Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) is a private university in downtown Honolulu, Makapuʻu and Kāneʻohe, Hawaii. HPU is the largest private university in the central Pacific, most noted for its diverse student body of nearly 5,000 students, representing nearly 65 countries. The school's top academic programs are in Business Administration, Nursing, Biology, Diplomacy and Military Studies, and Social Work. HPU offers the onl
Doctor of Physical Therapy
program in the state of Hawaiʻi. Oceanic Institute of HPU, an

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

research facility, is located at Makapuu Point. HPU is also present on military installations on the island of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...

History

HPU was founded in 1965 as Hawaii Pacific College by Paul C.T. Loo, Eureka Forbes, Elizabeth W. Kellerman, and Reverend Edmond Walker. Wanting a private

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as La ...

college in Honolulu, the four prominent and public-spirited citizens applied for a charter of incorporation for a not-for-profit corporation to be called Hawaii Pacific College. The state of Hawaii granted a charter of incorporation to Hawaii Pacific on September 17, 1965. In September 1966, Honolulu Christian College established in 1949 merged into Hawaii Pacific College, and a new charter was granted by the state of Hawaii. In 1967, James L. Meader became Hawaii Pacific College's first President. President Meader, in consultation with community leaders, developed a comprehensive educational program. When President Meader retired on June 30, 1968, the Board of Trustees elected the Reverend George A. Warmer as Hawaii Pacific's second President. Under President Warmer's leadership, the College implemented academic programs in the

and cooperative education. In 1972, Hawaii Pacific College graduated seven students in its first commencement class and in the same year established a School of Business Administration.

Chatt G. Wright Chatt G. Wright (born September 17, 1941) is a former president of Hawaii Pacific University Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) is a private university in downtown Honolulu, Makapuʻu and Kāneʻohe, Hawaii. HPU is the largest private university ...

became the founding Dean of Hawaii Pacific's new School of Business Administration. In 1973, the College received full accreditation from the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Sam ...

. The following years saw the creation of the English Foundations Program, offering instruction to non-native speakers of English, and the Division of Special Programs, administering off-campus instruction on various military installations on Oahu. President Warmer retired in 1976, and

became Hawaii Pacific's third President. Under President Wright's leadership, Hawaii Pacific continued to expand and develop through the 1980s. Augmenting its undergraduate program of baccalaureate and associate degrees, Hawaii Pacific launched a Master of Business Administration program in 1986, a Master of Science in Information Systems program in 1989, and a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management in 1991. Hawaii Pacific became Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) in 1990. In 1992, Hawaii Loa College, a small, independent,

college located on the windward side of Oahu, merged into Hawaii Pacific University. In 2004, the HPU International Vocal Ensemble made their

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

debut where they performed

Morten Lauridsen Morten Johannes Lauridsen (born February 27, 1943) is an American composer. A National Medal of Arts recipient (2007), he was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1994 to 2001, and is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus o ...

's ''Lux Aeterna and O Magnum Mysterium.'' In 2011, President

retired and Geoffrey Bannister, Ph.D., became HPU's fourth President on July 1. Born in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and raised in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, Bannister received his Ph.D. in Geography from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

(Canada) and previously served as President of Butler University in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. In January 2013, the Aloha Tower Development Corporation (ATDC) consented to the University's ownership and management of the Aloha Tower Marketplace. The approvals passed by ATDC were essential to Hawai'i Pacific's plan to move forward in redeveloping the Marketplace into a mixed-use property featuring outstanding student housing, retail and dining businesses and community gathering spaces. HPU completed a merger to bring Oceanic Institute formally into the university in January 2014. In June 2014, HPU held a ceremonial groundbreaking and traditional Hawaiian blessing at Aloha Tower Marketplace, marking the official start of revitalizing this iconic waterfront destination. The $50 million Aloha Tower Marketplace revitalization project was completed in August 2015, opening to students and the community. Aloha Tower Marketplace serves as an anchor for the university's core downtown Honolulu campus, including a first-class center for higher education and university housing integrated within a dynamic community gathering and retail space. On July 1, 2016, John Yukio Gotanda, J.D., took office as Hawaii Pacific University's fifth president. Born and raised in Hawaii President Gotanda returns home to lead HPU, following a successful 30-year career on the East Coast. He most recently served as the dean of

Villanova University School of Law Villanova University's Charles Widger School of Law (known as Villanova University School of Law) is a law school of the Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1953, the School of Law is approved by the American Bar Associa ...

and earlier in his career practiced at law firms in Boston and D.C., and was an attorney for the US Court of Appeals.

Campus

Aloha Tower Marketplace and Downtown Honolulu Campus

Honolulu-FortStreet-ProgressBlock-corner

HPU's Aloha Tower Marketplace serves as an anchor for HPU in the downtown area. Aloha Tower Marketplace is a mixed-use facility that includes student housing, HPU's Welcome Center, Learning Commons, Lounge, Student Café, Student Fitness Center, ESports Arena, and a variety of restaurants, businesses, classrooms, and meeting rooms for university and community use. HPU's athletic department is centrally located in Honolulu's business district, and it is a few blocks' walk to the state capitol. HPU's College of Business, which is headquartered in Pioneer Plaza, includes computer based classrooms along with meeting spaces. In 2016, HPU opened its downtown INBRE (IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence) research labs, providing students with biomedical instrumentation and laboratory facilities. Hawaii-Loa-College-main-building

Hawaii Loa Campus The Hawaii Loa campus, commonly referred to as HLC, is located eight miles away from the downtown campus, near Castle Junction in Kāneohe, on the windward side of the Koolau Range. HLC was originally built by

Hawaii Loa College Hawaii Loa College was a private, four-year, liberal arts college in Kaneohe, Hawaii, founded in 1963 as Christian College of the Pacific by a consortium of four Protestant church denominations in Hawaii, with land deeded by Harold K.L. Castle o ...

