University of Hawai‘i presidential finalists visit Kaua‘i as regents’ decision looms

The two finalists for the president of the University of Hawai‘i’s 10-campus system both visited Kauaʻi to introduce themselves and talk about their vision as part of a three-day state tour.

Julian Vasquez Heilig, currently provost and vice president of academic affairs at Western Michigan University, attended an open house and public forum on Monday at Kaua‘i Community College in Puhi.

Wendy F. Hensel, the executive vice chancellor and university provost for The City University of New York, had visited Kaua‘i Community College on Sept. 23.

A 12-person Presidential Search Advisory Group selected them out of 93 candidates and 12 semi finalists.

One of them will replace current University of Hawai‘i President David Lassner, who was appointed in 2014 and will step down by the end of the year. Lassner announced his retirement in September 2023.

The decision will be made in late October by the UH Board of Regents.

Hensel opened her remarks on Kauaʻi by recapitulating her career and background in academic leadership at The City University of New York and Georgia State University.

Vasquez Heilig instead delivered a slide presentation dedicated to shared values, such as ʻāina (land) and kuleana (responsibility) among others.

“I think the strategies that work on the continent … will not work here,” Vasquez Heilig told in-person and virtual attendees of his Kaua‘i public forum. “Hawai‘i is unique and our approach must reflect this.”

University of Hawai‘i representatives have urged students, faculty, staff and the general public to submit feedback on both Vasquez Heilig and Hensel, stating such input will be “imperative” during the university board of regents’ final candidate selection process.

“In these open forums, I look forward to listening to you, to learning from you and sharing with you some of my initial thoughts about how the system can continue to expand the excellence it already has,” Hensel said.

The two university presidential candidates, following their opening remarks, answered questions submitted by their respective forums’ attendees. Broached subjects included increased cohesion between university campuses, shared governance and relationship to the Hawaiian Islands’ Indigenous community.

Both candidates touted themselves as “faculty members” when discussing governance in higher education, and stressed a commitment to building relationships with Indigenous community groups.

To increase and retain enrollment, Vasquez Heilig emphasized investing in university campuses as “community hubs” where students receive educational experiences unavailable elsewhere. He listed as examples technological innovations already used in classrooms, including virtual reality programs at aviation colleges.

“These are the kinds of changes in innovation that students want to hear about,” Vasquez Heilig said.

He later said that it is important to think about “what attracts a student to Kaua‘i Community College instead of the University of Phoenix.”

Hensel also tackled the challenge posed by popular online universities like the University of Phoenix, arguing the University of Hawai‘i must also invest in virtual learning to best serve students.

“Online education will be a major piece of the product, of the education, of the experience that the university provides,” she said. “The place where our [student] populations are growing are adult learners.

“The only way that those people will be able to access higher education is through flexible formats that allow them to tailor the program to what they need at that particular moment.”

Vasquez Heilig’s three-day tour of University of Hawai‘i campuses throughout the state continues Tuesday with stops on Hawai‘i Island and O‘ahu, and will conclude Wednesday on O‘ahu. On Monday, he had started the day at 4:30 a.m. to visit the University of Hawai‘i Maui College, located about 200 miles away from Kaua‘i.

More information about Vasquez Heilig and Hensel, including CVs and recordings of both candidates’ public forums, may be found online at Hawaii.edu/leadership/president-search/.

Confidential feedback can be provided through an online survey form open until 6 p.m. on Oct. 4.

Individuals may also provide feedback by submitting comments to bor.testimony@hawaii.edu. The testimony will be posted publicly prior to the Oct. 16 special board of regents meeting and can be submitted up to the start of the meeting.