UH Faculty are Crucial to Biosecurity

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The article below was submitted and published by Civil Beat on 2/2/23, “Combating Invasive Species A Priority For UH Faculty“

The decisions made within the walls of the State Capitol have far-reaching implications for UH faculty and affect everyone and everything in Hawai‘i, now and for future generations. Throughout this legislative session, UHPA will explain how proposed legislation affects our quality of life and why it is imperative for UH faculty and community members to stand together and advocate for our island home. The following article is the first in this legislative session.

Creatures with Bad Habits Ruining Our Paradise

Invasive species have stealthily entered our islands and wreaked havoc on our environment and economy. It’s a serious problem that threatens native plants, animals, and locally grown crops. Their impact threatens our state’s food security and resilience.

UH Faculty are Crucial to Biosecurity

Combating the increasing number of invasive species is a priority for UH faculty. Fortunately, UH faculty members are already engaged in research and activities addressing many of these threats. However, they are hampered by ongoing inadequate state budget allocations which further erode our efforts to improve our state’s food security. Climate change will only exacerbate this funding problem by bringing even more invasive species to our shores.  

Hawai‘i Must Invest in Biosecurity

Biosecurity experts testifying at a Jan. 26 legislative informational session noted that the prevention efforts for the brown tree snake, miconia, little fire ant, and red imported fire ant, as well as other initiatives in the state’s biosecurity plan, are estimated to cost $38 million. The Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture combined typically receive less than 2% of the state’s operating budget. 

The takeaway from the session jointly held by the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment and House Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection, Agriculture & Food Systems, and Land & Water: Hawai’i urgently needs to invest in biosecurity.  

Restore and Fill Critical UH Faculty Positions Now

A Honolulu Civil Beat article on this crucial issue aptly noted: “Take the University of Hawaii: It lost 70 positions over the course of the pandemic within the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. Many of those roles — research among them — inform strategies to increase biosecurity. It has since recovered 21 positions.” Read the full article here. It is important to note a university-wide hiring freeze during the pandemic did not help this.

The Hawai‘i Invasive Species Council, established 20 years ago by the University of Hawai‘i and the state Departments of Land & Natural Resources, Agriculture, Health, Transportation and Business, Economic Development & Tourism, has designated February as Hawai‘i Invasive Species Awareness Month to highlight the myths about invasive species impacting our islands.

Funding Realities on the Frontlines of Research

UHPA President David Duffy, a UH professor in the Botany Department and a graduate professor in zoology, ecology, evolution, and conservation biology, is well acquainted with tenuous funding for research. He directed the UH Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, now in the School of Life Sciences, for more than 20 years and helped to establish and manage the invasive species committees on all the islands, which serve as the first line of defense against newly invasive species.

The Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit also helped found and manage the watershed partnerships on each island to ensure a safe drinking water supply for Hawai‘i residents and businesses. In collaboration with the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture, Professor Duffy’s work also included nurturing the development of a Hawaiian Ant Lab, which provides expertise and research on preventing the establishment of little fire ants. 

“All of these groups depend on soft money from the state, counties, and the federal government,” he said. “This makes it difficult to plan and sustain operations from year to year.”

Honoring UH Faculty Biosecurity Heroes

We should also designate this month to recognize and appreciate the shrinking army of UH faculty who have been on the frontlines to combat invasive species and trying to fortify our defenses with the limited staff they currently have. When we eat our papaya at breakfast, sip our Kona coffee, or proudly “buy local” at the farmer’s market, let’s thank our UH faculty biosecurity heroes.

UHPA Faculty Serves Hawai’i’s Communities Through Suicide Prevention

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Submitted Nomination of UHPA Faculty Demonstrating our Principles in Action:

 

