HCR157

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, there is a high and demonstrated potential for adverse impact on precious cultural and environmental resources, community well-being, and economic stability, due to various construction projects; and

WHEREAS, these projects, if not handled with the support of trained professionals and consultation with appropriate community cultural leaders, can also cause heightened levels of concern, mistrust, expensive and time-consuming litigation, and an overall sense of loss; and

WHEREAS, federal and state agencies face a constant need for professionals who are trained in cultural resource management, especially in the disciplines of archaeology and anthropology, to ensure rigorous, timely, and professionally-reviewed compliance submissions for federal and state legislation, such as the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 and Chapter 6E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which establishes burial councils; and

WHEREAS, the Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources is critically understaffed, resulting in severe backlogs of more than 250 reports and reviews required to advance state and federal capital improvement projects at many levels; and

WHEREAS, the 26 permitted cultural resource management firms operating in the state are also critically understaffed, indicative of the widespread shortage of knowledgeable, trained professionals throughout the Pacific region; and

WHEREAS, in the past, the Bishop Museum has provided to the Pacific region, unparalleled expertise on historical conservation, preservation, and scholarly research in concert with native practitioners and cultural experts from all communities; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii lacks a local training program to develop a workforce of more cultural resource management professionals, which is vital in assisting federal, state, county, and private entities in maintaining the integrity of, and restoring leadership to, the State's academic, cultural, and conservation resources; and

WHEREAS, there is no better place to develop these in-demand professionals than at the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH-Hilo), which already supports "living laboratories" in the related fields of anthropology, geology, archaeology, astronomy, natural and environmental science, biology, and Hawaiian language; and

WHEREAS, the proposed expansion of a cultural resource management program at UH-Hilo to include a graduate degree program within the Department of Anthropology, to maintain a close association with related programs at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH-Manoa), has elicited enormous interest from community, government, faculty, and student leaders; and

WHEREAS, it is necessary to obtain a complete analysis of the resources and costs required to proceed with the establishment of a new degree program, similar to that required prior to the recent establishment of the UH-Hilo College of Pharmacy; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the University of Hawaii (UH) is requested to draft a five-year strategic plan for a graduate degree program in cultural resource management at UH-Hilo; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UH is requested to consider asking the chair of the Department of Anthropology at UH-Hilo to appoint experts and stakeholders on the subject of cultural resource management to develop the content and curriculum of the program, which information is to be included in the strategic plan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UH is requested to consider asking its business colleges -– such as the Shidler College of Business at UH-Manoa and College of Business and Economics at UH-Hilo -– and its vice chancellors for administrative affairs, to develop the portion of the strategic plan relating to finance and budgetary issues, to include:

(1) Projected enrollment and estimated tuition revenue;

(2) Additional sources of revenue; and

(3) Costs associated with the resources required;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii, President of the University of Hawaii, Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, and Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

UH-Hilo; Graduate Degree Program; Cultural Resource Management

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	157
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII