Hawaii-2015-HCR163-Introduced

WHEREAS, there is a phenomenon known as "mission creep" that often affects institutes of higher education; and

WHEREAS, it may be useful to examine the core mission of an institution and consider realigning the programs of that institution to what might be a more appropriate mission; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Hilo and its associated community college have provided excellent undergraduate education, with faculty rewarded and recognized for their teaching skills; and

WHEREAS, some observers have suggested that certain developments, such as locating the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy at the university's Hilo campus, may not be aligned with the principal mission of that campus; and

WHEREAS, it has also been suggested that the location of the College of Pharmacy in Hilo resulted from a political decision and that the college would be best located adjacent to the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaako, which would enhance the function of both institutions and result in better student training and in better patient care; and

WHEREAS, the university's Cancer Center is struggling to maintain its financial stability and there are legislative proposals to shut the center down and sell its assets; and

WHEREAS, the Cancer Center and some of its facilities could be repurposed and reinvigorated by aligning them with the College of Pharmacy, thereby providing enhanced cancer treatment options to the people of the State; and

WHEREAS, there could be considerable academic synergy between the College of Pharmacy and the Cancer Center in terms of research and natural product investigation, especially in the area of treating cancer and inflammatory conditions; and

WHEREAS, personalized medicine, especially cancer care, require a careful understanding of pharmacology and human genetics, and this creates a wonderful nexus between the College of Pharmacy and the Cancer Center; and

WHEREAS, many clinical skills and team-based practice activities that are taught in the School of Medicine could be shared with the College of Pharmacy; and

WHEREAS, faculty at the School of Medicine and Cancer Center could be assigned teaching roles in support of the existing College of Pharmacy curriculum; and

WHEREAS, this realignment would provide College of Pharmacy students, faculty, and staff with access to research cores in both the School of Medicine and the Cancer Center, including a metabolomics core, genetics core, nuclear magnetic resonance analyzer, tissue banks, biostatistics, epidemiology and informatics; and

WHEREAS, the School of Medicine has adequate room and campus resources for the College of Pharmacy, such as food services, a medical library, and willed body programs that provide cadavers for instructional purposes, and a biosafety level three lab; and

WHEREAS, clinical pharmacology practice by faculty members in the College of Pharmacy could be supported through the university's practice plan based in Kakaako; and

WHEREAS, such a strengthening of the Kakaako campus would be a game-changer in Hawaii and pay many dividends by advancing the study of health sciences and strengthening the economic base of the Kakaako campus; and

WHEREAS, there have been over many years various proposals to move all or part of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources from the Manoa campus to the Hilo campus; and

WHEREAS, moving the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, or a portion thereof, could enhance the ability of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management at the Hilo campus to better fulfill its goal of supporting agriculture on the Big Island and improving food security; and

WHEREAS, this transition could support and enhance undergraduate agricultural education, and facilitate the development of graduate degree programs in various aspects of agriculture at the Hilo campus; and

WHEREAS, graduates of the enhanced Hilo campus could help make the Big Island a better source of agricultural productivity and food security; and

WHEREAS, the Big Island has a long tradition of agriculture and a larger land mass than all of the other Hawaiian Islands combined, and would better support and improve agricultural research; and

WHEREAS, food security and sustainability are desirable aspects of the State's economy that should be addressed; and

WHEREAS, The Kohala Center would like to provide land with appurtenant water sources as an auxiliary agricultural facility for the university's Hilo campus; and

WHEREAS, a building that is under construction for the College of Pharmacy could be repurposed to house a portion of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the Senate concurring, that the President of the University of Hawaii is requested to convene a working group to explore the feasibility of moving the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy from Hilo to Kakaako to integrate with the John A. Burns School of Medicine and the university's Cancer Center, and moving the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, or a portion thereof, from Manoa to Hilo, and a financial framework to implement those changes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group include the following members from the University of Hawaii or their representatives:

(1) The Chancellor of the Hilo campus;

(2) The Chancellor of the Manoa campus;

(3) The Dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management;

(4) The Dean of the College of Pharmacy;

(5) The Dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources;

(6) The Dean of the School of Medicine; and

(7) The Director of the Cancer Center; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group also include:

(1) Two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House;

(2) Two members of the Senate appointed by the Senate President; and

(3) One or more representatives appointed by the Governor; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2016; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chairperson of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, the President of the University of Hawaii, the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii - Hilo, the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii - Manoa, the Dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, the Dean of the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, the Dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, the Dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, and the Director of the Cancer Center.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

UH; Working Group; Hilo; Manoa; Campus Realignment

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	163
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII