Gov. Ige, As a newish UH Faculty member, I am torn between staying in a job I love and helping students succeed, and moving to the mainland for a lower cost of living and better compensation. Many of us younger faculty are still paying off student loans. We want to buy homes and start families but we can't do that if our wages don't keep up with the cost of living. Who will help our students succeed if faculty continue to leave [...]

As a new faculty at Kauai Comm. College I am fulfilling a life long dream to live and work here. Unfortunately, as a new faculty, I am not eligible for promotion for several years. The salary I receive may prohibit me staying long enough to get promoted. We already have issues with retention and recruitment due to salary. Please consider the above statement ("Hawaii residents with a UH degree earn more over their lifetime than those who don't pursue higher education. Investing [...]

Dear Gov. Ige, How am I supposed to teach my students to value an education when they see me, as well as their other professors, with our multiple degrees in higher ed, having great difficulty affording to raise our families? If we want 55 by '25, we need to keep our faculty and not lose them to the mainland or to the private sector. Please support education by supporting UH faculty. Aloha, R. Azman, UHMC Add your voice and send the Governor [...]

Without a viable contract to support myself (single, no kids), I shall not be able to continue in my position as full-time instructor. Simply put, I can't afford to live in Hawaii for much longer. I am very good at my job and it is the youth of Hawaii who will suffer the most. I trust you will do the right thing, or I shall be forced to vote for someone else. A. Priesman Add your voice and send the Governor a [...]

Aloha Gov. Ige, My name is Justin Carvalho. I'm a Kauai Boy who left and returned to work in the DOE for 8 years. It was a great experience but after 8 short years I was close to the top of the pay scale with 20+ years to go. That was one of my motivations to moving to Kauai Community College. I am a young dedicated faculty member. It is dis-heartening to see your lack of commitment to offering a fair wage [...]

Dear Gov. Ige, I teach English at WCC. I not only teach a 5(fall) / 4(spring) load, but I also serve on committees, participate in community events, and continue to pursue professional development opportunities. I work long hours and weekends, like my colleagues and likely earn minimum wage, but not much more. I am sad that my contributions aren't respected. What does this message say to my students? Aloha, D. P.

Dear Gov Ige, Invest in education and you invest in our state's future. Show us that your words aren't empty and that you actually do care about our students and the state's future. Sincerely, Y. R.

Dear Gov. Ige, I have worked very hard in my life to get a high level of education and expertise. I love passing this onto the wonderful students of Hawaii. I teach Nursing at Kauai Community College. The cost of living is so high here that we live paycheck to paycheck. Almost 50% of my wages go to my benefits pkg. but without that I could not make it. We have been having a hard time hiring new faculty. We work many [...]

Dear Governor Ige, I am a Full Professor at Kauai CC. After working for the Univ. of Hawaii full-time for more than 15 years I still have difficulty making ends meet. I should also say I have a Ph.D. and am sure I could make a lot more money, particularly in terms of/relation to the cost of living, teaching elsewhere. I hope the state will choose to show some respect for my years of service in real monetary compensation. Sincerely, R. R.

Dear Gov Ige: We lost 3 of our best Mainland students in our dept. this semester. They pay full out-of-state tuition. They were tired of an under-funded university. Please support UH. Best Regards, M. Haws