UH Mānoa chancellor search: finalist campus visits set
UH News, April 26, 2026
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Chancellor Search Advisory Committee has named W. John Kao, (polymer scientist) National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan President, as the third of three finalists for the position of chancellor of the UH flagship campus. Kao will visit the UH Mānoa campus May 4–5.
To honor candidates’ requests for confidentiality, the names of the finalists were announced approximately one week prior to their scheduled campus visits. Vassilis Syrmos, UH Mānoa Interim Provost, was named the first finalist on April 20, and Amy Sueyoshi, (LGBTQ activist) San Francisco State University Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, was the second finalist named on April 23. More information is available on the UH Mānoa chancellor search site.
Students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members are invited to attend an open forum to hear Kao share his vision for UH Mānoa, followed by a question-and-answer session. Presentations will be recorded and posted after the final campus visit.
Campus forums for finalists
Vassilis L. Syrmos campus forum
Amy Sueyoshi campus forum
W. John Kao campus forum
Feedback is a critical part of the search process. Feedback links are available on the UH Mānoa chancellor search website beginning on the first day of each finalist’s campus visit. During their visits, finalists are also meeting with campus stakeholders and constituent groups.
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Vassilis L. Syrmos
Syrmos currently serves as Interim Provost at the UH Mānoa, a role he has held since July 2025. He previously served for 11 years as the UH system Vice President for Research and Innovation. He has also held leadership roles as associate vice chancellor for research and graduate education at the UH Mānoa and associate dean in the UH Mānoa College of Engineering. Syrmos is a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering. During his tenure as vice president for research and innovation, UH extramural funding reached a record high of $734 million.
He is the author or co-author of more than 100 journal and conference papers and has authored a book and numerous scholarly articles. He also served on a number of boards and committees supporting research and innovation initiatives.
Syrmos earned his PhD in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a diploma in electrical engineering from Democritus University of Thrace in Greece. His research interests include geometric and algebraic approaches to linear system theory, computational algorithms for signal and image processing, robust and optimal filter design, medical imaging and prognostics and diagnostics for condition-based maintenance systems.
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Amy Sueyoshi
Sueyoshi currently serves as San Francisco State University Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, a role she has held since 2022. She previously served as dean and interim dean of the College of Ethnic Studies and earlier as associate dean for five years. She has also served as director of Race and Resistance Studies at San Francisco State and as co-curator of the GLBT History Museum, the first queer history museum in the nation.
Sueyoshi is a professor of Race and Resistance Studies and professor of Sexuality Studies. She has published books, articles and essays, presented at conferences, lectured at universities nationwide and received multiple community awards.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Barnard College of Columbia University, a PhD in history from University of California, Los Angeles and an MBA from San Francisco State University. Her research focuses on the intersection of Asian American Studies and Queer Studies. As provost, she has advocated for and secured funding for endowed faculty lines in under-resourced areas, most recently in disability studies.
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About W. John Kao
Kao currently serves as National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan President, a role he has held since 2022. He previously served as vice president at the University of Hong Kong and as head of the Institute of Translational Research and head of the BioMedical Technology Cluster with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park.
Kao began his academic career at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he served in various leadership and faculty roles. Prior to that, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the California Institute of Technology and ETH Zürich. Kao earned his PhD in macromolecular science and MS in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University and a BSE in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
His research focuses on biomaterials, drug delivery and regenerative medicine, with particular emphasis on translating fundamental science into clinical applications. He has secured more than $197 million in research funding and authored more than 350 scientific publications and patents. As president of National Tsing Hua University, Kao has raised more than $550 million to support strategic development, infrastructure and talent cultivation.