Taking the Helm at HPU
With president Chatt Wright ready to retire after more than 40 years, HPU finds the perfect successor in Dr. Geoffrey Bannister, pictured here with wife Jerri
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that potential.
I am also attracted to the diverse student body and community. I am willing to bet there is not another university in the U.S. that receives more study-abroad students. It is a great tribute to the people and culture of Hawaii. I would like to see more students come to Hawaii to experience its special culture.
This isn’t like most opportunities for a university president. This is a cultural opportunity.
My wife (Jerri Ross) and I are ecstatic to be going to such a wonderful place.
Hawaii used to be just a stopover on international trips. Now I’m declaring it a no-fly-over zone.
How has the journey been to this point?
Wright: I’m just a few months short (Sept. 17) of being 70 years old. How did I get this old? I’m ready to retire and look forward to doing a lot of things, like traveling and fishing. I will continue to support HPU as a volunteer.
It’s gratifying that HPU has grown to become the largest private university in the Pacific. Our mission and ethos are to educate for global citizenship. I am proud to have played a part in creating that foundation.
I feel honored that a man the caliber of Dr. Bannister is going to succeed me to take HPU to the next level.
Bannister: My more than 30 years of university leadership experience comes with a particular emphasis on innovation and advancement of international higher education. I was most recently president of Schiller International University and previously president of Cultural Experiences Abroad, one of the largest study-abroad providers in the U.S.
I am founding president of The Forum on Education Abroad, the only national membership organization in the U.S. devoted solely to the production and oversight of Standards Development in U.S. study abroad.
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From 1989 to 2000, I served as president of Butler University in Indianapolis. Before that, I was dean of arts and sciences at Boston University, and was principal architect of the university’s study-abroad programs.
I was born in the United Kingdom, raised in New Zealand and received a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Toronto in 1974.
What are HPU’s distinctions?
Wright: We are an international learning community that offers baccalaureate degree programs in more than 50 different fields of arts, professional studies, communications, international studies, natural sciences, oceanography, marine science and nursing.
We are the largest provider of education to the military of any university in Hawaii.
Our campuses are in downtown Honolulu and Hawaii Loa in Windward Oahu, as well as the Oceanic Institute research facility at Makapuu Point.
HPU founder, the late Paul C.T. Loo, called us a “city revitalizer.” This will be particularly so as our 20-year master plan for the Windward Oahu campus unfolds and where we hope eventually to centralize our operations.
Plans call for more student residences, student center, academic center, performing arts center, multipurpose structure and 400 additional parking spaces.
Bannister: HPU is diversified in so many ways. It does an extraordinary job with undergraduate and graduate programs, and has a great reputation on U.S. military bases. A wonderful thing about it is, while it’s a mid-sized institution by most counts, it’s got the diversity of a much larger institution.
Sports is an important part of a university. It contributes to student development. You can expect me to be a big supporter of the athletics program, both at the university and throughout the Islands.
(Bannister was key to Butler University’s basketball program turn-around that led to an NCAA championship runner-up finish last year. Bannister is a former New Zealand cycling champion and record holder. His tandem cycling try at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics was canceled to make way for a new sumo event. He keeps up his cycling today, riding 25 to 30 miles three or four times a week.)
What challenges do modern-day universities face?
Wright: Staying relevant.
Leadership must be dedicated to change and understanding change.
Human beings are naturally conservative and resistant to change. Leadership has to be a little edgy, pushing and pulling organizations to greatness.
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If it is structurally dysfunctional, as some bureaucratic institutions of learning are, there will be inconsistency in the quality of education.
Bannister: Maintaining affordability for families and access to quality education. The cost of higher education everywhere has escalated. This is something Chatt Wright and his team have managed very well. We want to keep that going.
Two things have changed fundamentally in higher education. One is the advent and rise of for-profit universities. It is reshaping the landscape of higher education. In the next five years, we will see through the regulatory environment how that pans out.
Twenty years ago, the concept that someone could buy a liberal arts college education online would have been strange. Today it is happening at an increasing rate.
Secondly, technology has affected the dynamics of education. Latest research comparing students in classroom-only, online-only and a hybrid learning (mix of both) shows that hybrid beat out the other two. When used properly, technology helps improve the connection between faculty member and student.
What do you plan to do in your first 100 days?
Wright: I’m going fishing in the Arctic Circle for Arctic char (rare fish species found only in the Northern Hemisphere). I’ll travel, fish, read Wilbur Smith novels, play tennis, swim and have lunch with my wife, Janice.
Bannister: I’m going to spend a lot of time listening, especially to an institution that has had one strong leader for 35-plus years. It’s been so steady and stable, you have to listen with more care.
What message do you have for each other?
Wright: Further develop and enhance HPU’s mission and ethos to educate for global citizenship.
Bannister: Great job! Help me!
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