Resident search public forum. Here at Community college.
As the search continues for the 15th president of the 10 campus system.
The new President will succeed current. President, who will retire by the end of the year, after serving since 2,014.
We are so delighted and humbled to be with you here on.
Mahalo ekka eliopui.
Cola e kawala.
Meg! Kamakani! Hey! Allow only.
Special Mahalo to the Eli of Pui.
Where the Allains move through.
Coupled with the Alla, only wins.
I'm Melanie K. Eleanor, spokeswoman for mona.
And we, of course, not only have our audience joining us here at the Fine Arts auditor.
We also have our virtual audience also logged on via Zoom. So, Mahalo, to our virtual audience.
We do want to mention that the Forum is being recorded and will also be available for viewing online on the president, search.
Today we'll meet the 1st of 2 finalists for President. Our finalist has a pretty stacked schedule. The next few days she started her morning off that moi College, with Public Forum Number one.
She has 2 more forums ahead tomorrow, starting off at U Hilo, and then ending off at manor, and the purpose of these public forums over the next couple of weeks is to really get to know both of these finalists through question and answer formats. Aside from the Forum, the board of Regents is all also asking for plenty of feedback.
Which they say will be critical, as they undergoations to make a final selection.
Now, there are 2 ways to do that. You can head over to the president, search the online survey form. The survey will be open until 6 o'clock this Friday, that September 27.th
And will be kept confidential or anonymous. Another option. If you wish to provide feedback that will be posted online and made public comments via email to vor testimony at Hawaii, Edu. And your comments will be posted the week prior to the next Special Board meeting currently scheduled for October 16.th
But we are here today.
And we will shortly get to the question and answer portion. Our in-person audience. You've received index cards as you came into the Fine Arts auditorium. We ask if you haven't already start filling out those questions, and you can continue to do so throughout the Forum if you haven't already on zoom, if you're joining us, virtually feel free to start sending in those questions.
Via chat.
And now to our candidate.
She is currently the executive Vice Chancellor and Provost for the City University of New York.
Which is a 25 campus system.
She has also held leadership positions at Georgia State University as Dean of the College of Law.
And later Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs.
She is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and received her degree from Michigan State University.
We ask that you please, Mark, call. Put your hands together for Wendy F.
Pencil.
Aloha.
Thank you so much for the warm welcome today, and introduction.
It is truly a pleasure to be here with all of you, to speak about the presidency of the University of Hawaii system.
Before jumping into our conversation today. I'd like to take just a moment.
To talk a little bit about my background, since leadership is about character and the importance of my skills as it relates to your needs.
The importance of the University of Hawaii to the State, the role of anchor institution that the campuses play across the islands and its status as perhaps the foremost indigenous serving university in the world, with unique responsibilities to native Hawaiians.
Makes clear the awesome privilege and responsibility.
The Culiana of the next President.
So let me tell you a little bit about me.
Anyone who knows me well knows that in addition to my family, there are few things about which I'm truly passionate.
At the top of that list our students and the mission of higher education.
A close second is the state of Hawaii.
Which is my second home, and the people, the culture and the Ina.
More on that in just a minute.
I grew up primarily in the State of Michigan, and received my law degree, as you heard from Harvard.
And I practice law for a few years until I decided to try my hand at teaching.
At Georgia State University College of Law. For what I expected at the time would be a short moment in my life.
And instead, the experience literally changed my life.
I discovered a love for students and the mission of the higher education.
The opportunity to touch and improve the lives of not only the individuals sitting in front of you in the classroom.
But literally potentially generations of their family. Thereafter.
It is an amazing privilege that continues to motivate and inspire and excite me.
Even on the most difficult days in these jobs, which, as you know, are often very challenging.
And so my path in higher education began. And now, 25 years later, I'm here today with you.
I secured a tenure track position at Georgia State, and ultimately became a full professor, teaching disability, discrimination, law, and policy and working to address the injustices that I saw in the world around me.
I later became interested in administrative work as a way to touch students and make and drive change at scale.
I acted as Dean of the College of Law, and later Provost of Georgia State University.
For those of you who don't know it. It's an r. 1 which serves approximately 53,000 students, very diverse students across 6 campuses and includes a community college.
Georgia State has been ranked by us news for many years now as one of the top 3 most innovative universities in the country, and best in undergraduate instruction among public universities.
Mostly for its work and student success.
Gsu is known internationally for its work, using artificial intelligence and analytics to literally eliminate gaps between students that are based on race gender and socioeconomic status.
Really incredible work.
In those roles at Georgia State, I learned to both respect and celebrate traditions of excellence and differences in culture.
But also to collaborate with faculty and staff to consistently ask the question.
Are we currently meeting the needs of our students who are sitting in front of us.
And are we meeting the demands that the students of the future will need to be successful?
A few years ago I left Georgia State to work at the 4th largest university system in the country. The city of New York.
Which educates 225,000 degree students, and another 225,000 roughly, in non-degree programs and technical programs.
