UH at 100: Hitting Our Stride
President McClain’s remarks at the UH Centennial Kickoff Celebration
January 13, 2007, Hawai‘i Hall, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
Nobel laureate Thomas Mann wrote, "Time has no divisions to mark its passage. … Even when a new century begins, it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols."
Mortal we certainly are; when a person celebrates a 100th birthday, we say that they have lived an exceedingly long and splendid life.
When a university reaches 100 years, however, it is just beginning to hit its stride.
Our beginnings were humble. The College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts was created by Act 24 of the 1907 Territorial Legislature and signed into law by Governor George Carter on March 25 of that year.
It was a simpler age. The act fits neatly onto a single page and states: "The purposes of the college are to give thorough instruction in agriculture, mechanic arts and natural sciences connected therewith, and such instruction in other branches of advanced learning as the board of regents may from time to time prescribe and to give such military instruction as the federal government may require. The standard of instruction in each course shall be equal to that given and required by similar colleges on the mainland."
Our first full semester began in the fall of 1908, but prior to that we did pull together five students in a house on Young Street in order to qualify for a matching federal grant that would help us construct our first building. Pursuing matching federal grants—seems like nothing has changed in a 100 years!
I’m pleased to report that in 1909 our first football team defeated its opponent, McKinley High School. We used two faculty members on that team. I’m not sure our faculty today would be comfortable with that as part of their duties and responsibilities.
In 1912 our first class graduated, with four of the first five students finishing on time. The campus of what was now called the College of Hawai‘i was relocated to Manoa valley, and those attending graduation could see rising from the ground our first building, initially called Main Hall and then renamed Hawai‘i Hall 10 years later.
The decades that follow chronicle an increasing crescendo of contributions to this community. Our first doctorate was awarded in 1933; its subject was the control of ants in pineapple fields.
- 1935 marked the founding of the Oriental Institute, the forerunner of the East-West Center.
- By 1948 enrollment had doubled from just a few years earlier, to 5,000, fueled by students studying under the GI Bill.
- We crossed the 10,000 mark in the early 1960s, shortly after statehood, and put in place the community college system. A decade later, our total enrollment was about 45,000, about half at Manoa and half at the other campuses.
- It was during this period that we built a number of additional dormitories at Manoa to handle the surge in students. The John A. Burns School of Medicine, William S. Richardson School of Law, Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i and School of Travel Industry Management were all put in place during this time.
- In 1967 construction was begun on the first telescope atop Mauna Kea, marking UH’s development of world class academic specialties in astronomy (now number 2 in the world), oceanography, vulcanology and related fields focusing on what a scholar living in Hawai‘i could uniquely learn from the physical environment of our state.
From the mid-1970s on, the tide of scholarly accomplishments and contributions to our community becomes a flood. UH has participated importantly in the renaissance in Hawaiian language and culture. Professor Ryuzo Yanagimachi led a team that announced the first reproducible cloning of a mammal, the mouse Cumulina. Hoping to help jump-start a biotech industry, UH made a major investment in a new facility for the medical school in Kaka‘ako.
As we mark our centennial this year, we’re proud that more than 1 million students have passed through our doors in the last century. We have about 200,000 living alumni, 140,000 of whom live here in Hawai‘i.
Today, UH is home to 80,000 students—50,000 pursuing degrees for credit and 30,000 doing noncredit work.
That’s right: 1 in every 12 adults in our state are on one of our 10 campuses every week, pursuing their education dreams.
But UH isn’t all about what goes on in the classroom:
- Nearly 700,000 admissions were recorded at UH Manoa and UH Hilo athletics events.
- 130,000 admissions were recorded at UH performing arts venues on our M&257;noa, Leeward, Windward, Hilo and Kaua‘i campuses.
- More than half a million admissions are recorded each year at the Waikiki Aquarium, which has been part of UH since 1919.
