The No. 2 UH men’s volleyball team is headed back to the national championship match after defeating Big West rival No. 3 Long Beach State men’s volleyball in four sets in the NCAA semifinals on May 9 at Pauley Pavilion at UCLA.

The Rainbow Warriors won 25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22 in front of a national semifinal crowd in Los Angeles, advancing to the title match for the first time since 2022.

UH used a balanced offensive attack and a dominant performance at the net to control the match. Hawaiʻi hit .337 as a team and outblocked Long Beach State 14.5 to 6.0.

The night saw a career performance from middle blocker Justin Todd, double-figure kill performances from three pin hitters, and a gritty effort from setter Tread Rosenthal, who suffered an injury during the match.

The Rainbow Warriors came out aggressively in the opening set, using pressure serving and strong transition offense to build an early lead. Consecutive blocks and a service ace helped UH pull away for the convincing 25-15 win.

Long Beach State responded in the second set, evening the match before UH regained momentum. The Rainbow Warriors closed out the final two sets behind timely kills, disciplined defense and strong play at the net to secure the semifinal victory.

UH opposite Kristian Titriyski put away a match-high 14 kills and served up two aces. Outside hitter Louis Sakanoko added 12 kills on .360 hitting and Adrien Roure finished with 10 kills.

The win sends UH to the NCAA championship match against UC Irvine, which advanced earlier in the day with a four-set semifinal win over Ball State.

The national championship match will be played May 11 at Pauley Pavilion and televised on ESPN2.

Read more about the highlights from the match at HawaiiAthletics.com.

Tamila “Tami” Alcoran’s college journey began in an unlikely place: prison. This spring, she will graduate from Windward Community College with an Associate in Arts degree and continue to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, building on academic work she first started through the college’s Puʻuhonua Incarcerated Education Program.

Puʻuhonua provides access to credit-bearing college coursework for incarcerated students, helping create pathways for educational achievement both during incarceration and after release.

“I just got out of prison. I’ve been there for nine years, and my journey actually started at the prison,” Alcoran said. “Taking classes sparked my interest in going back to school—that I can do it.”

During her incarceration, Alcoran completed approximately 20 college courses, earned a 3.76 GPA and received certificates in psychosocial development and mental health technician.

“It’s encouraging that you can do it,” she said. “You get the diploma and it’s like, wow, I did it.”

Transitional support

After returning home, Alcoran enrolled at Windward CC to complete her associate degree. She said support from Puʻuhonua and TRiO Student Support Services helped ease her transition back into college life.

“The transition was very smooth,” she said. “The people are wonderful… any question I have, they answer.”

After spending years without access to technology, adjusting to computers presented an early challenge.

“I was a little bit challenged with the computers because I didn’t have a computer for so many years,” she said. “But they were so wonderful and helped guide what I needed to do.”

Paying it forward

Her experiences led her toward social work. After witnessing the challenges many women face after incarceration, Alcoran hopes to help others navigate reentry.

“Knowledge is power,” she said. “Everybody deserves second, sometimes third or fourth chances.”

“Being nine years incarcerated, seeing the comings and goings of women… when they get out, they need something to help them,” she said. “If I can help out in whatever way I can, that’s one of my goals.”

Now preparing for graduation and her next chapter at UH Mānoa, Alcoran hopes her story encourages others to take the first step toward higher education.

Meet more amazing UH graduates

“Don’t be scared,” she said. “It is scary to try and go back to school, but just take one day at a time.”

Windward CC‘s commencement ceremony will be held on Friday, May 15 at 5 p.m. on campus.

Donate to Windward Community College’s Puʻuhonua Incarcerated Education program.

In the Hawaiian language, haʻaheo means pride, dignity and self-respect earned through responsibility. For the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa spring 2026 commencement student speaker, it’s also his middle name—and the focus of his message.

Diego Haʻaheo Ortiz will earn his bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from the College of Social Sciences and address graduates and guests at the morning ceremony on May 16.

“The main thing that I want people to take away is the idea that you don’t have to expect people to be proud of you,” Ortiz said. “As a person that has always wanted to make my parents proud, my mom teaches me and reminds me every day that Haʻaheo is a reminder that they’ll be proud of me no matter what.”