As the Executive Vice Chancellor. I'm the chief academic officer across the system, and responsible for most access most aspects of student and faculty life.
Across 25 very unique campuses, including community and senior colleges.
As well as a law in a medical school.
Like the University of Hawaii and Georgia. State. Cuny is one of the most diverse institutions in the country, if not the world.
There is no majority. Demographic.
And many students are 1st generation and or low socioeconomic status.
There is an incredible international representation in our schools.
Some of our colleges even have more than 100 native languages spoken by the students, which gives you a sense of the scale.
I love my work at Cuny. I'm very proud of the impactful changes that my team and I have been able to accomplish. Working with faculty and staff on behalf of our students, and I'm sure we'll talk about many of those things today.
But before we do, let me comment on the second passion that I mentioned earlier.
The State of Hawaii. It's culture and its people.
For most of my adult life. I've spent much of my time in Hawaii, and I'm now fortunate to have a home on the big island, where I spend as much time as I possibly can.
Well, I've never been fortunate enough to reside here permanently.
My husband and I both feel that this is the place that feels most like home to us.
In part because the culture and people the same things that we do.
Ohana, the spirit of Aloha and Kako.
So while I'm not from Hawaii, I'm deeply connected to it, and committed absolutely to advancing the wellbeing and care of its people through higher education.
Long before I ever thought of applying for this position, I made a point to visit most of the campuses on the system personally to get a sense of higher education in the State.
And wonder in some respect how I might serve it in the future.
This position offers the opportunity to do the work that I love for the population that I love.
In a state that I love.
That's quite an extraordinary thing, and I'm truly grateful for the consideration. And your attendance today.
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.
And go farther with its mission in the years ahead, to serve the people of this great State.
So we can get started. Mahalo and I look forward to your questions.
Mahalo Wendy, and we will advance to the Q. And a portion of the Forum. You know we have less than an hour with our candidate. So to help maximize our time together, we're gonna read the questions that were submitted from our in-person audience and on zoom again on Zoom feel free to continue to submit your questions to the chat.
So the 1st question for you, Wendy, is, why do you want this job?
So I think I just answered that. But I'll say again.
The student population. Here is the student population that I.
Love serving. It's those who deserve every bit of excellence that we can give them, and often don't get a chance to do that as well as the r. 1. Research excellence. The combination of that profile is exactly what excites me about higher education.
And the ability to do it in the unique location of Hawaii, with its special.
Commitment, and
Respect for native Hawaiians, and infusing the curriculum and culture with those principles, and honoring that, and elevating it, and and eliminating.
Equity gaps for students like that is just an incredible privilege and extremely exciting to me. I also think the the skills that I bring to the table are well matched with some of the challenges that are on the horizon for the University that have been facing it in the last few years, and I'm sure we'll talk about some of that today.
Off of that tell us what is your vision for the University of Hawaii?
I think the University of Hawaii is a place that defines by who it includes as opposed to who it excludes.
And that is where we should be as a system of higher education, particularly in a state that has one system of public higher education.
And anything that we can do.
To fulfill the commitment to students.
That when they enter our doors, whatever their goals, whether it be a certificate, or all the way to a doctorate.
That we commit to get them through to conclusion of that degree program.
You know there are far too many.
People that I've experienced in my different positions, that blame success on the students that we serve.
That they? They're low socioeconomic background. Maybe they don't have parents that care enough about them. Maybe they don't understand the opportunities of higher education.
But the reality is when we look at ourselves and the barriers that we've unintentionally erected to those students.
We can accomplish absolutely tremendous.
For the student population. And so that's really the vision that I have a university that meets the needs of its citizens at every level of need in a way that meets their needs to help them reach whatever goal they have, that higher education can facilitate.
This question as well from our in person. Audience, Wendy and you mentioned this before, but maybe you can expand a little bit more on it. But.
This question Rees, do you have any ties or connections to Hawaii or the Hawaiian culture?
As I said, they are all affiliations by choice.
Recognizing that many of the things that I've always.
Valued and appreciated, and my own system of beliefs is replicated with so many of you. Here.
Of course I came initially because I fell in love with the beauty of the islands, as so many people do. It is absolutely stunning, and I'm sure that you are so used to seeing it every day that maybe you forget that those of us who leave and come are so incredibly blessed.
To see not only the Aina, but also the culture that surrounds it.
And the commitment to living in harmony with it and each other in a way that moves the whole forward as opposed to the individual constituencies. So it just spoke to me. It always did, and and those trips became more frequent.
And ultimately several years ago we bought a home and and planned to be here at some point whether that's when we retire, if that's the only opportunity that's open to us, but hopefully, something sooner in a position where I can serve the State so.
Going to read this question verbatim for you. What's your strategy for adapting to local culture?
And what makes you stand out.
So I think everywhere you go there are unique characteristics and qualities of a community that you have to learn, and you learn it by listening by approaching it from the perspective of humility.
