Board of Regents member confirmed

Douglas Shinsato addressed isle community members for the first time Wednesday as the new member of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents representing East Hawaii.

Shinsato gave brief remarks at a higher education town hall led by state Sen. Kai Kahele, D-Hilo. Shinsato touched on the enrollment problem UH-Hilo is currently facing and said he believes it “is not unique.”

“You don’t have to feel UH-Hilo stands all by itself in the country or the UH system,” Shinsato told the meeting’s roughly 100 attendees. “Every public institution in the country faces a fiscal shortfall because of declines in tax revenues and they face declines in student applications and enrollments.”

Shinsato, a corporate executive and consultant who lives in Waimea, was nominated by Gov. David Ige this week to fill the open seat. He was confirmed by the state Senate on Friday. He replaces the late Barry Mizuno. Mizuno died in November. The term ends June 30.

Shinsato holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School.

He’s one of two Hawaii County board representatives. The other is Wayne Higaki, assistant administrator at North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea. Higaki’s term ends in 2021.