The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo recently received a $5,000 grant from the Avon Foundation for Women through its Speak Out Against Domestic Violence initiative. The grant funds Student Health & Wellness Program’s Men of Strength at UH Hilo to promote healthy dating relationships among college-age women and men. This is the first year UH Hilo has received funding from the m.powerment program.

The grant is one of 25 m.powerment by mark Healthy Dating Relationship College Program grants totaling $125,000 awarded to colleges nationwide to fund programs focused on preventive education on dating abuse and violence, sexual assault, stalking, and the promotion of healthy relationships, as well as offer local resources and provide referrals for community-based domestic violence experts. The grant also supports educator training, materials and support sessions about healthy relationships.

“Women ages 16-24 experience the highest rates of partner violence and dating abuse, which affects millions of people and often results in physical and emotional injuries and even death,” noted UH Hilo Student Health & Wellness Programs Director Dr. Sulma Gandhi. “According to the National Dating Abuse Helpline, one in three girls who have been in a serious relationship say they have been concerned about being physically hurt by their partner. While strides have been made in the fight against this abuse, many victims will not get the support they need.

“We are proud that the Avon Foundation for Women shares our mission and has chosen to support our program,” she added.

Men of Strength (MOS) is a campus organization that is comprised of male students, faculty and staff who are dedicated to ending violence on campus and in the community, especially violence toward girls and women. MOS recently received an award for Innovative Programming through NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education).

The Avon Foundation for Women launched Speak Out Against Domestic Violence in 2004 to support domestic violence awareness, education and prevention programs aimed at reducing domestic and gender violence, as well as direct services for victims and their families. Through the end of 2013, the Avon Foundation for Women has donated $33 million in the United States to support domestic violence programs, services and education.

For more information, call (808) 932-7458.

Danú brings its high-energy celebration of the Emerald Isle to the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Performing Arts Center (PAC) for one night only, Friday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m.

Hailing from historic County Waterford, Danú is one of today’s leading traditional Irish ensembles. Danú’s mix of ancient Irish music and new repertoire, described as both clever and fun, takes the audience on a musical journey to their native Ireland to create an unforgettable evening.

For over a decade, Danú’s virtuosi players on flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, bouzouki, and vocals (Irish and English), have performed around the globe and recorded seven critically acclaimed albums. Their live DVD, One Night Stand, was filmed at Vicar St. Dublin. Danú’s live performances are often broadcast on NPR, the CBC and the BBC.

Winners of numerous awards from the BBC and Irish Music Magazine, Danú has toured throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North America with stops at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Symphony Space in New York, and major concerts in the United Kingdom, India, Israel, and across Europe.

Tickets are reserved seating and priced at $20 General, $15 Discount and $10 UH Hilo/HawCC students (with a valid student ID) and children, up to age 17, and are available by calling the UH Hilo Box Office at 932-7490 or ordering online at artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu.

Enrollment for the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo 2014 Summer Art Institute begins April 1. The six-week program offers participants opportunities to interact with world-class visiting artists and faculty, view special exhibits, attend artist lectures, and participate in focused art workshops.

The three-credit SAiH courses are offered through the UH Hilo Art Department in the areas of printmaking, mixed media, digital photography, and art appreciation. Registration is open to both college students and the community.

More information is available online at: http://hilo.hawaii.edu/~art/summer-art-institute/. Contact Michael Marshall at mdmarsha@hawaii.edu or (808) 974-7524 with any questions.

A collaboration between the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy and Wilcox Hospital has formed Hawai’i’s first interdisciplinary Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) to help combat infectious diseases on Kaua`i.

ASPs are programs designed to improve the utilization of appropriate antibiotics with the goals of improving patient outcomes and lowering healthcare associated costs, as well as slowing the development of antimicrobial resistance.

“The management of infectious diseases is a constant arms race, and, as medication experts, pharmacists are uniquely qualified to help drive ASPs,” said Roy Goo, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, who is based on Kaua`i. “As new antimicrobial agents are developed, bacterial, viral and fungal organisms evolve with new resistance mechanisms that confer immunity to even our best medications. Even with proper medication, it is estimated that 50 percent of antibiotics are used inappropriately.