And and ask somebody who comes to be part of that community as opposed to sit, or in judgment of it.
And the only way that I know to create that understanding and those connections is to do a lot of hard work.
Making relationships, showing up and being present in those locations.
On zoom when that's the only way that we can do it, but really showing up in person.
You know, at Georgia State, when I took over the Provost, and I'd already been there 20 years.
I wore out 2 pairs of shoes, walking to the offices to meet every single dean and department chair across the university. Very large campus.
Because there's a message.
Of going to where people sit and not expecting them to come to you. I think that's an important message of collegiality. It's an important message that we are a team. And in this, together.
Same when I came to.
Cuny. As you can imagine, it is an extremely large organization.
And I came from the outside and was hired in as the Executive Vice Chancellor, which is not typical, as you can imagine. Given the learning curve.
There, much as I would expect the learning curve to be here for many of the same, and some of the different
Different reasons, and I was the 1st executive Vice Chancellor. Maybe the 1st person ever.
To do a 25 campus listening tour.
And I actually was told not to do it. If you can believe that, people said, you know that's too much time.
That's too much time, and it will take away from your work.
And I said, This doesn't take time away from my work.
This is my work. This is my job. And if we don't create these connections, and we don't understand how each.
Has a unique character, and they're all quite unique. You know, much as the islands and the different.
Campuses on the islands have cultures and focuses of.
That are, that are different. And so that was a 9 month process.
And I made a point in those places not only to meet in private meetings with administrators, but also open faculty and staff.
Forums, where any question.
Was could be asked that had never been done before, in part because I think we're worried about what the answers are. It's a very controversial time.
Yeah, I I don't think I can hide from you in the next 4 and a half hours of of open forums, and I would never want to try, because those authentic conversations about hard issues.
Where we may agree, we may not, but we will have the conversation, and we will identify the best way forward for the community, even if we can't ultimately agree on exactly what that is. So.
That approach has served. Be well.
Was extraordinarily well received. I think people appreciate.
That's showing up in in your, in your home, in your space, like we are today, and I would expect to continue that.
How do you see community colleges fitting into the university system?
They are absolutely essential. You know, as I said before, a university that defines itself by who it includes.
Has an access mission and community colleges are that access mission.
If you don't exist, many of these students will never.
Find higher education and reach the career goals that they've set for themselves. So I absolutely think.
It is not only an important part of a university system, it is fundamental.
Part of the system, and has to be part of a strategy.
To lead our students to those goals at 4 year institutions.
I was speaking earlier today.
There are approximately, nationally, that are the data tells us nationally that 80% of.
Who enter for an associate's degree, and tend to seek a bachelor's degree at the time that they matriculate.
In the State of Hawaii at the University of Hawaii, only 13%.
Of those students ever actually do, and of the 13 only about half a little more than half.
Actually accomplish that goal. And those statistics are actually not bad. They're good in comparison with national statistics.
But none of us should be satisfied with those statistics.
And that requires coordinated discussion about how do we take students through our degree paths, no matter where they sit?
In the institution to ensure that they are not limited by geography. They're not limited by what's available at their home campus. So lots of work to do there, but I absolutely
Could not have more respect for community colleges.
Much of the work that I've done at Cuny has been around, been one of the major projects that I worked on and bringing senior college faculty and disciplines, together with community college faculty in the disciplines.
To identify what, in fact, is what our students should be taking in the 1st 2 years, so that they don't duplicate it.
They don't waste their financial aid, and they don't stop out because they're unfortunately happens far too often. Nationally.
These next couple of questions are related, and seem like a natural branch off to what you just responded with Wendy. This 1st one says, do you have any plans of restructuring the way the campuses work together as a system? Specifically the way the community colleges allow students to cross into the four-year colleges.
You know, it's interesting, one of the places really interesting innovation that's being done here about course, sharing.
Some pilots that have been going on. There is a similar program at the city of New York, called E. Permit.
On the theory that the fact that there are not seats in a single campus. If students need that seat and they want that seat, they should be able to matriculate into that seat.
Georgia State did the same. They actually
Had a system of courses that could go into a bank that would allow that type of transfer. So I think that's.
That's great work. Because the truth is, we never have enough resources.
Right to serve every interest that's on our campuses, and it wouldn't make sense to duplicate all of those services and educational opportunities at every single campus depending on the character.
But we can create consortial arrangements.
That actually elevate those programs. And for low enroll programs.
Make them viable. You know, sometimes some of these programs are really low enrolled this morning. What do you do with that? If that's an essential need for the community.
We come up with strategies where we can work together and create solutions that no one campus can provide.
Working together proactively and intentionally.
You know, what I found is so much of higher education is reactive.
Particularly in this time of crises after crises where we seem like we just leap from one thing to another.
It is absolutely imperative that we take the time to come together, identify the pain points on the individual campuses, and identify collective solutions where they exist.
For our students, and that can be done.
Oftentimes the 4 year Universities, like Mono, have a bigger influence on system directives, programs, and policies.
