University of Hawaii Histories

Well known in the history of the University of Hawai´i at Mānoa is its beginning in 1907 as the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts of the Territory of Hawaii. Perhaps also familiar to many is the shortening of its name to the College of Hawaii in 1911. A 1966 UH Manoa History thesis The History of the College of Hawaii and two published books document the university as a whole, Mālamalama: a History of the University of Hawai´i by Robert M. Kamins and Robert E. Potter, and Building a Rainbow, edited by Victor Kobayashi. Alternately, this publication can be viewed with separate PDFs for each chapter here.

Less known are the histories of the many departments and colleges that have developed and thrived within the University. Some histories were written for the UHM Centennial in 2007-2008; others are yet to be written. In the following narratives are detailed histories of programs, faculty, and students who have contributed for over a century to the chronicle of the University.