Hawaiʻi borrowers carry less student debt than those in nearly every other state, earning the state the nation’s second-lowest student debt ranking according to a September 2026 .

The personal finance company compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia using 12 measures. They included average student loan balances, the share of students with debt and the percentage of loans that are past due or in default.

Hawaiʻi ranked No. 50 overall. Only No. 51 Utah had a lower student debt burden. California, Washington and New Mexico rounded out the five states with the least student debt.

“Our 10 campuses give local students access to high-quality educational opportunities at an affordable cost,” said 糖心视频 President Wendy Hensel. “Through affordable resident tuition, need-based financial aid and pathways across our statewide system, we are working to help students earn a degree without being weighed down by debt.”

Graduating debt-free

At 糖心视频, 80% of first-time undergraduates across 10 campuses graduated debt-free during the 2024–25 academic year. That included 65% of graduates from 糖心视频’s four-year campuses and 90% from community colleges.

Mississippi had the nation’s highest student debt burden, followed by Delaware, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and West Virginia.

Outstanding student loan balances exceeded in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Department of Education. That amounts to more than $40,000 per borrower across 42.6 million Americans.

Two researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (SOEST) have been selected to receive National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR Research Fellows awards.

The awards will support Helen Janiszewski of the and Lenore Pipes of the (PBRC) as they develop new directions in fiber-optic geophysical sensing and reconstructing ancient marine ecosystems.

“What鈥檚 exciting about these fellowships is that they give Helen and Lenore the opportunity to take their research in new directions and build on that work at SOEST,” said Rebecca Chung, SOEST director of research development, who worked with Janiszewski and Pipes on developing their fellowship proposals.

Turning submarine cables into seismic sensors

Janiszewski, an associate professor of earth sciences, will lead a project focused on distributed acoustic sensing (DAS)—a technology that enables telecommunications fiber-optic cables to function as dense, continuous arrays of seismic sensors. This work has potential applications for earthquake and tsunami hazard research in Hawaiʻi.

Despite Hawaiʻi sitting at the nexus of the Pacific submarine cable network, local DAS infrastructure and expertise remain limited. Janiszewski aims to establish the technical and collaborative foundation necessary to develop DAS capability at 糖心视频 M膩noa, enabling her to lead fiber-optic sensing research and education in Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific. Janiszewski will use the pilot data to build an initial seismic event catalog for the Hawaiʻi region, establishing workflows that can be expanded to additional cable systems as they become available.

Unlocking biological history from ancient marine sediments

Pipes, an assistant professor in PBRC, will develop computational methods to recover biological information from ancient DNA preserved in seafloor sediments, helping to reconstruct past marine communities and build historical baselines for understanding how ocean biodiversity responds to climate change.

In standard marine environments, ancient DNA preserved in deep-sea sediments degrades into extremely short, damaged fragments. Current methods can mistake that damage for evolutionary change, making it difficult to accurately identify the organisms represented in the samples. Pipes will develop new computational methods that account for ancient DNA damage. The approach could recover highly degraded genetic material.

.

Faculty and lecturers across the University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges can now register for the upcoming fall session of the Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning (AITL) course, starting October 26. Following record-breaking enrollment in recent cohorts, this free, five-week asynchronous professional development opportunity equips educators to integrate AI into their courses through clear guidelines, targeted assignments and collaborative reflection.

“This professional development helped me develop AI use and misuse policies, as well as classroom activities that I believe will work well,” shared one 糖心视频 participant. Another noted the shift from a “haphazard” approach to applying “AI strategically in my courses to teach students the critical thinking they need.”

100% helpful

Summer 2026 evaluations highlight the program’s strong impact:

• 100% of respondents learned job-helpful skills, received adequate support and would recommend AITL.
• Post-course ratings showing moderate to high confidence in AI tools surged to 88%, up from just 33.8% beforehand.

Lauren Lum Ho, an instructional designer from Leeward Community College who co-developed AITL, said, “AITL gives faculty scaffolded opportunities to explore what generative AI means for their teaching, students and disciplines. While there are no easy answers, this cross-campus effort has sparked critical conversations, informed decision-making and tangible work to better support students.”