As President for both Monora and the community colleges. How do you plan on bringing balance and equity to these issues?
I think, in any system there is a belief of favoritism, whether it be an individual campus, or it be more commonly what I've seen between the community and comprehensive colleges and the senior colleges.
And it starts from a place of respect for the role that each of us plays in our student progression.
And the thing that brings us together is a love of students and a love of mission, and when we can get back to that.
With data. It's amazing what we can accomplish.
So I'll give you a quick example. We all know that there's.
Sometimes there's some elitism that comes from the from the senior colleges toward the community colleges, as it relates to courses that are taken in Community college, and for that reason sometimes they're denied transfer.
I can tell you numerous cases that have come to my attention.
Of courses that use the same book.
That cover the same material, and when that student transfers the answer is sorry it doesn't count.
I can also tell you stories about students who have signed up for many, many electives.
Because the courses are not aligned to transfer.
They are. They're craft crafted, if you will, as an independent standing degree of an associates.
Without the recognition that, in fact, it should be designed to articulate, unless it's an aas degree or a technical degree which has different.
Requirements. And so one of the things that I worked on was bringing those disciplinary heads together from the community colleges and the senior colleges.
And said, you need to have conversations because I'm gonna show you the data.
About what they cover, the excellence of instruction at the community colleges, and how our students perform when they transfer.
You know, cause that's always the answer I hear. Well, they don't do very well, and they transfer, if we don't, we don't. We don't teach them.
It. It doesn't work well. And the amazing thing with that is because we share a lot of students.
And when they talk to their colleagues, who are excellent and experts in their fields, and do research and all kinds of exciting work.
In the community colleges, the respect level grows and the collaboration grows, and so.
You know, it's all a balancing act again, because there are never enough resources to go around. But when it starts from a recognition that we all play a critical role in the system, and if it doesn't work.
It doesn't work for anybody. That's when you start to operate and really move the needle for students.
These next couple of questions similar in nature. So I'll read them back to back and then turn it over to you for a response.
And the 1st one reads, what do you believe is your role in ensuring equity and shared governance for staff and faculty across our 10 campus system.
The second question from the Faculty Senate Executive Committee states, what do you see as the role of shared governance.
Is it a real thing?
Great questions.
You know I will start by saying that as the provost.
At Georgia, State as the Executive Vice Chancellor at Cuny.
I still see myself as a member of the faculty, and as an advocate for faculty.
I recognize they do not see me in that same role, but I've never stopped being a faculty member or understanding the expertise and the significance of the perspective of the people who sit in our classrooms day in and day out, and those that provide the services and the wraparound which our students will not succeed. No strategy that acknowledge.
Faculty or staff input is going to be successful, certainly not optimally successful, for our students.
So I not only believe in faculty, governance, and shared governance and staff governance, I believe it's essential.
And I think if you spoke to any
Faculty group that I've worked with. They would confirm that I believe in transparency.
I believed in shared data. It is not useful for us not to share difficult things.
With you the people who work with our students, and who have great ideas often of how to solve some of the challenges that we face.
That those of us sitting in a different seat will not necessarily have.
You know I mentioned transfer a minute ago, and I'll use that as an example of what I consider to be a monumental.
Testament to what can be done when faculty and administrators work closely together.
You know, Cuny is a highly unionized and and environment.
And I know this will shock everyone. But New York City sometimes has sharp elbows, as it relates to personal relationships.
And so when the faculty.
We're asked, or there was a mandate from the board.
15 years ago or so.
To create a transfer.
Seamless transfer for general education.
It resulted in numerous lawsuits.
It resulted in numerous grievances that were filed.
It was widely considered an absolute disaster. Now, ultimately there was some articulation of general education.
But it burned every single person that it touched.
And when I came in, and the board once again had said, We are really unhappy.
With transfer. You know, a lot of universities.
Say we have transfer. But what they mean is that elective credit, unarticulated credit transfers right? What that means is, students don't progress toward their major. They just have a lot of credits that don't actually help them, and they lose financial aid when it's not consistent. So our most vulnerable students are impacted.
So I said, I'm I'm willing to take that on.
I was told by probably at least 5 people.
You're out of your mind. This is a this is going to burn you. You just showed up. You are an outsider. This is. Gonna take every scrap of political capital that you have, and you're gonna waste it. And you're not gonna be able to do anything. And you're gonna end up with nothing at the end.
And being the ever optimist, I said, I'll chance that because.
Our students deserve that that is what we should do, and the fact that it's hard is no excuse not to do it.
So what did I do? I went immediately to the head of the University Senate.
And I said, Do this with me.
Make this your signature initiative. Make this the faculty and the administration on behalf of our students, not the faculty against the administration.
And sit in the driver's seat with me as the Co. Pilot. And let's let's get this done.
And I can tell you I mean, there have been many bumps along the way for sure. I don't want to sing Kumbaya, because, of course we have had disagreements.