“The practice of infectious diseases is the art of using only what is necessary to cure the infection and nothing more,” added Goo. “One of the basic principles of infectious diseases is the more antimicrobial agents we use, the faster resistance develops.” He points out that in recent years multiple strains of bacteria have arisen that are resistant to all currently available antibiotics.

In Hawaiʻi, Goo shows how the College of Pharmacy has played an integral role in the development of these programs across the State. With support from Wilcox Hospital’s inpatient pharmacy department and the hospital’s infectious disease physician Dr. Jimmy Yoon, students screen for patients who are on high-cost or high-risk antimicrobials. They then assess the appropriateness of the antimicrobial regimen for each patient and present their recommendations to the entire infectious disease team, who makes changes to optimize therapy.

“The Center for Disease Control strongly recommends that hospitals perform some form of antimicrobial stewardship, and it is likely that it will become mandated by the Center for Medicare/ Medicaid Services (CMS) in a couple of years,” Yoon said. “At Wilcox Memorial Hospital, we like to be ahead of the curve. Right now we are lucky that we have very few resistant bacteria, and we want to keep it that way. There is a clear correlation between bacterial resistance and increased morbidity and mortality as well as healthcare costs.”

Recognizing the importance of training pharmacists to fill this growing need, Yoon often spends time with students and tests them on their drug knowledge. Students consult with members of Wilcox Memorial Hospital’s Radiology staff, who also volunteer their time to go over chest X-rays and other imaging studies to point out abnormalities that serve as possible indications of infection.

“The drug pipeline for antimicrobial agents is dry so we need to save the agents that we have,” Yoon said. “My anticipation is that for pharmacists this is going to be a huge area for growth.”

This positive experience has led to other collaborative programs at Straub Hospital and Pali Momi Medical Center (PMMC) on O`ahu. Pharmacist Melissa Yoneda, a DKICP alumni from the Class of 2013, is currently helping to establish a pharmacy-driven ASP at PMMC in collaboration with the PMMC pharmacy, nursing and physician staff.

The release of an ASP module and guidance statement from the CDC indicates that ASPs will likely become a requirement across the United States. Certain states such as California have already made it mandatory that hospitals that enjoy Medicare reimbursement have an established ASP in place.

Applications are currently being accepted for the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Pacific Island Programs for Exploring Science program. The deadline is Wednesday, April 30, and minimal registration fees may apply.

Manowai O Hanakhi Youth Summer Program offers three different one-week environmental day camps for Hawaiʻi Island middle and high school students. Program participants will gain exposure to Hawaiʻi’s mauka (mountain) and makai (ocean) regions while developing a deeper understanding of the landscape, skills used in environmental restoration, ecological monitoring, spatial awareness and data visualization. Applicants can select from three different Monday through Friday camp sessions:

• June 16 - 20

• July 7 – 11

• July 21 - 25

For more information or to apply, visit: http://stem.uhh.hawaii.edu/Manowai, call 933-0707, or email hperry@hawaii.edu.

Three students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo were awarded the Adopt-A-Beehive with Alan Wong Scholarship at the third annual Bee-coming Sustainable event sponsored by the Adopt-A-Beehive with Alan Wong program held on March 8 at the UH Hilo Farm Laboratory in Panaewa. The program is a collaborative partnership with Chef Wong and UH Hilo to bring greater awareness to the importance of honey bees and support the educational beekeeping activities at UH Hilo.

This year’s scholarship recipients are Stephen Zilch, Kawehi Lopez and Kirsti Vedenoja. Chancellor Don Straney and Marketing Director for Alan Wongs, Nicole Ng, presented the recipients with a check for $1,000 each.

The event also showcased the advanced beekeeping students who presented walking tours through Mapuhonehone, the bee garden, van tours to the apiaries, educational demonstrations and displays of honey extraction, honey sampling, frames, and a live observation hive. In addition, Chef Wong’s staff treated adopters to food samplings made with honey, such as pizza, pulled pork sliders, ice cream and salad dressing with Hawaiʻi Community College-grown greens.

To learn more about the program, visit: http://hilo.hawaii.edu/adoptabeehive/.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science (TCBES) Program has been awarded a second $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) CREST (Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology) Program. The award represents Phase II funding of the original $5 million grant received in 2009, and covers a five-year period.