Record participation

AITL has enrolled 173 participants since its summer 2025 launch. The spring and summer 2026 cohorts set a record with 117 participants, with educators taking away valuable insights on developing syllabus policies and teaching activities tailored to their courses with specific feedback from instructional designers.

“As AI reshapes higher education, we must equip faculty with the tools to adapt and thrive,” said Lui Hokoana, interim vice president for the 糖心视频 Community Colleges. “AITL鈥檚 record success is a testament to our educators’ commitment to innovation. By thoughtfully addressing AI in our courses, we ensure students learn to engage with these tools responsibly, ethically and critically.”

Email uhccids@hawaii.edu for more information.

In a historic milestone for the University of Hawaiʻi System, 100% of available performance funding—totaling $6,208,198—has been awarded across all 10 糖心视频 campuses for Academic Year 2025–26 under a revised transitional framework.

This marks the first time in the history of 糖心视频 performance funding that 100% of potential funds were awarded to campuses. In comparison, under the previous historical framework, only 49% of available performance funds would have been distributed for Academic Year 2025鈥�26. Designed to bridge the gap between historical practices and the finalized fiscal year (FY)27 vision, the transitional model used for this year is based on a new two-part funding structure that rewards both sustained progress on core student success metrics and proactive institutional innovation.

These resources will empower campus leadership to invest in initiatives that maintain and expand upon these positive outcomes.

Understanding the funding model

The FY26 performance allocation combines two integrated methodologies:

1. Segmented Lifecycle Model (Performance Pool: $3,795,621 awarded)

Recognizing that student success occurs along a continuum, a campus’s potential performance pool allocation ($4,966,558 total systemwide) is divided into two equal 50% allocations:

The Early Progression Pool (50%): Evaluates onboarding, credit momentum across full-time, part-time, and transfer cohorts, first-year retention rates, and gateway English and Mathematics completion rates.

The Long-Term Attainment Pool (50%): Evaluates how many students graduate within 6 years for a 4-year university and 3 years for a community college graduation rates, articulation and transfer rates, and median alumni earnings five years post-graduation.

Evaluations are grounded in three sequential three-year rolling averages (2021–23, 2022–24 and 2023–25) to reward sustained performance trajectories rather than single-semester variances.

2. Pillar-Activation Model (Innovation & Scaling Pool: $2,412,577 awarded)

Unawarded balance from the performance pool was combined with innovation funds to form a $2.41-million Innovation & Scaling Award pool. This pool rewards high-impact engagements aligned with the university’s Common Standard of Care pillars—including structured first-year support, academic design, career-oriented learning, proactive advising, financial wellness and outreach.

Campus allocations and strategic highlights

糖心视频 Mānoa ($2,564,257 total)

• Segmented Lifecycle Award: $1,971,127
• Innovation & Scaling Award: $593,130

Leeward Community College ($825,794 total)

• Segmented Lifecycle Award: $524,927
• Innovation & Scaling Award: $300,867

Honolulu Community College ($594,824 total)

• Segmented Lifecycle Award: $219,052
• Innovation & Scaling Award: $375,772

糖心视频 West Oʻahu ($448,293 total)

• Segmented Lifecycle Award: $279,865
• Innovation & Scaling Award: $168,428

Kapiʻolani Community College ($431,441 total)

• Segmented Lifecycle Award: $206,638
• Innovation & Scaling Award: $224,803

糖心视频 Maui College ($397,098 total)

• Segmented Lifecycle Award: $144,762
• Innovation & Scaling Award: $252,336

糖心视频 Hilo ($350,990 total)

• Segmented Lifecycle Award: $127,954
• Innovation & Scaling Award: $223,036

Hawaiʻi Community College ($222,634 total)

• Segmented Lifecycle Award: $150,281
• Innovation & Scaling Award: $72,353

Kauaʻi Community College ($207,405 total)

• Segmented Lifecycle Award: $95,929
• Innovation & Scaling Award: $111,476

Windward Community College ($165,462 total)

• Segmented Lifecycle Award: $75,086
• Innovation & Scaling Award: $90,376

John J. Stephan, a pioneering University of Hawaiʻi at M膩noa emeritus professor of history whose scholarship advanced understanding of Russia鈥檚 role in Asia, died August 12, 2026.

