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The Dean's Notes Archive
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June 21, 2002
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IT’S A CTAHR SWEEP!
I am proud and pleased to announce that the 2002 UH-Manoa Chancellor’s annual awards for APT employee and civil service employee *both* have been given to CTAHR employees. The recipient of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Chancellor’s Administrative, Professional, Technical Service Award is Sonia Campbell, research associate in the lab of Qing Li (Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering). Sonia has worked at UH only since 1998. French by birth, she holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Industries Chimiques, Nancy, France. She manages Dr. Li’s lab (of 22 people) and conducts phytoremediation research of her own, but her central contribution is in responding when the state has chemical emergencies. Since September 11, the work is this arena has dramatically increased. Sonia is making a concrete and urgently needed contribution to the health and safety of Hawaii’s citizens.

Recipient of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Chancellor’s Civil Service Award is Eunice Domingo, secretary at the Beaumont Research Center in Hilo. Eunice is a whirlwind. In his letter to her, Deane Neubauer, interim chancellor, quotes the Beaumont staff as saying, "Ms. Eunice Domingo is a dedicated University employee who loves her job, is knowledgeable in her duties and responsibilities, is very efficient in doing her work, and is currently doing the workload of a Secretary II and a Clerk Steno III." In addition, Eunice is known for her cheerful attitude and her thoughtfulness. She has worked for CTAHR since 1986.

I extend my heartiest congratulations to Ms. Campbell and Ms. Domingo. Thank you for jobs well done. Together you exemplify the best in public service at UH-Manoa.


TEACHING AWARDS FOR YUEN AND IWAOKA
Sylvia Yuen, director of Center on the Family, and Wayne Iwaoka, associate professor of food science in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, have both been named recipients of the Chancellor’s Citation for Meritorious Teaching from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. This is the first year this award has been given. In past years, an Excellence in Teaching Award was given. Iwaoka received it in 1991. The process by which recipients are selected—open nominations, faculty screening, and a final screening by former recipients—makes the Citation truly an honor from one’s students and peers.

CTAHR and our students are fortunate to have such dedicated educators in our midst. Thanks, Sylvia and Wayne, for being stellar representatives of the quality of teaching in CTAHR departments.


THREE NEW FACULTY APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED
The fruits of our priority staffing plan continue to be realized. Three new hires have been completed recently. Soon to join the CTAHR faculty are:

Dr. Jinzeng Yang, an animal molecular biologist and technologist who will join the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences.

Dr. Pratibha Nerurkar, an environmental biochemist who will join the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering. She will also be in involved in MBBE’s biotechnololgy program.

Dr. Daniel Rubinoff, an expert in invasive insect species, who will join the Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences.

As these people arrive on campus, we will give you more information about their backgrounds and future plans at CTAHR.


COUNTY ADMINISTRATORS CONFIRMED
We are finally able to announce officially that Wayne Nishijima and Harold Keyser have been confirmed as the permanent county administrators for Hawaii and Maui Counties, respectively. Wayne will continue on in a position he has held on an interim basis for several years. Harold succeeds Clark Hashimoto, who was interim county administrator for Maui, also for several years. Harold has been with the NifTAL project on Maui.


MARCUM TO DEPART FOR TEXAS A&M
In this week’s edition of news from the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, it was announced that Ken Marcum, hired last August as an assistant specialist in turfgrass, is leaving Hawaii for a position at Texas A&M University. We wish Ken well.


ROHRBACH RETIRES
A goodbye coffee hour was held yesterday for Ken Rohrbach, who is retiring from CTAHR after 30 years. Ken, a plant pathologist who specialized in pineapple, came to Hawaii in 1967 and worked for Dole and then the former Pineapple Research Institute before coming to CTAHR. He has served the college as chair of the former Department of Plant Pathology, as assistant dean for research (a position he held for 14 years), and again as chair of the newly formed Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences. Ken and his wife, Karen, are moving to Colorado to be near family. Enjoy your retirement, Ken, and thanks for your long years of valuable service to the college.


HELP WANTED
CTAHR will have a booth at the state Farm Fair to be held over three weekends (Friday-Sunday) from July 19 to August 4. The display will emphasize the college’s research, instruction, and extension programs. We need volunteers to staff the booth. Shifts are three hours long and begin at 3:00 p.m. on Fridays and noon on weekends. The last shift each day runs from 9:00 p.m. until midnight. Please let Allene Chun (chuna@ctahr.hawaii.edu, 956-6733) know if you can help. She needs to hear from you by June 30. Your assistance will be most appreciated.


HAWAIIAN STUDENTS ON A "FAST" TRACK
Since June 16, CTAHR has been hosting 15 native Hawaiian high school juniors and seniors in a summer program called "The FAST Track: Career Pathways to the Food and Agricultural Sciences and Technology." The program, funded by a USDA grant, was created in CTAHR’s Office of Academic and Student Affairs in cooperation with Na Pua No’eau (the Center for Gifted and Talented Native Hawaiian Children). Seniors in the program will return in the fall as freshmen assisted by $5000 scholarships and as members of CTAHR’s freshman learning community.