The CREST: TCBES Project brings together a diverse, inter-disciplinary team spanning several natural sciences led by Principal Investigator and TCBES Director Dr. Donald Price, with Drs. Patrick Hart, Elizabeth Stacy and Misaki Takabayashi as Co-Principal Investigators. Other senior personnel on the project are Drs. Jonathan Awaya, Jie Cheng, Abby Cuttriss, William Mautz, Adam Pack, Jonathan Price and Michael Shintaku along with Terrilani Chong and Doreen Koizumi. The project’s overarching theme is Understanding Biotic Response to Environmental Change in Tropical Ecosystems Through a Place-Based Context.

“To fully understand the impact of climate change you need to start with the leading indicators, which are those life forms, whose well-being is tied to the state of their environment,” Price said. “The CREST team we’ve assembled will employ emerging genetic, physiological, bioacoustic and bioinformatic tools to examine various effects of anthropogenic change on animals, plants and microbes.”

The project is organized around three sub-components for which separate teams will be formed to develop interactive research programs with each team contributing to the overall synergistic center theme.

An Organismal Response to Environmental Change (OREC) team will analyze the short- and long-term responses of key organisms to a range of steady and fluctuating environmental conditions in their respective habitats, which will be incorporated into landscape-level response to climate change.

The Behavioral Responses to Environmental Change (BREC) team will examine how behaviors central to the survival and reproductive success of animals have evolve through natural and sexual selection in conditions that greatly differ from today’s ecological environment.

A third team will examine Dynamic Interactions between Symbioses and Environment (DISE), or how symbiotic relationships between macro and micro organisms can shift in response to environmental changes.

The results of the research is expected to produce a deeper understanding of the impacts climate change will have on the geographic ranges as well as social and symbiotic interactions of species in Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific region.

“Hawaiʻi’s unique natural resources are our heritage, and it is our kuleana to be effective stewards to provide for future generations," said Chancellor Don Straney. “The CREST: TCBES project will provide the next generation of scientists and professionals with the depth of knowledge and the inter-disciplinary perspective required to both study and effectively manage those spectacular, yet fragile, resources.”

Beyond its discovery value, the CREST Project is expected to enhance faculty research capacity and attract students from groups traditionally under-represented in the sciences, whose participation will open up opportunities in Ph.D. programs and professional careers. As involvement from students of native Hawaiian and Pacific Island ancestry grows, so too should the application of indigenous knowledge to environmental issues as they forge ties with federal and state agencies, along with researchers from Ph.D. granting institutions throughout Hawaiʻi and the U.S. mainland.

“In the span of its 10-year history, TCBES has established itself as a truly outstanding graduate program with both national and international distinction,” said Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Matt Platz. “Through the CREST project, the program is taking another important step in its development as a center of excellence for research and training throughout Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region.”

Miss Saigon, the award-winning musical about love and loss in the Vietnam War, opens at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Performing Arts Center Thursday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. for a two-weekend run. Other show dates are April 11, 12, 17, 18 & 19 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, April 13, at 2 pm.

Created by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil in 1989 as a pop opera, Miss Saigon is directed by UH Hilo Performing Arts Department Professor Jackie Pualani Johnson with Armando Mendoza as Musical Director and faculty choreographer Celeste Staton. A cast of 37 performers bring to life the story of an American G.I. who falls in love with a Vietnamese girl just as Saigon is sieged by the North Vietnamese.

“This superb artistic team is joined by UH Hilo Performing Arts senior Katherine Wilson as vocal director and advanced student choreographers Kawehi Kanoho-Kalahiki and Kawai Soares, and assistant directors Kimo Apaka, a UH Hilo Performing Arts graduate, and Denyse Woo-Ockerman,” said PAC Manager Lee Dombroski.

The cast includes Norman Arancon as The Engineer, Rachel Edwards as Kim, Scott Wuscher as the American G.I., and the working girls of the Dreamland Bar: Gigi, Mimi, Yvette, and Yvonne, played by Lilinoe Kauahikaua, Angeline Jara, Bailey Woolridge, and Kawehi Kanoho-Kalahiki. Arancon is a faculty member at UH Hilo, and the women in the bar are created by UH Hilo students. Wuscher is a community member who returns to the UH Hilo stage to realize the turmoil of a soldier caught in the war’s emotional choices.

Tickets are reserved seating and priced at $20 General, $15 Discount and $10 UH Hilo/HawCC students (with a valid student ID) and children, up to age 17, and are available by calling the UH Hilo Box Office at 932-7490 or ordering online at artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu.

