I am pleased to welcome you to the start of a new academic year at Hawai‘i Pacific University. Whether you are a new or returning student, whether you are from Hawai‘i or from beyond our islands, we greet you with a welcoming spirit of aloha as you enter the University for a new year.

You will notice that there an energy of anticipation and support among our faculty and staff as we prepare to embark in partnership with you on the educational journey of the new academic year.

The faculty, with a professional commitment to teaching, are eager to work with you in this new learning phase of your life journey. Our staff are equally ready to support your learning with an array of student services from tutorials to career counselling.

As we begin the new academic year, I urge you to take advantage of all that HPU has to offer to support your learning, from answers to questions about what you should major in to help choosing a graduate program or finding a career position after graduation. Learning and student support services are a central commitment of the University to you. I urge you to take advantage of the current orientation period to become familiar with the full extent of services that are available to you.

Orientation is also an opportunity to get to know the people, both faculty and staff, who provide them. Not only are faculty and staff people who can be fun to get to know, they can also provide you important advice or mentoring about the path you select to your future. And you may even encounter, in the course of your education, an exceptional teacher or staff member who can truly broaden your perspectives.

Another area of support for your learning at HPU – and an area I urge you take advantage of – is the numerous opportunities for encounters, discussions, and friendship with your fellow students. With student from more than 100 nations, Hawai‘i Pacific University is one of the most diverse schools in the world. Here the opportunity to encounter a student from another culture or nation is available to everyone. Such encounters can broaden your perspectives on many issues and provide support now, for learning about the world we all share, and in the future for living as a global citizen. You may find yourself establishing friendships that not only span the globe but also last a lifetime.

I look forward to seeing you on our campuses and in our classrooms and wish you the best in learning and life during the coming academic year. Chatt G. Wright, President