History of UH Hilo

A timeline of growth from branch campus to internationally recognized university.

On this page:

1947

The Hilo Program, located on Haili Street, begins as an extension division of UH Mānoa.

Lyman Hall on Haili Street. According to the book “The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo: A College in the Making” (2001, UH Press) by former UH Hilo Chancellor Edward Kormondy and co-author former UH Hilo Director Frank Inouye, the Hilo Program began in 1947 as part of the Extension Division of the College of General Studies of UH Mānoa in Honolulu. Located in the former Hilo Boarding School, just above the present Lyman Museum on Haili Street, the Hilo Program had three faculty, four part-time lecturers, and 46 freshman students. Photo circa 1952-1953

1949

The Hilo Program is renamed the University of Hawaiʻi-Hilo Center.

1951

The Center is renamed the University of Hawaiʻi-Hilo Branch with an enrollment of 100 students.

1951: Students sit in front of the sign for University of Hawaiʻi Hilo Branch

1955-56

Hilo Branch opens a new permanent campus on Lanikaula Street with the construction of College Hall and a gymnasium at a cost of $385,000. Enrolled in the two-year school were 155 students who were offered concentrations in the arts and sciences and courses in education, business administration, and engineering.

College Hall under construction. The building opens in 1956.

1969-1970

The four-year UH Hilo is established, enrollment tops 1,000 with several dozen professors.

Circa 1970: Two students sit on a bench near the original UH Hilo library (the building now houses the UH Hilo Computer Center and UH Hilo-Hawaiʻi Community College Education Center).

1971

Center of Continuing Education and Community Service is founded, later transforms into College of Continuing Education and Community Service in 1991.

1975

College of Agriculture is founded. Name changes in 1998 to College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management.

Circa 1970s: Students at the newly constructed College of Agriculture.

1982

Edwin H. Mookini Library the Edith Kanaka‘ole Hall classroom and office building open.

The new Library, named after former Chancellor Edwin H. Mookini (1976-1979), opens in 1982.

1987

Construction begins on 250-bed dormitory and dining hall complex.

1990

In 1990, UH Hilo’s University Park of Science and Technology opens on campus under UH Hilo management. The first tenants are several base facilities for international observatories with telescopes on Mauna Kea. Soon after, the Smithsonian Array base facilities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry complex, and the U.S.D.A. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center open. In 2006, UH Hilo opens its ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. By 2007, total investment of tenants at the park is $800 million with the creation of over 400 jobs.

UH Hilo University Park of Science and Technology, adjacent to the main campus.

1991

Up to this point, UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College, located across the street from each other, operate almost as a single unit with students able to cross register at either campus. Now the two are separated into two institutions, although still share facilities and services.

1998

College of Hawaiian Language is founded and is named Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani.

Circa 1999: Hawaiian Studies graduates.

2001

$3 million Marine Science Building opens. It is the first new major building on campus in 20 years, providing classrooms, labs and offices for growing Marine Science program.

2003

$19 million three-story University Classroom Building opens. With lecture halls, classrooms, labs and offices, it provides additional space for expansion. Located at the new main entrance to campus, it is UH Hilo’s signature building.

Students stroll by UH Hilo’s signature building, generically named the University Classroom Building. Photo by William Ing

2004

• The School of Business becomes the College of Business and Economics.
• The Western Association for Schools and Colleges reaffirms UH Hilo’s accreditation through 2014.

2006

• College of Pharmacy is founded. In Fall 2007, the inaugural class commences and the college gains pre-candidate accreditation status, the first and only pharmacy college in the state to do so. In 2011, the college receives full accreditation when its first cohort of PharmD students graduates. In 2013, the college is renamed the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy in honor of Hawaiʻi’s late senior senator and the college’s greatest champion.
• ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaiʻi opens on campus at the University Park of Science and Technology.

Signage at ʻImiloa, lettering on rock wall: ʻImiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaiʻi University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. In the background is one of the cone shaped sections of the building

2011

The new Sciences and Technology Building opens.

The Sciences and Technology Building is completed in 2011.

2013

• The new student housing complex Hale ʻAlahonua opens (see Hale ʻAlahonua story and video). The first new student housing project since 1989 is a $32.5 million dollar structure made up of three, three-story residential wings that house approximately 300 students, increasing on-campus housing by more than 30 percent.
• The new UH Hilo Bookstore opens, serving both UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College (see story and video).
• The new Student Services Building opens. (2011 story on groundbreaking has info on structure and offices.)

New Student Services Center opens in 2013

2014

Hale’ōlelo opens in January of 2014

• Haleʻōlelo opens, the new permanent building for Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language.
• Two academic programs changed from provisional to established status, the Bachelor of Science in Marine Science and the Master of Arts in Indigenous Language and Culture Education.
• UH Hilo is ranked by the Chronicle of Higher Education as the most diverse four-year public campus in the country.
• The Doctor of Nursing Practice program receives accreditation.

2015

2016

• Two certificate programs are established in pharmacy studies: Certificate in Healthcare Leadership and Certificate in Health Science Research.
• UH Board of Regents approves new Certificate in Pre-Law.
• College of Business and Economics moves into newly renovated building.

2017

Students enjoying the new furniture and layout in the Campus Center Dining Room.

• Campus Center Dining Room undergoes major renovations.
• New Certificate in Unmanned Aircraft Systems is established.

2018

• A new gathering place for UH Hilo students is built comprised of a fully renovated outdoor basketball court, now with adjacent grills, picnic tables, and solar e-charging stations.
• New College of Natural and Health Sciences is established. The college is comprised of existing academic units in natural sciences, nursing, kinesiology and exercise science.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education once again ranks UH Hilo as the most diverse four-year public university in the United States.
• Several solar powered recharging stations are built throughout campus with seating, USB ports, Wi-Fi access, and a unique roof and gutter system to keep students dry during Hilo’s rainy weather.
• A new Certificate in Data Science is established.
• UH Regents approve provisional Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Sciences.

2019

New building to house the UH Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy.

• New building opens for the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy.
• Extensive renovations are done at the Mookini Library Lobby and Lanai.
• Once again, U.S. News and World Report ranks UH Hilo as most ethnically diverse campus among national universities.

2020

Artist rendering of new soccer and softball fields at UH Hilo. The project is slated for completion in Sept. 2021. Courtesy image from Vulcan Athletics.

• Groundbreaking ceremony held for new soccer field, softball field, and multi-purpose athletic facility.
• Certificate in Indigenous Public Health is established.
• UH Hilo retains #1 ranking for most ethnically diverse campus.

2021

Sign for the old Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Photo by Ken Lund.

• New research facility to study volcanoes and earthquakes is planned for UH Hilo campus.

Unless otherwise noted, photos courtesy of UH Hilo Graphics Services.