A University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo graduate was recently awarded the Marine Conservation Fellowship from PEW Charitable Trust. The PEW Fellows Program in Marine Conservation funds projects that address critical challenges in ocean conservation. Each year, five marine fellows are selected based on the strengths of their proposed projects, including the benefit their research will provide in protecting ocean environments.

Louisa Shobhini Ponnampalam, Ph.D., a 2003 UH Hilo marine science graduate and a research fellow at the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was awarded $150,000 to conduct a three-year study on dugongs, a large coastal marine mammal that resembles the manatee. Ponnampalam will gather scientific data on Malaysia’s dugong population and their habitat to explore the distribution, relative abundance, movement, and patterns of habitat use utilizing visual, acoustic, and underwater surveys. Her research will also assist other scientists working to protect dugongs worldwide.

Ponnampalam is co-founder of the grassroots NGO, Malaysia’s first non-profit organization dedicated to research, conservation, and increasing public awareness of marine animals. Known for her passionate dedication to helping marine mammals, she is also vice-chair of the International Consortium for Marine Conservation and serves as a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission’s Cetacean and Sirenian Specialist Groups.

The County Mass Transit Administration has revised its bus service for the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College to include an additional stop at the new UH Hilo Bookstore by the University’s main Kawili Street entrance, effective Monday, April 14, 2014.

The Hele-On Bus timetable runs Monday through Saturday and offers services to and from the University and HawCC within Hilo. Visit www.heleonbus.org for schedules, including transportation to Kona, Pahoa, Volcano, Pahoa, Keaukaha and other areas.

The College of Continuing Education & Community Service (CCECS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo offers its final two Employment and Training Fund (ETF)-approved courses for the spring semester in Kona at the end of April and early May.

“Managing Multiple Priorities, Projects, and Deadlines” will be held on Tuesday, April 29th from 8:30 am-3:30 pm. “Dealing with Difficult & Upset People” is scheduled for Friday, May 9th from 9-11:30am. Both classes will be held at the Kuakini Tower, 75-5722 Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona.

The ETF Program is funded by the State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Workforce Development Division. Its purpose is to enhance business growth and improve the long-term employability of Hawaiʻi’s workforce by providing businesses with opportunities to upgrade the skills of their employees from entry-level to top management.

As an ETF vendor, CCECS provides approved training for employees referred to the program by their employers. For qualified employers, ETF will pay half the cost of tuition, or up to $250, while the employer pays the other half along with any excess balance.

To qualify, participants must register at least two weeks prior to the start of class. For more information or to register, call 974-7664 or visit http://hilo.hawaii.edu/academics/ccecs/registration/.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo choirs present its spring choral concert, We Sing the Spring, on Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m. in the UH Hilo Performing Arts Center. The Kapili Choir and the University Chorus are conducted by Amy Horst and accompanied by Walter Greenwood on piano.

We Sing the Spring presents a sampling of favorite choral selections, ranging from Hassler's “Cantate Domino” to Copland's arrangement of “Zion’s Walls,” and brings to life choral music from religious, secular, and folk traditions, including works by Passereu, Zaninelli, Spavacek, Theron Kirk, and the Manhattan Transfer. We Sing the Spring also includes new repertoire: student conductor Chris Tomich leads the Kapili Choir in two songs by contemporary Finnish composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, and the University Chorus presents songs by present-day composers Sally K. Albrecht and Jay Althouse.

The Kapili Choir is the current name for the audition choir at UH Hilo that has been known as Repertory Singers, Chamber Singers, and University Showcase Singers during its long history in Hilo. The University Chorus has been a force for the performance of choral music for over 40 years. Conductor Horst has been involved with the two groups as conductor, guest conductor, and guest soprano soloist for the past 15 years. Pianist Greenwood joins both choirs as accompanist for the first time this school year, and brings decades of experience as a pianist, organist, and choir leader. Student Conductor Tomich most recently led the choir and instrumental ensemble of the UH Hilo Fall 2013 production of The Spoon River Project. Featured pianist Kait Wilson has been the choral/vocal music director for Miss Saigon at UH Hilo, and has performed locally as a singer in a number of shows. This is her first semester playing for the UH Hilo choirs.

