Working with women to get things done.

As the only Asian-American woman to head a U.S. university, Dr. Rose Tseng, chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, knows how to get things done.

She shared tips for success and lessons learned on her journey at the conference of the Northern California network of the American Council on Education's Office of Women in Higher in San Francisco in May.

Collaborative growth

With a degree in architectural engineering and chemistry from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, a BS in chemistry at Kansas State University, an MS and a PhD from UC-Berkeley and a certificate in Education Management from Harvard University, Tseng is interested in the convergence of science with economics and education, a focus that has primed her for leadership.

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She began her career at San Jose State University CA, where she served for 23 years as professor, department chair and dean of the college of applied sciences and arts, before moving to West Valley College/Mission College District in California, where she was system chancellor and CEO.

From there she was recruited to interview for the job at University of Hawaii at Hilo. Sick of California's traffic and eager for a trip, she went along for the ride. She was shocked when the search committee narrowed a field of 200 candidates down to one person--her. While she considered the job, her daughter pointed out that she'd always been conscious of her accent and that in Hawaii it would "disappear." She accepted the job.