Kapiolani Community College

Kapiolani Community College
Motto Kūlia I Ka Nuʻu (Strive for the Highest)
Type Public Commuter College
Established 1946
Chancellor Leon Richards
Vice-Chancellor Louise Pagotto
Brenda Ivelisse
Brian Furuto
Students 31,100
Location Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Campus Urban
Colors Blue and White[1]
         
Affiliations University of Hawaii
Website kapiolani.hawaii.edu

Kapiʻolani Community College, formerly Kapiʻolani Technical School, is a public, co-educational commuter college in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi situated on the slopes of Diamond Head in Waikīkī. It is one of ten branches of the University of Hawaiʻi system anchored by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Establishment

Originally located at Pensacola Street and Kapiʻolani Boulevard (from which the school gets its name), adjacent to President William McKinley High School in the Makiki community, Kapiʻolani Community College was established in 1946 as Kapiʻolani Technical College. The school was administered by the Territory of Hawaiʻi as one of its chief vocational schools, specializing in food service. In 1965, its curricula was modified and became an open-door public college administered by the University of Hawaiʻi. As part of the realignment of programs, the school adopted its current name.

Expansion

Experiencing rapid growth in the 1970s, Kapiʻolani Community College needed larger facilities. In 1974, the Board of Regents acquired a 52-acre (210,000 m²) parcel of land on the slopes of Diamond Head in Waikīkī, formerly owned by the United States Army. Kapiʻolani Community College opened its second campus at Fort Ruger, the only college in the University of Hawaiʻi system to have two campuses of its own. The Board of Regents then agreed to move with a complete transfer of programs to the Fort Ruger campus and close the Makiki campus. Kapiʻolani Community College finally completed the transfer in the late 1980s.

National acclaim

Kapiʻolani Community College gained national attention in 1976 when radiology instructors Roland Clements and Harry Nakayama developed a new hip x-ray technique. In 1986, Kapiʻolani Community College's respiratory care program won a national award as an outstanding vocational education program. Also in the late 1980s, Gallaudet University Regional Center opened at the Fort Ruger campus.

Recent developments

Kapiʻolani Community College is currently in the process of establishing the Culinary Institute of the Pacific,[2] already challenging other notable culinary schools in the world to provide quality talent. Among the alumni of this program are Alan Wong, Sam Choy, and Wayne Hirabayashi, cofounders of Hawaii Regional Cuisine. Other notable alumni are Alan Tsuchiyama of Sheraton Waikīkī.

The school is working on expanding the curriculum to include such classes as culinology and perhaps a Bachelor's in Applied Sciences.

Academics

Kapiʻolani Community College is the state's largest comprehensive community college with technical, occupational and professional programs in business education, food service and hospitality education, and nursing. It offers the state's most successful university transfer program as well as a well-respected STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program. Nationally, Kapiʻolani Community College has been recognized for its programs in health sciences and education for emergency medical services. Locally, KCC is well known for its culinary program. Other students attend Kapiʻolani Community College as a starting point before moving on to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and other four-year universities to complete a bachelor's degree.

Of all the community colleges in the University of Hawaiʻi System, KCC has the largest liberal arts student body with over 5,000 students enrolled annually. Some of the most popular majors for students transferring from KCC to universities are Business, Nursing, Art, Psychology, English, Biology and Pre-Med. The campus has one of the nation's largest international student bodies and attracts students from over 100 nations including very large numbers of students from Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong because of its programs of study, links to the University of Hawaii - Mānoa, and proximity to Waikiki. It is also a leading community college campus in Hawaii for business education programs such as information technology, accounting and marketing.

Points of interest

Campus art includes:

Notable alumni

Also of interest:

References

External links

Coordinates: 21°16.29′N 157°48.03′W / 21.27150°N 157.80050°W / 21.27150; -157.80050

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