Aloha ����Vlog�ٷ� ʻohana,

The 2026 legislative session came to a close on May 8 and, considering the significant fiscal challenges and competing priorities facing the state, the University of Hawaiʻi ultimately fared relatively well overall.

Throughout the session, lawmakers were tasked with balancing reductions in federal support for critical programs, economic uncertainty driven by both national and international events, and continued efforts to maintain affordability for Hawaiʻi residents.

With those realities in mind, ����Vlog�ٷ� entered the session with a modest supplemental operating budget request focused on two priority areas: healthcare workforce initiatives and ����Vlog�ٷ� Mānoa Athletics. While the university did not ultimately receive funding for those requests, we appreciate the continued engagement and collaboration with lawmakers throughout the session.

We are also grateful that the Legislature largely maintained existing operating support for the university and continued to invest in capital improvement projects across ����Vlog�ٷ�‘s 10-campus system.

The supplemental budget bill, HB1800 CD1, was approved by the Legislature and now heads to Gov. Green for final consideration.

Preserving tuition and fee reserves

During the session, proposals to utilize the university’s tuition and fee reserves to support other state priorities were under consideration. Through extensive discussions with lawmakers, ����Vlog�ٷ� was able to successfully communicate the importance of maintaining those funds to support student services, campus operations and future strategic investments across the 10 campuses, particularly at a time when reductions in federal funding are creating additional financial uncertainty for higher education nationwide.

There were two measures with fiscal implications for the university. The first, SB2602, would have required that any unencumbered funds in ����Vlog�ٷ�‘s Tuition and Fees Special Fund (TFSF) lapse to the state general fund. This bill did not pass. The second bill, SB2921, transfers any excess balances from non-general funds to the state general fund. Although this bill passed the Legislature, it did not include any of ����Vlog�ٷ�‘s funds.

NIL bill outcome

Unfortunately, Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) legislation intended to support ����Vlog�ٷ� Mānoa Athletics did not advance on the final day of session. The final compromise proposal, which ����Vlog�ٷ� supported, would have placed $1 million of state funds into an NIL endowment and allocated $1.5 million for immediate support for the upcoming season. The bill also required ����Vlog�ٷ� to use $7.5 million in tuition and fee reserves for NIL – $4 million for the endowment and $3.5 million for the upcoming season.

The House passed the bill, but it was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 11–12. A reference on the Senate floor to an email identifying ����Vlog�ٷ� concerns related to a previous version of the bill, not the version on the floor for a vote. ����Vlog�ٷ� will continue to seek funding for NIL in future sessions.

Operating budget

For the operating budget, ����Vlog�ٷ� saw a net reduction of approximately $3.8 million in general funds. At the same time, the Legislature added $319,000 in general funds for three positions at ����Vlog�ٷ� West Oʻahu, as well as $4.1 million in special fund ceiling authority for the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapiʻolani Community College.

The table below provides a side-by-side comparison of the original ����Vlog�ٷ� Board of Regents request, and the final legislative appropriation in HB1800 CD1, pending any line-item vetoes by the governor.

Items in purple are Special Funded, not General Funded.

Capital improvement projects (CIP)

For capital improvement projects and deferred maintenance, HB1800 CD1 provided $126.5 million in general obligation bond funding and $20 million in special funds for projects across the ����Vlog�ٷ� System.

These investments will support important facility improvements, such as $11 million for ����Vlog�ٷ� Mānoa Athletics, infrastructure modernization and system-wide deferred maintenance projects that directly impact students, faculty and staff across the university.

The following table summarizes the final CIP appropriations:

*The Legislature also added $10 million each in special fund ceiling for Minor CIP and Capital Renewal and Deferred Maintenance at the Community Colleges

Although these investments are significant, substantial needs remain throughout the university system. Addressing deferred maintenance and modernizing aging infrastructure across our campuses will continue to be one of the university’s highest long-term priorities.

While the legislative session has concluded, our engagement with lawmakers continues year-round. Next year will be the start of a new 2-year biennium budget, and we will continue advocating for the needs and priorities of ����Vlog�ٷ�‘s 10 campuses while strengthening partnerships that help the university best serve the people of Hawaiʻi.

The governor has until July 15, 2026, to sign, veto or allow bills to become law without his signature.

Mahalo for all that you do to support our students, campuses and the mission of the University of Hawaiʻi.

Luis P. Salaveria
Vice President for Budget and Finance/Chief Financial Officer
University of Hawaiʻi

The University of Hawaiʻi’s Office of Project Delivery, in collaboration with ����Vlog�ٷ� Community Colleges, ����Vlog�ٷ� West Oʻahu and ����Vlog�ٷ� Hilo, is leading capital improvement projects (CIPs) that are transforming all 10 campuses across the state.

From new construction to critical renovations, these projects modernize facilities, improve energy efficiency and enhance the student experience. Guided by the six-year CIP plan approved by the Board of Regents (BOR) in 2022, more than 70 projects totaling more than $220 million have been completed or launched since 2023 (as of November 2025).

of the progress being made on the projects identified in the plan that support learning, innovation and sustainability across all 10 campuses. The new video follows a highlighting the achievements of the university’s first six-year capital improvement plan approved by the BOR in 2016.

Highlights covered in the 2025 video include:

• $26-million renovation of Bachman Hall completed in 2024
• $62-million Student Success Center opening in 2026
• $105-million transformation of McCarthy Mall and Paradise Palms now underway
• $6.5-million renovation of ����Vlog�ٷ� Hilo’s Campus Center
• Phase 2 of Kapiʻolani Community College’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Diamond Head set to open in 2026
• Leeward CC’s Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center opened in 2024

University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� alumna Kiana Yamat is back at her alma mater. This time, the graduate and Miss Hawaiʻi USA 2022 is serving as a project engineer for the construction transformation at the heart of the ����ԴDz� campus.

Yamat runs the office team for Hensel Phelps, the construction company in charge of the ����ԴDz� Mini Master Plan.

She plays a key role managing contracts, ordering materials and handling finances in order to make these major upgrades to McCarthy Mall possible.

“It’s surreal and it’s an honor,” said Yamat. “Using the talent and experience gained from school, we are building something that impacts more than just the campus itself.”

Giving back for future generations

A major part of the project is the construction of a modern building for interdisciplinary learning, which will replace Snyder Hall as the home of the .

Being a part of this opportunity is especially meaningful to Yamat, whose mother is a retired public school teacher with a special education background.

