New award recognizes exemplary regional collaborations inspired by UH team

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Ulla Hasager, (808) 956-4218
Civic Engagement Director, Social Sciences, Dean's Office
Posted: Sep 1, 2015

A multi-campus UH team receives the NCSCE inaugural award.
A multi-campus UH team receives the NCSCE inaugural award.

A multi-campus team from the University of Hawai‘i (UH) has received the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement’s (NCSCE) inaugural award honoring the university’s innovative and collaborative work in the areas of science education and civic engagement. The 2015 Exemplary Multi-Institutional and Regional Collaborations in the Service of Citizen Science award honored the statewide team’s work in curriculum development and engagement projects.

Explains Christine DeCarlo, NCSCE Coordinator of SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities), “This award acknowledges and honors exemplary multi-institutional, regional or statewide work around compelling civic issues. The need for this recognition program grows directly from the vibrant networks created as a result of a grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation that supported the development of a network of nodes and the ongoing work of the West and Southwest SENCER Centers for Innovation, supported by the National Science Foundation. The first recipient of this new award is the team from Hawai’i. The accomplishments of the inter-institutional collaborations and deep partnerships across the UH system and Hawaiʻi communities improve the quality of both formal and informal education.”

The individuals nominated as part of the initial work in the node come from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM), Windward Community College (WCC), University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (UHH), and Kapi’olani Community College (KCC). The award was formally presented during the Leadership Dinner at the 2015 SENCER Summer Institute, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. It was received by institute participants from Hawaiʻi, representing the growing statewide network and collaboration, including also Native Hawaiian Student Services (NHSS) and University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu (UHWO).

“We are honored to receive this prestigious award. It is a validation that the university’s multi-campus effort to integrate the social and natural sciences together with civic engagement is achievable and provides a foundation from which to extend this multidisciplinary curriculum model to a broader community. The group is particularly appreciative for the lead efforts provided by Ulla Hasager, director of Civic Engagement at UHM College of Social Sciences, and Robert Franco, director for Institutional Effectiveness at KCC and a SENCER Leadership Fellow who was key to originally bringing the SENCER Keck node to Hawai‘i,” said Denise Eby Konan, dean of the UH Mānoa College of Social Sciences and SENCER Leadership Fellow. “This effort is all about science in action for social change. It is about making science real, engaging and socially relevant by integrating sustainability and indigenous knowledge with the social science. It is exciting to be a part of this important endeavor.”

NCSCE, the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement is dedicated to inspiring, supporting and disseminating campus-based science education reform strategies that strengthen learning and build civic accountability among students in colleges and universities.

SENCER, Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities, is a NCSCE initiative. It is the longest continuously funded science education project in National Science Foundation history and is designed to strengthen student learning and interest in STEM through civic engagement.

For details and additional links, please see the NCSCE and SENCER eNews article posted on 8/26/15: http://serc.carleton.edu/sencer/newsletters/113875.html

(Full photo caption): The multi-campus team from the University of Hawai‘i receives NCSCE inaugural award honoring the university’s innovative and collaborative work in the areas of science education and civic engagement. Pictured, from left, are Mike Ross (KCC), Sherry Proper (UHWO), Robert Franco (KCC), Thomas Giambelluca (UHM CSS), Ulla Hasager (UHM CSS), Darren Lerner (UHM/SeaGrant), Eomaillani Kukahiko (UHM/NHSS), Patricia Buskirk (UHM CSS), Esther Widiasih (UHWO), Michael Hayes (UHWO), Albie Miles (UHWO) and  Wendy Kuntz (KCC).  Photo: Habib Yazdi and Sahid Limon, XY Content.