Senate Standing Committee on Higher Education

Good afternoon. I'd like to call the Committee on Higher Education to order. Today is Thursday, April 17th. It is 2:00PM we're in Conference Room 225. We have two agendas today. Two o' clock and I believe the second one is 201. The first one is a resolution and the others are going are GMs.

For the GMs, we're going to move up one item on the agenda. Actually two items on the agenda which is the confirmation GM 785 and GM 784. And this is for the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. President of University is a nominee for Witchie and I know she has a busy schedule.

So right after the resolution we will move that up so you can go ahead and get to the business of the University and all the budget cuts that is going on and it's going to bankrupt the University. And that is tongue in cheek. That's not true. So with that, we want to start off with HCR96.

This is encouraging the University of Hawaii to evaluate and expand its current mental health services for students. This I forgot to even say that this meeting is being televised live. And in the event that we have some kind of difficulty, we will reconvene tomorrow at 2pm in this room.

So with that HCR 96 encouraging the University of Hawaii to evaluate and expand and its mental health services, we have on Zoom Farrah Marie Gomes testifying for the University of Hawaii, Sarah Farrah Rather. Aloha.

Aloha. Aloha. Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Farrah Marie Gomes, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs with the University of Hawaii system. I have the pleasure of working with all 10 campuses in the area of student affairs. Mental health services services falls under this division. I also help the campuses with their basic needs efforts.

And so with these overlap areas, we have a lot of efforts and initiatives that are targeted towards supporting student success with the implementation of support for mental health. We have provided testimony and stand in support on that testimony. I'm here to answer any questions that the Committee might have. Mahalo, Farah.

Thank you very much. And this Committee is very well, what's the word? I'm trying to say we're very much aware that a lot of this will depend upon the funding of these positions.

And I have made that known to the author of the resolution saying that we can ask the University all we want to expand, but if we don't give you the positions or assists, then it becomes very difficult. Plus, we understand that even though we give you the money.

Sometimes you aren't able to fill the positions because you don't have the qualified people. Is that correct? That is correct, yes. Okay. Just wanted to make sure we're on the record for that. Thank you. We have Michael Older individual in support. Not here. Anyone else you're wishing to testify on this resolution? HCR 96, not Members. Any questions?

Go ahead. Senator Fevella, are you still on? Unless you want the President to respond.

I just wanted to ask how much positions currently exist at the University of Hawaii?

The number. The number varies by campus. But in. In total, we at last count had 27 positions, not all of which were filled.

Just say it again. So all of them is not filled.

Correct.

So warm bodies, how much warm bodies you have currently?

Right. At last count, which I would say would be about five weeks ago, we had 21 filled. 21

21.

And how many vacancies? Six. Six vacancies.

How long have the vacancies been there? That varies. But I would say the longest vacancy that is currently on the books right now is about four years.

Okay, so perhaps this resolution should have said to urge you to fill the vacancies. Yes. On a more timely manner. Okay. Members, any other questions?

Yes. So are the vacancies you're asking for similar to the vacancies that are not. That are not filled? I mean the positions you're asking for.

They're not asking for it. It's a House Resolution asking them to expand the services to the students in. The current field of mental health.

I can't expand it if you can't feel it.

Sorry, that's. But okay. Any other. Any other questions? If not Members, we'll go right into decision making. Recommend that we go ahead and pass this resolution for whatever the University can do. I guess it just shows emphasis that this is something that's important. So. Any discussion hearing? None.

Sheriff Vice Chair, if you want to go and take the vote, the share votes I pass as is HCR 96.

[Roll call]

Thank you. Can we go right into our next agenda without gavling out it?

Yes, you can Chair.

Okay. With that we are going to our 201 Agenda Members. We have 8 governor's messages for appointments and as I said earlier, we are going to take out of Order Members GM 785 submitting for consideration and confirmation to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Gubernatorial nominee Wendell Hensel for a term to expire 6/30/2029.

And let me just say that the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education is one that have usually the President of the universities on the board and I know they have a legislators board as well where the chairs of the higher education committees are also on the board.

So having said that President, if you'd like to open with any remarks and if you have familiarity with the WICHE.