“Knowing that there are people like my mom that will one day influence the whole community, thatʻs a big deal,” said Yamat.

Paving her path

During her time at ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�, Yamat was grateful for the many resources and partnering programs that the College of Engineering had to offer. It was through the , which she was president of, that Yamat landed her current engineering role.

When Hensel Phelps presented to ASCE at one of their club meetings, it opened her eyes to civil engineering, a path she had not previously considered. Yamat connected with ����Vlog�ٷ� alumni at Hensel Phelps, who encouraged her to join the team.

Now, Yamat is on the other end, inspiring future engineers. Her company continues to partner with the ASCE student chapter.

“I want students to realize that no job is too small to be impactful,” said Yamat. “From the interns that we have on site all the way to the higher-ups, all of us are a piece of shaping something the public gets to see.”

—By Josslyn Rose

Kalbert Young, ����Vlog�ٷ� vice president for budget and finance and chief financial officer, shares his analysis of the concluded 2025 Legislative session.

Aloha ����Vlog�ٷ� ʻohana,

The 2025 legislative session concluded on May 2. While not all of the funding requests submitted by the ����Vlog�ٷ� Board of Regents (BOR) at the beginning of the legislative session were included in the final state budget, the university appreciates the funding we did receive, and we believe it could have a positive impact on our 10 ����Vlog�ٷ� campuses and the State of Hawaiʻi.

Overall, State general funds account for approximately 50% of ����Vlog�ٷ�’s operating budget, and depending on the individual campus, general funds can represent as much as 70% of their annual budget. This level of funding places ����Vlog�ٷ� amongst the top third of public universities in terms of the degree of state support in the U.S.

This significant legislative support has allowed ����Vlog�ٷ� to keep tuition relatively flat for the past eight years. When adjusted for inflation, the cost of attending a ����Vlog�ٷ� campus is actually lower today than it was in 2017, a rare achievement in higher education or any industry, for that matter.

����Vlog�ٷ� will continue to work with the State and the Legislature to advocate for additional funding to support new initiatives and excellent programs.

����Vlog�ٷ� Cancer Center and JABSOM

One potentially positive outcome of the 2025 legislative session relates to the ����Vlog�ٷ� Cancer Center and passage of a bill that increases the cigarette tax from 16 to 18 cents per cigarette. The new revenue will be dedicated to covering the ����Vlog�ٷ� Cancer Center’s debt service until 2030 and could provide additional financial stability for the center.

The BOR had also requested: $6.9 million a year for the Cancer Center and $2.7 million a year for John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) for each year of the biennium budget. The Governor’s budget included: $9.4 million a year for the Cancer Center, $1.1 million in FY26 and $1.5 million in FY27 for JABSOM. This specific funding was not included in the budget.

In order to meet financial obligations in these areas, the programs and university will draw upon existing university funds. I expect that we will continue advocating for additional support in the next legislative session.

Athletics

Also some positive news for ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� and ����Vlog�ٷ� Hilo athletics. The Legislature permanently added $3.2 million annual for ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Athletics, matching the BOR’s request. ����Vlog�ٷ� Hilo Athletics received a $500,000 increase in its base budget (the BOR had requested $800,000). Previously, the money was not part of the base budget, which meant we had to make the funding request each session.

A proposed $12.8 million increase for ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Athletics that was requested by Governor Green and numerous community partners, and strongly supported by ����Vlog�ٷ�, was not included in the final budget.

The request aimed to help ����Vlog�ٷ� remain competitive in the rapidly evolving landscape of Division I athletics. A pending settlement in the House v. NCAA lawsuit would eliminate scholarship caps and expand roster limits, allowing schools to award scholarships to more student-athletes. If implemented, this change would significantly increase costs for ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� to stay competitive.

Nursing programs and Hawaiʻi Promise

The Legislature did fund several of the requested nursing initiatives, including a joint ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�–����Vlog�ٷ� West Oʻahu nursing collaboration, a new Pre-Nursing Pathway at ����Vlog�ٷ� West Oʻahu, and an expansion of the nursing cohort size at ����Vlog�ٷ� Hilo.

However, the university’s long-standing request to expand the Hawaiʻi Promise needs based scholarship program to four-year campuses was not approved. The last dollar program will continue to serve students at ����Vlog�ٷ�’s seven community colleges. The university is considering other alternatives to help students at the four years with proven need.

Overall budget request and outcome

The BOR’s biennium budget included requests for $37.8 million in FY26 and $38.7 million in FY27. The final legislative budget provided $9.3 million in FY26 and $9.8 million in FY27.

A table comparing the BOR’s budget request to the final legislative appropriation is included below.

Non-recurring items in red.

On the capital improvement side of the budget, there were a few notable developments. One of the most significant involves student housing improvements at the ����ԴDz� campus. The BOR requested $61.5 million in FY26 and $57 million in FY27 in state-financed General Obligation (GO) Bonds.

The Legislature approved half of that amount through GO Bonds and authorized ����Vlog�ٷ� to issue revenue bonds for the remaining portion, which will require new income streams to cover future debt service.

Lawmakers passed a measure allowing ����Vlog�ٷ� to issue $30.7 million in revenue bonds in FY26 for student housing improvements. However, this is still less than half of what was requested and for what was appropriated across the biennium in the budget. ����Vlog�ٷ� will need to return next session to seek authorization for the remaining balance.

In total, the Board requested $381 million in FY26 and $331.2 million in FY27 to meet critical capital needs systemwide. The Legislature ultimately appropriated $178.5 million for FY26 and $38.5 million for FY27 in GO Bonds.

These figures do not include the portion of student housing funding that will be financed through ����Vlog�ٷ�-issued revenue bonds.

*Legislature also added $30,750,000 in FY26 and $28,500,000 in FY27 in revenue bond appropriation for Student Housing

The University is grateful for the level of support demonstrated from the Legislature and the Governor with the continued investment in the University of Hawaiʻi. Future work remains to collaboratively address the evolving needs of our students, faculty and staff across all ten campuses.

The ����Vlog�ٷ� administration is currently reviewing all enacted legislation from multiple angles to evaluate potential impacts and next steps. Of the 322 bills passed this session, 84 are expected to have either a direct or indirect impact on ����Vlog�ٷ�—ranging from operational and policy considerations to broader institutional concerns—for the university.

