University of Hawaiʻi President Wendy Hensel visited Windward Community College on March 24, 2025, marking the completion of her commitment to visit all 10 UH campuses within her first 90 days in office.
The visit began with a traditional Hawaiian protocol welcoming ceremony led by the college’s Native Hawaiian Council Ke Kumu Pali, setting a warm and culturally rich tone for the day. Hensel then engaged with a variety of campus stakeholders, including student leaders, faculty, staff, administrators and community partners. An open campus forum welcomed more than 40 attendees, providing an opportunity for Hensel to listen to the concerns, ideas and aspirations of the Windward CC community.
“I think it’s amazing that she’s coming here, being willing to hear us out, and willing to understand what can be better,” said Minakshi Kutty, a Windward CC student. “I’m just so happy to see that.”
Student Hio Pelesasa added, “I feel good. There’s a president here who cares about us and comes to our school to answer questions for our students.”
During the meetings and open forum, Hensel answered questions on a wide range of topics, including the impact of recent executive orders and federal policy shifts, her overall vision for UH and how Hawaiian culture informs it, the need for more HR staff, strategies to address expected enrollment declines, plans to incorporate artificial intelligence, and concerns about the perception that community colleges are overlooked compared to UH Mānoa—among many others.
National award winner
Windward CC is the recipient of the 2025 ACE/Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation.
“It’s no surprise to me that they won a national award,” said Hensel. “The commitment to students shows in everything they do and very innovative programs. Really proud of these folks.”
Windward CC’s enrollment has increased by 20% over the past five years, with 2,765 students enrolled for the 2024–25 academic year. Since implementing its strategic plan in 2020, the college has made notable progress in expanding access and improving completion rates.
Hensel also praised Windward CC’s strong sense of mission and its deep commitment to student success.
“Windward Community College is absolutely beautiful and the people are beautiful too,” she said. “Many of these folks were students here and now are mentors for the next generation. It’s just a really exciting place that clearly feels the mission and acts on it.”
Free tuition for Windward public school students and more
Innovative programs have been key to Windward CC’s success. The Hoʻolei Scholarship offers Windward Oʻahu public and charter high school graduates up to $3,930 for their first year of tuition. The Hawaiʻiloa program provides a fully online, accelerated path to an Associate in Arts in Hawaiian Studies degree. Additionally, the Kaʻohekani program offers a one-year online certificate in Hawaiian music, the Mental Health Technician program equips students with the skills to enter the mental health services field, and the Veterinary Technology program prepares students for careers in animal health.
Windward CC’s Puʻuhonua: Places of Sanctuary program continues to provide transformative educational opportunities for incarcerated learners. Since 2017, the program has served 1,005 students who have earned 3,083 credits with an impressive 85% average success rate. In 2025, the program extended its Hawaiian studies offerings to men incarcerated at Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona.
Windward CC Chancellor Ardis Eschenberg expressed her gratitude for President Hensel’s visit.
“We’re just really thankful for her leadership at this time, and we’re really thankful to have everyone on our campus. It’s a beautiful campus, and it’s great to be able to showcase it,” she said.
For more information about President Hensel, visit the Meet President Hensel webpage. She is also active on social media and encourages the UH community to connect with her on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.
