Hilo Native Susan Kazama Returns Home to Lead Hawai‘i Community College

After 35 years working in higher education in Hawaiʻi — across five campuses statewide — Susan Kazama is calling Hawai‘i Island home again. Kazama, born and raised in Hilo, returned in July 2023 to serve as Hawai‘i Community College’s interim chancellor. One year later, she takes the helm officially, effective July 19, 2024. Among Kazama’s top priorities for the college are workforce development, student success, indigenous values, sustainability, and campus safety.

"The year I spent as interim chancellor gave me an invaluable opportunity to listen, learn and look for solutions," says Kazama, who was part of the first graduating class of Waiākea High School, and who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology as well as a master’s in library studies from UH-Mānoa. She also spent the past year gaining a new perspective on Hawai‘i CC. "I was able to really view the campus through the lens of the students we serve by immersing myself as a student," she says.

As interim chancellor, Kazama immediately joined classes with Hawaiʻi CC’s I Ola Hāloa Center for Hawai‘i Lifestyles, which allowed her to learn protocol, leadership strategies, history, and ʻōlelo. "It also keeps me humble as a new, learning student," she says. "I would like more of our campus involved to understand how they can incorporate Native Hawaiian values into the curriculum, too. I want us to be the premier Native Hawaiian-serving institution of choice for the Island — a place where all of our students feel welcomed, valued, and supported. Seventy-eight percent of our Hawai‘i CC students from the Big Island stay on-island to live and work. need to find ways to create opportunities for them to earn a living wage to afford the high costs here."

"Susan isnʻt afraid to jump in, yet she is cautious and aware of where and how to step," says No‘el Tagab-Cruz, coordinator for I Ola Hāloa Center for Hawaiʻi Life Styles. "She joined the Kūkūʻena (cohort of Unukupukpu consisting of staff, faculty, and administrators from Hawaiʻi CC and UH Hilo, along with community members) and has participated in numerous kīpaepae. Susan continues to be supportive of our Haʻakūmalae Protocols program, which makes Hawaiʻi CC a leader in the UH systemʻs strategic initiative to transform into an indigenous-serving institution."

Kazama says her background as a librarian lends itself to leading a college campus, and decades of work on Maui, O‘ahu and now Hawai‘i Island have given her a large network of relationships and resources to draw on. "Librarians are organized, detail-oriented, budget-conscious, and collaborative," she says. "We like beauty and order, but above all, we are solution-driven, and we usually know where to look for answers."

Hawai‘i Community College is a unique part of the UH System, says Kazama. "We have three sites across the island, as well as online classes, which makes learning much more accessible to our students. Not only that, but we have several educational opportunities like a hula certificate, agroforestry and our apprenticeship and non-credit programs found nowhere else."

Kazama is looking to expand apprenticeship and internship opportunities for students through community organizations. She also would like to include more Early College and dual enrollment pathways for Career Technical education where high school students can earn a college credential before they graduate from high school, giving them a step up into employment.

In addition, Kazama plans to focus on sustainability. "We have an amazing opportunity to build sustainability for the college, the community, and the island through our agricultural program and current partnership with Hawaiʻi Food Basket," she says. "It’s important that we teach our young people how to feed themselves and their families. Our new 15 acres of additional land is going to be really big for this cause."

Kazama began her work in the UH System in 1987, starting as a librarian at UH Maui College and Honolulu CC. She spent 12 years at UH Mānoa’s Hamilton Library before accepting the library director position at Kapiʻolani CC in 2001. She served as interim vice chancellor for academic affairs at Kapiʻolani CC and Honolulu CC until 2021, when she became a program coordinator for continuing education at Kapiʻolani CC. She also served on the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges for seven years, including three years as the chair, past chair and vice chair.