Gov. Green has until July 9, 2025, to sign, veto or allow bills to become law without his signature. There are also early indications that a special legislative session may be held later this year to address the loss of federal funding resulting from recent cuts by the Trump administration. I will share updates as more information becomes available.

Mahalo for your time and attention,
Kalbert Young
Vice President for Budget and Finance/Chief Financial Officer

The University of Hawaiʻi will break ground on a major capital improvement project in early 2025 to transform the heart of the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� campus.

The project on McCarthy Mall has two phases: 1) the construction of a modern, five-story building for interdisciplinary learning and 2) significant upgrades to the iconic tree-lined mall and the Paradise Palms Food Court. It is tentatively scheduled for completion by the fall of 2027.

“This is one of the most transformational projects for the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� campus in decades,” said ����Vlog�ٷ� President David Lassner.

“The new academic building will provide modern educational facilities and bring our vibrant College of Education together with collaborators and resources in other schools and colleges. And the project will fully activate McCarthy Mall as a place to actively engage rather than just transit between buildings.”

Interdisciplinary Learning Facility

The planned five-story, 77,575-square-foot facility is located on the ma uka (mountainside) of McCarthy Mall, where Snyder Hall once stood, and will be connected to Edmondson Hall. The first two floors will feature 13 small classrooms, two medium classrooms, and one large classroom, available for all ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� departments, colleges and schools.

“The goal is to create spaces that foster community, learning and collaboration,” said ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Provost Michael Bruno. ”The modern classrooms and expanded outdoor areas will offer students and faculty comfortable, engaging environments.”

The top three floors will house modern, collaborative office spaces and conference rooms. The College of Education (COE) will occupy the third and fourth floors, and about half of the second floor. The College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) will be on the fifth floor.

“The faculty and staff were asked to participate in the design of the work spaces, which meant a lot to everyone involved,” said CALL Dean Peter Arnade. “It has been a true collaborative effort for a facility built for collaboration.”

COE will relocate from its current location at the corner of University Avenue and Metcalf Street, across from the main campus.

“I commend our faculty and staff for embracing this move because it will be great for our college and the students we serve,” said COE Dean Nathan Murata. “It is going to be so much more convenient for our students and their access to campus resources.”

McCarthy Mall, Paradise Palm upgrades

Improvements to McCarthy Mall include widened walkways, lots of additional seating, electrical outlets, and enhanced lighting. The shaded area under the Monkeypod trees will accommodate more than 500 students with more seating options—benches, tables with umbrellas, and tablet-arm chairs, creating a more inviting and comfortable space for students to gather and study.

The Paradise Palms Food Court renovation will add a larger entrance facing McCarthy Mall with a 75-by-70-foot photovoltaic glass canopy. The canopy will provide natural light and generate renewable energy while also creating more outdoor space for students with high stools, tables, and outlets for up to 200 people.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Hawaiʻi State Legislature for their unwavering support of this groundbreaking project,” said ����Vlog�ٷ� Vice President for Administration Jan Gouveia. “Their commitment to higher education is making it possible to create modern, collaborative spaces that will enhance the learning experience for our students and faculty alike. This project will help shape the future of ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� and cultivate a vibrant, innovative campus for generations to come.”

Part of the plan

This project is the latest in a series of major construction projects that are improving campus life. Other projects include the Isabella Aiona Abbott Life Sciences Building (completed 2020), the live-learn-work Walter Dods, Jr. facility (completed 2023), the renovation of Sinclair Library into a modern Student Success Center (opening fall 2025) and the Hale Haukani graduate students and faculty housing facility (opening fall 2025).

“We developed ambitious, long-range plans for the campus that were approved by the Board of Regents and we are systematically and successfully executing those plans,” said Lassner. “We have embraced and integrated new approaches including design-build methodology for construction projects and public-private partnerships (P3) to increase availability of housing.”

Lassner said those responsible for the successes including Gouveia and her team that spearheaded ����Vlog�ٷ� planning and construction, VP for Budget & Finance and CFO Kalbert Young and his team that learned to implement P3 to do more than what was possible with the limited public funding available to us, and Provost Michael Bruno and the ����ԴDz� leadership team that changed the way the academic community views campus spaces.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support we received from the Legislature, the Governor and the Board of Regents, who trusted us and believed we could be transformational in our thinking and approach,” said Lassner.

The McCarthy Mall project and the new Student Success Center are the second phase of the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Mini Master Plan and part of the campus’s Long Range Development Plan, updated in 2020, and successive 6-year CIP plans, with the last one approved in 2022. The first phase included the demolition of Henke and Snyder Halls and the construction of the Abbott Life Sciences Building. The third phase, which still needs to be funded, includes either renovating or replacing Kuykendall Hall.

Design-build team

The Hensel Phelps design-build team was selected for the McCarthy Mall project with architectural and sustainable design led by Hawaiʻi-based KYA Inc. and global design firm Perkins & Will. The project integrates advanced LEED Silver standards for sustainability and energy efficiency, reinforcing ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s commitment to environmentally conscious development.

“The new design not only enhances functionality of educational and work spaces, it also reflects ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s vision of a sustainable, collaborative campus that brings students, faculty and the wider university community together,” said Peter Mercuris, Hensel Phelps Design Manager. “We are proud to partner with ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� on this transformative project, which enhances functionality.”

The Office of Project Delivery oversees the project and ensures it finishes on time and within budget. Design-build projects—where there is a fixed sum, single contract for the design and construction—are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns than typical design-bid-build projects. It is one of the many industry best practices adopted by ����Vlog�ٷ� about a decade ago.

The plans to create more outdoor spaces for students at a new, larger entrance to Paradise Palms and along McCarthy Mall. The project will add modern, comfortable seating for more than 1,000 students where they can study, eat and socialize.

“The goal of this project is to improve the student experience at ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�, similar to the Student Success Center that’s scheduled to open in fall 2025,” said ����Vlog�ٷ� Vice President of Administration Jan Gouveia. “The planned outdoor seating would provide what students are asking for—more outdoor spaces where they can study, gather together, collaborate and eat.”

A new, larger entrance to Paradise Palms will be built facing McCarthy Mall and the open space between the Isabella Aiona Abbott Life Sciences Building and Hamilton Library. A 75-by-70-foot, transparent photovoltaic glass roof will be installed at the new entryway along with seating for about 500 people. The new outdoor area will include high stools and tables under the new roof, outside tables with umbrellas and electrical outlets. Paradise Palms, constructed in 1994, is one of the most highly utilized spaces on campus during lunchtime.