Tickets are $7 General, $5 Discount, Students with a valid ID, and Children 17 & under and available at the Box Office, Tuesday - Friday, 9 am-1 pm, on school days. To order by phone, call 932-7490, or order online at artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu. For disability accommodation, contact Dori Yamada at 932-7496 (V), 933-3334 (TTY) at least 10 working days prior to the event.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo School of Education is offering an information session on admission requirements for the Master of Arts in Teaching Cohort on Monday, May 5, 5-6 p.m., in UCB Room 312.

The MAT is a 36 credit-hour program that leads to teacher licensure after Year One and a masters degree in Year Two.

For more information, contact Travis Nakayama at (808) 932-7109 or travisn@hawaii.edu.

Additional information can be found at: http://hilo.hawaii.edu/depts/education/MasterofArtsinTeaching.php.

Four University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Marine Option Program students were recently awarded top honors at the 31st Annual Marine Option Program System Symposium held on April 12 at Kapiolani Community College on O`ahu.

The Award for Best Overall Research Paper went to Marine Science senior Amber Forrestral for her project entitled, “Bioimpedance and Condition of Reef Fish Across a Landscape Gradient.”

The Award for Best Internship Project was won by Rebecca Rogers for her project on “Automated, Remote and Near Real-time Sampling and Detection of Harmful Algae using the Environmental Sample Processor.”

Jenae Olson received the Award for Best Poster. Her project, in association with the Division of Aquatic Resources, was on “Determination of the Oxygen Tolerance of Valamugil engeli (Marquesan mullet).”

The PACON International (Hawai'i Chapter) Award for the best project integrating marine science and technology, with a Pacific focus, went to Bradley Young for his project, “Establishment of High Frequency (HF) Radar and Kiosk Interpretation in Hilo, Hawaiʻi.”

Four other UH Hilo students presented their work in the form of oral and poster presentations on research and internship MOP projects that were well received. These students were Christina Crockett, Kevin Bruce, Emily Wallingford, and James Stilley.

The UH Hilo MOP is a hands-on program open to students in any field of study who have an interest in the ocean. It is a certificate granting program that offers courses on marine project development through the Department of Marine Science.

The annual symposium rotates between UH campuses and will be hosted by Windward Community College in April 2015.

For more information, email uhhmop@hawaii.edu or lparr@hawaii.edu.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo hosts a seminar featuring David Helweg, director of the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center (PICSC), on Wednesday, April 23 at noon in Room 118 of the Science and Technology Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Helweg’s talk, entitled Vision and Framework of Science at the Department of Interior: Pacific Islands Climate Science Center, focuses on the Center and its efforts in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region. PICSC, hosted by a consortium of the University of Hawaiʻi and the University of Guam, was launched in 2012 as one of eight regional Climate Science Centers (CSCs) set up by the Department of Interior to complement and work with a national network of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives to address challenges of climate change.

PICSC, in partnership with the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative (PICCC), works with Federal, State and other entities to deliver scientific research and interpretation to support management of natural and cultural resources. PICSC’s vision is to inform and support sustainability and climate adaptation of human and ecological communities in the Pacific.

For more information, call 933-0759 or email ziegler@hawaii.edu.

A University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo student has been selected for NASA’s prestigious Sally Ride Internship.

Melissa Adams, a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Geology, was among a select group chosen for the program, which awards only 10 internships during the spring and fall semesters of each school year.

The Sally Ride Internship was established in 2013 to encourage more students from underserved backgrounds to pursue a research interest at one of NASA’s centers nationwide and eventually enter careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The program named after the first American woman in space provides students the opportunity to work side-by-side with practicing scientists and engineers.

Adams, a native Hawaiian, was awarded the internship for joint research she conducted with Jacobs/NASA Scientist Trevor Graff and John Hamilton, logistics and EPO manager for the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES). The trio employed satellite imagery to identify specific geologic properties contained in basaltic lava located on Mauna Kea. For Adams, a former PISCES intern, her selection is a dream come true that took a while to sink in.

“I am so busy with school work that the news about getting the internship did not phase me at first,” Adams explained. “But one evening in the middle of the night, I awoke out of a deep sleep, startled, and said to myself, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to be working at NASA this summer.’ I still cannot believe it.”

