New to the Chaminade 'Ohana

NEW TO THE CHAMINADE 'OHANA: GARY CORDOVA

VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVANCEMENT

Gary Cordova’s parents taught him that education is a pathway. And not to wealth or to status or to material goods, but to service— and for re-shaping the future in positive ways.

“I have always been particularly aware to remember those who came before me and who sacrificed their well-being and sometimes their own lives to enable my community—and me—to achieve a quality education in a just society,” Cordova said.

He sees his parents’ lessons in the Marianist mission—and it’s what drew him back to Chaminade after a long absence. On July 1, Cordova assumed the role of Vice President of Advancement at the university, taking the reins amid a global public health crisis and at a time of incredible economic uncertainty for Hawai'i businesses, families and institutions.

He says he’s certain there will be challenges ahead—and he’s up for them.

When asked to describe his approach to the position, Cordova quoted Blessed Father Chaminade: “New times call for new methods.” For Cordova that means being innovative, resilient and nimble. It also means listening to your community and meeting their needs.

“I believe in intentionality and authenticity,” Cordova said. “All the successful institutions that I have been part of were always strongly mission-driven, authentic to who they were, exceptional at planning, metrics-based, and not afraid to be iterative or entrepreneurial.”

He said he’s very excited to tell the University’s story through the accomplishments of its graduates, students and faculty and show “what a special and relevant place Chaminade is.”

“Many colleges and universities never get beyond telling. It is our time to show,” Cordova said.

“I believe the new advancement team, in collaboration with our entire community, can help jumpstart a new and authentic culture of philanthropy that is distinctive to Chaminade, and that it would be embraced in time by everyone, because advancement can’t do it alone.”

Cordova is a longtime leader in education with more than two decades of experience at universities and independent private schools. He served as head of Chaminade’s advancement office from 2002 to 2007 and returns to the university from Mid-Pacific Institute.

He said his second tenure at Chaminade feels like “coming home to do good works.”

“There is a lot of work to be done, and all of us on campus have a role in being ambassadors and storytellers of the good work our faculty and staff do with our students,” Cordova said. “It is up to all of us to join together and show the world what makes us a special university.”

Cordova, whose résumé also includes successful work in advancement and strategic development at the University of Oregon, Willamette University and the University of Chicago, said top of mind for him right now is the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis on families.

“To address this, many advancement offices are rightly focusing their efforts on access, raising resources to support families who need it most,” Cordova said, adding this is also the time to reach out to Chaminade’s supporters and alumni with a phone call or a friendly note.

Then, he added, those relationships can continue to be cultivated.

“Chaminade has an incredible community of alumni and friends who are looking for ways to connect with today’s university—to connect with the heart of Chaminade,” he said. “That means we must have a strategic advancement team whose primary focus is authentic engagement through programs that are relevant and of real value to our alumni and friends.”

WELCOMING STUDENTS TO THE “NEW NORMAL”

SPANISH MISSION ARCHITECTURE. LARGE EXPANSES OF GREEN. BLOOMING BOUGAINVILLEA. AT FIRST GLANCE, CHAMINADE DOESN’T APPEAR TO HAVE CHANGED MUCH IN THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. BUT A CLOSER LOOK REVEALS A MYRIAD OF UPGRADES— ALL AIMED AT KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE.

In classrooms and other shared spaces, seating is kept six feet apart and markings on the floor offer a guide for how to remain spread out. Signage posted all over campus reminds everyone to wear a mask and practice social distancing. At strategic locations, you’ll find sanitation stations and no-contact thermometers. And Chaminade’s maintenance team is busy throughout the day, keeping high-traffic areas and frequent touchpoints sanitized and well cleaned.

It’s all part of the university’s commitment to ensuring a safe and healthy environment for everyone—and is thanks to a large team of Chaminade faculty and staff who worked tirelessly to develop and execute a campus reopening plan that put a priority on community wellbeing.

The university has already taken some major steps in that plan.

Staff returned first—in June. Then, on July 6, in-person graduate instruction resumed. Undergraduate and Doctor of Clinical Psychology students came back to campus for the fall term on October 5.

Like most campuses around the country and in Hawai'i, Chaminade went fully to online instruction in March amid “stay-at-home" orders and a push to flatten the coronavirus infection curve. Shortly after closing campus, however, Chaminade got to work to craft a strategy—and a timeline—for safely welcoming people back.

A COVID-19 task force was convened to gather data-informed safety protocols locally and nationally, determine what needed to be done—and then figure out how to do it. They tackled a host of projects in a short period, including a campus-wide effort to reconfigure classrooms, residence halls and common areas to accommodate social distancing requirements.

The university also focused on other areas, including by posting bold signage with health reminders and communicating regularly with members of the Chaminade 'ohana to keep them up to date with what was going on. The appeal to everyone: when you’re on campus, you’ll need to do your part to keep it safe by wearing a mask and practicing social distancing.

As more people have returned, it’s a message that has resonated across a university community that prides itself on a mission of service to others. Everyone understands they share the responsibility of creating a safe campus and that their actions protect not only themselves but other members of the Silversword 'ohana—and their family members and friends, too.