HPU joins forces
with Oceanic Institute
An agreement signed yesterday means that Hawaii Pacific University President Chatt Wright will serve as chairman of the board of the private Makapuu-based research group Oceanic Institute.
The agreement also allows the university to select two-thirds of the institute's board.
"Because we will be financially supporting the Oceanic Institute, we will like to have control of the planning and activities. We're putting so much money in this endeavor," Wright said.
HPU will invest $20 million into the partnership, providing the institute with $1 million a year for the next 10 years and a $10 million endowment after that.
"What this brings to the Oceanic Institute is financial security and stability in ways that they haven't had," Wright said.
Thomas Farewell will serve as an executive vice president at HPU while maintaining his role as president and chief executive officer of the institute.
A University of Hawaii official said it is the kind of competition that could end up benefiting the whole state.
The partnership will make it possible for Hawaii Pacific to offer within a decade both master's and doctoral programs in marine science -- degrees the University of Hawaii does not currently offer.
The partnership will also allow HPU to develop certificate programs in areas such as aquaculture.
Hawaii Pacific will not compete for grant dollars with UH because the two schools have different missions, said Andrew Brittain, acting dean of HPU's College of Natural Sciences.
Brittain said Hawaii Pacific's marine science program will probably focus on local, shoreline research, while UH concentrates on deep-water research with global impact.
"We are a small school, and we're not going to be a big school and that isn't our goal. Education is our main goal," he said.
HPU also plans to expand its 135-acre Hawaii Loa campus at Windward Oahu with laboratories and classrooms for natural and marine science programs.
Under the agreement, Oceanic Institute researchers may teach classes at Hawaii Pacific and students may take internships or assistantships at the institute, both potential draws for new students.
Farewell said: "This is just the start. We have a lot of work to do to design and implement the specific programs."
The institute, located near Makapuu Point, has an $8 million annual research budget with more than 100 employees. The institute is spending $24.2 million on expansion efforts that will include a community education and training center at Makapuu, a feeds research laboratory on the Big Island and a fin-fish hatchery on Molokai.
The partnership takes affect on July 1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.