And we will by the end of this year have achieved.
Seamless articulation in the Major, for our students.
For 85% of our students.
And we are committed that we will not stop until we reach a hundred percent. So.
Hard, things can be done.
Through shared governance.
And avoiding shared governance, is a fast ticket to.
Failure, in my opinion, so I'm very committed to it, and we'll look forward to working closely with the Faculty Senate, both at the system level and on the individual campuses.
You know, when do we wanna audience online for joining us and ask them to continue to input their questions for Wendy into the chat. This one is coming in from zoom.
It asks, what would you say? Are the major issue facing higher education today? And what are your plans to address those issues?
Well, there's a lot of them, you know. I'm not sure there ever has been a more challenging time.
For higher education. We were talking this morning. My my colleagues say the only thing they've seen similar to it is maybe the Vietnam era.
In terms of the again that feeling that we run from crisis to crisis and and.
Seem to be doing a whole lot of things that maybe none of us ever intended to do in these positions.
So I'll say the number one driver of change that I see that may have the largest effect on higher education is getting entirely too little.
Attention, and that is the impact of artificial intelligence.
There is absolutely no doubt that AI particularly, and the speed with which it is infiltrating.
All of the jobs that our students are preparing for our classrooms.
Literally everything and every aspect of of the world that we live in.
Is is mind numbing. I mean, it really is startling. I I think the best analogy that I've heard is that it's like.
The invention of electricity, that everything will be touched by it, and irreversibly be different. And we all know that Higher Ed is not a place that moves quickly.
Change, and this change will eclipse any kind of change. I think that we've ever.
Experienced before, and so it requires training. It frankly requires a lot of compassion, because it makes a lot of people very uncomfortable, especially.
When you've been an expert in your field for a very long time and an expert in the classroom. And now you're grappling with things as a novice, both in terms of the technology that we're employing, but also teaching things that we have to be taught.
From people external to the Academy.
You know, particularly in technology, the locus of expertise is no longer here.
It's external. And that requires new kinds of partnerships that requires new type of behavior and activity.
And I I don't see a lot of that but it's certainly an area that requires a great deal of attention. So I'll say that's the 1st thing, the second. I think we need to adapt to the way that our students learn that is never going to be the same.
As it was before. Covid.
Online education will be a major piece of the product of of the education of the excellence.
That the University provides.
And I I will say, I said this morning, I want to be really clear. When we when I talk about online education, I don't mean what happened during Covid.
Right, because Covid were students who did not choose to be in that format.
Taught by people, many of them who were not trained.
To teach in that format that was emergency. It was heroic.
You know, we were talking today about how you know Georgia state.
We had to prepare 11,000 courses to go online in a week.
You know it's it's bravo to every single educator across the country with the efforts that were done.
But now we need to move to the next phase of this development.
Based on what I saw in your data.
Only 5% of your degree programs are totally online.
Only 5% more than 50% of your students in most of the colleges.
I'm most on. The campuses are totally online students.
Think about that disconnect.
What that means is we are not providing a service for many people whose only means of accessing education is through an online format.
You know I've had this conversation many times with my own faculty, Senate, because I know many of you believe strongly.
That students learn best in person, best in the classroom.
And what I've said, and what I will continue to say is that it's not an either or.
It's a both, and.
You know the place where our populations are growing, our adult learners. They're adult learners who have full time jobs or part-time jobs. They have family responsibilities and the only way. And I mean, sometimes it's just pure commuting right the ability to actually get to a place.
With the amount of time that you have.
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, and so providing.
Stackable credits, providing certificates that build to 2 degrees and doing them in formats that allow for online teaching. Asynchronously.
With tremendous resource, support, and training. This is not.
Good luck. I hope it works for you, faculty member who's never done this before.
You, I mean, then you have very low quality programs, and that's what nobody wants. Right?
But with a very thoughtful infusion of both.
High quality, tech support and also training for faculty. We will reach people.
Who never have been in a place to access.
The greatness that we have to offer, and frankly given the enrollment challenges that are inherent in higher education.
It's going to have to happen.
So the question is, do we lead that.
Proactively? Or do we continue to drag our feet and react.
To market forces, and I'll say 1 1 last thing about that. I by no means. I'm suggesting.
That or really any school that enters this arena at this point becomes a powerhouse and online education.
You know, we know that that is dominated by some players in the market who spend multiple multiple millions on advertising. That's not what. That's not what we're talking about.
We're talking about the particularly unique Hawaiian culture that's infused into our curriculum that is desirable by our employers.
And by the people who live here, we can offer that product in a way that nobody else does, and I hesitate to use the word product. I don't mean to suggest. I know that that's the the fighting words sometimes with faculty, and I don't mean it that way. But ultimately it is our service that we're offering, and we can do it in a way that's unique and will serve the needs of the students and the people of the State. So I think that's that's a huge issue.
Hello, you touched upon AI a little earlier in this last response. So we're gonna go back to that with this question, what were some of the equity issues you were able to address with AI. And then how would you apply these to the system?
