From Ed Case, candidate for U.S. Senate:

The University of Hawaii is not only our statewide public higher education system but an economic, social and cultural pillar of Hawaii. 60,000 students (85 percent from Hawaii) are enrolled today on three university and seven community college campuses on six islands, and 130,000 current alums are contributing to their communities in all 50 states (including 90,000 in Hawaii) and more than 80 countries, especially throughout the Asia-Pacific.

We must advance UH wherever and however possible to achieve Hawaii’s goals of assuring a quality higher education to all citizens and pursuing our leadership role in this Asia-Pacific century. I stand ready to work with anyone as Hawaii’s next U. S. Senator to make that happen over the next generation.

One key partner is the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, representing over 4,000 UH faculty. I am grateful to UHPA for endorsing my Senate candidacy based on my agenda for advancing UH.

I shared my agenda with UHPA members in a recent letter, which is provided in full below my signature. Here’s an outline of the 10 points I made there:

(1) I believe in education, in public education, in higher education and in the University of Hawaii.

(2) This is a critical election, the outcome of which will impact our country, Hawaii and UH for a generation.

(3) A good Senator can serve the UH community on multiple levels.

(4) Maintaining and expanding federal funding for UH is key and can be achieved.

(5) Federal support to ensure an affordable education for all is key.

(6) UH community collective bargaining rights must be protected.

(7) All-encompassing federal standards should be resisted.

(8) I believe in the growth of UH statewide.

(9) I believe in a far broader and more widely integrated role for UH throughout Hawaii.

(10) I believe in a full partnership with UH generally and UHPA specifically.

My agenda applies equally to our other Hawaii’s higher education partners, who continue to expand their own educational service and economic and social influence.

Hawaii Pacific University now enrolls 8,400, with a third foreign students and 30,000 degrees awarded since its founding.

Brigham Young University-Hawaii and Chaminade enroll 2,800 each, with BYUH having the highest enrollment of foreign students nationally at 43 percent.

Hawaii Tokai International provides mostly Japan nationals an American education closer to home.

And business colleges such as Argosy, Heald, Remington and University of Phoenix provide professional education both for our folks and for others who want to be educated in Hawaii.

Each and all of these institutions not only expand and diversify the higher education opportunities for our citizens and others. They are also economic drivers of our state and the communities in which they locate because they provide good jobs and because students from elsewhere bring their money here to spend on a Hawaii education (and, for many, stay on to themselves contribute).

And they drive future opportunities, especially throughout the Asia-Pacific, because so many educated here return home to lead their communities and maintain their economic and cultural ties with Hawaii.

We’ve only begun to realize the true potential of UH and of higher education in Hawaii. With strong effective leadership from all sectors, including our federal government, we will be able to achieve a critical mass of full educational, economic and broader opportunity within the next generation.

With aloha,
Ed Case

— Find out more:
www.edcase.com