ONE of the greatest concentrations of academic vitality in Hawaii is at Hawaii Pacific University, a wonderful upstart challenger to a lot of the muscle-bound, change-resistant structures at the University of Hawaii. HPU’s new media
research centerA most recent happening is the opening of HPU's classy media research center behind the marble-facaded entrance to First Hawaiian Tower on Fort Street Mall.
It will be used by 240 communication majors, available for training of local business personnel and probably follow President Chatt Wright's dictum of more than breaking even in its financial operations.
Wright has a lot of promoter/marketer juices in him. He took charge at HPU in 1972 when it had 53 students, a faculty of six and operated on one floor of a downtown office building. Today it has 8,390 students, a full-time faculty of 196 plus 202 part-time instructors, operates in eight downtown office buildings, and has a grassy Windward Oahu campus at the former Hawaii Loa College below Nuuanu Pali. Its endowment, built from scratch, is $41 million.
Students come about one-third from Hawaii, one-third from the other 49 states and one-third from foreign countries. The Asia enrollment component is suffering from the financial troubles in Asian nations, but Wright is optimistic.
"We are going to make it up because we kind of market the whole world," he says. The spring semester will see an upsurge in European enrollment, including 66 from Sweden. He thinks the Asian loss may be limited because most of the Asian students come from well-to-do families and Asians value education more than anyone else.
I overheard one businessman at the media research center dedication asking whether he could tap into the country know-how of some of HPU's foreign students to help him tap into their home markets with his computerized services. HPU will jump at teaching and training opportunities, but stop short of joining in businesses itself. My business friend will have to work out a fit.
The research center has 8,000 square feet of posh air-conditioned labs and classrooms equipped with the latest in high technology. This includes capability for digital TV production, where two Honolulu TV stations are national pioneers. Textiles from around the Pacific decorate its walls.
Overall cost was $1.2 million. Much of it was raised internally but with more to come from businesses and foundations. Hawaiian Electric Co. gave $47,000 to support a teaching classroom.
Students can get hands-on experience with remote control of robotics. A Little-Engine-That-Could runs back and forth on one desktop elevated transit line controlled by a computer mouse. It can even destroy itself by running over the edge and be rebuilt, all by mouse control.
It, and teaching tools like it, arouse curiosity and excite learning interest in student visitors from seventh grade up to candidates for master's degrees in business administration. David Lohmann, professor of management, says special education students who frequently think visually can become quite skilled at robot control. The kits HPU uses cost only $400 each.
Associate Dean Helen D. Varner explained things to dedication day guests in one classroom by using bright color slides she had prepared herself. Colors moved and changed to highlight just the points she was talking about. Unseen to the audience were her own teaching notes at the base of the slides. It all responded to her fingertip control.
HPU runs its own bus service to connect to its Hawaii Loa campus. It is seeking funds to upgrade dorms there. Campus expansion must await city-county expansion of sewer lines serving the campus. Existing ones are at capacity. No new hookups are allowed.
Starting in September, HPU will add a Master of Arts in Communication degree with an advertising emphasis to its five graduate degree programs. These sit atop 18 programs offering a bachelor of arts degree and seven offering a bachelor of science degree.