Welcome to Dr. Parwinder Grewal, new Dean of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoaʻs College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources—one of the Honolulu partner universityʻs six units supported with ARCS Scholar Awards.

“I want CTAHR to have a real impact on food security in Hawaiʻi and work collaboratively with the local communities throughout the state” through day-to-day work and by building a movement to enhance food and economic security, he says. Dr. Grewal discusses his vision for the college in a UH News Q&A.

One idea he has broached: changing the name of the college while retaining its acronym. "College of Tropicl Agriculture and Human Resilience" might better reflect what the college does and avoid the confusion created since business co-opted the term "human resources." (ARCS Honolulu supports CTAHRʻs hard science programs in plant and soil sciences, plant pathology, entomology, natural resource management, nutrition, and molecular biosciences and bioengineering. The collegeʻs "human resources" side encompases human development, family studies and fashion design and merchandising.) Want to weigh in? Take a survey on the suggested name.

Dr. Grewal is an internationally recognized nematologist included in the PLoS Biologyʻs 2021 list of worldʻs most cited scientists. Born in India, he earned his PhD in zoology from Imperial College London and did post-doctoral training at Rutgers University. He served as Executive Vice President for Research, Graduate Studies and New Program Development at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and was inaugural president for Vermont State University while also serving as president of Castleton University, Northern Vermont University and Vermont Technical College.