There are tremendous opportunities to use artificial intelligence and analytics to advance student success and eliminate gaps. And I'll give you just a few examples.
In less than 6 years Georgia State really pioneered. This was before generative AI before analytics were really being used in this space.
And within the span of 6 years they increased degree by 67%.
6 years. So we're not talking about long time periods to grow these things. They literally can have an impact that quickly. So how do we do that?
We worked to create and use our historical data.
To to identify the points at which students begin to leave the path of success.
In our classrooms.
Ultimately over time. We developed 800 points that we looked at every single day for every single student.
That would identify that moment.
That our data told us.
This is a red flag. This is the moment to intervene.
And it required a significant increase in advisors.
To be able to act on those early alerts.
And to intervene at that moment, and what we found. I was speaking with several folks about this earlier today.
You have to take an investment mentality with these things. People can't afford it. We can't afford to hire more.
Advisors in this particular environment.
The amount of tuition revenue generated through retention.
Of students who stay with us to degree. Completion is a victory not only for them.
It's a victory for us, and it more than pays for the increase in quality and service that are required to be invested in in order to execute.
This, so I'll give you one quick example. It's 1 of my favorites.
A serious issue in urban environments is summer melt.
The time between the time a student says, I'm going to show up in the seat in the fall and the time when the student actually does. We were finding that we were losing 20%.
Of our students and overwhelmingly the reason these are equity issues. It was overwhelmingly our most vulnerable students, our black and brown students, our low socioeconomic students. We could tell by Zip Code, who was most likely not to show up in our classes.
And we developed. We took a multimodal approach, but we developed 1st a chat bot that we called, and this was before chat bots really existed. This was sort of the original.
And at 1st it answered about.
10,000 questions, we were able to program it with 10,000 questions.
And the great thing that's so hard for some of us who are older to understand is, there are so many of our students who would vastly prefer.
To talk to a chat bot! And they would like to talk to us.
And it turns out that the time that they want to talk to the Chatbot is between 12 and 2 in the morning.
When we don't want to talk to them, even if they were in front of us right.
And so what it allowed us to do is answer the questions that were most routine.
Most likely to come up.
Instantly, at the moment of asking.
And where a question could not be answered.
It would immediately flag an advisor to follow up the next day with a phone call to have the conversation.
And you know what's amazing. Students didn't want to talk to us about that. They were embarrassed.
Talk to a live human being about. For example, with some of our students who didn't live with their parents they lived with, I do a fastfa if I can't get a hold of my dad.
So it it really served multiple purposes in in that regard.
And also we looked at how students consumed data using our analytics by how they were answering what we were sending them.
Turns out we were so excited that they were coming. We overwhelmed them.
With email they. And that's assuming they even looked right. We know students often don't even look at their email. But they stopped looking at it because it wasn't tailored to the moment that they needed that information and tailored to them specifically.
And with the and the advances in the analytics, for example, if you've already completed your Fafsa, you're not going to get 5 more emails from us. We know you did. You don't get those emails. If you're coming up on a deadline for a deposit and you haven't paid. We're gonna make sure we get that in front of you with a special kind of communication that will particularly get your attention.
So in literally in a single year.
We reduce summer by 22%.
So it essentially is taking tools that are out there, tools that can be combined.
Tools that allow human beings to target their time and energy to the.
Place of need at the moment of need. It's not reducing human interaction, it's targeting it.
To who needs it the most at that moment.
And you know, I suspect that your students at many of them are like the students that I've worked with my whole life.
I worry less about the student who comes forward and asked for help.
They're they're gonna get it. We care about them. We will make sure that they hear from us.
The student I worry about is the student who never comes forward.
We have to figure out who those students are, and bring our services to them, so that they have equivalent outcomes.
And there are. That's just a small piece of the work that's being done in that space.
And I think tremendous opportunity here at U to look at some of those techniques.
Many questions coming in for you, Wendy, and we're gonna try to get to as much as we can. I'm gonna read these 2.
Quite similar. Some of the problems staff faces are inefficient procedures or programs, staff burnout revolving door employment and a lack of support themselves. How would you address these issues? The second similar question, do you have an idea of how you would help with having healthy and happy faculty and staff throughout the U system?
Well, there really is a problem with burnout across higher education right now. And it's I think there's so many interesting similarities. I was saying this earlier today, too, between.
New York City and Hawaii, and you wouldn't think that right. You think it's apples and oranges. But the truth is, we live in really expensive places.
Our public education is underfunded. And so that tends to mean that those of us who do this work do it because we love the work, and we love the mission. But we're not.
In most cases the most highly paid for that work, and in a place like New York you are essentially training people in positions to then go on to better paying positions who can pay them much, more especially staff. So you get that revolving door.
The answer to. I mean, there's no simple answer. But there is a foundational requirement that I find is often lacking, and that is respect and professional development, opportunities.
