In June, HPA Vision 2049 was announced with the goal of making the school the “premier educational community committed to living and learning sustainably.” The vision aligns with our values and mission, creating a landscape from which we will strive to teach generations of sustainability advocates.
HPA board chair Robert Budway ’76 recently shared his insights on the vision and plans to achieve the school’s goals.
What motivated the Board to create HPA Vision 2049?
All independent school boards have three duties: to be fiduciaries, to be strategic, and to think generatively. The HPA Board is no exception, and several years ago, we reorganized our Board committee structure to create a Futures Committee that is charged with thinking about our current strategy and where the school should be heading. This committee deliberated thoughtfully on who we are and what we do best as a school to determine the direction of the HPA in the long term. The school’s Sustainability Plan, the recognition that HPA has a responsibility to the local and global community at large, and the appreciation for our unique assets — physical, human, and cultural — lead us to the goal that we should aspire to be the leading educational community dedicated to living and learning sustainably.
What was the process of creating Vision 2049?
Breaking with traditional independent school board committee structures, the Futures Committee is comprised not only of Board members but also individuals from the administrative team and even some community members. This created a variety of valued viewpoints in committee deliberations when thinking about the HPA’s future. Personally, I was very touched by the enthusiasm of the HPA administration team members during our discussions. Notably, we also engaged the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Vice President Jefferson Burnett in our process. Jefferson, while a national thought leader in terms of strategy and innovation, is also a member of the HPA ʻohana as his father taught at HPA in the late 1950s and early 60s. He was extraordinarily helpful in distilling the many ideas we generated into concrete and discrete concepts on our path forward.
How will the Vision be implemented?
Implementation is a long-term activity for the Futures Committee, but the first thing the Committee did was issue a request for proposals (RFP) to leading local and national campus master planning firms to reimagine our campuses. These proposals must reflect our Vision 2049, the essential elements of the mālama kaiāulu model in the Sustainability Plan, plus comport with our school’s culture and structural needs. We endeavor to make our campuses not only sustainable but also places that enhance student and staff health and contribute to their well-being.
Final thoughts…
I had lunch with some fellow alums during HPA Alumni Reunion Weekend, and one asked me what I thought were the greatest challenges facing HPA. My answer was, “seizing the opportunities that abound at [the] school.” We are great at doing many things, and we can be even better when we rally around the actions that will bring Vision 2049 to life. Realizing our full potential for the benefit of our students and our community is our mission!
Robert Budway was named to the role of board chair in 2021. He served in Congress on the staff of the House Committee on Ways and Means and is now President of the Can Manufacturers Institute in Washington D.C., where he leads efforts to increase industry recycling and sustainability efforts.