Recently hired tenure-line faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will have the opportunity to better understand the history and cultures of Hawaiʻi while meeting other faculty across disciplines through a new program launched in fall 2023. Hoʻolauna, meaning “to get together or to introduce, including one person to another,” offers a series of select excursions to various sites around Oʻahu or on campus each month of the academic year. These “field trips” will be led by a faculty member with expertise related to the site or experience.
“Not only will the set of experiences provide our new faculty members with the opportunity to learn more about Hawaiʻi, it will also give them a chance to meet other faculty outside of their own departments,” said UH Mānoa Interim Vice Provost for Academic Excellence Laura Lyons, who came up with the new initiative. This program supports the findings in a recent study about the socialization of UH Mānoa faculty new to Hawaiʻi led by Lori Furoyama, educational specialist in OVPAE. She found the university needed to be more purposeful and deliberate in providing opportunities and spaces for faculty members to get to know their colleagues and students as well as the many communities in Hawaiʻi.
The Hoʻolauna program began in September with a historic walking tour of Downtown Honolulu led by Professor Craig Howes from the College of Arts, Languages & Letters. Twenty-eight faculty and their guests visited sites and learned about the 19th century Hawaiian Kingdom, the overthrow, the ensuing Territorial period and eventual statehood.
In October, faculty visited the Ka Papa Loʻi O Kānewai at the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. The group was led by Ryse Akiu, a graduate student in political science and staff at the loʻi, who reminds visitors that although they may not be from Hawaiʻi originally, they still have a responsibility to mālama (care for) the ʻāina (land). They learned about the loʻi’s history and cultivating taro (kalo). Faculty also had the opportunity to get their hands in the dirt and helped with weeding (hehihei), rebounding plantings and and cleaned the auwai (irrigation system).
Establishing ties to place
Monica LaBriola, assistant professor of history, joined UH Mānoa in 2019. Even as a Hawaiʻi resident for nearly 20 years—first as a graduate student and then as a faculty member at UH West Oʻahu—she said she still has much to learn.
“Continued learning is important to me as a faculty member and a guest on Oʻahu, and will only benefit my students,” LaBriola said. “On our first excursion through downtown Honolulu, Craig Howes introduced lesser known sites that I had heard about but never visited. I also worked at Ka Papa Loʻi O Kānewai for the very first time, and I am excited to embed a similar experience in the curriculum for a graduate student cohort I convene every spring.”
and ʻIolani Palace.
Jonathan Huang joined UH Mānoa this fall as assistant professor in the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health. He was attracted to the university as a place known for its diversity and supportive faculty, and also wanted his children to grow up somewhere where they can and are encouraged to develop a connection and responsibility to a place and community.
“I think [the program] really is a great welcome to the university as it strives to become a Native Hawaiian place of learning. In particular, as a non-local, non-Native, I thought these first events offered tangible examples and context for the importance of ʻāina and UH‘s place within it,” Huang said. “As faculty in public health, I appreciate (and study!) how important place and space is to our health and well-being generally, and these events have deepened my appreciation for the complexity of what this means for Hawaiʻi and especially Native Hawaiians.”
Both LaBriola and Huang said the Hoʻolauna program enhanced their ʻike (knowledge) and helped them develop a better connection to Hawaiʻi and UH.
Huang added, “These events have also been great for my family—my 6-year-old can now tell the differences between the Hawaiian Coat of Arms and the current State Seal! This is only the beginning of our journey, but it is good to know that the university is invested in helping us (new faculty) establish these ties to place and start to think about how we can fulfill our responsibilities!”
Upcoming visits for this academic year include the Lyon Arboretum, Honolulu City Lights, Moku O Loʻe (Coconut Island), Waikīkī Aquarium, and more. For more information contact Lori Furoyama at (808) 956-3889.
—by Arlene Abiang