“I always want people to know that whatever they go through in life—the good and the bad—you will always have your support with the people that uplift you.”

Ortiz said he is constantly working with speech coach and PhD student Sanoe Burgess to improve his address.

“I’m very excited,” Ortiz said. “There isn’t a day that has gone by where I haven’t been like, ‘oh, I’m so ready for this.’”

Ortiz also credited his girlfriend, Sam, with inspiring him to focus his message on his middle name.

“She told me that I should write about something that really is a part of me,” Ortiz said.

Balancing school and service

Aside from academics, Ortiz is a legislative aide to State Sen. Donovan M. Dela Cruz. A 2022 graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, Ortiz began working at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol through a Hele Imua internship, a state-funded program that places students in public sector roles.

Originally from Kailua, Ortiz balances his work at the legislature with his studies as he prepares to graduate and pursue law school. He has expressed interest in gaining additional experience through an internship with the state attorney general’s office.

At UH Mānoa, Ortiz credits the College of Social Sciences with helping shape his academic and career path, and describes the university as a “second home” that supported his personal growth.

Meet more amazing UH graduates

“The thing that really stuck with me was the friends that I got to make, especially during my first year when I was in student housing,” Ortiz said. “I got super lucky because my roommate was my high school friend. Both of us getting away from home, getting to branch out and meet new people, I feel like that really provided us with an environment that gave us the opportunity to learn and grow as people.”

For prospective students thinking about attending college, Ortiz encourages them to “give UH Mānoa a chance.”

“It’s a good environment to step yourself into the collegiate life, whether that be finding a program that you like, staying in student housing or even participating in athletics,” Ortiz said. “I feel like a lot of kids in Hawaiʻi often overlook UH Mānoa, and it should be known that it’s a very good university for people to step into their next aspect of their life.”

—By Marc Arakaki

A new exhibit in the Bridge Gallery of Hamilton Library at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa invites the public to play instruments repurposed from ʻōpala (trash). Bike brake cables, SPAM cans, rice bags, and driftwood are just a few of the materials that make up the exhibit’s instruments.

Available through August 10, the “Kani Ka ʻŌpala: Take a Sad Song & Make it Better” exhibit by ethnomusicology lecturer Benjamin Fairfield combines ecomusicology with place-based learning and encourages examination of consumptive habits.

“The idea of accepting a label of trash as worthless primes us to see things as having no further utility and value,” said Fairfield. “This project is getting us to challenge those labels and think, ‘Is it really worthless? Can’t it still have a voice, a utility, be part of our song and part of our creative process?’”

Crafted in the classroom

Many of the pieces were crafted in Fairfield’s MUS311(M) Thai Ensemble class, a sustainability-focused course initially supported by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), where students repurpose found objects into Thai musical instruments. CSEAS has also supported outreach workshops for Kani ka ʻŌpala.

“The class is important as a course that uses an Indigenous approach to sustainable music-making by recycling found objects and promotes craftsmanship grounded in Southeast Asian studies,” said Teri Skillman, CSEAS associate director.

“I was thinking, how can we connect community and music in a participatory way that is also sustainability-oriented? That’s where MUS311(M) brought all of these things together,” said Fairfield. “When students take the class, I wanted to make sure that music isn’t this scary thing that you’re not allowed to do.”

Rooted in tradition and ʻāina (land)

Fairfield’s project is largely inspired by his research as a graduate student and his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he lived in a village with the Indigenous Karen (Pgaz k’Nyau) people.

“There were these musical traditions that were very interactive, and everyone had a role to play, whether it was dancing and clapping or joining along in some sort of singing capacity. Music wasn’t a presentational sort of thing—it was more participatory,” said Fairfield.

Currently serving as affiliate faculty at the UH
Music Department and CSEAS, Fairfield brings a sense of inclusivity and creativity into his teaching.

“We’re going to celebrate sustainability and connection to the āina, and also repurpose these things as is done in the tradition,” said Fairfield, “Working with these materials is a way to connect people on a personal level to these objects that we otherwise don’t give a second thought to.”