Nominee nameDeborah A. Goebert and Jeanelle J. Sugimoto-Matsuda
Nominee Campus, DeptManoa, Dept of Psychiatry & Office of Public Health Studies
Which of the principles does your submission best demonstrate?Serving the Community
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?Dr. Deborah Goebert and Dr. Jeanelle Sugimoto-Matsuda have provided critically important community service in the areas of suicide prevention and mental health. Dr. Goebert is a Professor, Associate Director of Research, and Director of Resident Research in the Department of Psychiatry at the John A. Burn School of Medicine, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Dr. Sugimoto-Matsuda is an Associate Professor in the Office of Public Health Studies, Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. For over the past 15 years, both Drs. Goebert and Sugimoto-Matsuda have provided outstanding community service to address injury prevention, including suicide prevention, and to improve the mental health of the people of Hawai‘i. At different times, both have served as Chair/Co-Chair of the Prevent Suicide Hawai‘i Task Force. Dr. Goebert is also an inaugural member of the Task Force. Over the last 15 years, they have seen the Task Force grow exponentially, with expansion to now include County Task Forces to promote local activities. They have helped support efforts by providing expertise in planning, policy development, and programs. Most notably, they played instrumental roles in facilitating input from community adults and youth for the State’s strategic plan, as well as writing the formal document that was reported to the Hawai‛i State Legislature. They have provided suicide-prevention education and training to a vast and diverse array of audiences, including public and private K-12 school youth and educators, healthcare providers, public safety and judiciary agencies, military partners, community/non-profit organizations, and general family/community groups. In response to recent legislation, Dr. Sugimoto-Matsuda worked with leaders in the Hawai‘i State Department of Education (DoE) to develop a suicide prevention basics course to meet DoE’s needs. Dr. Goebert has helped to introduce upstream prevention programs to Hawaii’s youth. They have supported policies and legislation aimed at preventing suicides across the lifespan and raising awareness about this important issue. For example, they have helped promote suicide-prevention-awareness month in September; ensure suicide prevention policy and training in our public K-12 schools; facilitated statewide engagement by youth to inform the legislature; and shared local efforts with local and national policymakers. With the advent of SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 and the adverse impact that this has had on the mental health of people in Hawai‘i, they have increased their efforts at getting the word out that there is hope and services. This included the development of a new brochure aimed at promoting resources during the pandemic and a guide for college/university instructors to have conversations with their students about mental health and ways to take care of themselves. They were also engaged in community outreach though webinars on self-care, resilience, and social-media messaging on mental health. Their current project, called the “Hawaii’s Caring Systems Initiative to Prevent Youth Suicide,” was recently awarded $3.6 million by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), United States Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS). The purpose of this effort is to strengthen the capacity of key youth-serving systems in the areas of suicide prevention (hope), early intervention (help), and postvention (healing), as well as strengthen the communication and collaboration among these systems to improve overall continuity of care. Collectively, Drs. Goebert and Sugimoto-Matsuda continue to serve the communities of Hawai‘i to prevent suicides and to improve the mental health of the people of Hawai‘i.

Please note that this published nomination has been minimally edited, if at all, and strictly reflects the views of the submitting author and not UHPA.

Do you know of other faculty that demonstrate our principles in action that are worthy of nomination?

Fill the form below or open it in a new tab for easier use on a mobile device.

 

UHPA publishes Faculty Statement of Principles

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What is it we stand for?  

What principles guide our profession? What will we fight for? Where is our philosophical line in the sand which will not be crossed?

In discussing these questions, the UHPA Outreach Committee began a months-long process to develop this first release of UHPA Faculty Statement of Principles, based on four key commitments:

  • Academic Excellence
  • Success of Our Students
  • Serving the Community
  • Supporting the Local Economy

The UHPA Faculty Statement of Principles was developed in a collaborative effort including the UHPA Board of Directors, the UHPA Faculty Representatives, and our professional staff. 

Nominate your colleagues (or yourself) that exemplify community service

We all know that UHPA members make innumerable contributions to the community and one of our goals is to make sure the general public sees this as well.  Do you have good examples of how UHPA faculty have positively impacted the community (e.g. vaccination help, coastal preservation work, Economic forecast by the UHARI etc) ?  Tell us about it via this nomination form. We plan on regularly publishing those nominations and highlighting the standout examples. 

Feedback, please

We envision this first release to be just that: the first of many revisions based on continued input and feedback from a wider audience of UHPA members.  We invite all UHPA members to give us feedback and suggestions via this quick online form and look forward to the responses.

Nominations launching soon – stay tuned!

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You’re here a little early – we’re launching this soon and will announce it in an upcoming Monday Report.

Ethan Caldwell and Richard Rath Nominated as Faculty Stepping up to the Challenge of COVID-19

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Submitted Nomination:

Name Ethan Caldwell and Richard Rath
Campus, Dept Mānoa, Department of Ethnic Studies
Category Dedication to teaching and their students
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination? Two Ethnic Studies faculty members, Prof. Ethan Caldwell and Prof. Richard Rath, have worked collaboratively with the students in their classes since late March to construct a well-used webpage (http://udigix.net/shaarli/) of resources in rapid response to the needs UH students and the larger community faced as a result of the crises brought on by the pandemic. In the month of April, the resources had 4,795 visitors with 67% spending time on the pages they visited. One user who is involved in UHM’s First Year Program said, “I’m so thankful for the ethnic studies department for making the site.” The resources were driven by what our UHM students, many of whom have lost their jobs and are struggling with housing and health issues, identified as useful for themselves and their communities. Based on the principles of mutual aid, the resources directed those who visited the pages to up-to-date information about a range of topics including how to access food and groceries, mental health resources, unemployment insurance, assistance for restaurant workers, and relief from student debt. The most visited resources cover mental health, food and groceries, work-related issues, safety, and supports for elders.
Any other comments? Both faculty members have also responded as individuals to the many concerns that have been raised and extended their own personal help to students who needed extra assistance beyond access to the resources on the website.

Please note that this published nomination has been minimally edited, if at all, and strictly reflects the views of the submitting author and not UHPA.

Do you know of other faculty worthy of nomination?

Fill the form below or open it in a new tab for easier use on a mobile device.

