Conference Recordings

For many years, the focus in higher education has been higher, more, and better. Higher rankings. More programs. Better services. And while these aims can be worthwhile, moments of vulnerability (like the one we're in now) are opportunities to rethink how we go about our work, reconnect to its meaning, and reimagine higher education's place in the world. What if, instead of going higher, what's needed is for us to go deeper?

Hawaiian ways of being and knowing acknowledge the power of going deeper—deeper into our relationships, deeper within our communities, deeper connections with the land. In particular, the power of place recognizes the importance of our surroundings, the people within them, and the interconnectedness of the two. It helps us remember fundamental truths about living in balance with our ecosystems and those we share them with.

In this keynote, Alapaki Nahale-a, a leader in Hawaiian community-building efforts, will share indigenous Hawaiian understandings and insights that can give you a new lens on integrated planning and higher education's role in the world. In particular, he'll share how connecting more deeply—to place and to each other—can be a source of meaning and strength for each of us, regardless of where our "place" is. Let Hawaii and the essence of who we are inspire you to embrace integrated planning as a way to unite us in purpose and action for the greater good.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Gain a better understanding of Hawaii and the worldview of Native Hawaiians. Use that awareness and your presence in this indigenous place as inspiration to dive deeper into the power of integrated planning.
2. Consider what it would mean for our shared space to focus on going deeper rather than higher. Use examples from Hawaii around ‘aina (that which feeds us), pilina (relationship), and aloha (face to face) to develop your own ideology and practice around deeper learning.
3. Reflect deeply on your own sense of the role of higher education in the world today. Use that perspective to find your opportunistic position for the future. Craft your position and supporting vocabulary around it to better inform and impact the conversations you are a part of around higher education at all levels.
4. Determine what your sense of place is and how it informs your work in higher education. Understand and incorporate place as a core part of integrated planning and advocate for its rich inclusion in the processes you participate in and/or lead.

Presented by:
Alapaki Nahale-a, Partner, Islander Institute

Delivered 07/13/2025.

EVENT REGISTRANTS ONLY. OPEN TO PUBLIC ON 10/23/2025
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