Tuvalu Governor-General Temukisa Auina Penehuro Hauma has been installed as the 34th Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific (USP), marking her journey from university graduate to the institution’s ceremonial head.
Hauma’s installation took place during her first official overseas visit in her capacity as Chancellor, which included attending the USP Tonga Campus graduation ceremony.
USP Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council, Siosiua Utoikamanu, said Hauma’s appointment reflected the role education could play in preparing Pacific people for leadership and service.
A USP graduate, Hauma spent more than three decades working in education and community leadership before becoming Tuvalu’s Governor-General and now Chancellor of the regional university.
“One USP graduate has become Chancellor of her University. Another generation leaves this ceremony ready to discover what their own education will make possible,” Utoikamanu said.
He said USP had a responsibility to prepare Pacific graduates not only to participate in the global community but also to contribute to it.
“A Pacific university should therefore do more than prepare Pacific people to participate successfully in the world. It should enable Pacific people to contribute confidently to it,” he said.
Hauma’s appointment strengthens Tuvalu’s ties with USP, which serves 12 member countries across the Pacific.
Her predecessor, Reverend Sir Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, attended the university’s September graduation ceremony at its Laucala Campus in Fiji, where Tuvaluan students were among those graduating.
During her visit to Tonga, Hauma and her delegation were also hosted by the Tuvalu community living in the Kingdom….PACNEWS