Stephan came to Hawaiʻi in 1964 after studying Russian and Japanese at Harvard. At 糖心视频 M膩noa, his interest in the Russian Far East grew through a course taught by Russian history professor John A. White and an intellectual community that included Patricia Polansky, now Hamilton Library鈥檚 Russian Bibliographer.

Stephan taught history at 糖心视频 M膩noa from 1970 until his retirement in 2001, producing influential scholarship focused on Russia in Asia. His books included Sakhalin: A History (1971), The Kuril Islands: Russo-Japanese Frontier in the Pacific (1974) and The Russian Far East: A History (1994).

He also served as founding director of the Center for the Soviet Union in the Asia-Pacific Region, established at 糖心视频 M膩noa in 1986 and later renamed the Center for Russia in Asia.

Landmark work published in Russian

Months before his death, Stephan received copies of a new Russian-language edition of Sakhalin: A History. The books arrived at Hamilton Library in December 2025 after being printed in Beijing, a route necessitated by disrupted U.S.-Russia postal connections amid the war in Ukraine.

During the Soviet era, Sakhalin: A History was denounced and restricted from general use. After the Soviet Union collapsed, portions were serialized in an independent Sakhalin newspaper.

“It is especially meaningful that John lived to see Sakhalin: A History translated into Russian,” Polansky said. “That a work once suppressed in the Soviet Union has now been published in Russian is a remarkable testament to the lasting importance of his research.”

Hamilton Library legacy

For more than two decades, Stephan supported Hamilton Library collections reflecting his scholarly interests and Hawaiʻi鈥檚 connections to Asia and the Pacific.

“John understood the importance of libraries because he knew firsthand how much they could shape a scholar鈥檚 work,” Polansky said.

Honolulu Community College Hawaiian Studies Assistant Professor Kaʻiulani Murphy was one of six captains and navigators inducted as a Pwo Navigator in July during a sacred ceremony held on Oʻahu. Pwo is among the highest honors in traditional wayfinding, recognizing decades of ocean navigation, leadership and dedicated service.

Navigators from Satawal, Micronesia, representing the Weriyaeng School of Navigation, conducted the ceremony. The observance honored the training lineage of the late Pwo Master Navigator Mau Piailug, whose teachings revived traditional navigation in Hawaiʻi and throughout Polynesia, and who inducted Hawaiʻi鈥檚 first five Pwo Navigators on Satawal in 2007.

Kuleana to teach

For Murphy, who has navigated the open ocean for more than 20 years aboard the iconic voyaging canoe 贬艒办奴濒别ʻ补, the title is deeply tied to her duty as an educator.

“All of us who have the privilege to voyage have a kuleana (responsibility) to teach and share. I鈥檓 grateful for my mentors and the opportunity to share this ʻike (knowledge) as a kumu at Honolulu CC and at 糖心视频 M膩noa, where I took Hoʻokele (voyaging) courses from Professor Lilikal膩 Kameʻeleihiwa,” Murphy said.

Murphy began her voyaging journey in 1997 as a student at the University of Hawaiʻi at M膩noa before first sailing aboard 贬艒办奴濒别ʻ补 in 1998. Since 2008, she has taught Hawaiian astronomy, navigation and voyaging skills at Honolulu CC, and also teaches at 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补. Through online and in-person instruction, nighttime observational labs and hands-on sailing, Murphy guides the next generation of wayfinders.

Leadership for the future

As one of four women inducted in the first Pwo ceremony ever conducted in Hawaiʻi, Murphy hopes their journey inspires future voyagers.

Pwo Navigator and Polynesian Voyaging Society CEO Nainoa Thompson said, “This induction of six new Pwo in Hawaiʻi is a statement of the advancement of leadership in voyaging. It鈥檚 a graduation of six leaders who will lead voyaging into the next 50 years.”

University of Hawaiʻi President Wendy Hensel highlighted 糖心视频‘s response to recent severe weather events, efforts to simplify the application process for prospective students and an upcoming public forum on the university’s new budgeting process and $123-million strategic investment initiative during her September report to the 糖心视频 Board of Regents (BOR).

Hensel delivered the report at the September 17 BOR meeting at Leeward Community College’s Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center. She began by recognizing 糖心视频 teams who helped campuses respond to an unusually active year of severe weather, most recently Hurricane Lowell. The storm caused significant damage and prolonged power outages on Kauaʻi, forcing Kauaʻi Community College to close for a week before reopening to students on September 16.