Certainly WICHE is an important organization that helps set policy and best practices and it is essential that Hawaii be part of that discussion both in terms of sharing what we know but also to learn from our colleagues in other states on the western side.

So I certainly am mindful of the significance of this appointment and very much appreciate appreciate being put forward.

Okay, thank you for that. We did have two testimonies in support. Deborah Halbert and Michael Miyahira. Is there anyone else wanting to testify in support, please, please come on up. Identify yourself please.

Hello Chair Kim, Vice Chair Kidani and Members of the Committee. I'm Terry George, I'm President CEO of the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation and I'd like to testify in support of having our current sitting UH President be a Member of the WICHE Commission.

Okay, we appreciate that, thank you very much. Members, any questions of President Hensel if not President. Thank you very much. You know we have lots of work to do so thank you.

Senator Kim, if I can just add as an aside, thank you for an entire legislative session for all of you for the cooperation and collaboration this year year with the University, especially with a new President. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

And since we are on the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education we're going to go ahead and also take Governor's message 784 Terrence George for a term to expire 6/30/2028. Testifying on his behalf we have Deborah Halpert and Karen Bouley. I don't think they're here but in support.

Anyone else wishing to testify on governor's message 784? Hearing none. Terrence, would you like to come back up? Do you want to open with opening remarks?

Sure. Thank you. Aloha Chair Kim and Vice Chair Kidani and members of the committee. My name is Terry George and you know I honored to be considered for this service on the Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education. Just a little bit about myself. My family's home has been Hawaii since 1971.

I'm a proud graduate of the UH, Shidler College of Business. My wife is a retired elementary teacher. She and I have two children who are currently in college, one in the UH system. So we know something personally about the cost of education, of higher education, and the benefits of it.

In my day job, which I'll be retiring from at the end of June, at the Harold Castle Foundation, I've led deep investments in to all of the 10 campuses of the UH system, increasing affordability and accessibility into and through college and into good jobs, but also to other universities like HPU and Chaminan.

So I'm hoping I can provide a little bit of independent perspective on the Commission, since I know of and deeply believe in the UH as you do, its importance, but I'm not part of the UH system. Um, so again, mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Members, any questions for Terrence? I just have a quick question.

Being an independent and being new to Wiche, what do you think might be one area in which we need to make the other commissioners for which you understand about how Hawaii may be different or what are the benefits that Hawaii can garner by being part of this organization of Western states?

That's a great question, Chair Kim. I think part of it is that we're unique in that we, unlike many states, we have a single public university system. So if we do our policy making right, we should be able to make more of a difference. We also are uniquely vulnerable.

We do not have any states right next to us. And when tourism goes down and other things go down, that's going to make it even more difficult for us to be able to provide an affordable higher education. But I think that we've been able to push through some innovations that maybe we can do more of.

If we learn, for example, if one of these other states is innovating in the area of affordability or accessibility or quality of education, efficient operations, then maybe we should be able to more easily adapt those to our own needs and implement them here.

Okay, thank you very much. Members, any questions? Hearing no questions. Thank you very much. Okay, we are going back to the top of the agenda of our 2:01 agenda with GM 764. We are—have several nominees for the Commission for National and Community Service. We will be starting out.

And Members, for those of you who may not be familiar with this Commission, it is the Commission's primary role to provide resources and leadership to support local initiatives that tackle community needs, and it makes grants, develop partnerships in collaboration with other agencies, foundations, community organizations, both state and local governments.

So, it's—it pretty much is a volunteerism type of organization, and we certainly appreciate all of you who are willing to serve. So, with that, I want to—this is GM 764 for the nomination of Kelly—Kylie—let's see, hopefully I can say this one, Alarcon—Alerkon—for a term to expire 6, 30, 2028.

And we do have people that wanted to speak or show support. We have Jamie Devera in support. We have Tyler Talusan and Ronnie Petrosan—hopefully I said that correctly. Anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Okay. Hearing none. We do have, Kylie, you are on Zoom. Do you want to go ahead and give opening remarks?

Yes. Aloha everyone. My name is Kylie Alerkon and I am humbled to be granted the opportunity to be considered for the Hawaii Commission for National and Community Service.

