Island Voices
Hawai'i's future tied to UH
By Joyce Tsunoda
University of Hawai'i Community Colleges chancellor
Empowerment through education is no mystery. The concept is deeply ingrained in society's values, and the state of education permeates popular and political debate from the coffee shop to the Capitol.
It is a given in America that education at public expense is an entitlement, and few citizens hesitate when it comes to supporting our schools.
It is evident in the results of a UH-commissioned poll released last week that the people of Hawai'i "get it" when it comes to the importance of education and the value of a degree from the University of Hawai'i.
Forty percent of people polled just a month ago agree that education is the single most important issue facing the state — far more than the 13 percent who pointed to the economy as most important.
We in the higher-education "business" in Hawai'i have long maintained that the reach of the University of Hawai'i is so pervasive that it touches the lives of almost everyone in the state. Indeed, most people polled (an overwhelming 78 percent) have a favorable opinion of UH, but 61 percent of them feel that our university is inadequately funded.
Nearly 80 percent do agree, however, that with enough support, UH can truly become a world-class university in the next decade.
What to do, then, in the aftermath of Sept. 11 when our economy is in disarray and the competition for even more severely limited resources will be fierce?
The university's new president, Evan Dobelle, has made the case that Hawai'i has the opportunity — even the obligation — to step beyond conventional remedies. He makes the case — to paraphrase an automobile executive from a bygone era —that, "What's good for the university is good for Hawai'i."
The plans President Dobelle outlined last week — for a broadly based, statewide capital construction program to build out UH on our state's major islands — represent an unparalleled vision of what we can be and what we can do to contribute to the well-being of Hawai'i's people.
With appropriate levels of support, the university is positioned to make a difference in both the short and long term — and to make that difference today. Approval of proposed construction projects will provide needed jobs for the trade unions for years to come.
Moreover, we are prepared immediately to accommodate those who may choose to return to education to upgrade skills or change careers.
Expanding the university's capacity to create and nurture new programs in new places — both at and beyond Manoa — invests in our state's future and builds a stronger and broader base for our economies of the 21st century.
These are within our control, and we are up to the task.
While the president's proposals are far-reaching in scope and visionary in approach, the essential character of our university remains unchanged.
We are Hawai'i's university and everything that implies — from the open doors of the community colleges to our baccalaureate campuses and cutting-edge research labs. We are committed to providing quality instruction that is accessible to all who can benefit from post-secondary education.
We maintain our commitment to diversity, and to our pledge to establish the true bridge between East and West that we are uniquely positioned to create.
Our state and our people deserve no less.
