The new University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Chancellor Tom Apple spent his second day on the job with the UH Mānoa executive team—the university’s vice-chancellors, deans and directors. They went on a tour of three integral parts of UH Mānoa that just about every school age child on Oʻahu has, or will visit at some point in their lives.
The first stop was the Lyon Arboretum deep in Mānoa valley. The arboretum is the only botanical garden located in a tropical rainforest in the United States.
The next stop was the Ka Papa Loʻi ʻO Kānewai, a center for Hawaiian learning and home to a pure collection of kalo, native trees and shrubs along the Mānoa stream.
The tour ended with a visit to the Waikīkī Aquarium, where more than 300,000 people visit each year to see 500 species of aquatic animals and plants.
“They are all wonderful examples of the university interacting with the community and really providing for a preservation of the land, starting from mauka and going to makai,” said Apple. “Today has been a great experience for getting a real flavor for Hawaiʻi.”
Outgoing Mānoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw organized the tour, part of her efforts for a seamless leadership transition.
All three locations are critical to Chancellor Apple’s focus on research and the benefits that come with it. “Our three big themes are to grow the research economy in Hawaiʻi, and then to also help our students to become active participants in that society and the new knowledge economy, and to preserve and perpetuate Hawaiian culture” said Apple.
Chancellor Apple is the first to admit that he has a lot to learn but says he will work with everyone involved so that the university is an important partner in all that we do here in Hawaiʻi.
