The Next Step

Photo Courtesy University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

When Vassilis Syrmos first came to University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in 1991, he said it felt like home.

Originally from Athens, Greece, Syrmos, who had just finished his doctorate in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, was ecstatic to accept a position as UH’s assistant professor in its electrical engineering department.

Now, 35 years after taking the job and serving in several senior leadership positions, he is ready to perform some serious home renovations as UH chancellor.

Syrmos was welcomed into his new role by the university’s administration, faculty and students with a traditional oli ceremony on  July 1 — nearly a month after the UH Board of Regents unanimously approved him for the position.

“I was truly humbled … It takes a little bit of time for this to sink in,” Syrmos says. “You have all that exuberance the first two to three days, and then when all that exuberance goes away, you start thinking of the gravity of the position, the work that needs to be done, and it gets overwhelming.

“But on the other hand, it gets also rewarding because I’m in the position right now that I’m able to change things that not only I think need change, but it is things that I have heard over the years from our faculty and students.”

Syrmos, who transitioned into a full-time professor in electrical engineering in 2000 and then shortly after became the associate dean for research at UH College of Engineering, is more than equipped to understand the concerns of his fellow teachers and students. It’s what motivated him to make the move to the college administration as UH Mānoa’s associate vice chancellor for research, which he did for eight years, before taking on the role as vice president for research and innovation. During this 12-year term as VP, Syrmos helped to double UH’s research enterprise from $375 million to $750 million, while also establishing the Office of Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation — thus making UH the only Research 1 university in the nation to integrate Western science into Native Hawaiian ancestral practices.

“(It) has worked in a way that I never thought it would,” he says. “It has gotten so much traction from both the research community and also our Native Hawaiian community because we address issues in the communities like an ‘ohana, as opposed to the university coming to these communities and say, ‘Hey, let me tell you what you need to do,’ but actually the community is a part of the research that we do, telling us what needs to be done, how it was done in the past and how we can actually move forward.”

Syrmos has served as the university’s interim provost since last July, and is proud of his work in areas such as financial transparency and budgeting, and student initiatives. He was also able to align campus operations with institutional priorities and secure legislative support to sustain the UH Cancer Center’s research.

“Vassilis has done an exceptional job as interim provost, building on decades of leadership across the UH System and at UH Mānoa,” states UH president Wendy Hensel. “He brings a deep understanding of UH Mānoa’s budget, operations and role within the broader UH System, as well as strong relationships at the state and congressional levels.

“I am confident he will be an effective partner as we strengthen leadership for our flagship campus.”

One of Syrmos’ primary responsibilities as chancellor is being the CEO of UH Mānoa — the flagship campus of the state’s 10-campus public higher education system — and overseeing a more than $800 million budget and a workforce of 5,000 employees.

“The CEO of the campus actually puts a vision forward for where the campus needs to go (and) how to achieve that vision. That’s a shared vision between the faculty, staff and the administration,” he says. “At the end of the day comes how we’re going to execute it, because a vision without execution isn’t really worth much.”

His vision for UH is simple: to establish it as a global public flagship institution.

“When our kids actually graduate (high school), they should choose UH Mānoa because they want to come here. They want to get a great education,” he explains. “And they know that, at the end of their journey, they know they’re going to get a great job and they’re going to be responsible citizens, whether here in the state of Hawai‘i, or on the continent or wherever in the world.”

To accomplish this, Syrmos plans to first focus on the students, listen to their concerns, consider refreshing enrollment strategies, and create plans to improve some of UH’s metrics like graduation and retention rates. In his first 100 days, he plans to visit every satellite college and school in the UH system, as well as every student and faculty housing facility. He believes “every campus is its own strength and identity and serves as a gateway to certain types of students, whether they’re here on O‘ahu or Big Island or Kaua‘i.”

As chancellor, Syrmos must also be adept at navigating the difficult political landscapes. He does anticipate hurdles along the way, including funding issues from the federal and state governments. He notes that while UH has been fortunate to be buffered from severe cuts by the state, it has seen some reduction in funding, including to its Native Hawaiian Student Success programs. Syrmos and UH have no intention of abandoning those initiatives and plan to find other sources of funding, if necessary.

“How you execute this vision going forward, it takes convincing people that sometimes change is OK — it takes time convincing both external and internal communities of certain decisions,” he explains. “It takes some convincing of external communities to fund some of those projects because some of these initiatives carry a price tag and it is not cheap, so whether you talk to your state government, whether you talk to the governor’s office, whether you talk to the congressional delegation, whether you talk to your biggest donors, it’s very important because you need to convey to them why this is important.”

Syrmos’ favorite thing about UH is its sense of ‘ohana, and that everyone at the university — from administrators and professional and technical employees to its faculty and landscape crew — is willing to serve students and help them succeed.

“I do believe most of our employees have a sense of belonging here at UH Mānoa,” he says. “They come here every day because they do believe in the work they do. I am convinced of that because you see the pride they take in their work and that makes me feel extremely fortunate. That’s the power of UH Mānoa. I think our employees take pride every day of the work they do for the benefit of our students.”

As much as Syrmos has had an impact on UH, it doesn’t compare to how the university has shaped him.

“It has made me grow as an individual in more than one way,” he explains. “I was exposed to so many different cultures, people, great programs, had great intellectual conversations, discussions … and as a result I’ve become, I believe, a more rounded person — and hopefully a much more matured person.

“I plan to take the position with a great sense of humility and responsibility,” Syrmos says. “I hope that I earn the trust of the community so within the next one to three years, we have transformed Mānoa.”