Vassilis Syrmos was recommended by University of Hawaiʻi President Wendy Hensel to serve as the next chancellor of the university’s flagship campus University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Syrmos’ recommended appointment will be considered Thursday, June 4, by University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents. He will begin serving as chancellor July 1 if approved.
He brings more than 30 years of higher education leadership experience, having been a faculty member for 35 years at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Engineering.
Syrmos served since July 2025 as interim provost for the Mānoa campus. He spent 12 years as University of Hawaiʻi vice president for research and innovation and 8 years as associate vice chancellor for research at the Mānoa campus prior to being appointed to the interim provost post.
“Vassilis has done an exceptional job as interim provost, building on decades of leadership across the [University of Hawaiʻi] System and at [University of Hawaiʻi at] Mānoa,” said Hensel in a university release about her recommendation of Syrmos. “He brings a deep understanding of [University of Hawaiʻi at] Mānoa’s budget, operations and role within the broader [University of Hawaiʻi] system, as well as strong relationships at the state and congressional levels.”
She is confident he will be an effective partner as the university strengthens its leadership at its flagship campus.
Syrmos in his role as interim provost helped secure legislative support to sustain the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center’s research and strengthen its National Cancer Institute designation through the doubling of Hawaiʻi’s cigarette tax.
He also advanced efforts to improve University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s financial transparency, modernize budgeting, strengthen student success initiatives and better align campus operations with institutional priorities.
Syrmos led long-range strategic planning efforts as vice president for research and innovation, contributing to record growth in extramural funding, including a high of $734 million in fiscal year 2025, the fourth consecutive year the university exceeded $500 million in research funding.
He strengthened partnerships with Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation, federal agencies and state leaders to advance strategic university priorities and expand research opportunities.
Syrmos also established the Office of Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation, making University of Hawaiʻi the only Research 1 university in the nation to embed indigenous knowledge and innovation within its research enterprise.
He is honored to be recommended as the next University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa chancellor.
“Having served the university for more than three decades, I consider Hawaiʻi and this campus my home,” Syrmos said in the release. “I look forward to working with President Hensel in strengthening student success, advancing research and innovation and working closely with our faculty, students, staff and community partners as we continue to move [University of Hawaiʻi at] Mānoa forward as Hawaiʻi’s flagship university.”
Syrmos was selected from a finalist pool that also included the provost and vice president for academic affairs at San Francisco State University and president of National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. The search for the next Manoa Mānoa chancellor attracted 32 applicants and nine nominations or inquiries.
Regents voted in December 2025 to re-establish the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa chancellor position, following a recommendation from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems to separate the roles of University of Hawaiʻi president and Mānoa campus chancellor.
The chancellor serves as chief executive officer of University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, reporting to the University of Hawaiʻi president and serving on the president’s senior leadership team.
The post also oversees a budget exceeding $800 million and more than 5,000 employees, providing leadership for academic affairs, research, student success, enrollment and administrative operations in partnership with the provost and executive team.
