Professor will be honored for her educational outreach effort

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A Molokai educator who has worked "relentlessly" to bring

higher education opportunities to the Friendly Isle is being honored for her work.

Donna Haytko-Paoa, the professor

and coordinator of Molokai Education Center, has been selected for the 2008 Willard Wilson Award for distinguished service to the University of Hawaii. Her award will be presented during a ceremony Sept. 9 at the Kennedy Theatre on the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus.

The Willard Wilson Award is named for the longtime UH administrator and secretary to the Board of Regents who, in his 40-year career, set a standard for exemplary service to the school.

Haytko-Paoa is credited for making University of Hawaii services, resources and programs more accessible "to the too often underserved citizens of Molokai." An unidentified colleague quoted by UH said Haytko-Paoa "has served our residents relentlessly as she transformed the face of the community college on the island, managing the center with incredible energy, enthusiasm, motivation and determination."

Haytko-Paoa started as a liaison for Maui Community College with the Molokai community in 1984 when there were about 100 students enrolled in MCC distance-learning programs.

Haytko-Paoa set up classes, hired teachers, sold books and collected tuition payments for those seeking college credit. Without an office to work from, she improvised.

"I would be selling books and taking course payments in my car," she said.

For two years, classes were held at Kaunakakai Elementary School, and Haytko-Paoa filled in as the political science professor.

In 1986, classes were moved into the old Molokai Electric Co. building, from which the center operated for 13 years. After years of negotiations and lobbying for funds, UH was able to contract with Molokai Ranch to build the Molokai Education Center on a 2-acre site donated by the ranch.

"We slowly started building," Haytko-Paoa recalled.

Today, the Education Center provides for 225 to 250 students enrolled in Maui Community College or UH Center programs for professional development, for two- and four-year degrees and for graduate degrees. Among the Molokai students, there are 32 taking upper-division courses for bachelor's degrees from UH-Manoa, UH-Hilo or UH-West Oahu.

Last semester, the Molokai Education Center graduated seven new teachers who took courses via the Internet and the Hawaii Interactive Television System (HITS) that links the Education Center with professors teaching from studios at MCC or other UH campuses. There also are live classes, held by professors who fly in or by 20 lecturers with master's or doctorate degrees on Molokai who provide classes in their specialties.

This year, there are another seven students earning their master's degree in social work while living on Molokai.

"A lot of people think we're this teeny outreach center to Maui," Haytko-Paoa said. "We're actually more than that."

Haytko-Paoa said she foresees more growth at the Molokai Education Center and will continue to work toward that goal.

"While we have already accomplished quite a bit, we envision a full-service college on Molokai with sufficient land to provide for future growth in educational programs, faculty, staff, classrooms, infrastructure, technology and resources," she said.

Haytko-Paoa said she sees her award as a recognition of her and her staff's hard work. "It was a complete surprise," she said. "What it means is that we're doing something right.

. . . I'm just so proud of everyone. I have such a love for this island and what is possible."

In addition to her accomplishments for the college, Haytko-Paoa is active in her community, serving as the president of the Kamehameha Schools Molokai Association of Teachers and Parents, and board member of Waakapaemua Canoe Club.

Haytko-Paoa has been a resident of Molokai since 1975. Her husband, Melvin Paoa Jr., is a well-known captain on the Hokule'a and has served as a paramedic on Molokai for 30 years. Together, they have raised four children, two of whom have graduated from college. Another is studying in Australia, and the youngest is a junior attending Kamehameha Schools Kapalama campus as a boarder.

A competitive athlete since childhood, Haytko-Paoa has completed the Honolulu Marathon and numerous Great Aloha Runs, and still competes in outrigger canoe paddling.

Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.