregon, and Toby Slade, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo. It was published by Routledge, which is a leading academic publisher in Humanities and Social Sciences.

Chun’s work has been submitted to the James & Abigail Campbell Libraryʻs repository for faculty research, DSpace, and will be available for public download after an embargo lapses in August 2019.

Drs. Olivia George and Kamuela Yong

UH West Oʻahu faculty members Olivia George and Kamuela Yong have been accepted into the Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institute, a leadership training program by Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).

Dr. George, an assistant professor of Biology, and Dr. Yong, an assistant professor of Mathematics, will join 28 other minority educators and scientists for the institute’s training  July 16-20 in Washington, D.C. The institute is considered the nation’s premier program for underrepresented minority scientists and provides training to help participants lead institutional change.

The institute was founded in 2009 by Drs. Clifton Poodry and Marigold Linton, who were also founding members of SACNAS, an organization dedicated to fostering success in Chicano/Hispanics and Native Americans in obtaining advanced degrees, careers and positions of leadership within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

During the five-day institute, participants will perform small group exercises, listen to speakers, do leadership development planning, partake in networking opportunities and community building among selected participants.  

George and Yong are advisors of the newly formed UH West Oʻahu SACNAS student club, have previously taken UHWO students to SACNAS’ National Diversity in STEM Conference, a national meeting.  At the 2017 conference UH West Oʻahu students Kriselyn Cortado, Thalia Lawrence and Kristin Umakoshi wonder a presentation award in Mathematics.

Both George and Yong are Life Members of SACNAS.

The number of paved parking spaces will increase by 70 percent at UH West Oʻahu as a result of work underway to expand the campus’ parking lot.

Plans call for the addition of about 260 spaces to the 366 parking spaces in the existing parking lot. The construction will include other work to improve safety and encourage use of more fuel efficient or sustainable vehicles such as a moped and motorcycle parking, and four-to-six electric vehicle charging stalls.

The project will add paved parking spaces to a 2.7-acre area west of the current lot

The work is scheduled to be completed by the end of November and addresses a need for more parking spaces to accommodate current enrollment and future growth. The campus’ 3,082 student population is forecast to grow by roughly two and a half times to 8,000 in the year 2028. Currently there are not enough paved parking spaces at peak class times, causing students to use the campus’ temporary overflow parking lot, which is unpaved.

Besides adding more spaces on the 2.7-acre site on the west side of the current lot, the project will also include the installation of a new walkway along the campus’ service road for pedestrians headed to the Classroom Building.  The project will also include the filling in of an existing drainage ditch and sediment basin, and the digging of a new ditch that will connect with Hunehune Gulch.

UH West Oʻahu’s Planning and Facilities department will save money on the project through use of materials from other projects in the area. Last fall Planning and Facilities worked with the contractor for the Farrington Highway resurfacing project to have several thousand cubic yards of milled road material stock-piled near the overflow lot. Some of this was used to level and maintain the temporary overflow lot, and also will be used for the expanded parking lot project.

The project will also make use of 12,000 cubic yards of dirt from stockpile created from grading work on the HART Park and Ride project.

Darin Pilialoha

Darin Pilialoha admits he’s stuck in his job. But as the principal of Nānākuli High and Intermediate School, there’s no place else he’d rather work than the campus in the back of Nānākuli Valley.

The UH West Oʻahu alumnus has a tough role–one that Pilialoha has gladly accepted during the past decade. Nānākuli High and Intermediate School (NHIS) lags the state’s top performing schools and doesn’t have a reputation as an academic powerhouse. Pilialoha has problems that principals in well-heeled areas don’t–worries about students who are homeless or others who just are trying to survive.

However, ask him if he’d ever apply for a position at another school, and Pilialoha is quick to answer. “To tell you the truth, no,” says Pilialoha, wearing a black baseball cap emblazoned with a large gold “N.” The Under Armor polo shirt hanging from his 5’11 frame similarly carries Nānākuli’s Black and Gold colors and name. “There’s a vested interest why I’m here.”

He was born and raised in Nānākuli, a prideful community on Oʻahu’s westside. At NHIS he was a standout: All-state offensive lineman on the ‘85 football team; National Merit Scholar; and a charter member of NHIS’ National Honor Society chapter. After graduating in 1986, he returned to help coach the football team and eventually he got his first teaching and vice principal posts at the school.

Pilialoha’s reasons for his championing of Nānākuli High and Intermediate School run deeper than just having spent milestone moments on the campus. Some of it can be traced back to his parents, who he says instilled in him the concept of service. For years Pilialoha’s goal was to get a business degree, become wealthy, and give back to the Nānākuli community.