Hensel also provided an update on fall enrollment, highlighted the October 1 launch of Apply Hawaiʻi, a single undergraduate application for all 10 campuses, and announced a September 28 public forum on 糖心视频‘s budget and $123 million strategic investment initiative.

• Severe weather response and emergency preparedness ()
• Fall 2026 enrollment ()
• Apply Hawaiʻi launch ()
• Direct2糖心视频 expansion to all 10 campuses ()
• Time, Place and Manner policy update ()
• September 28 budget and $123-million strategic investment forum ()
• 糖心视频 News highlights
  • Inaugural Waiʻanae EMT program ()
  • Hawaiʻi CC $920,000 NSF drone technology grant ()
  • Kalaeloa Hybrid Reef Project ()

Stay connected with President Wendy Hensel by following her on , , and

To honor the enduring legacy of alumna Diane N. Dods, her husband, Walter A. Dods Jr., partnered with the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation to establish the at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补.

The fund recognizes the best research paper written by an undergraduate political science student, carrying forward the academic distinction Diane demonstrated.

As an undergraduate in the 1960s, Diane examined Hawaiʻi‘s power dynamics for her senior thesis. She interviewed top executives to map the state鈥檚 influence network, resulting in her study, “Community Power Structure: A Case Study of Honolulu,” which earned 糖心视频鈥檚 Social Science Prize, and has maintained an air of intrigue.

“All the names were never revealed,” Walter said. “They were all a mystery.”

Distinguished career

After earning a master鈥檚 degree from Northwestern University, Diane became press secretary for then U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye—the youngest press secretary on Capitol Hill at the time. She helped craft Inouye鈥檚 keynote address for the 1968 Democratic National Convention before returning home as press secretary for then-Lt. Gov. George Ariyoshi.

“At the time, I was running George Ariyoshi’s campaigns, and I met her in his office,” Walter said. “I fell in love, and a year later we were married.”

‘Brilliance and deep grace’

Diane later served as director of public affairs and corporate secretary at the East-West Center. Despite her professional achievements, her family knew her best for her dedication as a mother.

“She was making history in Washington and Hawaiʻi but, to us, she was just mom, always present, and always our biggest champion,” said her son, Chris Dods. “She showed us what it meant to lead with both brilliance and deep grace.”

The endowment was established in spring 2026, when Walter received an honorary doctorate from 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补.

“We are especially honored to celebrate her life and legacy with this endowment,” said Denise Eby Konan, former dean of the College of Social Sciences and interim provost at 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补. “Because Diane was a recipient of a similar award as an alumna, she remains a deeply valued part of our history and exemplifies the very best of our department. Through this award, her influence will continue to inspire future generations.”

University of Hawaiʻi Maui College鈥檚 award-winning Culinary Arts Program is offering a new series of five 鈥渏ust for fun鈥� cooking classes this fall. Beginning September 26, these interactive workshops give community members an opportunity to learn practical techniques directly from professional chefs.

All sessions run on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the P膩ʻina Building on the 糖心视频 Maui College Kahului Campus. Registration fees range from $100 to $120 per person.

Fall 2026 class schedule

Each workshop focuses on distinct foundational skills:

• September 26:
• October 17:
• November 7:
• November 21:
• December 5:

Participants learn fundamental concepts in a supportive environment, turning professional methods into approachable home habits.

“Our non-credit classes are all about demystifying techniques,” said Chef Craig Omori. “You don’t need years of culinary training to break down a fish, simmer a great broth, or turn out bakery-quality holiday pastries. Pastry Chef Hannah Stanchfield and I are excited to welcome home cooks into our labs this semester to build solid kitchen fundamentals and have a great time doing it.”

For registration questions or general assistance, email Omori at omoric@hawaii.edu.

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin was designated chair of the Pacific West Conference Executive Board for the 2026–27 academic year.

Composed of university presidents and chancellors from member institutions across Hawaiʻi and California, the PacWest Conference Executive Board provides strategic direction, policy oversight and administrative governance for the NCAA Division II. In her leadership role, Irwin will steer the PacWest through a rapidly changing landscape in NCAA intercollegiate athletics, addressing national governance reforms, student-athlete welfare and institutional sustainability.

