The University of Hawaiʻi System is a public college and university

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. 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 the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The system's main administrative offices are located on the property of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

History

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.

Colleges and universities

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is the flagship institution of the University of Hawaiʻi system. It was founded as a land-grant college under the terms of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Programs include

an/ Pacific Studies,

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

East Asian East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

Languages and Literature, Asian Studies, Comparative

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, Marine Science, Second Language Studies, along with

Botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

Ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

Geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, and

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. The second-largest institution is the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo on Hawaiʻi island, with over 3,000 students. The University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu in Kapolei primarily serves students residing in western and central suburban

's communities. The University of Hawaiʻi Community College System comprises four island campuses on Oʻahu and one each on

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, Kauaʻi, and Hawaiʻi. These colleges were established to improve course accessibility for more Hawaiʻi residents and provide an affordable means of easing the transition from

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

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.

Universities

* University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (established 1907) * University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (established 1945) * University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu (established 1976)

Colleges

* University of Hawaiʻi Maui College

Community colleges

* Hawaiʻi Community College in Hilo * Hawaiʻi Community College at Pālamanui * Honolulu Community College * Kapiʻolani Community College * Kauaʻi Community College * Leeward Community College * Windward Community College

Professional schools

* Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy * School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology * John A. Burns School of Medicine * William S. Richardson School of Law * Shidler College of Business

Research facilities

*Center for Philippine Studies *Cancer Research Center of Hawaiʻi * East-West Center * Haleakalā Observatory *Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute * Institute for Astronomy *Institute of Geophysics and Planetology * Institute of Marine Biology * Lyon Arboretum * Mauna Kea Observatory * W. M. Keck Observatory * Waikīkī Aquarium

University centers

*University of Hawaiʻi Center West Hawaiʻi *University of Hawaiʻi Center Kauaʻi *University of Hawaiʻi Center Maui

Education centers

*Molokaʻi Education Center *Lānaʻi Education Center *Hāna Education Center * Waiʻanae Education Center *Lāhainā Education Center

Board of Regents

In accordance with Article X, Section 6 of the Constitution of Hawaii, the University of Hawaiʻi is governed by a Board of Regents. The board consists of 15 unpaid members nominated by a Regents Candidate Advisory Council, appointed by the governor, and confirmed by the state legislature. It 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.

Student regents

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.

Notable alumni

Alumni of the University of Hawaiʻi system include many notable individuals from various walks of life. Senators

Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( , , September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American attorney, soldier, and statesman who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. A Medal of Honor recipi ...

and

Tammy Duckworth Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard Lieutenant colonel (United States), lieutenant colonel serving since 2017 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States ...

are both veterans of the U.S. military who were injured in the line of duty and later entered government service. Bette Midler and Georgia Engel are successful entertainers. Composer Hsiung-Zee Wong also attended the University of Hawai'i. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's parents, Barack Obama Sr. and Ann 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 first Asian-American woman elected to the Senate, the first U.S. senator born in Japan, and the nation's first

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

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's

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

department. She was also the first person to successfully develop a water-soluble form of chaulmoogra oil, used for decades to relieve the symptoms of Hansen's disease (

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

Notable faculty

The University of Hawaiʻi system has had many noteworthy faculty members, including visiting faculty and those who arrived after winning major awards, such as

Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

Georg 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.

Notes

References

External links

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University of Hawaiʻi Athletics
{{DEFAULTSORT:University of Hawai'i University of Hawaiʻi American Association of State Colleges and Universities Buildings and structures in Honolulu Education in Hawaii Public universities and colleges in Hawaii Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges 1907 establishments in Hawaii Public university systems in the United States