Sylvia Yuen, executive director of the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaiʻi (RCUH) since July 2015, will be leaving her position in June 2020. Established by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature in 1965 as a public agency, RCUH has approximately 2,400 employees, and its volume of business is more than $260 million annually.
“Sylvia is a visionary leader who has brought about transformational changes to the corporation,” said Donna Ikeda, chair of the RCUH Board of Directors. “We were very fortunate to have her at the helm of RCUH and are sorry she is retiring.”
Under Yuen’s leadership, RCUH enhanced its communications by updating and increasing the platforms used to reach a larger audience. Improvements in the corporation’s IT systems led to new functionalities and services such as ePayments, eSign, electronic personnel action forms, and e-document processing, all of which increased efficiency and productivity.
Yuen greatly expanded training opportunities for staff, recognizing that such training was an ongoing process needed by employees to competently perform in an ever-changing and increasingly technological society. Since 2016, the number of people participating in RCUH training has increased by more than 200 percent. Clients rate RCUH highly, with 89 percent of survey respondents indicating they would recommend its services.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with the people at RCUH who are passionate about supporting and enhancing research, development, and training in Hawaiʻi,” said Yuen. “The journey’s not quite over, but our wise and supportive board and wonderful staff can be proud of our accomplishments and what we’ve achieved together.”
The RCUH board has begun the recruitment for the corporation’s next executive director.