“It is an honor to serve as chair during such a pivotal time in collegiate athletics,” Irwin said. “I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues across the conference to ensure the PacWest continues to promote academic success, athletic competitive excellence and transformative opportunities for our student-athletes.”

Read more at .

About 12,000 low-income households across Hawaiʻi rely on Housing Choice Vouchers, commonly known as Section 8, to help pay rent. But a new (糖心视频ERO) report finds the program is facing growing financial pressure as rising rents make it increasingly expensive to help families.

Federal spending on Hawaiʻi鈥檚 tenant-based vouchers more than tripled from about $55 million in 2003 to approximately $170 million in 2024, which represents a 70% increase even after accounting for inflation. Yet the number of families receiving assistance has grown only modestly.

The reason is simple: Hawaiʻi rents have climbed dramatically.

Voucher households generally pay about 30% of their adjusted income toward rent and utilities, with the government covering much of the remaining cost. But as rents rise while many participants鈥� incomes remain relatively flat, taxpayers must cover a growing share of the cost just to maintain assistance for roughly the same number of families.

The stakes extend beyond the families currently receiving help. Only about one in five income-eligible households in Hawaiʻi receives a voucher, leaving thousands of others waiting for assistance that may not become available for years.

“As rents rise, more federal funding is needed just to maintain the program, making it harder to expand assistance to the thousands of Hawaiʻi families still waiting for help,” said lead author JoonYup Park, an assistant professor at 糖心视频ERO and , who holds the Hawaiʻi Community Reinvestment Corporation Professorship in Affordable Housing.

The program is also becoming an increasingly important pathway out of homelessness. About one in five households newly admitted to the program was experiencing homelessness, compared with roughly one in 20 in the mid-2000s.

In addition, receiving a voucher does not automatically mean a family has housing. Households generally have 60 to 120 days to find a rental that meets program requirements and has a landlord willing to accept the voucher. If they cannot, they can lose the voucher and return to the bottom of the waiting list.

Potential solutions

The report points to housing construction as one possible solution. More apartments and other housing can help slow rent increases and create more affordable options for voucher holders, reducing the amount of government assistance needed for each household. Helping families increase their incomes could also reduce reliance on subsidies and eventually free vouchers for others waiting for help.

“This research shows that Hawaiʻi鈥檚 housing affordability challenge cannot be solved by rental assistance alone,” Park said. “We need to think about how housing policy, economic opportunity and the structure of public benefits can work together to give more families a realistic path toward long-term housing stability.”

.

糖心视频ERO and the Department of Urban and Regional Planning is housed in 糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 .

This week鈥檚 糖心视频 News Image of the Week is from Kauaʻi Community College’s Dayne Gonsalves, an undergraduate in creative media.

Gonsalves shared: “An image of Kaumualiʻi Highway on the morning after Hurricane Lowell, taken from Kekaha.”

Previous Images
Ching Athletics Complex rainbow
First week fun
First day of class
Fungi
Many Manu-o-K奴
All Images of the Week

Send us your image!

A big mahalo to everyone who has sent in their images! If selected, they will be posted throughout the semester, so check back to see the amazing work, research and experiences of the 糖心视频 ʻohana!

Want to get in on the action? The next 糖心视频 News Image of the Week could be yours! Submit a photo, drawing, painting, digital illustration of a project you are working on, a moment from a field research outing or a beautiful and/or interesting shot of a scene on your campus. It could be a class visit during which you see an eye-catching object or scene.

• .

Please include a brief description of the image and its connection to your campus, class assignment or other 糖心视频 connection. By submitting your image, you are giving 糖心视频 News permission to publish your photo on the 糖心视频 News website and 糖心视频 social media accounts. The image must be your original work, and anyone featured in your image needs to give consent to its publication.

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Darren Lerner, director of , consortium director of the and interim associate dean for research in the , was honored at the Governor’s Awards for Distinguished State Service as the 2026 Manager of the Year. Lerner, other award winners and nominees were recognized with a ceremony at the State Capitol by Gov. Josh Green on September 15. Members of Lerner’s Sea Grant team accepted the award for him, while he was working in Seattle.