- 33,000 people attend UH-sponsored conferences and workshops every year.
Community members dine in culinary training facilities and receive cosmetology, automotive and other services from UH professionals-in-training. Startup businesses get advice from the statewide Small Business Development Center headquartered at UH Hilo and from the entrepreneurship center, Pacific Business Center and Family Business Center at UH Manoa. Law students assist low-income elderly residents and West O‘ahu students help community members with tax forms. Medical students staff a weekly clinic for homeless citizens; dental hygiene programs extend care to people without insurance; and Hawai‘i’s hospitals depend on UH-supervised residents to assist in providing patient care.
Clearly the dramatic physical and structural transformation of the university over the past 100 years has been matched by the powerful impact UH has had on the lives of our students, one by one and generation by generation. We have created educational and economic opportunities. We have helped secure social justice for the people of Hawai‘i. Most fundamentally, we have championed the hope that a better life is within the reach of everyone.
Our founders, were they here today, would express great pride in our achievements…and would remind us that there is much yet left to do.
With apologies to T. S. Eliot, I’m pleased to report that our first century is ending not with a whimper but with a monumental bang. The Board of Regents recently named UH Manoa’s business school the Shidler College of Business to recognize the unprecedented generosity and vision of UH alumnus and entrepreneur Jay Shidler. This courageous philanthropic commitment of $25 million fast-tracks the college’s goal of joining the nation’s elite public business schools within the next seven years.
The Shidler gift has energized our campuses, and encourages us all to envision what the University of Hawai‘i can be for the state of Hawai‘i, the nation, the region and the world. I want to focus our efforts and resources over the next several years in three major areas—
Advancing Academic Excellence The University of Hawai‘i is home to some of the world’s most prized teachers and researchers in the sciences, arts and humanities and the professions. We want to reward and empower our top-performing faculty and attract more leading scholars who will, in turn, draw exceptional students and achievers from Asia, the Pacific and around the world to our islands, maximizing our mid-Pacific location.Strengthening Undergraduate Education Our new Centennial Scholars program signals our intention to attract the best and brightest from our local high schools, while our extensive need-based Opportunity Grants embody the conviction that we must insure access for all qualified students, whatever their financial circumstances. We are committed to preparing all our students to make a difference in the global community and the workforce.
With the educational attainment of Hawai‘i’s 40-year-olds greater than our 25-year-olds for the first time in our history, we have to increase our enrollment rates, our retention and transfer rates and our graduation rates.Fulfilling the Research Mission Led by UH Manoa, one of the nation’s top 25 public research universities, our campuses will continue to be a magnet for creators of leading-edge technology, developing new sectors for the economy, and capitalizing on Hawai‘i’s natural advantages.
Achieving success in all three areas will require significant attention to the improvement of our facilities. We have to create positive, healthy, resource-efficient and sustainable campus physical environments. New and well-maintained learning facilities inspire student achievement, improve faculty retention and build pride among our community of alumni.
Given the population growth on the Leeward side of O‘ahu, the time has come to build out UH West O‘ahu; we need to do more on the west side of the Big Island and on the other Neighbor Islands as well.
Finally, we must continue to engage with you, the people of Hawai‘i. Fostering the university’s already-significant relationship with our community is vital to our success. For many, including prospective students growing up in Hawai‘i, the initial contact with the university occurs when cheering on our student athletes or enjoying one of our performances.
I am honored to lead the University of Hawai‘i as we break into full stride for our second century. As our centennial celebration gets under way, with the theme of honoring our past, celebrating our present and creating our future, and we begin to ring our own bells in celebration, you will hear more about our plans to re-engage our alumni, invigorate current relationships and attract new supporters to our cause.
We are proud to be Hawai‘i’s university because we know every life we touch empowers individuals to make a positive difference. We encourage you to join us in sharing that pride. With your counsel, involvement and support, we can take this university, and this state, to a higher level of excellence and a better quality of life.