One of President Trump’s targets is the U.S. Department of Education.
Late last year, The Conversation talked to Hawaiʻi's school superintendent and board chair about their concerns for lower education. But what is the view for higher education?
A federal judge paused Trump's federal funding freeze Tuesday. A funding freeze could affect universities across the nation in various ways.
Before the pause, HPR talked to Wendy Hensel, the new University of Hawaiʻi president, who essentially said to remain alert.
Interview Highlights
On how Trump's move to freeze grants and loans could affect the university
WENDY HENSEL: We're focusing on it intensely, as you can imagine, to make sure that we understand what's implicated — the breadth of the activities that may be affected and impacted, but also importantly, not to overreact as these directives come out. We want to give our federal partners time to evaluate what it means so that they can help us understand that as well. But certainly, we are all communicating across the university and laser-focused on how to ensure that the university stays strong despite any challenges in terms of our funding... I think everything has been paused. That's the issue — what is the scope and the scale of the pause, and how long will the pause last as the administration and the different executive agencies assess how the money is being spent, and there are legal implications for money that's already been committed by contract and extremely complex issues that are now in play. And I think the most important thing for us is neither to overreact or underreact, but to monitor intently, have a strategy going forward, no matter what comes out of these discussions and just ensure that we're prepared. But truly, it's less than 24 hours since this came out and so we're very much in investigation mode and trying to understand what it really means for our community.
On assistance from the state Legislature
HENSEL: We've had many offers of assistance from the state Legislature again, as we figure out what is the impact of the federal decisions that are being made in real-time by the Trump administration. And we really appreciate that. It's just, I wish I could give you more information. I think everybody wants more information. It's just this is evolving in real-time and the stakes are high, so we want to make sure that we're communicating accurate information going forward. But certainly, at the moment, the directive is pretty sweeping and we need to figure out how we move forward with our important initiatives — including workforce development, in light of that.
On the freeze's possible effects on students under financial aid
HENSEL: Well, my understanding from the directive is it does not affect individual financial assistance. And so, you know, what the scale of that exemption is, we're still not sure, but I think that has been exempted from the pause which I think makes sense — important to remember, we receive significant funding for our activities from the state. The majority of our general funds come from the state and the state also has different protections and interests that we are moving forward simultaneously with the federal funding and the federal initiatives that we're pursuing. So that's what I mean by it's complicated. It's all very interwoven and detangling what this affects and how significant the effects are will take a little time. So we want to be very, very careful in communicating what the impact of these orders is.
On attending opening day and her first legislative session
HENSEL: I appreciated the invitation as a guest. There was some communication that I didn't exactly expect to hear publicly aired in that setting. But listen, this is politics. This is high stakes, where everybody is interested in the work that we do and who holds these positions. So if I wasn't prepared to deal with that, I wouldn't have signed on for the job. What I can say is the vast, overwhelming, folks that I have met have been supportive, are deeply vested in my success as the university's success, and I have really appreciated both outreach by the governor and Mayor Blangiardi. It's been truly astonishing how warm that welcome has been. So that's what I'll be focused on and certainly that's what will keep us going.
On her new office that former President David Lassner said is one thing he'll miss
HENSEL: Yeah, I'm looking at it right now. Beautiful day outside, beautiful trees that, you know, the campus is an arboretum itself, so it's absolutely gorgeous. And at moments like this, when we feel like every day we are receiving new information of challenging issues, it's nice to take a deep breath and look outside and remember the place that we're in and the significance of the place that we're in. So yes, beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Jan. 28, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