Lerner was recognized for transformational leadership that has strengthened Hawaiʻi Sea Grant and expanded its impact across the university and the state. He has overseen more than $100 million in extramurally funded projects focused on improving the resilience of Hawaiʻi’s and the Pacific’s coastal ecosystems and communities. His leadership through periods of uncertainty has allowed the program to continue growing while supporting research, education and community partnerships that address critical environmental challenges.

“Honestly, as I鈥檝e said to the team, who went to the event and received the award on my behalf, I am just floored, really floored,” said Lerner. “And you know, beyond that, and the team gives me a hard time for saying it, but it鈥檚 all them. There鈥檚 no way I would even be considered in this position if it wasn鈥檛 for our team at Sea Grant.”

The awards honor the state’s executive branch employees and managers who exemplify the highest caliber of public service and dedication to serving the people of Hawaiʻi.

In addition to Lerner, Kapiʻolani Community College’s Darsh Davé and the Hawaiʻi Papa o ke Ao Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office were selected as the 糖心视频 nominees for the Governor’s Awards for Distinguished State Service.

Commendation letter from Gov. Green

September 15, 2026

I commend you for being selected as the 2026 State of Hawaiʻi Manager of the Year, in recognition of your visionary leadership, innovative program development, and unwavering commitment to advance community-centered coastal resilience throughout Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

Under your leadership, the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program has become a national model for integrating cutting-edge coastal research with meaningful public service. Your efforts secured a historic $68.5 million grant to advance climate resilience through the restoration of traditional Hawaiian moku systems and expanded initiatives that combat marine debris, strengthen fisheries education, and expand research capacity across the Pacific.

Your service spans across Hawaiʻi and the nation, including directing the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center and serving as Interim Associate Dean for Research in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. You led projects leveraging over $80 million to restore over 1,000 acres of coastal habitats, educated thousands of students, and engaged residents statewide. As President of the Sea Grant Association, you advanced Hawaiʻi’s priorities nationally and championed Indigenous leadership in federal science policy.

Prioritizing workforce development, you developed specialized fellowships that train and foster the next generation of local coastal leaders. National reviewers recognized your mentorship as a best management practice model for building engaged, interdisciplinary teams.

I express my deepest gratitude for your extraordinary contributions, steadfast guidance, and enduring impact on coastal resilience, education, and community well-being across the State. Congratulations on your achievements, and best wishes as you continue your outstanding service.

Mahalo,

JOSH GREEN

Governor, State of Hawaiʻi

In a solemn tribute marking the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, 156 and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadets from the University of Hawaiʻi at M膩noa scaled the steep, railway track of Koko Head Crater in the early morning hours.

The strenuous climb honored the nearly 3,000 lives lost, as well as the heroic first responders and military personnel who answered the call in the tragedy’s aftermath.

For Army ROTC Professor of Military Science Lt. Col. Patrick Kelley, the remembrance is personal.

“I was in ROTC when 9/11 happened. That day changed my life in that it led to a career of multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan during my career,” he said. “9/11 is always a reminder of the sacrifices a lot of Americans made, not only that day, but in the years that followed in combat, as well as the families that stayed behind to support them. I love that I am in a position to pass that knowledge and passion down to the next generation.”

Annual tradition of remembrance

According to program officials, the trek gives cadets an opportunity to reflect on the service and sacrifice of those affected by 9/11 while strengthening bonds with their fellow cadets.

The annual climb also helps a new generation of cadets understand the significance of the attacks and their aftermath. Many of today’s cadets were born after September 11, 2001.

The cadets carried that remembrance with them throughout the climb, marking the 25th anniversary with a shared commitment: “We climb to remember. We climb to honor. We will never forget.”

Since its launch in 2023, the Euclid space telescope has been sending images of the night sky back to scientists around the world, who combine its observations with data from telescopes on Earth, including the University of Hawaiʻi 鈥檚 on Haleakal膩.

The Euclid space mission is an imaging survey of an extremely large swath of the night sky, with the goals of creating a map of the large-scale structure of the universe in 3D, as well as exploring the nature and evolution of dark energy. But space telescopes like Euclid rarely work alone — their observations are almost always done in partnership with ground-based telescopes, like those on Maunakea and Haleakal膩.

