The Jewel of Diamond Head
Kapiolani Community College Origins
Kapiolani Community College has a long, colorful history. Its solid reputation in culinary arts, hospitality, health services, liberal arts and business education, is sprinkled with delightful stories of campus moves, student and faculty successes, and classroom innovations.
Established in 1946 while Hawaii was still a territory as Kapiolani Technical School, the school was administered by the Territorial Department of Instruction. Its first program was food service. By statehood in 1959, three additional programs were added: practical nursing, business education and dental assisting. The technical school realigned its programs and became part of the open door community college system of the University of Hawaii in 1965 and was renamed Kapiolani Community College (KCC).
Originally located on the corner of Pensacola and Kapiolani Boulevard, KCC's enrollment grew rapidly during the 1970s. So rapidly, in fact, that the need to move to larger quarters became a priority. In 1974, the UH Board of Regents provided for a phased transition and transfer of the Pensacola programs to a new 52-acre campus located on the slopes of Diamond Head. Occupying five temporary renovated buildings once owned by Fort Ruger, KCC received the distinction of being the first two-campus college in the system. But KCC was turning heads for other reasons too. In 1976, Radiologic Technology instructors Roland Clements and Harry Nakayama developed a new hip x-ray technique which earned KCC national attention.
Growing up on Diamond Head
By 1980, plans to relocate the remainder of the campus to Diamond Head were under way. A few people who opposed KCC's move at the time, though unsuccessful in stopping construction at its present site, caused developers to address their concerns. Buildings were slightly reconfigured, and more trees were preserved to help create the campus that today blends so beautifully with its scenic location.
As the new buildings sprung up on campus, so did new programs and recognition for excellence in several areas. In 1986, KCC's respiratory care program won a national award as an outstanding vocational education program. Meanwhile Emergency Medical Services started the mobile intensive care technician program at KCC. The Gallaudet University Regional Center, the famous cactus garden, and the first Asia-Pacific Festival also took roots on campus in the late '80s.
Students and faculty of the KCC culinary program had long been reaping awards, but they did not achieve Guinness record notoriety until 1990. That year, KCC and Honolulu Commuity College food service students helped McKinley High School celebrate its 125th anniversary by creating a record-breaking two-ton, 130 foot long cake. Also, during the 1990's the campus came alive with many new pieces of sculpture, fountains, murals and other art.
Looking into the future
Today, KCC still strives to achieve new heights and attain important community goals. More than 7,100 students annually enroll in day, evening and weekend credit programs at the campus. An additional 25,000 students enroll through its extensive non-credit programs.
KCC has strong technical, occupational and professional programs in business education, food service and hospitality education, and nursing. Health sciences, emergency medical services and legal assistant programs are unique to KCC and have received national recognition. The liberal arts program remains the largest of all eight campuses, enrolling more than 4,500 students. KCC is responsive to the needs of the community, identifying current interests or trends and providing programs that enrich public education. Close ties with business, government, social institutions and other community resources are critical to planning and development of KCC's curriculum. One example of this is the partnership with the Waikiki Lifelong Learning Center, which brings many of KCC's programs to Waikiki residents and place-bound workers. The Center, which is a collaboration with private industry, government, union and education, has been a catalyst for workplace development in Waikiki and the rest of the state.
KCC has taken the lead in blending credit and non-credit programs in an effort to be more responsive to the needs of the community, more flexible in its offerings and more entrepreneurial in generating revenues that can be used for improving existing programs or creating new ones. By rethinking the way credit and noncredit programs relate to each other, KCC has been able to make all of the campus' resources and programs available to larger populations, thereby extending its outreach and accessibility to the community and fostering potential for new partnerships with business and industry.
For many years, KCC has also been particularly successful in expanding its reach to international arenas, which is key to its goal of becoming a focal point for international outreach and education. New agreements with institutions in China and Sri Lanka offer opportunities for faculty, students and curriculum to move beyond the boundaries of the state, and for people from abroad to come here to share and gain knowledge. In addition to international partnerships and student, staff, and resource exchanges, KCC hosts an annual International Festival, the student conference on Asia and the Pacific and regularly features international speakers.
To administer and assist in these new international ventures, KCC is planning to establish a Center for International Affairs, which will assist incoming international students and instruct KCC's own faculty and students on international opportunities for studying and teaching. In addition, this office will aid in KCC's ongoing efforts to expand its reach not just across the Pacific, but throughout the world.
KCC will also be moving forward in the coming years with the development of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific (CIP), a culinary training ground that will rival any in the world, one that is uniquely positioned geographically to bring together the tastes and influences of Asia and the Pacific with those of the mainland United States and Europe. CIP will build upon the strong foundation of KCC's food service and hospitality education department, creating an advanced program that offers more options in noncredit training.
Meanwhile, KCC will continue to respond to the needs of the community and to industry, creating programs that will produce graduates in fields that are vital to the State's economy and development. Recently introduced programs in Media Arts and Sports Medicine are indicative of this responsiveness that will no doubt continue in coming years.
As the information age brings about changes in the ways we learn, KCC will continue to look at alternative methods of delivery to make education more accessible to non-traditional students.
