Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 5, 1 May 2005 — Hawaiian master's degree programs gain final approval [ARTICLE]

Hawaiian master's degree programs gain final approval

Green light comes after heated words exchanged between Hilo, Mānoa scholars

By Derek Ferrar On April 21, the University of Hawai'i's Board of Regents gave final approval to longawaited master's degree programs in Hawaiian studies and language at UH Mānoa. Both departments hope to begin their graduate programs in the coming fall semester. "These programs are deeply linked to our mission, and provide Native Hawaiians and all who are interested in a richer understanding of Hawaiian cultures, views and language a ehanee to eonhnue their education," UH Mānoa Chancellor Peter Englert said after the board's aehon. "We anticipate that these new programs will also nourish the community by providing leadership for future generations." The university said in a press release that the "master's degree in Hawaiian will emphasize education in Hawaiian language and literature as an integral part of the efforts to revitalize Hawaiian as a living language... Research will emphasize the study of literature and the development of resource and eunieulum materials to enhanee teacher training for Hawaiian-medium schools." The Hawaiian studies master's, the university said, "will emphasize visual and perfonning arts, land and oeean resource management, and other cultural studies. The creation of this graduate program will contribute to the expansion

of the world's knowledge of ancient and recent Hawaiian culture using native sources." The approvals eame after a three-hour hearing that turned contentious when a longstanding rift was exposed between the Hawaiian language programs at UH Mānoa and UH Hilo, whieh already offers a master's degree in Hawaiian language and literature. After numerous people spoke in favor of the Mānoa master's programs, UH Hilo associate professor Lan-y Kimura testified that he had concerns over Mānoa's proposed language degree, saying it needed to be more academically rigorous. Former Mānoa Hawaiian 8tudies Director Likikalā Kame'eleihiwa angrily responded that the Mānoa program is at least as rigorous as Hilo's. "We're not duplicating (UH Hilo)," she said, "we're outdoing them." UH-Mānoa Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Neil 8matresk said that Kimura's concerns were considered when the university's administration and Faculty 8enate approved the new graduate programs. "These are groundbreaking fields," he said. "We trust faculty to bring high-quality degrees to us." To find out more about the Hawaiian studies master's program, eall 9730989. To get information about the Hawaiian language program, eall 956-8672. Li