Next Friday night, June 28, 7:00-9:00 p.m., St. John, the students will present a program based upon the academic and cultural aspects of their two-week experience at CTAHR. Everyone is invited to attend.

Thanks to Marlene Hapai and her graduate assistant, Teresa Wagoner (who is serving as the program coordinator), for their work on this worthy program. Thanks, too, to the faculty members who are serving as mentors: Dulal Borthakur, Alan Titchenal, Goro Uehara, Traci Sylva, Linda Arthur, and Carl Evensen.


FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS
We will have a Fulbright Scholar this fall in MBBE resulting from a new partnership between UH’s International Program Office and CTAHR. Under the partnership, the International Program Office provides the student a full year tuition waiver, and we provide a tuition waiver the second year at the resident tuition rate. This is one of CTAHR's efforts to attract the brightest and best students. It is also a really cost-effective (two years for the cost of one year of resident tuition) way to attract excellent graduate students to your program. If you are contacted by a Fulbright Scholar interested in your graduate program and in whom you are equally interested, please contact Marlene Hapai to initiate the process.


B.S. PROGRAM ASSESSMENT PLANS DUE IN JULY
Marlene Hapai has asked me to pass on the following information:
All B.S. program assessment teams have been given until July 31 to have their assessment plans into the Office of Academic and Student Affairs. UHM will be undergoing accreditation in the spring of 2003, and program assessment was one of the major weaknesses cited in the last WASC visit. CTAHR's college-wide and individual program plans will be ready for review at that time. Also, assessment tools that have been created thus far are at various stages of implementation. Faculty working on assessment will need help from others in their respective programs in gathering needed information. Please assist in providing information or assistance. Assessment is one of the tools we are using to work towards program excellence, a college goal. For further information on the assessment process, contact Marlene Hapai.


COLLEGE CONFERENCE WEB SITE REMINDER
Donna Ching sent a college-wide e-mail earlier this week to tell you that the web site from the May 9 college conference is complete. I urge you all, whether you attended the conference or not, to log onto the site. You will find there a complete summary of the conference and answers to questions that could not be answered at the conference for lack of time. The site gives us a record of what we discussed at the conference and a basis for further discussion.

Thanks to all who have worked hard this past month to get the web site up, and, again, thanks to everyone who helped to make the conference a success. See the web site at:
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/ctahr2001/Faculty/Conference2002.html.


CTAHR CALENDAR
Please remember to send your calendar items to Dean's Notes.

*July 12: Native Plants in Public Places, Pacific Beach Hotel, Honolulu;
Fee: $100 before 30 June, $125 afterwards (contact: Jay Deputy 808-956-2150, deputy@hawaii.edu, or Jody Smith 808-956-7774, smithjos@hawaii.edu).

*July 18-21: 7th Annual Hawaii Coffee Association Conference, Radisson Kauai Beach Resort, Poipu, Kauai (contact: H. C. Bittenbender, hcbitt@hawaii.edu, 956-6043; details, registration form http://www.hawaiicoffeeassoc.org/)

*July 30-August 1: Short course: Pesticide Risk Reduction Education, Honolulu; fee: $100; registration deadline: July 5; registration form at http://pestworld.stjohn.hawaii.edu/studypackets/ordrfrm2.html (contact: Charles Nagamine, charlie@hpirs.stjohn.hawaii.edu, phone 808-956-6007, fax 808-956-9675)

*July 30-August 1: Short course: Pesticide Risk Reduction Education, Molokai; fee: $100; registration deadline: July 5; registration form at http://pestworld.stjohn.hawaii.edu/studypackets/ordrfrm2.html (contact: Charles Nagamine, charlie@hpirs.stjohn.hawaii.edu, phone 808-956-6007, fax 808-956-9675)

*August 13-15: Short course: Pesticide Risk Reduction Education, Honolulu; fee: $100; registration deadline: July 19; registration form at http://pestworld.stjohn.hawaii.edu/studypackets/ordrfrm2.html (contact: Charles Nagamine, charlie@hpirs.stjohn.hawaii.edu, phone 808-956-6007, fax 808-956-9675)

*September 27: 4-H Keiki Water Fest, Pokai Bay-Waianae, collaborative effort among 4-H, NREM, and Waianae Coast (contact: Maryknoll Spotkaeff, maryknol@hawaii.edu, 808-


The next issue of Dean's Notes will appear July 12, 2002.

Enjoy the Big Island Forage Field Day if you attend, and Happy Independence Day in a couple of weeks!

Aloha,
Andy Hashimoto
deansnotes@ctahr.hawaii.edu

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Last updated on 12/10/02