I would like to be a member of this organization because I would like to connect with individuals, to expand my networks, to develop leadership skills, and to make a positive impact on the lives of others. Thank you.

Thank you. Members, any questions? Kylie, I do have a question. So, this is your first time serving?

Yes.

And what made you decide, I mean and find this particular Commission to serve on?

Yeah, so I really wanted to make a difference, especially for the youth, to be a student voice. So, I wanted to take on this role to be a role model for the youth and to help with these decision makings.

I think that it's very impactful for everyone and I want to, again, like what I mentioned, make a positive impact on others.

How did you learn about this Commission?

Yes, I was actually nominated by the former Red Cross in Hawaii's CEO, and she thought that I would be a great fit for this position. So, here I am.

Okay, well, very good. We appreciate you, especially for our young citizens to get involved at an early age in volunteerism. So, thank you very much for doing that.

Other questions? We will move on to the next. GM 765, submitting for consideration for the Hawaii Commission for National and Community Service gubernatorial nominee Ray Galas for a term to expire 6-30-2028. And standing in support is Reverend Gregory Johnson in support. Linda Urner in support.

Terry Revere in support. Rimon Goh, an individual in support. Anyone else wishing to testify on GM 765 for the nominee Ray Galas? Hearing none. If we have Ray here. Ray, if you want to come forward. Hope I said your last name correctly. Galas. Okay. So yes, you'd like to open with any remarks please.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, and Members of the Committee. My name is Ray Galas. Graduated Campbell High School class of 1988. Went to elementary school in Wahiawa at a small church school from third grade to eighth grade. Most of my classmates were from Waianae, Nānākuli, Maile, and Honokai Hale. A little few from Makakilo. I was on the Ewa Neighborhood Board way back when when it was all sugarcane all along Fort Weaver Road. Kapolei wasn't even, it was all on paper.

She'll adjust for that.

Ko Olina. Ko Olina was not. It was just Papipi Road was bumpy. Looks a lot better now. My parents still live in Ewa, Ewa Beach. My dad's pushing 90. My mom is close to my dad. I'm not gonna say her age. And they're a retired Navy family. I'm proud of them. Anything that's good in my life at this point is because my parents supported me. I'm thankful to the Governor for nominating me and I ask for your support to recommend to the Senate that I advise and consent to volunteer for this position.

Thank you. Members, any questions? Go ahead. You had him at Campbell. Similar question. So how did you get to know about this commission and why this one commission?

From 2012 to 2020, I volunteered on two terms back to back on private detectives and guards, the board. And they had just finished when I came the laws for Act 208, which raised the standards for private detectives and guards. They needed a whole new curriculum, instructors, testing, standards, background investigation. And that was my first year, and it was amazing. A learning experience.

I'm not an attorney. I graduated from HPU. I'm still at HPU Diplomacy in Global Security, now my graduate degree. But wow, there are some smart people on. There's like attorneys general, chiefs of police, and a couple of public members. And those kinds of issues that we faced and I learned about like findings of fact and rulings of law and what you can consider, you cannot.

It was intense. And I still wanted to volunteer, but I wanted to volunteer in something that was kind of less technical. And maybe I even wrote out my reason. But the feeling of joy and helping folks get involved and stay connected. Something that my parents would be proud of, my family would be proud of. That's whatever that is, wherever it is. Neighbor islands, Oahu. That's what I'd like to help folks connect with. Kind of like what you said with volunteering.

Well, that's very generous of you to be able to want to serve. I know all of you out there hopefully know that this is voluntary positions, and they don't get paid for it. And I just bring this up because I have to admit that when I became Chair of this committee, I didn't realize that we had a Hawaii Commission for National and Community Service.

So it always interests me in finding out how others learn about it and learn about. Especially young people learn about these commissions and how they have opportunities to serve. So the more they know, and the more they know the opportunities out there, the better it'd be for all of us. But thank you very much for your willingness to serve.

I just want to say I so admire your positive attitude. Thank you very much.

I'm pretty sure my parents are watching, so no pressure.

Parents, you did a good job.

