UH to try 10-year
marketing plan

The goal is to promote local ties
in order to better compete
nationally and internationally

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

The University of Hawaii may no longer be "Hawaii's best-kept secret."

Efforts to market the university locally, as well as nationally and internationally, are under way.

The UH Board of Regents yesterday heard for the first time details of a 10-year plan beginning this year to develop and maintain a strong relationship between the University of Hawaii and the local community.

With competition worldwide, it is crucial the partnership be at its highest peak - but it's not, said Francis Oda, chairman and chief executive officer of the architectural firm Group 70 International and a member of a steering committee formed six months ago.

"It's at a low ebb, and we're concerned if it stays as it is."

The committee's goal is to change the whole culture of the university and do away with common public perceptions that it's an unfriendly and inaccessible place, he said.

"We have to look inward," said Richard Dubanoski, dean of the College of Social Sciences. Students will need to reflect on what roles they will play in this partnership, and faculty will need to get more involved as mentors and models for students, he said.

A committee made up of educators and community members has been meeting for the past six months to develop specific objectives. It has proposed designating 1998 as the Year of Hawaii's People and Their University.

The university-community partnership kickoff begins in February with President Kenneth Mortimer delivering his State of the University address. It will culminate with the university's centennial in 2007.

Throughout the year, conferences, open houses at all university and community college campuses, a UH calendar of events, a yearlong theme and forums where university and community members can discuss the mission and role of the university on a statewide level are among the projects planned.

Every segment of the community will be involved in the transformation - from the Department of Education to government, business, cultural, social service and neighborhood organizations.

Also, as part of the University of Hawaii's master plan for the Manoa campus, improvements are planned for an area known as the Quadrangle - bounded by George, Crawford, Hawaii, Dean and Gartley halls.