KCC: Science Training Hub Of The Future

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Gov. Linda Lingle and Kapiolani Community
College interim chancellor Leon Richards
prepare to enter the newly renovated STEM
(science, technology, engineering and math)
Center. Photo by Wilson Lau.

Kapiolani Community College has upgraded itself as a hub for science study that could boost Hawaii’s output of trained professionals.

Next fall it will offer a new Associate in Science degree in Natural Science as part of its effort to improve its programs in science, technology, engineering and math, the so-called STEM disciplines.

The new degree, concentrating in physical and life sciences, could also mean more STEM majors transferring to four-year institutions. The college’s newly renovated STEM Center, dedicated last month, supports these goals.

“We’re seeing positive results from our efforts as more and more students are signing up for STEM courses and looking at possible careers in those fields,” said science professor and STEM director John Rand.

The crowd applauds Keolani Noa, Kapiolani Community
College’s STEM Program coordinator, for her contributions
to the program. Photo by Wilson Lau.

The Board of Regents approved the new degree program at its March meeting in Hilo, and Gov. Lingle, who attended the ceremony, has endorsed the programs as a way to “better prepare our students for the global work force, which is increasingly STEM-focused.”

The center offers “collaborative, hands-on learning in a state-of-the-art lab, as well as tutoring, peer mentoring, tablet PC and desktop computer support, and educational resources.” Students may pursue biotechnology and molecular science, physiology and human behavior, space science and engineering, and Waikiki watershed ecology. There is also a summer program for native Hawaiian high school juniors and seniors.

The program began in August 2005 with a five-year, $1.25-million grant from the National Science Foundation.

For more information, visit www.hawaii.edu/kccstem