President Greenwood confident that UH System will meet challenges ahead

Posted: Sep 15, 2009

HONOLULU - At the University of Hawaiʻi's annual Convocation Awards ceremony held today at the UH Mānoa campus, UH President M.R.C. Greenwood delivered her first address to university faculty, staff and students from the UH System's 10 campuses, acknowledging the challenges the university faces ahead but expressing confidence that the university will overcome these challenges and achieve a new level of excellence.

 

"In these unprecedented times, we must demonstrate and articulate clearly and persuasively that the university is indeed a powerful agent for economic improvement and that there is no better investment for the future of our state than in education and the University of Hawaiʻi," Greenwood said.

 

Greenwood emphasized the importance of encouraging more students to go to college and the need to graduate more students with the credentials and education needed to excel in today's jobs and tomorrow's marketplace.

 

"As the only public higher education institution in the state, it is also our job to lead Hawaiʻi's economic, intellectual and creative diversification and to work with our business partners to create jobs for the people of Hawaiʻi," she stated.

 

Greenwood highlighted the university's spectacular growth in extramural funding, led in particular by UH Mānoa researchers, which has more than doubled over the past decade. Leveraging such grant and research dollars, as well as fundraising and public-private partnerships to help the university extend its capacity, especially in meeting the needs of unserved and underserved regions of the state, will be crucial to the university's success.

 

"I believe that the University of Hawaiʻi's future is bright and that we will lead peer institutions, but to do that we will need to rely on the generosity of many partners," Greenwood said.

 

"Our efforts must be coordinated, cumulative and aimed toward one overarching, unifying goal of creating a better educational environment for all of Hawaiʻi's citizens," she stated. "I came here knowing that the University of Hawaiʻi was already a great university. With your support and input, we will become even greater."

 

Read the full text of Greenwood's speech. Video of her speech and the awards ceremony will be available online beginning September 16.

 

The annual UH Convocation Awards ceremony honors faculty and staff from the university's 10 campuses across the state for their excellence in teaching, research and service.