Building on the success of its drone certification program, Hawaiʻi Community College has secured a new $920,238 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to expand education using tools such as drone-mounted sensors to collect data across the state. The three-year project aims to meet workforce demand or stackable credentials for use in utilities, civil engineering, agriculture and environmental hazard mitigation.

The University of Hawaiʻi Community College System has been ranked the 11th best community college system in the nation by personal-finance website WalletHub. The 2026 study evaluated statewide systems across key metrics of cost and quality, including tuition rates, graduation rates and student-to-faculty ratios.

The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaiʻi (JCCIH) recently presented Hawaiʻi Community College with a $20,000 donation raised through its annual Taste of Hilo fundraiser, providing expanded support for student scholarships and initiatives across the college.

Beginning this fall, Hawaiʻi Community College’s Kō Education Center in Honokaʻa will offer a new pathway for North Hawaiʻi students to begin college close to home through the “First Year Here at Kō” program.

The program allows students to complete their first year of general education courses locally through face-to-face morning classes designed to support students balancing academics, work, family, and community commitments. The program also gives students an opportunity to explore future academic and career pathways while completing transferable general education coursework.

As Hawaiʻi works to eliminate more than 83,000 cesspools by 2050, Hawaiʻi Community College and UH Maui College are preparing the workforce needed to help make it happen.

For most of his life, Troy Branco-Liu never imagined leaving Lahaina. But after the Maui wildfire upended his community and a University of Hawaiʻi scholarship opened a door he never expected, the Lahainaluna graduate found himself starting over at Hawaiʻi Community College on Hawaiʻi Island — pursuing an education that would ultimately change the course of his future.

“When I was in high school, I didn’t think about leaving,” Branco-Liu said. “I love the place I come from. I’m all about Lahaina. That’s always going to be home to me.”

Contact: UH News, (808) 490-3268 UH Office of Communications

University of Hawaiʻi faculty received top awards for their excellence in teaching and engagement and groundbreaking research.

Fifteen UH faculty members from across the state have been awarded the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching, and three received the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research.

For months, Franziska Bass lived inside a hospital room, fighting for her young son’s life.

She relocated to Oʻahu for six months, spending three of those months at Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children, where she witnessed both the fragility of life and the power of compassionate care. Despite every effort, her son, Cooper, passed away—an experience that would forever shape her path.

HILO, Hawaiʻi — As Hilo prepares to welcome the world for the Merrie Monarch Festival, Hawaiʻi Community College is highlighting its Associate in Arts in Hawaiian Studies with a concentration in hula—a program deeply rooted in the legacy of revered native Hawaiian kumu hula Edith Kanakaʻole.

Aunty Edith Kanaka‘ole’s philosophy: “Teach all who come to learn.”

Backyard Monkey owner and TEAM program alum Justin Barrios gives back to the program that shaped his career, strengthening pathways for local conservation and forestry students.

By: Mitchell K. Dwyer

HILO, Hawaiʻi — Justin Barrios, owner of the Hilo-based land care and tree services company Backyard Monkey, has established the TEAM Program Fund at Hawaiʻi Community College, supporting students in the Tropical Forest Ecosystem and Agroforestry Management (TEAM) program that helped launch his career.