McCarthy Mall’s tree lined walkway will be widened, from about 30 feet to 55 feet, to add seating for about 500 people. The center of the walkway will be for pedestrians; the outer edges for bicycles, skateboards, etc. with seating and tables in between. The seating options include lounge chairs and benches with tablet arms for laptops, along with electrical outlets and lighting. It will be the first time McCarthy Mall has been updated since it was built in 1962.

Design group plays important role

The campus improvement project was designed by a team at the (����Vlog�ٷ�CDC) of the School of Architecture led by Principal Investigators Brian Strawn and Karla Sierralta. The team held an interactive workshop in 2022 around a large model of the campus in the courtyard at Campus Center. Students were asked what kinds of amenities they would most like to have on campus. About 50% of students said the campus’s biggest need is more covered outdoor study space with electrical outlets.

����Vlog�ٷ�CDC’s mission is to help Hawaiʻi through design, and the center plays a significant role in the planning of capital improvement on the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� campus. The center recently held co-creation workshops where the future tenants of a new building that will be built on McCarthy Mall used scaled architectural models to provide design input on their workspaces.

A $57-million renovation of a University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� library built in 1956 will transform the four-story, 115,000-square-foot building into a state-of-the-art Student Success Center. Work on the major renovation project began in June 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2026.

The Student Success Center will be a vibrant hub of student activity that will encourage students to stay on campus, between classes and after hours. Three floors of the air conditioned building will be open space for student gathering, studying and socializing with comfortable seating, tables and ample electrical outlets. There will also be more than 30 conference rooms of various sizes for group study along with on-site academic advising departments, a computer lab and Student Store for food and beverages.

“This state-of-the-art center will have a significant impact on the student experience at ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�,” said ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Provost Michael Bruno, an early champion of the project. “It will be very exciting when it opens as students will have a brand new facility where they can study, collaborate, learn from one another, take advantage of convenient academic services, grab a coffee and just be with each other.”

The Student Success Center will be located next to Hemenway Hall, close to the Campus Center and the Warrior Recreation Center. It is also next to the campus’s main city bus stop and right across University Avenue from the , the entrepreneurship center/student housing facility opening in fall 2023.

“We really want to create an environment and a place where students can thrive, and I think that’s really what is most important for us in this collaboration,” said Aaron Yamasaki, vice president division manager at Swinerton Builders, the Design Builder. “This is Hawaiʻi’s university and we want to make this great school even better and this project will do just that.”

The project includes a rooftop photovoltaic system to generate renewable energy and help as the renovation project strives to be LEED Silver certified. A modest step towards meeting the 10-campus systemʻs goal of zero carbon emissions by 2035.

The center will house the College of Social Sciences Digital Studios and feature a large study space on the first floor that can host and livestream campus events.

It will also be the new home of the award winning ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Esports team. The team will have a modern gaming room to practice, compete and livestream competitions to the world. There will also be facilities for casual gaming available to all students.

Mahalo ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Library

The building became available for the renovation project after the agreed to relocate staff and materials in the now closed Sinclair Library to Hamilton Library.

“They embraced the challenge and worked with multiple academic units reviewing and assessing the materials,” said Bruno about the library’s leadership and staff. “We could not have done this without their cooperation.”

Building on success

The ����Vlog�ٷ� Office of Project Delivery is responsible for the project and for making sure it finishes on time and on budget. The office oversees Capital Improvement Projects large and small, including the Isabella Aiona Abbott Life Sciences Building that opened in 2020 and the expansion of the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.

“A center for students was identified as one of the campus’s biggest needs and now it is our responsibility to turn that idea into a reality,” said Brandon Shima, Design Manager for the Office of Project Delivery.

Like the Abbott Life Sciences Building, the Student Success Center is a design-build project, where there is a fixed sum, single contract for the design and construction. Design-build projects are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns, compared to the typical design-bid-build process. It is one of the many national best practices for capital improvement projects adopted by ����Vlog�ٷ� along with hiring highly qualified project managers and construction procurement specialists.

Read more about the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� RISE center.
To apply, visit the .

“We need to demonstrate to the State of Hawaiʻi that every dollar invested in ����Vlog�ٷ� will be spent efficiently and effectively,” said ����Vlog�ٷ� Vice President for Administration Jan Gouveia. “We thank the state Legislature and the governor’s office for its support and know that we have to continue to prove that university projects are worth funding.”

Following the 6-year CIP plan

The Abbott Life Sciences Building and the Student Success Center were among the goals in the 2016 6-year CIP plan approved by the ����Vlog�ٷ� Board of Regents. The plan continues to deliver on many of its stated goals including a new $70-million, five-story facility planned for McCarthy Mall. The building will feature modern classroom and work spaces with construction scheduled to begin in 2024. The BOR approved a new 6-year CIP plan in November 2022 that aims to build on the previous plan and create more modern space-efficient facilities and outdoor spaces that leverage ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s unique sense of place.

Read more about the Sinclair student success center in ����Vlog�ٷ� News

The University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� is aiming to create more modern space-efficient facilities and outdoor spaces that increase campus activity in the afternoons and evenings and leverage ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s unique sense of place. These are among the goals of the 6-year Capital Improvement Projects Plan approved by the ����Vlog�ٷ� Board of Regents (BOR) in November 2022.

Additional goals include adding more parking to the upper campus, creating a more pedestrian friendly campus by converting interior campus roads into pedestrian malls, like iconic McCarthy Mall, and more PV canopy and similar projects to generate more renewable energy.

The new plan builds on the 6-year CIP Plan adopted in 2016, and both plans were guided by the campus’s master plan, . The 2022 CIP plan emphasizes improvements to existing facilities with data-driven decisions based on academic needs and optimal space utilization. Projects that support multiple programs and disciplines are prioritized so the newest facilities are utilized by as many students as possible.

The expectation is that the plan will be responsive to changing conditions and circumstances. The BOR is updated quarterly in publicly posted meetings on progress and any expected changes. The plans call for a $985-million investment over the next six years at ����Vlog�ٷ�’s flagship campus.

