Hawaii Loa College (Kaneohe, Hi.)
Historical Note
In the early 1960s, Dr. Harry S. Komuro suggested that a survey be done of Hawaii concerning the possible need for a high-quality four-year liberal arts college. Dr. Komuro was part of the Methodist Mission in Hawaii and asked the United Church of Christ to join him in this endeavor. The survey was completed in April 1962. Once it was determined that there was such a need, several churches joined in to help accomplish this goal.
Hawaii Loa College is located at the foot of the Koolau Mountains on a 134-acre campus in Kaneohe, Hawaii. The college was named after a Hawaiian folklore figure who was known as a great Polynesian navigator. It was the first liberal arts college in the United States to be sponsored by four protestant denominations: the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church, and the Episcopal Church. The sponsoring churches were not to exert any direct control over the policies, curriculum, program, or personnel of the college.
In 1963, the college was chartered as the Christian College of the Pacific, but the name was formally changed to Hawaii Loa College in September 1964. Dr. Chandler W. Rowe was selected as the collegeâs first president in May 1965, and the college officially opened with 51 freshmen in 1967. The college was fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 1971. That same year, the college moved into the Amos Starr and Juliette Montague Cooke Memorial Academic Center, and construction of six residential buildings and a dining complex began in 1972. By 1973, the college had over 200 students. In 1977, Malcolm W. Oliphant, Dean, and President Chandler W. Rowe retired, and Dr. Philip J. Bossert became the new president.
Abstract:
American Missionary Association archives 1969 addendum