But as he admits, life sometimes takes you elsewhere. His initial college effort, a year spent at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore., wasn’t a success academically. Pilialoha bluntly says he wasted an opportunity and characteristically has used it as a lesson that can be relayed to students.

“We (NHIS) will give you opportunities,” Pilialoha says, describing one of his messages to students. “Just take advantage of it.”

Pilialoha with a sculpture by artist Satoru Abe on the school’s campus. Seniors are asked to leave a lei when they graduate as a way of saying thank you.

Similarly he has used lessons from his upbringing and time at UH West Oʻahu to inform his educational career. He candidly says his family didn’t have a lot of money, but that his mother, who grew up as a foster child, always found ways to help others. It’s a trait that’s seen in Pilialoha’s dogged work in service of students and staff at NHIS. From UH West Oʻahu he learned the power of professors engaging students beyond classwork to really get to know and help them.

Pilialoha recalls how he struggled with what to do when he had, while attending UH West Oʻahu, an opportunity to work at Hawaiian Electric Co., which paid well and had good benefits. A hypothetical fork in the road lay before him; one lane continued his academic journey to a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration with a concentration in Criminal Justice, the other promised a union job and more money than he was making as a meat department apprentice at the Pearl City Daiei store. He asked then-Sociology Professor Linda Nishigaya for advice. She responded that he should do whatever he believed was going to benefit him more in the long run, thereby providing a framework for his decision.

“One of the biggest things we focus on as a school is to get to know students beyond their student ID number,” said Pilialoha, saying it can pay off in determining why a student is not doing well, such as why they aren’t sleeping well, or why academics is not a priority for them.

Pilialoha, who went on to get a certificate in special education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, has fond memories of taking classes in the portable classrooms that formed UH West Oʻahu’s facilities at Leeward Community College.  

“It was just magic that happened in those portables,” Pilialoha said, explaining students and faculty members became like family in the close quarters. Emeritus Professor of History Daniel Boylan remains his favorite professor from his college days. “You weren’t a number. You were a human being.”

The relationship with UH West Oʻahu continues, through the lens of Pilialoha’s responsibilities to NHIS. The school participates in early college and STEM programs, and the ʻOnipaʻa program for incoming UH West Oʻahu freshman. He also has worked with Stephanie Kamai, a UH West Oʻahu associate specialist for the Division of Education, on field placements of teachers at NHIS.

“Darin is very passionate about Nānakuli, the community, the families, and the school. In working with him, he has been very supportive of graduates and helping connecting his current high school students with graduates that are currently in college,” said Joseph Mareko, a UH West Oʻahu admissions counselor and Nānākuli graduate.

“This approach allows students to have a tangible college resource rather than seeking help from someone who does not come from the community. His leadership has helped Nānākuli improve over his years of service and I expect more improvement because of his “Defend Da Valley” mentality that promotes empowerment within the students to strive and seek the highest.”

Pilialoha believes his and his staff’s efforts are starting to gain traction. He can reel off statistics and examples that demonstrate progress. Nānākuli’s graduation rate has increased from 61 percent prior to his arrival in 2008 to 81 percent currently; graduating students have gone from earning $300,000 in scholarships to $3.5 million; the number of National Merit Scholarships for Nānākuli is increasing.

This year a student scored 32 on the ACT, or in the 98th percentile. She was recruited by Georgetown University, Pilialoha said. He said he’s also been able to institute programs to help bring dropouts back to school, and work on identifying and helping students graduate who otherwise would have been a few credits short. Pilialoha said he also has worked to get more advanced placement classes despite having a small high school population (600).

Staff turnover has also declined. Pilialoha said there were 22 staffers who were on their way out the door as he came in; there were nine this year. He’s also worked to recruit teachers through Teach For America.

“We’re actually a hidden gem,” says Pilialoha, adding that he’s been able to convince desirable Teach for America participants to stay after their complete their two-year assignment at the school.

As Pilialoha speaks, a banner hangs across the campus from the NHIS Administration building. It reads “Only You Decide What Legacy You Leave.” Inside a meeting room Pilialoha explains a speech he gives when students arrive and when they depart. He challenges students to know where they come from, to be proud of who they are, and to be good people.

It’s a lesson that could well be exemplified by Pilialoha himself.

UH West Oʻahu will expand its academic offerings for the Fall 2018 semester with the addition of two new degree concentrations and a new certificate program to meet student and community needs.

The University, ranked as the fastest-growing public baccalaureate college in a Chronicle of Higher Education, will add a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration with a concentration in Community Health and a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with a concentration in Mathematics. It will also debut a Certificate in Music.