RIM projects foundation

Renew, Improve and Modernize (RIM) projects are the foundation of the new 6-year CIP plan, as they were for the previous plan. RIM projects focus on modernizing existing classrooms, student spaces and teaching and research laboratories, with an emphasis on health and safety and maintaining existing infrastructure and system investments. After completing more than 100 RIM projects over the last six years, the new plan calls for $600 million for RIM projects, $100 million a year, to repair/renovate rooms, buildings and infrastructure. With the lump sum funding, ����Vlog�ٷ� has the flexibility to prioritize projects, and quickly address issues that may suddenly arise.

Energy efficiency projects

����Vlog�ٷ� is requesting $120 million, $20 million in each of the six years, for the design and construction of more than 175 energy efficiency and PV rooftop and canopy projects that will generate an estimated 38 megawatts of power daily.

Maximizing the campus’ PV capacity is critical to achieving ����Vlog�ٷ�ʻs goal for net-zero energy use, producing as much energy as the system consumes across all campuses by 2035. Reducing ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s overall consumption is key as it accounts for 75% of the 10-campus system’s total energy consumption.

Hamilton Library feasibility study

Hamilton Library, the largest building on campus and approximately 45% of its 411,000 interior square feet is used for open-stack book storage. ����Vlog�ٷ� is requesting $6.5 million for an assessment and feasibility study on installing a high-density, climate-controlled book storage. By moving books into an easily accessible storage system, a significant amount of new space could be created in the heart of central campus without building a new building. Currently, Hamilton Library consumes almost 11 million kilowatt hours of energy a year. By reducing the need to maintain a cool and controlled environment for over 3.6 million books, this project will significantly reduce the total energy consumption on campus and provide a more comfortable setting for visitors of the library.

New parking structure and more pedestrian malls

The plan earmarks $70 million for a new parking structure at the Maile Way/East-West Road intersection between the Center for Korean Studies and the Campus Services building. The structure will have approximately 1,000 parking stalls and provide more on-campus parking for students, faculty, staff and visitors.

The new parking structure will clear the way for more pedestrian malls, such as McCarthy Mall, by reducing street parking on campus. The plan calls for converting the campus interior roads off East West Road and Maile Way (Campus Road, Varney Circle, Roosevelt Road and Correa Road up to the Kennedy Theatre parking lot) into tree lined, pedestrian malls that activate the space between buildings, increase pedestrian safety and encourage more activity on campus in the afternoons and evenings.

Athletics complex upgrades

����Vlog�ٷ� is requesting $30 million to upgrade athletic complex facilities, including additional improvements to the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex and a new home for the women’s track and field and soccer teams. The new track/soccer facility will be built on the practice fields currently used by the football and soccer teams allowing ����Vlog�ٷ� to host soccer matches on campus for the first time in the team’s history. Currently, the Rainbow Wahine play their home matches 16 miles from campus. Repairs and upgrades are also planned for the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, Stan Sheriff Center and the Tennis Complex. The projects include artificial turf replacement, resurfacing, batting cage improvements, new scoreboards and work on locker rooms and restrooms.

Central administration facility, demolition of dozens of portable buildings

The plan calls for the construction of a central administration facility where the Campus Services building is currently located on East West Road between the Agricultural Science Building and the Center for Korean Studies. The project with an estimated $70 million cost includes the demolition of the existing building and construction of a building no higher than six floors to consolidate the administration offices currently spread across the campus.

Once the administrative offices are centralized, about 70, one-story, wooden, portable buildings throughout the campus will be removed. This will create more campus open space while reducing energy, maintenance costs and overall indoor square footage.

Kuykendall Hall major renovation

The new plan includes $50 million for the renovation and modernization of Kuykendall Hall, which was built in 1964 and houses 28 classrooms. The project will improve overall space utilization and occupancy and provide modern teaching and learning environments for students, faculty and staff. Building systems will also be upgraded to meet ����Vlog�ٷ�’s sustainability goals and address the deferred maintenance backlog.

Holmes Hall renovation

A $15-million renovation is proposed for Holmes Hall, the home of the College of Engineering, which was built in 1972. The renovation will focus on modernizing laboratory space that consists of about 65% of the four-story building’s square footage. The improvements to the teaching and research lab space will contribute to student learning outcomes and faculty research. The project will also improve the building’s safety and accessibility, and improve overall sustainability performance.

Framework for the Future: consolidating activities, reducing square footage

The ����ԴDz� Campus: Framework for the Future guided the current and previous 6-year CIP plans. Adopted in 2017, the campus master plan aligns development priorities with the and was developed after an in-depth space utilization study. It provides an organizing vision for the campus and charts an overall structure for future development, new open spaces, infrastructure and mobility networks, while providing the flexibility to respond to changing conditions and circumstances. In the long term, the campus master plan calls for reducing overall facility space by 500,000 square feet and relocating the College of Education, Institute for Astronomy, ����Vlog�ٷ� Press and Children’s Center to the main campus.

����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� overview

The flagship campus of the 10-campus ����Vlog�ٷ� System, ����Vlog�ٷ� Mānoa has 9.4 million gross square feet of facilities spread across Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island. The main campus in Mānoa Valley covers 320 acres with more than 160 buildings; the John A. Burns School of Medicine and the Cancer Research Center of Hawaiʻi on 9.9 acres in Kakaʻako, 25 agriculture research stations and extension offices across Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island; the Hawaiʻi Institute for Marine Biology located on Moku o Loʻe (Coconut Island) in ����̄�Ա�ʻ�dz�� Bay; the Institute for Astronomy on Maunakea on Hawai‘i Island and Haleakalā on Maui; ships and submarines at Piers 34 and 35 in Honolulu Harbor; the Makai Research Pier; Lyon Arboretum and the Waikīkī Aquarium.

A recap video of the 2016 University of Hawaiʻi capital improvement projects (CIP) six-year plan

New architectural renderings provide a glimpse of the $53-million student success center on the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� campus that will further enrich the student life experience. The Swinerton/G70 design-build team has been awarded the contract to renovate Gregg M. Sinclair Library and transform it into a state-of-the-art center with modern, comfortable spaces for individual and group study along with on-site student support services and academic advising. Work on the four-story, 115,000-square-foot, 66-year-old building is tentatively scheduled to begin in summer 2023 and completed in fall 2024.

Located next to Hemenway Hall, Campus Center and the Warrior Recreation Center, the student success center is projected to be a vibrant hub of student activity and interaction that will encourage students to remain on campus between classes and after hours.

• Read more about the Sinclair student success center in ����Vlog�ٷ� News

The design-build project was funded by the state Legislature and is part of the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Campus Framework and Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) from 2020 that has been incorporated into the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� , a commitment—informed by regularly updated data—that campus projects represent ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s core values as identified in the (PDF).

