UHPA members of Department of Learning Design & Technology stepping up

/in

Submitted Nomination:

NameDepartment of Learning Design and Technology
Campus, DeptLTEC
CategoryProviding Professional Development Regarding Online Learning Across the State
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?The LTEC department has risen to the occasion by providing training and resources to both the UH System and K-12 Schools across the state. Examples include: Open and live training on Zoom, Laulima, Flipgrid, and other tools staffed by both Department faculty and volunteer LTEC students; Michael Menchaca collaborated with Hanahau’oli and Lili’uokalani Trust to provide live, online professional development training for online teaching to K-12 teachers across the state; Technology and Distance Programs (TDP) unit headed by LTEC’s Paul McKimmy developed an emergency online teaching resources handbook to the University system; Michael Menchaca and Paul McKimmy facilitated a collaboration with Hoonuit, Inc. to make thousands of training videos available for free including best practices in online learning to UHM (recently announced by Michael Bruno); Peter Leong designed and developed a virtual reality based live graduation for LTEC graduates; Adam Tanare collaborated with the College of Education to develop a live-streaming convocation so students can celebrate their graduation with family and friends online; Curtis Ho and Kitty Hino collaborated with the Teaching Colleges & Community (TCC) conference to offer live, online presentations provided for free for 24 hours; and all LTEC faculty have donated time to either volunteer live or participate in planning sessions to help provide our expertise to the state of Hawaii.

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.

Lawrence Nitz Nominated as Faculty Stepping up to the Challenge of COVID-19

/in

Submitted Nomination:

NameLawrence Nitz
Campus, DeptPolitical Science
Categorycontributing to safe reopening of Hawai’i’s economy
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?Dr. Nitz is working on a project to generate guidelines for the safe re-opening of Hawai’i’s restaurants. This project contributes both to food security by calling on local sources and to economic recovery.
Any other comments?Dr. Nitz has a long history of conducting research with practical benefit to local communities. He recently received the College of Social Sciences award for applied research for his years of work toward an end-of-life care program for the state. His research resulted in the recent creation of a pilot program by the state legislature.

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.

Joy K. L. Andrade nominated for addressing mental health issues

/in

Submitted Nomination:

NameJoy K. L. Andrade
Campus, DeptJohn A. Burns School of Medicine, Psychiatry
Categorythe top 3: dedication to teach; harm’s way; innovations
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?Joy K. L. Andrade, M.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She is currently the Assistant Director of Medical Education and Patient Care (DMEPC) for the psychiatric services in the Emergency Room of the Queen’s Medical Center (QMC). She is a graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, Imi Ho‘ola Post-Baccalaureate Program, and John A. Burns School of Medicine. Dr. Andrade has really stepped up as a leader by rapidly adapting to the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 and addressing mental health issues in the QMC Emergency Room. She has convened critically important meetings with the Department of Psychiatry’s partners in the QMC ER, taken the lead during brain-storming meetings, developed new protocols to provide quality patient care, and organized telemedicine across multiple clinical service sites to increase safe social distancing. As an educator, she has also developed new protocols for psychiatry residents to maintain quality clinical learning experiences for our future psychiatrists of Hawai‘i, and to optimize their safety by providing them with personal protective equipment (PPE; e.g., masks, goggles) and implementing ways to maximize social distance. In addition, in the midst of all of this chaos, she remains focused on her scholarship, including leading a quality improvement project of telepsychiatry in the QMC Emergency Room. Finally, Dr. Andrade has done all of this with a positive, practical, can-do attitude, and demanding that she be the “go-to” person to solve problems, despite the day-to-day obstacles.
Any other comments?Dr. Andrade is one of the “unsung” UHPA faculty members who deserve such recognition.

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.

Cheryl Maeda and Joyce Yamada nominated for making masks

/in

Submitted Nomination:

NameCheryl Maeda and Joyce Yamada
Campus, DeptUH Maui (Cheryl – Fashion Technology Program Coordinator); Joyce (Faculty & Staff Development Coordinator, Associate Professor)
CategorySewing custom-designed non-surgical masks for front line workers
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?The UHMC Mask Making Project is led by Fashion Technology Program Coordinator Cheryl Maeda and includes mask makers from Maui College Fashion Technology (FT) students (Current students: Emily Engh, Joy Tabon, Lia King and Alma Hieda; Other students and alumni are also sewing masks independently for the community), UHMC faculty Joyce Yamada, retired UHMC staff June Iwamoto, and UHMC alumni Emily Wong. The recipients are UH Maui College Campus and community members, including Hale Makua, Hale Mahaolu, Hospice Maui, Doctors on Call, Pukalani Superette, UHMC Student Center, IT Department, and UHMC faculty and staff and their families.
Any other comments?Cheryl custom-designed the mask pattern with input from healthcare professionals. The mask features elastic at the chin area, metal nose strips and either back of the head straps or ear loops, creating a close fit to the wearer’s face. The group is pleased to contribute to UH Maui College and our Maui Nui ʻohana by providing fabric masks in the spirit of A ʻohe hana nui ke alu ʻia – Together, we will get this done.

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.