‘Everyone’s welcome’

The exhibit highlights community involvement every step of the way, from collaborative works with local elementary schools to musings from local poets and professors.

“We explore musicality in a way that’s fun, engaging, sustainable, and hands-on,” said Fairfield.

Instruments featured also include those from a previous exhibit displayed in Capital Modern: The Hawaiʻi State Art Museum as part of Fairfield’s selection for its Climate Action Artist Residency. Fairfield’s illustrated children’s book, Kani ka ʻōpala: how can garbage sing? ties into the theme of the exhibit and is on display as well.

To learn more about the exhibit, visit the Hamilton Library website.

—By Josslyn Rose

The University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO) has released the Hawaiʻi Housing Factbook 2026, the fourth edition of its annual report offering detailed analysis of the state’s housing market. The report finds that Hawaiʻi’s housing crisis remains severe, despite modest improvements in affordability driven by flat home prices, rising incomes and lower mortgage rates in 2025. The Factbook also highlights growing risks from insurance costs, homeowners association fees, slow permitting, natural disasters and policy uncertainty.

“The data reflects our state’s deep housing crisis. Restoring affordability will require the production of more housing, and confronting the barriers that prevent homes from being built,” said lead author and UHERO Associate Professor Justin Tyndall.

Key findings from this year’s Factbook include:

• Home prices have leveled off, but remain extremely high: The statewide median price of a single-family home was $950,000 in 2025. Median single-family prices rose 1% statewide, while condominium prices declined 2%. Existing-home values, measured by UHERO’s Repeat Sales Index, were flat.
• Affordability improved for a second year, but homeownership remains out of reach for most households: Affording the median single-family home still requires more than 180% of the state median income, putting it within reach for only about one-in-five Hawaiʻi households. Condominium affordability improved more sharply, although rising HOA fees and insurance costs may offset some of those gains.
• Housing costs now include rising insurance and association-fee burdens: New Census data show that 42% of Hawaiʻi homeowners pay monthly HOA or AOAO fees, compared with 25% nationally. Hawaiʻi also had the second-highest median monthly HOA fee in the country at $470. In Honolulu, real estate listings from February 2026 showed a median advertised HOA/AOAO fee of $882. Insurance costs are also rising rapidly, with Hawaiʻi’s aggregate property insurance premiums paid in the state increasing 13% in 2024—well above the national average and the largest annual increase in over a decade.
• Permitting delays continue to constrain new housing supply: County permitting reforms have produced mixed results. Hawaiʻi County and Maui County recorded faster single-family permit processing times in 2025, while Kauaʻi’s delays worsened. In Honolulu, UHERO was unable to obtain records after the launch of the city’s new permitting system, but permits issued in the first half of 2025 continued to show long processing times.
• Lahaina rebuilding is moving unevenly: Two and a half years after the 2023 Maui wildfires, Maui County reported 991 permits to rebuild permanent structures, with 634 issued. UHERO’s analysis finds that single-family homeowners, including vacation-home owners, are receiving permits faster than owners of long-term rentals, apartments and businesses. About 57% of fire-damaged lots showed no permit activity to date.
• Policy changes are reshaping Maui’s condo market: Maui County’s Bill 9, which phases out roughly 7,000 short-term vacation rentals in apartment-zoned buildings, has already cooled the condo market. Maui condo prices in 2025 were down 11% from 2023, while prices for condos on the Minatoya list were down 16%.
• Extreme weather and flood-insurance changes add new housing-market risks: Severe Kona Low storms in March and April 2026 caused catastrophic flooding, landslides, evacuations and more than $1 billion in estimated damage. In June 2026, updated FEMA flood maps will add 3,700 net new parcels on Oʻahu to Special Flood Hazard Areas, raising costs and financing hurdles for 25% more property owners.
• Vacation rentals remain a major share of neighbor-island housing: Hawaiʻi had about 34,500 active advertised vacation rental properties in 2025, up from 33,600 in 2024. Vacation rentals account for 20% of all housing units on Kauaʻi and 15% in Maui County, compared with 2.5% in Honolulu.

The Factbook is based on a wide range of data sources and offers housing indicators at the state, county and zip code levels.