Design-build is a national best practice adopted by the ����Vlog�ٷ� Office of Project Delivery where there is a single contract for the design and construction with a fixed lump sum cost. Design-build projects are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns, compared to the typical design-bid-build process.

The university system’s first major design-build project, the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Life Sciences Building completed in 2020, was honored in May 2022 with a Kukulu Hale Award for nonprofit project.

A $41 million transformation project to revamp Sinclair Library into a state-of-the-art student success center is closer to becoming reality. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2024, with construction set to begin by the end of 2022.

����Vlog�ٷ� officials will shortlist three design-build project finalists by the end of November and award the contract to the best value team in March 2022. By winter 2022, current Sinclair Library occupants will be relocated around campus to allow construction to begin. The center is expected to be open for use by fall 2024. Funding for the student success center was approved in the 2019–20 fiscal year.

When completed, the center will enhance the student experience by creating a vibrant hub of modern, comfortable spaces that encourages students to remain on campus between classes and after hours for individual study, group study, academic advising and tutoring, other campus services and much more.

Sinclair Library, adjacent to Hemenway Hall, Campus Center and the Warrior Recreation Center, is a prime location for the modernized center, delivering the type of space needed to keep ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� competitive with other universities.

Related ����Vlog�ٷ� News stories:

• Sinclair Library transitioning into student success center, January 21, 2020
• Funding approved to transform Sinclair into student success center, April 30, 2019
• Sinclair Library to become center for student success, January 30, 2019

This work is an example of ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�’s Snyder Hall, scheduled for demolition in June, will be remembered for its world-class research, and for many, being part of bygone era when laboratory animal science was a common practice at universities around the country. As researchers made groundbreaking discoveries, former students and employees from the 1970s and 1980s recall the eerie animal noises echoing through McCarthy Mall, where Snyder Hall is located.

The five-story concrete building was built in 1962 for $1.5 million. Snyder Hall was replaced in 2020 with the $65-million state-of-the-art Life Sciences Building located on the East-West Road end of McCarthy Mall.

Snyder Hall part of largest campus expansion

Snyder Hall was among 37 new buildings constructed during the biggest campus expansion ever at ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� during the mid 1950s to mid 1960s. Initially spearheaded by then ����Vlog�ٷ� President Paul Bachman, the buildup was supported by a new generation of Democratic lawmakers, who had just ended a half century of Republican legislative control. Many of the lawmakers who overrode a governor’s veto to fund the expansion with tax increases were ����Vlog�ٷ� graduates and World War II veterans.

Bachman died unexpectedly in 1957, and was replaced by Laurence H. Snyder, an internationally known geneticist. During Snyder’s tenure as president from 1958 to 1963, ����Vlog�ٷ� doubled the number of students, academic courses, and degree programs offered. He also oversaw the construction of the new buildings and the installation of the iconic pedestrian thoroughfare, McCarthy Mall, one of Snyder’s proudest accomplishments.

One of the new buildings, the Health Research Institute Building, was renamed Snyder Hall in 1967 in his honor.

World-class research

Snyder Hall was home to a number of internationally recognized academics performing cutting-edge research in biology and microbiology.

Here are just a few examples of the world-class research performed there over nearly six decades.

• Microbiology Professor Maqsudul Alam led a group that sequenced the genome of SunUp papaya, the first published tropical fruit genome sequenced. Alam also discovered in the Archaea and Bacteria, proteins which trigger responses to oxygen, for which he was awarded a ����Vlog�ٷ� Excellence in Research Award (2001). He also established the Advanced Studies in Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics facility, now based in the new Life Sciences Building.
• Microbiology Professor Phil Loh is credited with the invention of the field of shrimp tissue cell culture, which has allowed the study of viruses that infect shrimps. Loh also founded the virology program in 1961 and was the first person at ����Vlog�ٷ� to receive the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research in 1965.
• Microbiology Professor Clair Edwin Folsome was world renowned for his studies on the origins of life, astrobiology and closed biosystems.
• Microbiology Professor Stuart Donachie’s lab discovered still the second only known species in a unique cyanobacteria order with the first having been discovered in 1974. The sample came from a cave in the Kīlauea Caldera, and provides an “edit” to the history of the evolution of photosynthesis. Donachie’s lab has cultivated and named many other new microbes from Hawaiʻi.
• Microbiology Professor Tung Hoang‘s lab studies bacterial infectious diseases and developed a pioneering method for studying functional genomics of single bacterial cells based around a system called “laser micro-dissection,” funded by the National Science Foundation in 2008 and grants from the National Institute of Health. The laser system is housed in the Biological Electron Microscope Facility, which has its own impressive history.

Thousands of researchers supported by Biological Electron Microscope Facility

The Biological Electron Microscope Facility (BEMF) was established at Snyder Hall in 1984 by Emeritus Professor Richard D. Allen. Allen was world renowned for his work on the model organism Paramecium. Over the years, BEMF has been utilized by more than a thousand researchers from ����Vlog�ٷ�, local technology companies, state and federal agencies and other academic institutions. BEMF’s state-of-the-art equipment is used to examine biological samples from viruses, bacteria and other microbes, invertebrates, vertebrates, plants and materials science samples such as photovoltaic thin films and fuel cell membranes.

The facility’s mission to provide instrumentation, training and services to the broader scientific community continues today in its new home in the Life Sciences Building.

Frogs and monkeys and sea lions, oh my!

The Laboratory Animal Service (LAS) was located on the 5th floor of Snyder Hall, which included an outdoor patio area. The early 2000s witnessed a major reduction in live-animal research due to increasing activism and rising costs, with the last animals leaving the building in 2007.

A wide array of animals were housed there, including mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, cats, Xenopus frogs, owls and Rhesus monkeys. The Rhesus monkeys are apparently what made the most and loudest noises, which echoed through McCarthy Mall.

“The old-timers told me of some brazen escapes in the 1980’s,” said retired ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� LAS employee Norman Magno. “Individual Rhesus escaped the pens and climbed down the adjoining coconut trees, entered Webster Hall quietly, and attended psychology and nursing classes with students without them knowing that a monkey was in attendance. I have been told stories like this on several occasions.”