Yes, thank you. Parents don't get enough credit for what we do for our children. So thank you, Ray. Okay, moving on to our next nominee for the Commission of National Community Service. GM 766, Sandra Larsen, for a term to expire 6-30-2028.

And people writing in support, we have Chelsea No, Taryn Gifford, Lisa Crosby-Torres, and Malia Torres, all in support. Anyone else wishing to testify on GM 766? If not, we'd like to go ahead and call up Sandra Larsen. Sandra, welcome.

Thank you. Aloha, Chair Kim, Vice Chair Kidani, members of the committee. Just very briefly, I wanted to say I'm very honored and humbled to be considered for this commission. Community service and really promoting volunteerism is something that's really important to me, and it's just an opportunity to give back to community, and so I really appreciate the opportunity and I'm open for any questions you may have.

Members, questions? Okay. I don't want to show any kind of favoritism, so I'm going to ask you, how many times does this commission meet?

That's a question that I do not know. It's, it's new for me. I've talked with some of the board members and they expressed, you know, it being very rewarding to work with this organization. I have not gone into the mechanics of how often the meetings are.

Well, certainly we appreciate you making the time to attend these meetings, and I know sometimes it can interrupt some of the other duties that we have in our life, but again, volunteerism is so important, so we appreciate it. Thank you.

Mahalo.

Okay, we are moving on to GM771. And this is submitting for consideration and confirmation for the Board of Directors of Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, Gubernatorial nominee Ken Kawahara. For a term to expire 6/30/2025, and then GM772 does take that term to expire 6/30/2029.

So we have people in support of Ken, starting with Leonard Govea, not here. And support from RCUH, Cheryl Nojima support, Brenton Morioka, Joy Kimura, Juanita Ryer Colon, Riley Smith, Robert Yu, all in support. And Nancy Carr Smith in support. Anyone else wishing to testify for this nominee hearing? No others? We do have Ken Kawahara on Zoom.

Ken, welcome. I know you're on the mainland, but we appreciate you joining us via Zoom. If you want to open with remarks.

Thank you. Aloha, Chair Kim, Vice Chair Kidani, honorable members of the Committee of Higher Education. My name is Ken Kawahara, and first of all, I'd like to thank you for your flexibility, flexibility on letting me testify remotely. As Chair Kim mentioned, I had a prior commitment at speaking at a conference in the mainland that I couldn't reschedule.

So thank you very much. Appreciate your consideration and support to serve on the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii. I'm a proud graduate of UH Manoa, and I really appreciate being able to sit on this board and get back to the university that has done so much for me.

So I thank you for your time and be glad to answer any questions. And sorry, I should have mentioned that I've been asked to represent the business sector on the board, and I do run an engineering firm for the past 15 years. So, thank you.

Okay, members, any questions for Ken? I have questions. So, Ken, how familiar were you with RCUH and what they, what they do and the extent of the organization? Were you familiar with it prior to being nominated? Or are you more familiar with it since you've been serving since what, June 2024, right?

Yes, very good question, Chair Kim. I was aware of RCUH, but not in great detail, when I served as a Deputy Director for the Department of Land and Natural Resources. I did know that we had some staff that were RCUH employees, but I did not know the detail as much because it was a very large department.

Since serving after last year's session, we've had four meetings and I'm getting to learn a lot more about RCUH and a lot of the things that they're doing. I understand that we do have 2022 strategic plan that identified some goals to look at. So I'm getting to learn more, but I don't know all the details yet.

Okay. In the testimony from the Executive Director, Lenny Govea, he states Mr. Kawahara's guidance will help RCUH further its mission of supporting research, development, and training in Hawaii. So, can you explain how your guidance will further that mission development and research?

Yes. So, looking at the strategic plan, I understand there's some goals. One of them is looking at the internal operations RCUH.

So I think from maybe my experience and background in the business sector, as well as my 13 years in government, I can take a look at and try to understand and see where there may be areas that we can improve.

Okay, so not anything really specific, and just in the research area and the training area.

Yeah. And I think education is important too. So our mission is the research development, and the education component.

So a lot of times, you know, and also being in the engineering field and talking to my staff engineers, you know, as an engineer, we can have the best design in the world, but if we can't communicate that and educate people why it's important, then we're not really doing a good job.

