The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents (BOR) said UH President Wendy Hensel “exceeded our expectations” in her annual performance evaluation for academic year 2026–2027, shared at the May 21 BOR meeting held at UH West Oʻahu. Regents praised Hensel, who began serving as UH president on January 1, 2025, for her leadership during her first year and expressed confidence in the university’s continued progress. “Over the past year, President Wendy F. Hensel has demonstrated proactive and highly engaged leadership during her early tenure at the University of Hawaiʻi,” said BOR Chair Gabriel Lee in a statement following the evaluation (full statement below). “She has successfully prioritized extensive internal and external stakeholder engagement, navigated significant legislative and budgetary challenges, and launched comprehensive evaluations of system-wide structures.” The board highlighted several accomplishments during Hensel’s first year, including securing UH’s state budget, leading a successful athletics director search, deploying systemwide student success technologies, increasing access to UH for Hawaiʻi public high school students through Direct2UH, and advancing an artificial intelligence integration strategy. Regents also acknowledged major operational challenges the university faced during the evaluation period, including the transition to the new Banner student information system, cybersecurity issues and rapidly shifting federal policies affecting higher education. “Moving forward, we ask that her focus shift to finalizing major reorganizational goals—such as completing the separation of the Mānoa and System leadership—implementing a new strategic budget model, standardizing student care, completing the health campus consolidations and elevating workforce development,” the statement said. It concluded with the board expressing appreciation for Hensel’s leadership and optimism for the future. “The Board of Regents is grateful for her leadership and performance. She exceeded our expectations and we look forward to continued progress together.” President’s performance evaluation statement from the Board of Regents May 21, 2026 “Over the past year,