University of Hawaii System President M.R.C. Greenwood. File photo.

By Sonia Isotov

In cooperation with the East-West Center, and organized by the University of Hawaii, key higher education officials, scholars and experts from throughout the Asia-Pacific region will meet in Honolulu August 4-6 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Conference on Quality in Higher Education.

Participants will come from 20 of the 21 APEC economies, and will include speakers from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States and Vietnam.

Dr. Eduardo Ochoa, assistant secretary for postsecondary education for the U.S. Department of Education, will be the featured luncheon speaker on Thursday, Aug. 6.

Other high profile speakers from the United States include Ralph Wolff, president and executive director of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges of the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities; and John Hawkins and Deane Neubauer, who serves as senior project consultants for this conference. Hawkins is emeritus professor of the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies and Neubauer is emeritus professor of political science at UH Mānoa.

“The issue of quality in higher education is very important and it’s a topic of intense focus right now by higher education institutions and organizations around the globe,” said UH President M.R.C. Greenwood in a written statement today. “It’s important because as we look into the future, our students are going to be operating in a much more global arena, and universities will be providing leadership roles on issues with global implications, such as health, infectious diseases, climate change, disaster preparedness and much more.”

Representatives from universities, government agencies and international associations will also present papers on quality and quality assurance, university rankings, case studies and best practices from the APEC region and economies, and the globally competitive university.