So I think the educational component is really important also.

Can you just explain for the public, how many employees does RCUH employ?

Good question. I don't know that offhand. I know it's a pretty large number, but I don't know that offhand right now.

Okay, when we say large number, we're talking like 5,000 plus, right?

Potentially, potentially. I don't have that. I'm trying to look through our annual report, and I don't see it offhand. I can get back to you if you need to.

Okay, thank you. I just raised that because I think a lot of people in the public don't have a good grasp of exactly what RCUH does and how large it is, how encompassing it is. And they do have all the exemptions from procurement and hiring, and different kinds of exemptions for RCUH. So, members, any other questions? Senator Fukunaga.

You know, especially with many of the challenges on federal funding and related services, it would seem that one of the reasons that RCUH was so valuable in the past was that it served as sort of a clearinghouse for many grants and programs that came through RCUH.

And I know in DLNR, we rely very heavily on some of those kinds of positions to help address many of the needs with respect to public lands. How do you see RCUH addressing some of the challenges that we're currently facing, you know, with federal funding?

And do you see RCUH playing a role in helping to bridge perhaps broader, you know, partnerships within the community?

Senator Fukunaga, very good question. I don't have, I guess and many of us are still trying to see how this federal, I guess, policies are impacting. I am speaking at a national water conference, and we're having the same discussion at that time because a lot of communities depend on federal funding, especially when it comes to water infrastructure.

I think through partnership with many others, we need to see how things shake out and see what we can do, and the best we can do to help our community.

Okay, well, I hope that you bring back lots of good ideas from this national conference. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay. Thank you. Members, if no other questions, we will go ahead and move on with our last nominee. We keep the best for last. We have GM 624. This is submitting for consideration and confirmation to the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, gubernatorial nominee Joshua Faumuina, to serve on a term to expire 6/30/2026.

And for support, we have a number of people sending in testimony: Chelsey Bryson, Brian Petrovsky, Diane Paloma, Michael Miyahira, Constance Casey, Wayne Higaki, and Jenny Brown. Jenny is supposed to be on Zoom. Jenny, are you on zoom?

Currently unavailable on Zoom, chair.

Okay, and anyone else here wishing to testify in support? Please, come on up. Please identify yourself first.

Hello. Aloha, chair, vice chair, members of the committee. My name is Ronald Sturges. I am here as the chair of the University of Hawaii Student Caucus, representing 50,000 students of the University of Hawaii. I apologize that my testimony did not make the deadline. We are here testifying in support.

The caucus found unanimously positioned strong support for the reconfirmation of Regent Faumuina for the upcoming term. Our reasons stated are actually surprising to me, but I full-heartedly agree with them. The biggest shock to me was that he was there for every meeting--almost every meeting; there was one I think you were like sick or something--but he was there for every meeting.

And understanding how valuable the regent's time is alone, not to mention a full-time law student, the fact that Regent Faumuina made the time to come out to our meetings just to hear us was already an amazing impact.

But on top of just hearing us out, Regent Faumuina also made sure to provide this really wonderful pipeline of communication of information that the caucus otherwise would not have received, and a lot of times it has helped the caucus sort of get a hold on topics that come up, and really that information has been a part of our core ideals of transparency. To see that reflected by the student regent is something the caucus really, really loves.

Lastly, Regent Faumuina, along with other regents, actually stood up and defended some of our caucus members during a--from some comments--lack of a better word--but the fact that he stood up and outwardly defended us was really appreciated, and still giving credit to the other regents that did.

But the biggest thing on top of that is the regent not only--doesn't parrot the caucus's views. The regent shows that his voting habits, his demeanor, his philosophies are his own, and they just are in alignment with the caucus, and for the caucus, we see this is one of the best regents I've had in my term in the two years of caucus.

Okay, well, thank you for sharing that. I think it's important. He is the student regent, and it's important that the students--this is the student's voice on the Board of Regents, so thank you.

Thank you very much.

Members, any questions of the speaker? If not, okay. Joshua, you have the chair, and if you'd like to go ahead and give opening remarks?

