UH College of Tropical Ag Names Maui County Administrator

Cynthia Reeves. Photo courtesy University of Hawaiʻi.

By Maui Now Staff

The University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture has named Cynthia Reeves as its new Maui County administrator.

Under her new role, which began on Sept. 22, Reeves is tasked with the coordination of all department research, community outreach, and instruction for Maui County.

The department’s research facilities include the Maui and Haleakalā Agriculture Research Stations, the Kula Agricultural Park, Kahului Extension Office, and the Moloka‘i Extension Office and Applied Research Farm.

University administrators say programs of importance include watershed conservation; battling invasive species; training new farmers on Moloka‘i’s Hawaiian Home Lands; teaching agricultural producers to raise honeybees as pollinators; and growing various native crops and ornamental plants.

“Maui County Cooperative Extension has a reputation for excellence in providing science-based outreach and education on a variety of agricultural and human science issues throughout the county,” said Dr. Reeves in a university press release.

“My priorities for Maui County are to build on that reputation for excellence by expanding opportunities for faculty research and use of our research facilities, to continue to focus our efforts on issues of local concern and need, and to work toward enhancing the funding base for research, education, and Extension programs throughout Maui County by pursuing appropriate funding opportunities and by collaborating with staff and faculty in these endeavors,” she said.

Reeves earned an MPH in Nutrition from UH Mānoa and worked as an associate director for Honolulu’s March of Dimes program, before earning her PhD in Community and International Nutrition from the University of California-Davis.