The full Hawaiʻi Housing Factbook 2026 is available at UHERO’s website.

UHERO is housed in UH Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences.

The Kekūhaupiʻo Tech Mentorship Program (KTMP) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa completed its spring 2026 program, pairing students from information and computer sciences, management information systems and engineering programs with technology professionals across Hawaiʻi’s tech sector.

The collaboration among the Department of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS), ACM at Mānoa (Association for Computing Machinery) and CIO Council of Hawaiʻi brought together 14 student mentees and 13 industry mentors in structured mentorship relationships focused on career readiness and professional development.

Hands-on opportunities for students

ICS led workshops covering résumé development, networking skills and workplace preparation, helping students build practical tools for internships and early career pathways.

“I had an excellent experience this semester with the Spring 2026 KTMP program,” said UH Mānoa student Isabella Mow. “This was almost entirely because of my mentor (Alan Ito), who helped me meet with people in different industries and guided me through choosing my major. He used his experience in life to give me advice that he would have wanted to hear at my age. He also helped connect me to various people who helped polish my app.”

Ito, UH’s IT workforce development and regulated policy lead, said, “The CIO Council of Hawaiʻi is happy to support the KTMP Mentorship Program and work with our UH students to help prepare them to enter the tech workforce and provide them guidance regarding life skills in general. As a mentor, it’s always exciting to try to view our world today through a mentee’s eyes as they’re embarking on their careers. They represent our future, and it’s really a privilege to have the opportunity to provide some, hopefully meaningful, input. Isabella has been great, and I’m excited to continue to follow her career at UH and beyond.”

ACM at Mānoa and CIO Council of Hawaiʻi coordinated mentor matching and organized three networking mixers throughout the semester for students to engage directly with professionals, build connections and explore career paths in the industry. The program included regular mentor meetings, ongoing communication and monthly progress check-ins.

“It was awesome giving students like me the chance to get their own professional (mentor) to grow in a more personal way,” said ACM at Mānoa operations coordinator Christian Komo. “I feel like building connections is one of the best ways to develop your career, and it’s something they need to emphasize more in computer science classrooms. That’s why it felt great giving back with ACM and bridging the gap between students and the smartest leaders in the tech world.”

The program is expected to continue in future semesters with an emphasis on expanding student participation and strengthening connections between UH Mānoa students and Hawaiʻi’s tech industry.

A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa project focused on identifying early brain-based markers in infants exposed to methamphetamine before birth has been awarded a $50,000 grant from Ola HAWAIʻI through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The research represents a critical step toward improving how children at higher risk for adverse developmental outcomes are identified and supported early in life.

The project aims to identify neurodevelopmental biomarkers that can detect early neurobehavioral impairments associated with prenatal methamphetamine exposure. If successful, this work could lay the foundation for scalable screening tools and targeted intervention programs designed to improve outcomes for children across Hawaiʻi and beyond.

“This project is about providing families with answers sooner and equipping providers with better tools to deliver care,” said Katy Tarrit, assistant professor in the Department of Information and Computer Sciences in the College of Natural Sciences, principal investigator of the study, and director of the Hawaiʻi Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory. “The identification of objective neurodevelopmental biomarkers of risk in infancy enables a transition from reactive detection of developmental delays to early, targeted interventions that support optimal brain development during critical stages of neurodevelopment.”

Prenatal methamphetamine exposure has been linked to long-term cognitive, behavioral, motor, and developmental challenges. However, many children are not identified until these delays become more pronounced, often years later.

By identifying measurable early biomarkers of neurodevelopmental risk, the research team aims to establish a framework for early, targeted intervention—particularly in communities with limited access to specialized healthcare services.

More about Ola HAWAIʻI

Ola HAWAIʻI is a UH Research Center in Minority Institutions Specialized Center funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, part of the National Institutes of Health. Based at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, the center works to advance minority health and health disparities research in Hawaiʻi, focusing on communities that experience disproportionate disease burden and limited access to care. Supported through a five-year federal NIH award, Ola HAWAIʻI strengthens research capacity, mentors investigators and partners with communities to improve health outcomes statewide.