, a liberal arts school that was merged into Hawaii Pacific University in 1992. This campus houses the natural sciences, nursing, public health, and social work programs, however, other general courses are offered at HLC. The name "Hawaii Loa" refers to the Polynesian navigator, Hawaiiloa, who is credited in folklore with the discovery of the islands.

Oceanic Institute

The Oceanic Institute (OI) of HPU is a research facility focused on the advancement of sustainable aquaculture technologies. OI of HPU is located on a 56-acre site at Makapuu Point on the windward coast of Oahu. OI conducts research, education, and training that focuses on marine aquaculture, aquatic feeds and nutrition, and coastal resource management. In 2013, OI of HPU commissioned a teaching laboratory to complement classroom and conference space at OI of HPU's Ocean Learning Center (OLC). The OLC annex supports biotechnology research and education with two research labs, a teaching lab, and a distance learning center

Military programs

HPU's Military Campus Programs (MCP) operates full-service campuses on Oahu's US military bases, including

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

, Hickam Air Force Base,

Tripler Army Medical Center Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) is a major United States Department of Defense medical facility administered by the United States Army in the state of Hawaii. It is the tertiary care hospital in the Pacific Rim, serving local active and retire ...

Camp H. M. Smith Camp H. M. Smith is a United States Marine Corps installation in the Hawaiian town of Aiea on the island of Oahu, near the community of Halawa (ha-LA-va) Heights. It is the headquarters of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), Sp ...

, Schofield Barracks, and Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Academics

Hawaii Pacific University is made up of the following colleges: the College of Business, College of Liberal Arts, College of Health and Society, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, and the College of Professional Studies. HPU offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in each of its colleges and schools. The university also has an extensive distance learning and online-based platform for many of its programs. HPU also has an extensive Study Abroad and Student Exchange Program. The student to faculty ratio is 12 to 1. Hawaii Pacific University is regionally accredited by the

(WASC) and received a reaffirmation of its accreditation in 2016, extending to 2022. The School of Education has received accreditation for its B.Ed. and M.Ed. degree programs by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. The Nursing Program's BSN and MSN degrees are approved by the Hawaii Board of Nursing and is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The Social Work Program's BSW and MSW degrees are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

Notable faculty

* Neil Everett, co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter, former athletic administrator for 15 years. * Matthew LoPresti, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy and Humanities and Chair of the Asian Studies Program, and a former Democratic member of the Hawaii House of Representatives.

Athletics

The university's athletic teams are called the Sharks. They compete in the Pacific West Conference as part of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

's Division II. Hawaii Pacific University's first venture into intercollegiate athletics came with the formation of the men's basketball team. The university previously competed in the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

before joining the NCAA in the mid-1990s.

Notable alumni

* Benny Agbayani, retired professional baseball player * Kiwi Camara, defense lawyer of Capitol Records, Inc. v. Thomas-Rasset * Lymaraina D'Souza, Miss India 1998 *

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the fi ...

, American politician, former

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

Hawaii's 2nd congressional district Hawaii's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is currently represented by Kai Kahele, who succeeded Tulsi Gabbard following the 2020 election. The district encompasses all rural and most suburba ...

and candidate for President * Radasha Hoohuli,

Miss Hawaii USA The Miss Hawaii USA competition, previously known as Miss Hawaii Universe, is a beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of Hawaii in the Miss USA pageant. Kiana Yamat of Honolulu was crowned Miss Hawaii USA 2022 on Februa ...

2006 *

Jeff Hubbard Jeff Hubbard is the 2012 IBA World Tour bodyboarder champion from Kauai, Hawaii.Morinaga, Dayton (2009) "Hubbard wins world bodyboarding crown", ''Honolulu Advertiser'', December 20, 2009 Encanto Pro Champion 2012 Port Macquarie festival of Bodyb ...

, professional bodyboarder * Christopher Loeak, President, Republic of the Marshall Islands. *

Saige Martin Saige Martin is an American artist, fund director, and politician. A Democrat, Martin was one of the first openly gay people, the first Latinx person, and the youngest person ever to sit on the Raleigh City Council. He served from 2019 until 2020 ...

, artist and politician, first openly gay and Latinx person to serve on the Raleigh City Council * James D. McCaffrey, software engineer and author *

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

, U.S. politician, attended one semester in 1982 at Hawaii Pacific College.Honolulu Advertiser (August 29, 2008)
McCain's VP pick attended Hawaii Pacific College
also available o
Google Cache
as of November 1, 2008. * Chad Rowan, also known as Akebono (Taro), sumo Grand Champion Yokozuna and professional and K-1 wrestler, played varsity basketball for HPU * Carolyn Sapp, Miss America 1992 * Eun Ji Won, member of the former K-pop band Sechs Kies * Vivian Wu, Chinese actress, known for her roles in '' The Last Emperor'' (1987), '' Heaven & Earth'' (1993), '' The Joy Luck Club'' (1993), and '' The Pillow Book'' (1996) and as the historical figure of Soong Mei-ling, commonly referred to as Madam Chiang Kai-shek, in '' The Soong Sisters'' (1997 film) and '' The Founding of a Republic'' (2009 film).

References

External links

*
Hawaii Pacific Athletics website
{{authority control 1965 establishments in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Honolulu Education in Honolulu Educational institutions established in 1965 Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Private universities and colleges in Hawaii