HI HCR125

Requests the University of Hawaii prioritize a capital improvement project to construct "Halau o Kawaihuelani," an office and classroom building at the University of Hawaii at Manoa

Building would house the Hawai'inui'akea School's Dean and staff, the Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language faculty and staff, Hawaiian language classes, and a performing arts facility for Hawaiian music, dance, and theater

Current Kawaihuelani Center and Kamakakūokalani Center are physically separated (nearly one-half mile apart), with the Kawaihuelani Center located on the second floor of Spalding Hall where space is insufficient for current and projected staff expansion

Kawaihuelani Center enrolled over eighty majors and graduate students during the 2024-2025 academic year and teaches nearly one thousand students per semester; the two centers collectively enroll over four thousand students annually

Physical separation of the centers has hindered program collaboration and curricular innovation, particularly as both centers prepare to launch a joint Doctor of Philosophy degree program in 'Ike Kūpuna (Hawaiian Knowledge)