Robyn Tasaka nominated for creating online learning platforms

/in

Submitted Nomination:

Nominee nameRobyn Tasaka
Nominee Campus, DeptUHWO, No‘eau Center (Student Learning Center)
CategoryDedication to teaching and their students
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?Robyn Tasaka has created online platforms for students to use as they learn from a distance and she implemented some of these practices before COVID19. The No‘eau Center remains open in the sense that there are numerous guided workshops students can access. These workshops are essential when constructing a research paper, revising, and comprehending the process to writing a solid essay. She also works closely with No‘eau Center tutors, ensuring that students can submit papers online and receive timely feedback.

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.

 

Kawena Komeiji nominated for creating a check-in app for students visiting the library

/in

Submitted Nomination:

NameKawena Komeiji
Campus, DeptUHWO, Library
CategoryPutting themselves in harms way
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?Kawena Komeiji worked collaboratively with our IT Department to create a check-in app for students who still needed to visit the library in person, on March 23rd. She also created or improved on innovative technology platforms for students and faculty to use as they work from home, and she created a comprehensive list of resources for the larger community to access during this crisis.
2nd Nomination reason: Dedication and reporting to work before closure of the library, Kawena Komeiji collaborated with the IT Department on creating a check-in app for students. She also worked diligently to ensure students and faculty would have access to resources as they worked from home; she also worked swiftly to create various community based resources to keep the larger community informed.

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.

 

Nani Fox and David Duffy nominated for bringing us a little humor

/in

Submitted Nomination:

NameNani Fox and David Duffy
Campus, DeptMaui College and Manoa
CategoryHumor
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?People have always used humor to deal with life’s challenges. There is nothing funny about this corona virus but there is humor in how we deal with it. Nani and David created a Facebook page Covid-19: The Resistance Strikes Back which looks at the humor in such things as toilet paper hoarding, protective gear, staying sane during home isolation, and what pets think of all this. They warn “Not everyone has the same sense of humor. We try to avoid politics and unladylike language but sometimes we can’t resist.”

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.

Cynthia Hunter nominated for Dedication to teaching and their students

/in

Submitted Nomination:

NameCynthia (Cindy) Hunter
Campus, DeptManoa, Life Sciences
CategoryDedication to teaching and their students
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?“She went home for Spring Break to take care of her mother who was awaiting heart valve surgery. After the March 12 announcement that UH was switching to online instruction, while taking care of her mother, she arranged to switch her two courses to online, setting up Zoom and encouraging guest lecturers to use a format most had never tried. Directing from the mainland, her two courses went online both synchronously and asynchronously, as students now live everywhere from the East Coast to Australia. Her mother’s operation on the 24th was a success but she has continued taking care of her, while juggling lectures, grading, and mentoring two grad students who are defending their theses this month. Asked if we could mention her, she replied: “I would be honored but there must be thousands of us doing the same!”

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.

Ken Leonhardt and JP Bingham nominated for producing hand sanitizer

/in

Submitted Nomination:

NameKen Leonhardt and JP Bingham
Campus, DeptCTAHR
CategoryCreate bio-based products to reduce the spread of COVID-19
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?“The two have been working together to produce hand sanitizer. Ken has donated over 70 pounds of aloe with another 50 pounds on the way. Jon-Paul cooked this up into 80 gallons of sanitizer. But they are just getting started, with their eyes on aloe plants throughout Oahu which will be sustainably harvested to meet the needs of frontline nurses and doctors treating Covid-19. Ken’s advice to us all: “Be kind, drink beer, and wash yo hands!”‘

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. Markus Wessendorf nominated for sewing masks

/in

Submitted Nomination:

NameDr Markus Wessendorf, Assist Prof Maile Speetjens and Production Manager Rick Greaver
Campus, DeptTheatre and Dance
CategoryDeveloping innovations to fight COVID-19
Why is this faculty member worthy of your nomination?University of Hawaiʻi researcher and Department of Theatre and Dance initiate effort to sew masks for health care workers

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) Assistant Research Professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and the Pacific Biosciences Research Center Angel Yanagihara, along with faculty, students and staff of the UHM Department of Theatre and Dance (T&D), are sewing homemade fabric masks to help with Hawaiʻi’s increasing shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers. On the T&D side, the effort is spearheaded by the head of the Costume Shop, Assistant Professor Maile Speetjens, and the Production Manager, Rick Greaver, with the support of the Chair Markus Wessendorf.

This effort is in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance that fabric masks are a crisis response option when other supplies have been exhausted. The masks will be pleated for better fit and made of 100 percent densely woven “breathable” cotton with pockets that can be inserted with a disposable near N95 non-woven filter material, Professor Yanagihara said. After use, the cloth masks may be treated with regular laundry soap then laundered and reused.

The first batch of cloth masks will be distributed through the University Health Partners of Hawaiʻi, the faculty practice plan of the UH medical school, with priority given to providers and staff in primary care and emergency care specialties, who provide first contact care for the majority of patients. In addition, JABSOM medical students are assembling plastic face shields that are needed by frontline health care workers.

With public contributions for materials, it is hoped that these masks and shields can be extended for the support of other primary care providers (including those assessing nursing home patients) across the state of Hawaiʻi.

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.