Over a span of three decades of University of Hawaii employment, Lee Putnam’s career path took some unexpected turns. Initially, she signed on as a librarian, when 1980s automation and the internet were enabling huge changes in traditional operations and services.
Putnam later moved to a post in central administration while separate campuses were beginning to coalesce into one system. After serving in a variety of administrative roles, her last-stage job title, before retirement, was Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity specialist. That one, Putnam said, ranks as “most fulfilling because I was working directly with students, promoting diversity programs and handling scholarships.”
Noting that three of her grandparents were immigrants, she said: “I was a first-generation college student who could enroll only with financial aid. I am gratified that UH values diversity and invests time and resources to create opportunities for all of Hawaii’s people.”
The now emeritus specialist has been serving as a member of the UH Board of Regents since July 2014. Last month, she was elected to a yearlong term as chairwoman of the 15-member governing body, which oversees management and operation of the 10-campus system.
Regents, who serve as unpaid volunteers, representing each of the state’s counties and a broad range of backgrounds, are nominated by an advisory council, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Legislature.
Putnam holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Colorado, a master’s in library science from the University of Chicago and a doctorate in library and information science from the University of Maryland. As a retiree, she’s back in the classroom, taking courses in subjects ranging from history and literature to music at the system’s flagship UH-Manoa campus at a pace of one or two a semester.
“Interactions in class often surprise me with insights into the thoughts and attitudes of younger people,” she said. “I can speak from personal experience about the high quality of our faculty, their teaching ability and their willingness to share the process of discovery with students.”
Question: What would you like to see the Board of Regents pursue as two or three top priorities in the 2018-19 year?
Answer: We have an integrated system of campuses and high quality programs but we can do more to build on our special strengths and contribute to the success of well-educated graduates prepared to meet existing and anticipated needs in a time of volatile social and technological change.
UH is recognized as one of the most diverse higher education institutions, across every aspect of diversity, including age and prior preparation. We anticipate greater outreach to underserved populations and to adults returning to complete degrees or undergoing career shifts.
The price of education is a top concern. The board will be working with administration to develop tuition schedules for the next several years. Presently, our community colleges are among the most affordable two-year public higher institutions in the nation. UH-Manoa ranks consistently in the top 1.5 percent on quality, and tuition is $2,700 less than the national average for public universities. However, student debt is rising, and Hawaii continues to have a high cost of living. The university provides education at different levels across a wide spectrum of knowledge fields. We must continue to balance demands for increasing specialization in science and technology with the importance of study in the liberal arts.
Q:What do you rank among the Board of Regents’ important accomplishments (so far) during your five-year term?
A: Of course, many things were underway before I became a regent and many of them will develop more fully over the coming years.
The board has worked closely with administration on several important initiatives, including: raising graduation rates, reducing the time to complete degrees, supporting early college and Hawaii Promise Scholarships, articulating the relations between college courses and career development and providing tools to guide students toward their goals, building a robust research and innovation program, implementing sustainability practices and achieving greater effectiveness and efficiency in operations (budgets, facilities, information systems).
Some of the areas in which we can do more are growing enrollment, making full use of distance learning potentials, renewing our important role in international education — particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, developing 21st-century facilities and increasing revenue sources.
Q: What do you see as the most challenging/frustrating issue that the Board of Regents is now contending with?
A: The university is a large-scale, very complex organization. The 10 campuses enroll nearly 50,000 students. UH is the state’s second-largest public employer with more than 10,000 faculty and staff. Revenue from all sources of funds is close to $1 billion. Controlling costs is essential to keep tuition low.
The university is changing its operations in budgeting, facilities maintenance, capital improvements, land management, energy generation and usage, human resources and even the way we engage with state leaders. Changing human behaviors has its own pace, especially within the context of shared governance, but we remain constant about the importance of consultation, transparency and accountability.
The university is underappreciated by some who may not be aware of all the recent improvements. Hawaii is a small state, but our university has an out-sized reputation nationally and internationally. The professional schools for business, law and medicine consistently receive very high rankings. UH is in the top 30 public institutions receiving funding from the National Science Foundation.
We lead the nation in minority students receiving graduate degrees. UH was rated by the Brooking Institute as being among the nation’s top 20 public universities providing equal access to students from all income levels while being at the forefront of research that improves society. The regents keep pushing for fundamental changes.
We have to continue to tell our story at every opportunity so that UH becomes a source of pride for all people.
Q: What sorts of trends do you see in student study interests?
A: Students increasingly come to UH to study in science and technology. Civil engineering continues to be the leading degree in demand at the UH-Manoa College of Engineering and … engineering majors are steadily going to Pearl Harbor.
Courses are being created in sustainability studies, and majors or degrees may result. The biology curriculum is under development to incorporate emphasis on the microbiome, a trend in which our faculty are leading the nation. Cybersecurity and big data analysis are burgeoning fields. Creative media is another growth area. An orientation toward entrepreneurship is building, and many of our graduates will be forming their own companies or creating their own jobs. This is happening across the system, at our community colleges and four-year schools.
The state continues to have shortages in critical professions, notably health care and teaching. High unemployment in the trades is stimulating many students to take jobs before completing their degrees, a trend which will eventually lead to an under-prepared workforce.
Q: What are you most optimistic about regarding what the future holds for public higher education in Hawaii?
A: Within the university, there is a common understanding of our mission, values and strategic objectives. It is uncommon to have a single statewide system of public higher education, but this is one of our greatest strengths. Links are strong as well to the Department of Education and independent K-12 schools, especially Kamehameha Schools. The institution nurtures vital community partnerships. UH accepts its responsibility for advancing economic development and solving social issues.
We have ambitious goals — such as “55 by 25,” which aims to have 55 percent of Hawaii working adults with a college degree by the year 2025 — but we move steadily toward attaining them. Faculty are at the cutting-edge of new knowledge and preparing students for careers that don’t yet exist. Our reach may exceed our grasp, but we dream big and go forward.