Good afternoon, Senators. Thank you so much for having me today. I just want to say it's an honor to be considered for the world I'm already sort of serving in on an interim basis, and it's been really a privilege to serve in that interim basis over the past nine, ten months or so.

I've been a student for probably longer than I'd prefer to be, and in that time, I think I've really sort of built what I can best describe as my community at the University of Hawaii. I've been through several campuses, multiple programs, and I have a bit of a critical eye.

I try to pull it back when I speak, but it's--during that time I've seen a lot that I'd like to change, I've seen a lot that I like, and I've just always felt like I wanted to be involved a little bit more, so as I've gone to law school with an interest in public policy and governance, I thought this seemed like probably one of the best ways I could spend my time as a law student serving on this board, so with that, I hope to continue serving. I'm open to any questions you all have.

Oh, good. Members, questions for our student regent? Senator Kidani.

No, I'm just--not amazed, but pretty much amazed at all that you have done and your willingness to continue to serve, and I thank you for that because I think you are--

Someone that the regents appreciate and all your board Members appreciate. Thank you, Members.

He did reply to extensive questions which I sent out to all of you so you could get to understand where Joshua, how he feels on many issues. We did meet and talked about a lot of issues as well. But I do have some follow up questions that basically I wanted to review.

You know, the Regents Candidate Advisory Council, they list the description of duties of the Board of Regents and one of one of those areas. They say Regents are responsible for knowing community needs and trends, maintaining relationships with communities served by the system, and seeking out and considering multiple perspectives when making policy decisions.

So question is, have you engaged in seeking out and considering these multiple perspectives when making policy decisions?

Yes. So there are a few instances where we have a lot of public, I want to say pushback, but a lot of public input where it's obviously like a hot topic kind of thing to deal with.

So in those instances, my first step, rather than just getting a public opinion, I try to talk to administrators because one of the nice things about being a Regent, I can just pull them in whenever I feel like it, so I can get as much information about it as I can.

And then after that I start to try and talk to students who I can. Sometimes even the students who come to the meetings, they'll stick around. I'll get a chance to run and talk to them and get like more than their three minutes of testimony that they were able to give.

And I also do my best to, to stay in touch with all of the student governments through student caucus. So a lot of them can tell you that I spent time just chatting with them on the side, trying to figure out what's going on.

And these like, particular issues at each campus that they're dealing with, they're aware of, that they're able to share with me.

Good. So the other area that the Candidate Advisory Council lists is number 10, evaluation of board's performance review. Regents must periodically assess their own performance as a board and the policies that govern board conduct. The board should set goals for itself and regularly evaluate progress towards those goals.

So since you've been on the BOR for about what910 months now, have you and the rest of the Regents assess your own performance as a board and what goals have the board set for itself and regularly evaluate the progress towards towards those goals.

This is so interesting that you brought this up because it was a topic that came up at the conference I was at in Chicago. So they did do that right before I got there.

So I got to maybe My first or second meeting, we went through the results and it seemed like it was all honestly more of a temperature check than anything. So I would say that we probably need to review how we do that and make it a little bit more geared towards something that can be more actionable.

Because it was honestly just a collection of opinions from the board about, like. And it's from the Board of Regents. And I think it's actually publicly available. I'm pretty sure. I think it was in the packet.

Okay, so that's something that you think you guys can. I think that's worth working on. Okay. Okay. To that. Do you believe that the border regions need to be more accessible and should be more user friendly to the public and. And to the students?

Do you mean, like more visible outside of the meetings or how do you mean?

Well, just make it more user friendly in the sense, like. Let me ask you that. So you have these standing committees. Committee on Student Success, Committee on Institutional Success, Committee on Kuleana, Committee on Governance.

And I'm not sure if you were to go up to somebody at the University and say, hey, do you know what the Committee on Institutional Success is? Do you know what the Committee on Kuleana is? I mean, I don't even. I can't even remember, you know, the difference between student success and institutional success.

So do you think that makes it a little difficult for the public to follow along with the.

I do. We've talked about this. I remember this. But yeah, I do think it could stand to be a little bit more understandable. It would also be great if people, for the most part, knew where the Board of Regents is. I feel like a lot of people don't.

