 | |
| Motto | Maluna aʻe o nā lāhui āpau ke ola ke kānaka (Hawaiian)[1] |
|---|---|
Motto in English | "Above all nations is humanity" |
| Type | Public higher education system |
| Established | 1907; 118 years ago (1907) |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | $491.36 million (2023)[2] |
| President | Wendy Hensel |
| Students | 50,310 |
| Location | , Hawaii ,U.S. |
| Campus | 3 universities, 7 community colleges, 5 research centers, 3 university centers, 4 education centers |
| Colors | Green and black[3] |
| Website | hawaii.edu |
 | |
TheUniversity of Hawaiʻi System[a][b] is the public higher education system of the state ofHawaii. The system confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven community colleges, an employment training center, three university centers, four education centers, and various other research facilities distributed across six islands throughout the state of Hawaii.
All schools in the University of Hawaiʻi System are accredited by theWestern Association of Schools and Colleges. The system's main administrative offices are located on the property of theUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa inHonolulu.[4][5][6]
The University of Hawai'i System was created in 1965, combining the State of Hawai'i's technical and community colleges into a single system within the former University of Hawaiʻi.
The original University of Hawaiʻi was established by the Territory of Hawaiʻi in 1907 as a land-grant college for agriculture and mechanical arts, holding its first classes that same year. In 1912, it moved to its current location in Mānoa Valley and was renamed the College of Hawaii. In 1919, the Hawaiʻi Territorial Legislature granted the College of Hawaiʻi university status, renaming it the University of Hawaiʻi.
In 1965, the state legislature created a system of community colleges and placed it within the university. To distinguish it from other campuses in the University of Hawaiʻi System, the university was renamed the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1972.
TheUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is the flagship institution of the University of Hawaiʻi system. It was founded as aland-grant college under the terms of theMorrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Programs includeHawaiian/Pacific Studies,Astronomy,East Asian Languages and Literature,Asian Studies, ComparativePhilosophy,Marine Science, Second Language Studies, along withBotany,Engineering,Ethnomusicology,Geophysics,Law,Business,Linguistics,Mathematics, andMedicine.
The second-largest institution is theUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Hilo onHawaiʻi island, with over 3,000 students. TheUniversity of Hawaiʻi at West Oʻahu inKapolei primarily serves students residing in western and central suburbanHonolulu's communities.
The University of Hawaiʻi Community College System comprises four island campuses onOʻahu and one each onMaui,Kauaʻi, andHawaiʻi. These colleges were established to improve course accessibility for more Hawaiʻi residents and provide an affordable means of easing the transition fromsecondary school/high school tocollege for many students. University of Hawaiʻi education centers are located in more remote areas of the State and its several islands, supporting rural communities through distance education.
In accordance with Article X, Section 6 of theConstitution of Hawaii, the University of Hawaiʻi is governed by a Board of Regents. The board consists of 15 unpaid members nominated by aRegents Candidate Advisory Council, The Current chair of the advisory council is Brigitte Yoshino. From the list of nominees sent by the council the Governor appoints and individual who must get confirmed by the state legislature. The Board of Regents oversees all aspects of governance for the university system, including its internal structure and management, and also appoints, evaluates, and, if necessary, removes the president of the University of Hawaiʻi.[9]
The university's governing board includes a current student, appointed by the governor of Hawaiʻi, who serves a two-year term as a full voting regent. The Hawaiʻi State Legislature approved the practice of appointing a student to the board in 1997.
Alumni of the University of Hawaiʻi system include many notable individuals from various walks of life. SenatorsDaniel Inouye andTammy Duckworth are both veterans of the U.S. military who were injured in the line of duty and later entered government service.Bette Midler andGeorgia Engel are successful entertainers. ComposerHsiung-Zee Wong also attended the University of Hawai'i. PresidentBarack Obama's parents,Barack Obama Sr. andAnn Dunham, and half-sister,Maya Soetoro-Ng, earned degrees from the Mānoa campus, where his parents met in a Russian language class. His mother earned three degrees from the University of Hawaiʻi, including a PhD in anthropology.
Mazie Hirono is a current U.S. senator and a graduate of the University of Hawaii with a BA in psychology. She is the first elected female senator from Hawaii, the firstAsian-American woman elected to the Senate, the first U.S. senator born in Japan, and the nation's firstBuddhist senator.
Alice Augusta Ball was the first woman to graduate from the College of Hawaiʻi (now the University of Hawaiʻi) in 1915, as well as the first African American research chemist and instructor in the college'schemistry department. She was also the first person to successfully develop a water-soluble form ofchaulmoogra oil, used for decades to relieve the symptoms of Hansen's disease (leprosy).[10]
The University of Hawaiʻi system has had many noteworthy faculty members, including visiting faculty and those who arrived after winning major awards, such asNobel LaureateGeorg von Békésy.Ryuzo Yanagimachi, principal investigator of the research group that developed a method of cloning from adult animal cells, remains on the faculty.
In July 2019, Bob Huey, a professor of Japanese literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, was presented with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, one of Japan's highest honors for non-Japanese citizens.[11]
Dobelle at that time had even suggested moving the University of Hawaiʻi system offices from the Mānoa campus to office space in Mōʻiliʻili, something the current administration is not actively considering.