There have to be pathways. There have to be pathways where someone can continue to advance in their career, and where their
Their history, and their experience continues to be rewarded with an elevation in promotion and rank.
Good example. I was mentioning those advisors a minute ago.
We were losing them hand over fist, because again, we simply couldn't pay them as much as.
Emory University or the other. You know, private universities in the area could pay.
And so we created an entire career ladder for them that also allowed professional and leadership development training that opened up new doors in other student success areas and student affairs so that it wasn't a 1-shot. It was a pathway, if you cared, and you did well, we wanted to keep you and continue to advance you, which also, of course, benefits us. So that kind of I I think
Pathway makes a huge difference, and people feel, and of course recognition.
Right during Covid. We did.
Was really it was really a fascinating moment. And Covid we did. Covid.
We actually created a a website where that we would flash different folks on there every few months and change them up. I could not believe how excited people got to get their picture on the website. But when you think about the fact that we so often are not recognized.
For the extra mile that we go, and the dedication that we invest.
I think recognition goes a very long way. So, looking at different types of awards that can be done, we've added several at Cuny since I've been there, and I'm sure your campuses have some. But the system can also do.
That type of recognition in terms of happy faculty and staff. It's it's a challenging environment these days. But I will say, there, I think.
The collaboration and transparency are simply essential.
If if we are viewed as on opposite sides, if we are not viewed as teams.
Working for the mutual benefit of our students.
Then it will always feel as if one person is talking down to another. Is that respecting the other person's perspective? And this goes both ways.
You know I I had a conversation with with my faculty the other day we were having some pretty heated arguments about something. Where.
You know, very important topics where we didn't disagree, I said, You know I I respect that you, as faculty, own the curriculum. You are the experts.
I I see that value and what you bring to the table. Do you see any value in what I bring.
To the table, and the seat that I sit in.
Because I see things that you can't see.
Based on the fact that I'm looking across 25 systems and hearing from.
Of students and faculty versus the smaller world in which you're operating. Couldn't we combine that information.
And come to a better resolution on this issue.
And it was. I think it was a really important moment. You know that that respect is important, and if you have it on one side, and you have it on the other.
People like their jobs a whole lot more.
It is a challenging time. But but we have to work together as a team. If we're gonna move forward.
We have about 10 min left for our Q&A portion. This question coming to us from our online audience, has had somewhat of a problematic relationship with the State legislature. For many years, despite our formal legal independence.
How might you try to tackle that.
This seems to be a common question.
That I received a couple of times.
You know I have. I I work with.
Many different types of legislative bodies, Cuny as unique in that it is funded by the city of New York and by the State of New York, divided between the community colleges.
And the senior colleges, and that means that we have 2 political bodies, that we are accountable to the city Council, which is a very, very politically active.
And of course, the State Legislature.
And add on to that. Of course, the City Department of Education and the State Department of Education. So multiple layers.
Of regulators of folks who are deeply vested in what we do, and appropriately so I wanna start by saying that it is absolutely right and proper that the legislature is engaged in what the work of the university is.
Because they are the elected representatives of the people, and they provide the funding for the university. We cannot exist without each other. It is a mutually beneficial relationship that hopefully, in the best of circumstances.
Is cooperative, and it goes back to what I just said. We are going to see things differently based on where we sit, what information we have.
And what voices we're hearing from, and the key, I think.
To to affecting a a beneficial relationship.
Is proactive, engagement.
That you don't come to the table only when there are crises and issues, or you're asking for something that you create those relationships with regular communication.
Frankly. What I found is, if I'm I'm incredibly regular with my communication, they get bored with me. There's nothing I have nothing to hide. I'm going to tell you everything, and maybe you even stop listening to what I'm telling you. It's been. It's been sort of amusing in that way.
But but that's what the way it should be. We should be transparent. It is an open every state I've been has been a sunshine law. So there's there's, you know.
You can ask for any of that public information, and you can get it.
The the challenge, of course, comes when there isn't respect for the for the role and the expertise.
Of either party.
And I think, being clear about where that line is between moving from a cooperative to micromanagement or interference in ways that really hamper the business of the University.
Which is not a business right? I mean, it is a public good that serves the people in simply a different format than the legislature.
You know, and then we have to be communicating about those things. It's not easy.
I I know every
Having been worked with a deep red legislature and a deep blue, I can tell you they all have similar issues.
And challenges, and also.
Interest in higher education, that if it can be tapped in the right way, can be enormously beneficial for the university. So I think we need to work to reset a relationship that looks like it's been pretty contentious of late. To the extent that we can.
And, as I said, really proactively reach out to build those relationships in advance of conversations that necessarily will be difficult.
This next question is from a faculty Senate constituent, and it reads, how would you handle communicating faculty to the Board of Regents in situations where it's in disagreement with your own opinion.
Well, I will say I actually appreciate that type of dialogue.
For every leadership group that I've ever had in any context, with faculty, governance.
What I've I've been really clear about is, it's necessary to tell each other hard things.