But yes, in terms of, like, how the committees work, I do agree with you.

Yeah. Because before, just to be more straightforward, like Committee on Student Athletic, on Athletics, Committee on Budget and Finance, Committee on the. Yeah. I mean.

Things fall under. I remember when I first started, I was reading through those. I thought a few things were oddly placed.

Yeah. What is. What is Kamila on Kuleana?

Kun Kuleana. It's mostly our commitment to Native Hawaiian values, learning, culture, and integration of that into everything that we do at the University as we're native Hawaiian serving institution.

Okay. Well, it should be Korean for all students. Right? I mean, for all of the University.

It is for all. But it. The idea is that we're all here in Hawaii. It should be a part of all the learning that we do. We chose to go to the University of Hawaii, and that's, I think, an integral part of what we do at our University.

So what are you going to do to maybe fix this? If. If it's important enough.

I'm very much open to reviewing the way the committees are set up right now. I believe they're based on our strategic plan and what's required by legislation. I want to say it's internal audit and institutional success are the two that are mandated and the people on one have to be on the other, if that makes sense.

Beyond that, I think it's based on our.

But the names can change. Yeah, the names can certainly change.

And I.

So how do you go about doing that?

I probably have to talk to Gabe directly and then hope that he follows through.

Okay, that concerns him. When you say hope. So maybe this next question is how does the regents go about getting items on the agenda to be discussed? For instance, how do you get this to go on the agenda to say we. We should be looking at how we.

How we name our committees and how we become more user friendly to the public.

So I know when it's been germane to a topic that's on our agenda, we've managed to like bring up, hey, we should bring this on. I know Regent Akitake and I Regent Abercrombie, a few of us have hear us on that as well that I've seen. So that's one of the ways we're able.

I think that might be the only way that we're able to do it.

And there's pushback from time to time, right?

Sometimes there is. It is up to our chairs if they decide to include it. I think are chairs and visit with our secretary do it.

Should it be all the Members on the board?

You know, only up until recently I thought that the committees chose what was on their. But that's not the case. So yes, I do think there should probably be some more control for the committees and their Chairs on what they put.

Have you requested any item be put on the agenda since your time on.

I have, yeah. So the ACM, ACM, SCA. Not tension, but the situation between them just so we can take a closer look at how facilities are being used at ACM and facilities that are needed at SCA at Monoa.

And finally, do you think that the agenda reflects subjects and issues that needs to be discussed in a timely manner in open session?

Sometimes, I think as much as they can. The infrequent meeting. I think I understand your question, yeah. Are they urgent enough?

Well, timely. I mean one of the good examples is when there were issue With Coach Graham and all the students went, you know, came and the parents came out and coaches came out, and people came, and there was no. No addressing it by the regents or the University.

And they came to us, and we ended up having a hearing on it, and then we got criticized for doing that. But again, if the University and the regents aren't going to be open to discussing this or addressing it, then as our constituents, we feel that we have no alternative but to go ahead and raise it.

Yeah, it's kind of hard. There have been times where there are topics that we want to go into, and like I said, what we try to do is when there's something germane to the topic on the agenda, that's.

Yeah, but if it's not on the.

Agenda, it's not on the agenda. I'm not certain of how we bring up something without violating the Sunshine Law in the process of doing that, because we haven't given public.

You have to give input when the agenda is being contemplated or determining. Right. To get it on the agenda. Another good example is student housing. I know when one or two of the regents brought it up, they didn't want to put it on the agenda for some reason. So.

Yeah. Yeah.

They didn't want to discuss it. And then some of the regents wanted a tour, and the Administration didn't want to do the tour, and they got a lot of pushback to even put it on the agenda.

I will say, and this is part. I've been part of a transitional period. When I asked for the tour, they were pretty willing to give me one. I think they like us to go when there aren't students, so we're not invading their privacy. Of course. But I was able to get a tour of most of the facilities.

Right.

But that was after initially, they finally gave in to the regents to do that. Right.

Yeah. I think someone else fought that battle for me about a year prior.

Okay. Yeah. I'm just trying to get to, like, you know, how impactful that the regents are individually in trying to get items on the agenda that really should be discussed again.