Hawaiʻi telescopes and Euclid

Pan-STARRS is one of four Hawaiʻi-based telescopes working with Euclid to search for some of the earliest objects in the universe and build a richer picture of the deep sky. The collaboration also includes the , and on Maunakea.

The ground-based telescopes complement, enhance or further explore Euclid鈥檚 data, adding wavelengths, colors and detail that the space telescope is not equipped to do alone.

“It’s very common for a space telescope to discover something interesting in the sky but not have the capability or size to characterize it more thoroughly,” said John O鈥橫eara, chief scientist and deputy director at W.M. Keck Observatory.

Coming off a groundbreaking performance in Washington, D.C., dancers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo are bringing that national momentum home.

Inside the campus dance studio, they鈥檙e training with nationally renowned choreographer Mike Esperanza to prepare an original work for the stage.

The connection began last May, when instructor Kea Kapahua led 16 糖心视频 Hilo dancers to the American College Dance Association conference in Wyoming. Their performance of Haliʻa Aloha no Kaim奴, honoring Kapahua鈥檚 Kalapana heritage, helped earn 糖心视频 Hilo a spot among just 30 schools nationwide selected for the festival in Washington, D.C.

Esperanza, who served as an adjudicator, was moved by what he saw.

“There was something really spiritual about what we saw,” he recalled.

That encounter eventually brought Esperanza to 糖心视频 Hilo as an artist-in-residence. The week-long residency gave students a taste of professional company life, with fast-paced rehearsals and demanding physical training.

“For 糖心视频 Hilo students to have this opportunity is really special; a lot of larger schools don鈥檛 even get to experience a residency to this capacity,” Esperanza said.

The dancers will premiere the finished work on December 12 at the 糖心视频 Hilo Performing Arts Center.

糖心视频 Mānoa students are helping shape the future of one of the busiest and most visible areas on campus. The 糖心视频 Campus Design Lab invited students to share their ideas for reimagining Legacy Path during Welina Mānoa: Kick-Off! on September 10. The effort is part of the initial research for a project focused on transforming Legacy Path into a more welcoming and active gathering space while also exploring the future of nearby Andrews Amphitheater.

Legacy Path is a major pedestrian route connecting Campus Center with Dole Street and the main parking structure. The area also hosts campus fairs, pregame activities and other events, and serves as a location for food trucks during the school day.

At the Campus Design Lab booth, students used 3D models of the area to experiment with different configurations, moving miniature food trucks, benches and other features to show how they would like to use the space.

“I like how they’re trying to improve the walking and commuting experience,” said Hao Shen Zheng, a 糖心视频 Mānoa senior majoring in computer engineering. “I think it’s really important since students actually have to experience these things. They should have a say in these types of designs.”

Zheng said the hands-on approach made it easier to envision the possibilities.

“I like the models they have at the booth. You can put food trucks or benches where you would like them to be in a specific area. It helps you visualize it.”

The Campus Design Lab hopes to gather input from several hundred students over the course of the fall 2026 semester, with the official project kickoff planned for October.

“Our goal is to hear from as many students as possible and better understand how they use the space and what they want it to become,” said Brian Strawn, 糖心视频 Mānoa planning and spatial experience director. “We’re already hearing that students want a range of places to gather—from larger, more active public spaces to smaller, more informal places to sit, meet and spend time along Legacy Path.”

Strawn said student input is especially important because the way students experience campus varies widely.

“There isn’t a single student experience of campus,” Strawn said. “Some students commute, some live on campus and others live nearby. Those different patterns shape how students move through campus, where they spend time and what they need from the spaces in between. Engaging students directly helps us understand those differences and design a campus that better supports their daily lives.”

Engaging students in the design process has already proven successful across 糖心视频 Mānoa. Student input from previous workshops helped shape several major projects, including the ongoing McCarthy Mall renovation and the recently completed Aloha Towers renovation.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo鈥檚 Fiscal Year has been released.

The report highlights student success, new academic programs, faculty and staff achievements, impactful research, scholarships, community outreach, alumni accomplishments and campus improvements.

One area of focus is adapting academic programs to meet 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈鈥檚 evolving workforce needs.