Magno also said the “old-timers claim that sometime in the 1970’s and before the establishment of the animal advisory committee (now referred to as the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee), sea lions were housed in inflatable swimming pools on the 5th floor Snyder Hall Patio. Passersby often reported hearing dogs barking in the morning hours, that were actually the sea lions.”

Snyder demolition part of larger campus plan

The demolition of Snyder Hall will be the latest completed project in the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s Long Range Development Plan, following the demolition of Henke Hall in 2017, and construction of the now open Life Sciences Buildings in its place. The 2021 state Legislature approved funding for a new building on the Snyder Hall site that will have flexible learning and office spaces to support modern methods of online course delivery, collaboration and advising.

The plan identified Snyder Hall as the first of four buildings to be renovated, replaced or removed because of age and condition, and to reduce energy and maintenance costs. The other buildings are Holmes Hall, Keller Hall, and Kuykendall Hall.

Another project, the $41-million renovation of the Sinclair Library into a Student Success Center, is currently underway. The plan also calls for replacing campus interior roads with pedestrian malls, and removing more than 50 portable buildings on campus to create more open space.

This capital improvement effort is an example of ����Vlog�ٷ� Mānoa’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

Snyder Hall on the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� campus is scheduled to be demolished in May marking the start of Phase 2 of the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Mini Master Plan. The opening of the $65-million Life Sciences Building in July 2020 signaled the completion of Phase 1 of the plan, which also included the removal of Henke Hall in 2017, where the new state-of-the-art Life Sciences Building stands on the Diamond Head end of McCarthy Mall.

The former occupants of Snyder Hall have relocated to the Life Sciences Building, clearing the way for its removal. Construction barriers went up around Snyder in March, as crews prepare to raze and replace it with temporary landscaping. ����Vlog�ٷ� is currently requesting state funding for a new building on the site for flexible learning and office spaces that support modern methods of online delivery, collaboration and advising.

The ����ԴDz� Mini Master Plan, approved by the ����Vlog�ٷ� Board of Regents in 2015, is part of the campusʻs Long Range Development Plan. The completion of the Life Sciences Building along with the start of both Phase 2 of the mini master plan and the $41-million renovation of the Sinclair Library into a student success center are significant milestones of the Long Range Development Plan.

Campus vision for the next decade

One of the goals of the Long Range Development Plan is to reduce energy and maintenance costs. Snyder Hall, built in 1962, was identified as the first of four buildings to be renovated, replaced or removed because of age and condition. The other buildings identified are Holmes Hall, Keller Hall and Kuykendall Hall.

The plan also calls for the removal of more than 50, one-story, wooden, portable buildings around campus to create additional outdoor space and make the campus more pedestrian friendly by converting interior roads—Campus Road, Varney Circle and Correa Road—into pedestrian malls.

Sinclair Student Success Center and Life Sciences Building

The new Life Sciences Building and a student success center are also key parts of the long range plan. The $41-million renovation of the Sinclair Library will create the Sinclair Student Success Center next to the Campus Center and the Warrior Recreation Center. Sinclair is intended to be a hub of student interaction with modern, comfortable spaces that encourages students to remain on campus in between classes and after hours for individual study, group study, academic advising and tutoring.

The Sinclair Student Success Center follows the completion of the Life Sciences Building, The three-story, 70,000-square-foot facility with 21 state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, that will serve more than 500 students daily and support world-class research. The building is the new home to the College of Natural Sciences’ along with the .

The Life Sciences Building was the universityʻs first major design-build project, which is now standard practice at the university.

This capital improvement effort is an example of ����Vlog�ٷ� Mānoa’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

University of Hawaiʻi President David Lassner made his report to the at their meeting on August 20, 2020.

Highlights include:

• COVID-19 update ()
• More online courses and offerings ()
• LumiSight ����Vlog�ٷ� health check-in app and COVID-19 safety training ()
• ����Vlog�ٷ� website tracks COVID-19 cases on campuses ()
• Fall sports postponed ()
• Fall 2020 enrollment update ()
• Life Sciences Building open for fall 2020 ()
• Up next: Snyder Hall demolition and Sinclair Student Success Center renovation ()
• ����Vlog�ٷ� Foundation raised $84.7 million in 2020 fiscal year ()
• ����Vlog�ٷ� research on Hawaiian tiger cowrie ()
• Next Steps program serves more than 2,700 students ()

View previous reports to the board.

When the COVID-19 pandemic closed the , multiple units went into overdrive and took advantage of the empty campus to get ahead on basic maintenance and projects, big and small. The ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Office of Campus Operations and Facilities, the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� Student Life and Development, which manages the Campus Center Complex, and the ����Vlog�ٷ� Office of Project Delivery all made the most of the empty buildings and grounds.

The most noticeable example may be the completion of the repaving project on lower campus where athletics and most of student housing is located. Originally scheduled to start in the summer, the project came in under budget and ahead of schedule as approximately 290,000 square feet (6.5 acres) of roadways and parking lots were resurfaced and improved.

Another 300,000 square feet (7.0 acres) of roadway and parking lots work on the Upper Main Campus has begun and hopes to be completed by October 2020.

More than 20 other construction projects on campus, from the Life Sciences Building to generator upgrades, were able to continue uninterrupted. In some cases, projects like the fire alarm replacements at Miller and Everly Halls and ����Vlog�ٷ� Community College Offices on Dole Street, were able to finish ahead of schedule. The design-build project for Bachman Hall renovations proceeded and was recently awarded.

����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s tree maintenance crew was able to trim 30 percent more trees with the reduction in pedestrian and vehicular traffic as well as the restriction on noise during school hours, which was no longer in effect during the campus closure.

The building services crew were able to increase floor care—stripping and waxing—threefold in public areas such as hallways and corridors. Crews were also able to pressure wash exterior entrances and courtyards at Hawaiʻi Hall, the historic quad between Hawaiʻi Hall and the School of Architecture and the College of Education.

Repairs were made to the air conditioning cooling towers and chillers that serve the Campus Center Complex—Campus Center, Hemingway Hall and the Warrior Recreation Center—which would have been an inconvenience for all of its users had school been in typical session.

The entire complex underwent a deep cleaning including the meeting rooms, hard to reach areas and the courtyard, where the benches were re-finished by the maintenance staff. The Warrior Recreation Center was able to thoroughly inspect more than 100 pieces of fitness and cardio equipment with repairs being made, where needed.

September 30 update

Demolition of existing floor tile for the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�’s Campus Center Renovation Project is scheduled to begin the evening of Thursday, October 3.