The 10-week internship begins in May and will reunite her with Graff and fellow NASA Scientist Dr. Richard Morris, who will serve as her mentors at the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Directorate at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. Their research will involve a chemical analysis of the analog samples collected in Hawaiʻi, with the findings used to support various robotic missions to Mars.

Adams will prepare samples, conduct instrumental analysis and assist with data analysis and interpretations using some of the most sophisticated instrumented research techniques, including Visible Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, Optical/Digital Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy.

“To think of where I was two years ago and what I have done since then makes me feel so blessed,” Adams said. “I am so grateful for the people that have been instrumental in helping me get this opportunity. To them I say my warmest mahalo nui loa!”

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Jazz Orchestra presents its spring concert, Swing Thing, on Thursday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the UH Hilo Performing Arts Center. The 25-piece Jazz Orchestra is comprised of UH Hilo student musicians under the direction of Trever Veilleux.

The concert celebrates the great swing bands of the 1930s as well as those from the swing revival. Classic repertoire such as In the Mood by the Glenn Miller Orchestra will be performed alongside more modern pieces like Zoot Suit Riot from the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. The UH Hilo Jazz Orchestra will be joined by special guest vocalists and dancers performing original choreography by Dori Yamada.

The concert will also feature the award-winning Honoka’a High School Jazz Band under the direction of Gary Washburn.

Tickets are $7 General, $5 Discount, Students with a valid ID, and Children 17 & under and available at the Box Office, Tuesday - Friday, 9 am-1 pm, on school days. To order by phone, call 932-7490, or order online at artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu. For disability accommodation, contact Dori Yamada at 932-7496 (V), 933-3334 (TTY) at least 10 working days prior to the event.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Art Department is offering six scholarships for its Summer Art Institute Hilo program, taking place June 23 to August 1, 2014.

These competitive awards will provide a half tuition waiver for Hawaiʻi residents who wish to attend SAiH. Scholarships will be based on department portfolio and/or transcript review and statement of interest. The deadline to apply is May 9, 2014.

The scholarship application is available at: http://goo.gl/AwGdkn.

For more information on SAiH, view: http://hilo.hawaii.edu/~art/summer-art-institute.

State House and Senate Budget conferees have reached final agreement on a proposal to fund a building to house the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy (DKICP).

The agreement totals $33 million, including $28 million in Government Obligation or G.O. bonds and $5 million in Revenue bonds.

“This project has been a collective effort from the very beginning and we want to thank everyone who worked so hard to make this outcome possible,” said Chancellor Don Straney. “We’re especially grateful for the support we’ve received from the House and Senate, beginning with the efforts of our Hawaiʻi Island delegation.”

The DKICP was established in 2007, awarded its first degrees in 2011, and will graduate its fourth class in May. A site has been selected for a permanent facility, which has already been planned and designed.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo hosts the Spring HELP (Highly Engaged Learning Placement) Symposium on Friday, May 2, from 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. in Campus Center 301. The event is free and open to the public.

The bi-annual symposium is designed to promote awareness of the needs in Pacific Island communities and the work of Pacific Islander college students in community-based projects that impact their education and community. The HELP program is part of the high-impact student employment initiative at UH Hilo’s Pacific Islander Student Center (PISC).

Undergraduate students from UH Mānoa’s Center for Pacific Islands Studies will present their research on a wide range of community-based projects conducted as part of the BA capstone project. Topics by the graduating students include ways that voyaging has strengthened Pacific communities on Oʻahu, how teens contribute to family finances with after school jobs, healthcare for migrants in Hawaiʻi, and couponing to save on household expenses. For a complete schedule on the program, visit help.pacificstudents.org/symposium.

The symposium will also feature a special lunchtime keynote presentation by Dr. Denise Uehara on “Pacific Islander Students Navigating Success at UH Hilo.” Uehara, an assistant professor in the College of Education at UH Mānoa, will discuss the preliminary findings from research on Pacific Islander students at UH Hilo.

The Spring HELP Symposium is sponsored by UH Hilo’s Pacific Islander Student Center and Pacific Islands Studies Certificate, UH Mānoa’s Center for Pacific Islands Studies, Office for Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity (SEED), and Friends of Operation Manong.

Registration is not required, but highly recommended and can be done online at help.pacificstudents.org/registration. Those who register early will receive a complimentary parking pass.

For more information, contact Vidalino Raatior at 932-7718 or email raatior@hawaii.edu.