And by that I mean, when we don't agree. That's less of an issue with faculty senates and staff. Usually they're pretty upfront.
Different with leadership teams that often will just say yes and reaffirm whatever you're saying when the fact is, they are there, as I tell them to tell me that I'm wrong.
I want to not be the smartest person in the room. I like being surrounded by people smarter than me, because it makes better.
Decisions at the end of the day. Right? They will see things I don't see. They will understand how it may hurt people that are not even in my line of vision.
And we have to be able to say those things in a way that's collegial and supportive.
But clear, so that we.
You know that you're not complaining to your neighbor that things aren't working.
You're complaining to the people who can actually change it. I think that's really important. So.
You know, so many of the issues in higher Ed these days, and that I deal with.
It isn't as if there is a right answer. There are lots of nuanced answers where people of good faith.
Can absolutely come to different conclusions about what the right thing to do is.
And the Board of Regents were any decision maker should have all of that information in front of them.
In order to make a good decision on behalf of the University and all the constituents that it serves.
Their job isn't to deliver what I think is the right thing to do. It's the to deliver the right thing for the University, and there are many stakeholders who may have a different opinion.
And I'm very comfortable communicating those in my current role. We have a faculty member that sits on the board of Regents.
So that is usually done in a more direct way. I don't think you have a faculty member on the region. So yeah, I think that would be part of the report to make sure that balanced information is provided to the people who have to make best decisions in the interest.
Of all of us.
We've received about 4 questions related to the next question, and so, for the sake of time, we'll read one of them.
As a non native Hawaiian, and not local, to Hawaii.
How will you use your Presidential rule of service to move and specifically see.
Toward a vision that fulfills its Kulayana responsibility to native Hawaiians and Hawaii.
You know. I I said this morning, and it's it's worth saying again. I feel tremendous in my position now. I didn't call it that until I realized that that was the Hawaiian concept.
But these are. These positions are awesome in terms of their their privilege and responsibility, and I feel that deeply in terms of.
What I need to do to ensure that I fulfill.
The ethics and integrity of these roles, and meet the needs of the people that it serves.
You know I.
I recognize the particular, unique.
Responsibility to native Hawaiians.
Both from my time here, but also in the in the learning that I have done, simply because I'm so interested in it in the time.
Mentioned this morning. I.
Was excited to see that there actually is a associates degree in Hawaiian culture and language that's fully online. So that actually something that I am committed to taking and learning, because all of this really is about listening.
It would be the height of hypocrisy for me to tell native Hawaiian populations here how I can serve them.
It is my duty to listen to their ideas about what that service looks like to try and effectuate the promise of
And the commitment to Kuliana for native Hawaiians. So I would expect. You know I'm excited by that responsibility. I'm I think it's so incredibly important and unique to elevate the culture here of the people who were here first.st
On whose land we sit.
And to eliminate the disparities. That's 1 thing I would say that i i i think I.
I would focus on immediately, and that is eliminating gaps in some of the retention rates experienced.
By our native Hawaiian students, and figure out, what is it that we are doing.
That is causing that because it's never the students.
It really is the institution that doesn't see the barrier that's presented so would look forward to doing that work. With enthusiasm.
But I really I in this, in this particular case, while I feel.
You know all of my work has been done in a highly multicultural environment.
You know I I would come to this particular question as a learner.
With with humility, and look forward to working to identify how to fulfill that mission.
And with that response that wraps up our Q&A portion of our we now would like to ask you if you can share with us a closing remarks, any thoughts, or, as you will learn that word in your future online Hawaiian language class. So closing, remarks Mahalo, but I will never say it as nicely as you do. I love listening.
Just thank you. As I said before, Mahalo, it is an enormous privilege to be here. I really appreciate the time that you're taking out of your day. I know how busy it is, how many hats we wear in our communities here at the University, and the fact that you came today speaks volumes about that. You care for this institution and the future of the entire system.
And I look forward to hopefully interacting with you again. The one thing that I promised every one of my 25 visits is it's not a 1 and done. It's the beginning of an ongoing conversation that I look forward to having with you. So thank you.
Have another round of phones.
Mahalanui. Laura, you know, before we depart, another reminder that the Board of Regents would really like to hear any feedback and comments that you might have.
So just remember to head over to the president's web page to access the online survey form, I'm told, for our audience that's joining us on Zoom, you will see a QR. Code that will take you straight to that survey. That survey will remain open until 6 o'clock this Friday. You can also submit comments that will be published online to the by.
Via email. That's BOR.
That testimony@hawaii.edu, another reminder each and every forum featuring both of our finalists for president over the next couple of weeks will be recorded, and you are welcome to re-watch or view it again. Live on the president, search website for more information. You can head on over to the sites, or news.
At news org.
And with that commonly Mahalo Nui, for welcoming us to your beautiful island. We thank you so much for joining us.
And just wish everyone.
Home safely and just continuing to share Aloha Mahala nui a malamo.