 

Dr. Richard Jones Nominated as Faculty Stepping up to the Challenge of COVID-19

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Submitted Nomination:

 

NameDr. Richard Jones
Campus, DeptUH-West Oahu
CategoryCreate bio-based products to reduce the spread of COVID-19
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?Dr. Richard Jones, V.E.T.S. program director is collaborating with faculty, staff, students, and community partners to create 3D-printed face shield headbands and face masks in an effort to address a shortage and need for personal protective equipment (PPE) for Oʻahu’s front line medical workers. For the past 6-weeks, Dr. Jones has been busy supporting Queens-West Medical with their PPE needs.

I know Dr. Jones has been spending an average of 6-hours a day (six days a week since March 19, 2020) making sure the 3D-printers in the V.E.T.S. Lab at UHWO are functioning properly and resupplying the filament needed to create each item. So far, he has produced over 400 face shields headbands on the 3D-printers, 100 N95 Facsimile Face masks, and 40 pleated cotton surgical style masks. Dr. Jones has also donated 36 pairs of protective eye covers/safety goggles and loaned out his UV sanitizing cabinet for goggles and safety glasses. He continues to coordinate with Queens-West to make sure supplies are distributed quickly. Dr. Jones is worthy for this award due the endless time he has committed to helping others.

Please note that this published nomination has been minimally edited, if at all, and strictly reflects the views of the submitting author and not UHPA.

Do you know of other faculty worthy of nomination?

Fill the form below or open it in a new tab for easier use on a mobile device.

 

Malia Nobrega Nominated as Faculty Stepping up to the Challenge of COVID-19

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Submitted Nomination:

NameMalia Nobrega
Campus, DeptDeanʻs office Hawaiʻinuiākea
CategoryProducing a daily show called Lei Anuenue, organizing speakers and interviewing them on fb live. Creating Hawaiian language and culturally based lessons for eveyone.
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?Malia Nobrega Olivera has risen to the position of Director of Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement & Loli Aniau, Makaʻala Aniau (LAMA), because of her 20+ years of experience in Hawaiian language, and cultural practice, and her broad social networks in local Hawaiian and global native communities. Her expertise bridges analog Hawaiian knowledge systems into digital mediums. Her work on Lei ʻĀnuenue is invaluable during this time when Hawaiians above all other communities are particularly vulnerable to the virus. The daily programs have been viewed between 5,000-10,000 times per session.
Any other comments?Mahalo for your work.

Please note that this published nomination has been minimally edited, if at all, and strictly reflects the views of the submitting author and not UHPA.

Do you know of other faculty worthy of nomination?

Fill the form below or open it in a new tab for easier use on a mobile device.

Victoria Fan Nominated as Faculty Stepping up to the Challenge of COVID-19

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Submitted Nomination:

NameVictoria Fan
Campus, DeptManoa, Public Health
CategoryAssisting the local response focusing on synergizing efforts on PPE
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?Victoria Fan has supported the Behavioral Health and Homelessness Statewide Unified Response Group (BHHSURG) which has:
Tracking federal guidance and translating to clinical and operational guidance for providers as the COVID-19 situation evolves to ensure continuity of care and coverage while maintaining safety
Coordinating and responding to support and supply requests for BHH providers including for PPE
Developing screening tools for COVID-19 testing aligned to DOH testing guidance and for access to BHH services and more

Please note that this published nomination has been minimally edited, if at all, and strictly reflects the views of the submitting author and not UHPA.

Do you know of other faculty worthy of nomination?

Fill the form below or open it in a new tab for easier use on a mobile device.

 

Thomas Lee Nominated as Faculty Stepping up to the Challenge of COVID-19

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Submitted Nomination:

NameThomas Lee
Campus, DeptPublic Health
CategoryAdvising highest level of state government on policies to implement using data and evidence from frontier epidemiologic models
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?Dr Thomas Lee is using data and evidence from frontier epidemiologic models and has developed trust and partnership at highest level of state government through the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency ESF8 work group on policies to implement regarding next steps for our state’s COVID-19 response

Please note that this published nomination has been minimally edited, if at all, and strictly reflects the views of the submitting author and not UHPA.

Do you know of other faculty worthy of nomination?

Fill the form below or open it in a new tab for easier use on a mobile device.

Konstantina Rose Nominated as Faculty Stepping up to the Challenge of COVID-19

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Submitted Nomination:

NameKonstantina Rose
Campus, DeptAllied Health
CategoryPutting themselves in harm’s way
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?She is putting together a testing/screening and educational program for the homeless on Maui in collaboration the HMRC, Salvation Army and UHMC. In addition she has offered her mental health expertise to our nurses and student nurses as they risk their lives and have fallen ill during this crisis.

Please note that this published nomination has been minimally edited, if at all, and strictly reflects the views of the submitting author and not UHPA.

Do you know of other faculty worthy of nomination?

Fill the form below or open it in a new tab for easier use on a mobile device.