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University of Hawai'i |
(808) 956-8856 Telephone |
For Immediate Release: |
November 2, 2000 |
Contact: Professor Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, director, Center for Hawaiian
Studies, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 973-0977; lilikala@hawaii.edu
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| Grant supports UH assistance in Native Hawaiian communities |
The University of Hawai'i Center for Hawaiian Studies has been awarded a two-year $333,280 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant to assist the Hawaiian communities of Papakolea and Maunalaha Valley, located less than two miles from the Manoa campus. Center Director Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, the grant's principle investigator, says this project is an opportunity to expand the University's capacity to serve community development needs in Native Hawaiian communities.
The HUD project is a partnership between UH Manoa and the Papakolea and Maunalaha communities. Plans include the renovation of the Papakolea Community Center as well as the construction of a similar facility in Maunalaha Valley. In this process, the project will also help to develop and expand recreational, educational, community-visioning and economic programs with the communities' residents while incorporating Native Hawaiian culture and language.
"The project is consistent with UH Manoa's strategic goals, particularly the goals for access and service to the Native Hawaiian population," Kame'eleihiwa says. "The proposal increases the opportunity for our faculty and students to contribute to community development."
This multidisciplinary project brings together the expertise of many UH departments, including Hawaiian Language; Botany; Urban and Regional Planning; The School of Social Work; Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity; Project Kua'ana; Na Pua No'eau; and The Native Hawaiian Leadership Project.
The grant is part of a $1 million fund appropriated by Congress and is available to eligible higher-education institutions in fiscal year 2000. To be eligible, at least 10 percent of the institution's undergraduate population must be Native Hawaiian.
"The University of Hawai'i and its partners are well-deserving of this grant award," said Sen. Daniel Inouye, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which approved legislation to fund the program. "Through this project, the University will empower community residents with the research and resources they need to develop short- and long-term solutions to their housing and urban development needs. I am confident this project will produce results that will have a positive effect on the entire state."
UH Manoa's Center for Hawaiian Studies is the largest and fastest growing
Hawaiian studies program in the world, expanding from 17 majors in 1986
to more than 140 majors enrolled in the program in 1999. Established in
1979, the program is a longtime proponent of scholarly study of Hawaiian
history and politics from a native perspective.
