Susan Kazama Named Interim Chancellor of Hawaiʻi Community College in Hilo

Susan Kazama has been appointed interim chancellor of Hawaiʻi Community College in Hilo. The search for a permanent chancellor will begin in the fall 2023 semester with the convening of a selection committee. The search process is expected to run through 2024, with a target of having a permanent chancellor in place by July 2024.

Hawai’i Community College enrolls about 2,500 students. Women make up 61 percent of the student body.

Kazama has worked in the University of Hawai’i system since 1987, starting as a librarian at Maui College and Honolulu Community College. She spent 12 years on the staff at the Hamilton Library at the University of Hawai’i Mānoa’s before accepting the library director position at Kapiʻolani Community College in 2001. She served as interim vice chancellor for academic affairs at Kapiʻolani Community College and Honolulu Community College until 2021, when she became a program coordinator for continuing education at Kapiʻolani Community College.

A native of Hilo, Kazama is a graduate of Waiākea High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master of library science degree from the University of Hawai’i Mānoa.