• Related UH News story: Array of health threats to Native Hawaiians focus of $22.5M grant, September 21, 2022

For the second straight year, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa men’s volleyball team placed five players on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America team, highlighted by first-team selections for setter Tread Rosenthal and outside hitter Louis Sakanoko.

Adrien Roure earned second-team honors, while Quintin Greenidge and Justin Todd received honorable mention recognition. The five selections tie for the program’s second-most in a single season.

Rosenthal, a finalist for National Player of the Year, ranks second nationally in assists per set, while Sakanoko played a career-best season offensively. Roure continues to be a key contributor with a team-high in aces, and Greenidge leads the Big West in digs. Todd has anchored the middle with strong blocking and efficient hitting.

The honors mark the ninth time in the past 10 years the Rainbow Warriors have had at least four All-Americans.

The Rainbow Warriors face Long Beach State in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships on May 9 in Los Angeles, California. The winner will advance to the national championship game on May 11.

Read more at Hawaiiathletics.com.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has leveled up its commitment to a greener future, earning a Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) Silver rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. This achievement recognize UH Mānoa’s STARS Report is publicly available on the STARS website.

“Earning a STARS Silver rating is a testament to the incredible collaboration across our campus to integrate sustainability into everything we do—from the classroom to our physical facilities,” said UH Mānoa Institute of Sustainability and Resilience (ISR) Director Makena Coffman. “This framework not only celebrates our current successes in teaching and research but provides us with a clear roadmap to further reduce our environmental footprint and enhance resilience both for our campus and island community.”

STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. The rating marks a significant step forward from previous benchmarks, aligning UH Mānoa with top-tier peer institutions dedicated to environmental stewardship.

The successful reporting process was a joint effort between ISR and the UH Office of Sustainability with essential contributions from a range of departments and offices across campus. By documenting data ranging from energy-efficient infrastructure to sustainability-focused curriculum, the university has established a clear baseline for future growth.

“In the process of compiling data for this year’s STARS Report, I probably sent over 50 emails to individuals and departments across campus,” said Elisabeth Earley, administrative officer at ISR. “Everyone I reached out to was so kind and helpful and I am very thankful for their support in the reporting process. This Silver rating could not have been achieved without the wonderful folks from all corners of UH Mānoa.”

Leading by example

UH already maintains the largest inventory of LEED-certified buildings in Hawaiʻi, including the recently awarded LEED Gold certification for historic Bachman Hall. University policy currently requires all new construction and major renovations to meet a minimum of LEED Silver standards.

“We are incredibly proud of this milestone, which showcases that we are not just talking about sustainability, but actively measuring and improving our impact,” said Miles Topping, director of the UH Office of Sustainability. “Our goal is to continue pushing these ratings to the highest level possible. By tracking these metrics, we are better equipped to lead by example and ensure a sustainable legacy for the UH System and the state of Hawaiʻi.”

Students, faculty, staff and administrators at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa are encouraged to provide feedback on the three finalists for the UH Mānoa chancellor position. Feedback links are available on the UH Mānoa chancellor search website and will be accepted through Friday, May 8.

Videos of each candidate’s campus forum—where finalists presented their vision for UH Mānoa and participated in a question-and-answer session—are also available on the website for reference.

The finalists are (in order of their campus visit):

• Vassilis L. Syrmos, interim provost at UH Mānoa
• Amy Sueyoshi, provost and vice president of academic affairs at San Francisco State University
• W. John Kao, president of National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan)

Each finalist visited the UH Mānoa campus, participated in a public forum and met with campus stakeholders and constituent groups.

Search launch, role responsibilities

A national search was launched in February to select the next UH Mānoa chancellor. Currently, the UH president holds UH Mānoa chancellor responsibilities, while academic affairs, research, enrollment management and student affairs are led by the UH Mānoa provost.

Separating these roles and recreating the UH Mānoa chancellor position was discussed by the Board of Regents during the 2024 UH presidential search. UH Mānoa is the only UH campus without a dedicated chancellor.

The goal is to appoint the next UH Mānoa chancellor with a start date as early as July 2026. More information about the search is available on the search website.