The demolition work will occur inside the barricaded public areas of the second floor of the Campus Center.

The contractor will be using electric powered floor removal equipment and chipping tools to remove existing floor tiles and cement mortar. Varying degrees of noise and vibration adjacent to, and near the work areas are expected.

Work is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. the following mornings, Mondays through Fridays, and is expected to take about three weeks. Access to Campus Center services will be maintained during construction.

September 5 construction notice

University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�’s Campus Center Renovation Project will begin the next phase of a Campus Center Master Plan to revitalize the 46-year-old facility. The project includes replacing tile flooring and updating lighting fixtures with energy efficient fixtures in the open public areas on levels 2 and 3. Construction is expected to begin on September 12.

Although disruption is expected to be minimal, access to the center will be temporarily impacted as the forum seating area and bookstore entrance on level 2 will be barricaded during the initial phase of work. Students, faculty and staff are asked to be aware of the construction barriers and follow the wayfinding signage.

“While construction can often be an inconvenience, we’re confident that all reasonable precautions are being taken into consideration to minimize the impact on campus life,” said Kalei Stannich, a civil/environmental engineering senior and Campus Center Board president.

Access information

During construction, the west entry stairs (from Hemenway Hall and Sinclair Library) to Campus Center will be closed. Access to the food court, Jamba Juice, Simply-to-Go, Starbucks, Subway, Meetings and Event Services, Student Life and Development, Ticket and Information Office, restrooms, elevator and level 3 ballroom and meeting rooms are available using the mauka entrance from Campus Road, the east entry stairs from the courtyard or the first floor elevator entrance from the courtyard.

Campus Center will be open normal business hours while these improvements are in progress. Accessible routes will be maintained during construction of this project. The current phase is targeted for completion by the start of spring 2020. Additional phases are slated to start soon after and include renovations to the Campus Center Ballroom, as well as the west entry and courtyard stairs. To better serve patrons going in and out of the Campus Center gathering spaces, elevator modernization and the replacement of air conditioning equipment are also included with the project.

“We are happy to see these renovation plans come to fruition and can’t wait to see Campus Center with a new look,” said Stannich.

Anyone with questions, concerns or comments regarding this construction phase may call Bruce Teramoto, ����Vlog�ٷ� Office of Project Delivery project manager, at (808) 956-0825.

Kalbert Young, ����Vlog�ٷ� vice president for budget and finance and chief financial officer, shares his analysis of the 2019 legislative session.

The 2019 legislative session adjourned on May 2, with hundreds of bills being passed by the Legislature and moving on to the governor for consideration. A number of these bills impacted the University of Hawaiʻi either directly or indirectly. There were times this legislative session that I would characterize as challenging. However, in general, I believe the university fared decently well considering the budget and level of funding support provided for areas within the university.

I will highlight just a few of the significant measures that passed the Legislature this session and cover the legislative appropriations in the university budget.

Hawaiʻi Promise program

Hawaiʻi Promise is a “last dollar” scholarship program to provide for the unmet financial needs of qualified ����Vlog�ٷ� Community College resident students. Approximately 1,500 students have benefited from the program. For 2019, the university had requested the Legislature make permanent $700,000 of what is already “base funding” of $1.8 million for Hawaiʻi Promise. The Legislature had appropriated the $700,000 last year to the program, but that funding was not recurring. The university had also requested that Hawaiʻi Promise be funded for the four-year campuses as well, for $19 million. This legislative session, the Legislature did approve reinstatement of the $700,000 to continue the program at the ����Vlog�ٷ� Community Colleges. However, the Legislature did not provide any funding to make the program available to the four-year campuses. The university intends to return next session and again request expanding this important initiative to the four-year campuses.

Operating budget

The biennium budget bill is always the single most important measure at the Legislature because it is a significant source of funding for the university. Usually, most of ����Vlog�ٷ�’s desired funding initiatives would have been provided via the annual budget appropriation bill. As I have mentioned in earlier summaries, this year the budget process employed by the Legislature created difficulties in being able to identify funding during the course of the session. Additionally, issues arose late in the session around the ����Vlog�ٷ� budget and established faculty positions that created some drama.

Other legislative measures

There were other university funding requests for programs, proposed initiatives or service enhancements considered by the Legislature. While most of these requests will be left to next year’s Legislature to consider, a number of them did get funded.

*Appropriation shall be expended by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism
**Appropriation shall be expended by the Department of Health in coordination with the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� John A. Burns School of Medicine

There were two bills passed by the Legislature that are important but are non-fiscal measures. HB 398 CD1 reduces the number of Board of Regents’ members from 15 to 11 by reducing the number of Oʻahu regents from seven (7) to five (5) and eliminates the two (2) “at-large” regent positions.

HB 1157 CD1 exempts students in post-secondary education programs at community colleges from having to submit immunization records if they attend classes exclusively online or through distance learning, under certain conditions.

Capital budget

Funding for capital improvement projects (CIP) and construction of facilities is provided for in HB 1259 CD1. This funding is highly significant because it provides the majority of funding for the ����Vlog�ٷ� System to address major facility improvements and address deferred maintenance. This has consistently been a major area of concern for the university over the past decade.

In addition to the projects listed above, the university was appropriated two revenue bond funded projects: $38.0 million for parking structure renovations and $4.8 million in each year of the biennium for land acquisition.

As you will notice, significant portions of CIP funding are for items not requested by ����Vlog�ٷ� as part of its original budget request. Overall, funding for requested project areas are much less than originally requested. However, like the operating budget, the level of legislative funding support is still positive and will help to make some progress in improving university facilities.

In this area, I would like to highlight the approval of $41 million to renovate Sinclair Library to become a Student Success Center. Administration is particularly glad that this project has been funded. When completed, Sinclair will have been converted to a safe and comfortable environment for students to study, congregate and collaborate between classes and after hours. Given Sinclair Library’s proximity to Campus Center and the Warrior Recreation Center, this will create a modern flexible area for student success, collaboration and group learning.

����Vlog�ٷ� is extremely thankful and appreciative to the governor and the Legislature for the support they have provided for operations and capital across the ����Vlog�ٷ� System. Sustained funding will always be a major issue for ����Vlog�ٷ� programs and facilities, but I believe this budget represents a big help in a number of areas.

The governor has until July 9, 2019, to sign, veto or allow bills to become law without his signature.