UH West Oʻahu will have 35 degree concentrations and seven certificate programs with the additions. The enhancement of academic programs is consistent with UH West Oʻahu’s offering of distinctive concentrations that emphasize practical applications and those that embrace innovation while providing needed technical and management skills required by an evolving workforce.

The new Community Health concentration is geared to the educational needs of community health workers, health education specialists, working health care professionals and distance learners interested in health education-related careers. The concentration will also address a need for health care workers who can help improve health in communities by getting people to adopt healthy behaviors and implementing community programs for health organizations.

Community Health may be suitable for those interested in future careers in nursing, medicine, research and biomedical related fields. The concentration prepares students for professional schools such as medical school, physician assistant school, nursing school, and graduate public health programs.

“A balanced geographic distribution of healthcare providers is needed now more than ever to deliver preventative healthcare information to those who need it,” said Camonia Graham-Tutt, an assistant professor of community health and faculty contact for the new concentration.  

“Community health educators meet the demand for trained and potentially licensed health education specialists who deliver education on preventative care.”

The Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with a concentration in Mathematics is designed for students interested in careers requiring a strong foundation in mathematics, or someone needing a mathematics background for their graduate school studies. It includes a foundation in the liberal arts to produce well-rounded graduates capable of bridging technical ability with communications and other skills.

Students completing the program should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge and skills:

• General understanding of different areas of Mathematics and its applications.
• Use classical theorem-proving skills.
• A refined understanding of the problem-solving process.
• Experience with mathematically related material including research, reading, writing and articulating.
• Working knowledge of technology appropriate to the field.
• Skills to solve problems using a variety of techniques, including algebraic, numerical, and spatial reasoning through visualization.

The Certificate in Music will give Leeward and Central Oʻahu students another choice for college-level music education while amplifying the campus’ offerings and contributing to the region’s cultural heritage and enhancing student’s music-making skills.

It is hoped the new certificate will also encourage students’ musical creativity and expose them to standard technological tools used in the music industry while helping students better understand music’s role in the world.

It is believed the certificate will strengthen the campus’ liberal arts foundation and perhaps draw students to the school as an attractive alternative for regional students. Moreover, UH West Oʻahu’s classes have been created with many of the region’s self-taught music students in mind, where the program focuses on the “doing of music” in the early stages of study to make the teaching of theory more impactful.

Dr. Jones working with South African teachers during the summer of 2017.

UH West Oʻahu Associate Professor of Science and Science Education Richard Jones has been elected to the Council of the National Science Teachers Association, the largest professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning.

Dr. Jones will represent NSTA’s District XVI (Hawaiʻi, California, Nevada, Guam, American Samoa, and the Territories of the Pacific) for the next three years. The council functions as the advisory body to the NSTA board of directors, with each member of the council representing their geographic district. Council members also serve as the primary liaison on issues of importance to science and improvement of science education at all levels.  

“These newly elected individuals embody the spirit of community and bring talent, expertise and energy to the table,” said Dr. David Evans, NSTA Executive Director, in a press statement. “As the national voice for science education, NSTA works to engage teachers of science nationwide, improve student learning and be the catalyst for innovation in STEM education. This critical work can only be achieved through the collective efforts of leaders like these who are committed to advancing NSTA’s mission and strategic priorities.”

Jones, who also is serving as president-elect of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, began his term on June 1.

The Arlington, Va.-based National Science Teachers Association has a membership includes approximately 50,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.

UH West Oʻahu’s Director of Assessment, Evaluation, and Accreditation, Sharon A. Latkovich Valente, recently completed seven weeks of training and is now recognized as a Certified Scorer for the Association of American Colleges & Universities’ VALUE Institute.

As a VALUE Institute Certified Scorer, Valente will assist in the scoring of a national sample of student writing artifacts, providing valuable feedback to participating institutions. This is a preliminary step in an investigation of the potential participation of UH West Oʻahu in such assessments at some point in the future

The VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) Institute is a resource for higher education institutions to document, report, and use learning outcomes evidence to improve student success. VALUE assesses student learning using evidence such as papers and assignments produced by students that demonstrate achievement of specific learning outcomes, as opposed to measuring student learning through standardized tests that are divorced from curriculum.

The evidence of learning will include the ability to examine learning achievement across student population groups, e.g. first generation, gender, racial and ethnic groups, year in school, etc., as well as reveal the nationwide landscape of learning benchmarks of achievement across Essential Learning Outcomes encompassed in the Degree Qualifications Profile and AAC&U’s LEAP Initiative.