You know, we don't tell you what to discuss, but I think that some of these issues, if it doesn't get discussed, then it ends up in our arena if people are that much concerned about something.

Yeah. And I agree it could help if we maybe come up with a polling situation. Hard to think of a solution right on the spot. But I do agree that needs to be looked at and adjusted.

Who makes up the agenda right now?

I believe it is our Chair, our Vice Chairs, and they do that in collaboration with our secretary and the Administration, mostly because what we give consent to comes from admin. So I think that's their role that they play in. I don't think they decide, at least not at this point in time, what goes onto our agenda entirely.

Members, any other questions?

Just a comment that I think that if you're requesting something to be on the agenda, you should write a letter and copy all the Members and if it's not on the agenda, at the next meeting, publicly stated that you requested this be on the agenda and whatever so that it's on the record. Okay, good point.

Keep that in mind. Anybody else questions? Okay, well, thank you very much. We do have a couple people on on Zoom that had wanted to testify on your behalf and so can we have see. Farrah, why don't you go ahead and get started?

Chair, Vice Chair, and Members of the Committee, I apologize that my testimony was submitted 25 minutes after the deadline yesterday. I did submit written testimony that will eventually get to the Committee. I'm supportive of the nomination of Joshua Faumuina.

I served in the capacity of interim Associate Vice President for Student affairs back in 2016 and I have been in this position now since 2022. In this role, I serve as the advisor to the UH Student Caucus and have worked with several student regents. I recognize the value that they bring to the caucus.

I can say that in the time that Josh has served in the capacity of student Regent, he has att our meetings. He has been very responsive to student questions. He has been a great example of what we hope in all of our student regents.

I would like to extend the thanks to him because I think he keeps our students engaged across all of the campuses. So in addition to my written testimony, I just wanted to pop on camera and express my support and stand in strong support of the nomination. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you, Pharaoh. And we have one more. Can you identify yourself? I can't read that far. Your name? Jenny. Jenny Brown. Okay, Jenny.

Hi guys. Thank you so much for having me. I submitted my online written testimony in support of GM624. I just wanted to add on what I submitted. So I'm actually a current undergraduate student here at UH Manoa and I started at Kapiolani Community College.

And I just want to talk about how Josh showed up for students like students that actually read through the 90 page agenda, like skimming the meeting minutes of border region.

And one thing that really stood out as the student region and Why I support this is because I think he mentioned it was actually where he went out and visited the dorms. From a student perspective, just hearing them saying monetary know what student housing looks like, I was shocked.

But knowing that a student Regent, someone that represents us, a current undergraduate, not only questioned that, but didn't like from my perspective, was like four against it, but just said I'm going to look for myself and see and then make a stance was very impactful and I felt heard as a student. So sum it up.

Josh is a person who listens, he acts and cares for the students. He represents all students. And I think that's exactly the kind of student we need, not only within the UH system, but the broader community. And thank you so much for letting me speak today and I strongly urge you to support the bill.

Thank you, Jenny. Anyone else? Now we're back open. Okay, we're not. Thank you. We are going to go into decision making. And let me just state that after the decision making, the final recommendation will be sent to the Senate Floor. I'm not sure when that might be on the agenda, but they will be—you will get noticed on it.

So, with that, Members, I'm going to go right into decision making. The recommendation will be to advise and consent on all GMs that's on the agenda today. That is GM 764, 765, 766, 771, 772, 784, 785, and 764—724, I'm sorry, 6. Dyslexia. 624.

Okay, Members, any discussion on all of our GMs? Again, I just want to thank all of you for your willingness to serve. I know you don't get paid for doing this, and we just hope that you are serving for the right reasons. And with that, we're going to head and take the vote.

So, shall I start again? [Repeating GMs for Roll]

Okay, we got it. So, the recommendation is to advise and consent. And the chair votes aye. Yes, Governor's message.

Staff did the wrong voting sheets. They build voting sheets instead of GM voting sheets. Very nice. Okay, you can just—okay, so Chair votes aye.

[Roll Call]

Thank you. And that's for all the GMS together. So, with that, congratulations, all of you, and we will see you for the final vote, the Senate. Thank you. We are adjourned.