“Across disciplines and programs at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, we are implementing new workforce-related initiatives to keep current with the rapid pace of workforce needs and changes,” said Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin.

New programs include an online pathway for law enforcement officers to earn bachelor鈥檚 degrees in administration of justice, a doctor of pharmacy online track, business programs focusing on artificial intelligence, a revised certificate in digital art and more.

The report also highlights the work being done to strengthen 糖心视频 Hilo as a Hawaiian place of learning, reflecting Hawaiʻi, its people, history, cultures, and natural environment.

—By Susan Enright

This article by Native Hawaiian Initiative Alakaʻi (coordinator) at the University of Hawaiʻi at M膩noa Kamakanaokealoha Aquino was first published in

About eight years ago, Native Hawaiian Student Services (NHSS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at M膩noa restarted the Hawaiian Youths Abroad (HYA) program.

This summer, they traveled to Keomolewa through Kapalakiko (from Vancouver, Canada, to San Francisco, California) for 10 days to retrace the 19th century connections between the Hawaiian Kingdom and the Pacific Northwest.

With two tuition-free courses (six credits), students learned about labor settlements, Hawaiian diplomacy and education, and engagement with the 19th-century world. The travel itinerary included visiting locations such as Vancouver (City), Salt Spring Island and Victoria Island in Canada; Seattle, Tacoma, Kalama and Fort Vancouver in Washington State; and San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Cruz in California.

The focus of Hawaiian Youths Abroad has been retracing the path of the aliʻi (royalty), diplomats, and citizens to engage students in different educational experiences and training around the world.

Priority considerations for student participation include undergraduate 糖心视频 M膩noa students who have at least one or more semester remaining; and past or current NHSS students who have participated in prior programs, show promise for advancing in leadership, are interested in advanced graduate studies and research engagement at 糖心视频 M膩noa, and who have a demonstrated record of interest and engagement in Hawaiian education and research.

Long history

The program dates back to King Kal膩kaua鈥檚 reign, when the king, with the support of the Hawaiian Kingdom Legislature, supported sending 18 Hawaiian youth to travel abroad between 1880 and 1892.

The Hawaiian Youths Abroad program sent representatives to Italy, Scotland, England, China, Japan and the United States.

Personally selected by Kal膩kaua himself, these young people were to become the future leaders of the Hawaiian Kingdom and were sent out to study engineering, medicine, art, music, military science and foreign languages. They would acquire foreign knowledge and bring those skills back to serve their country.

The recently revived Hawaiian Youths Abroad program started by taking students to Paris and London in 2018. Then in 2019, students traveled to London, Turin and Naples. In 2024 program participants traveled to French Polynesia, and to Japan in 2025.

Nearly 100 new University of Hawaiʻi at M膩noa students participated in the first ever runout across the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex field before the 糖心视频 football team took on New Mexico State Saturday, September 12. The runout is a long-standing tradition at several colleges and universities around the country to mark the new students鈥� journey as part of the campus.

“I think running on the field and getting to see all the fans was really fun and the cheering and how excited everyone was, it really just pumped up the game,” said new student Tiana Pardini.

“The whole atmosphere of the tunnel with everyone cheering,” fellow new student, Gabrial Guardado, said. “I thought it was all just a great experience.”

The students helped to fire up the crowd before the opening kickoff and helped propel the ‘Bows to their first win of the 2026 season.

“We are looking at ways to have our students find experiences on campus that help them to create memories and community as part of their college journey,” said Interim Vice Provost for Student Success Kap膩 Oliveira. “The energy and excitement of this moment is something we hope the students will carry on with them through their time at 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补.”

Each participant received a free T-shirt to commemorate the experience.

“Watching 糖心视频 students run across the field before the football game was a memorable sight,” said Athletics Director Matt Elliott. “The energy, excitement, and school spirit they brought with them made it a moment of celebration for the community. All students are a part of Our Team, Hawaiʻi鈥檚 team!”

The 糖心视频 Athletics Marketing team invited new students to sign up during the Fall New Student Orientation that was organized by the Office of Vice Provost for Student Success.

The runout gave new students a chance to connect with the 糖心视频 community and experience the excitement of supporting Rainbow Warrior football directly from the field. The students then got to watch the Rainbow Warriors defeat the Lobos 29–19.