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Charters of the University

Charters of the University BW Image of Woman

September 1, 2007-December 31, 2007
Location: Elevator Gallery

The Centennial of the University of Hawai´i provides the occasion for the University Archives to honor some of the outstanding achievements of the University as documented in the Archives. In the lobby of Phase II the exhibit features the basic charters of the University.

In the left case is a copy of Act 24 of the 1907 Territorial Legislature of Hawai´i creating a "college of agriculture and mechanical arts" as part of the national Land Grant system of colleges focusing on the teaching of agriculture and related sciences.

In the right case is a copy of Act 203 of the 1919 Legislature of the Territory of Hawai´i elevating the College of Hawai´i to the University of Hawai´i, with two constituent colleges, the College of Applied Sciences (the former college of agriculture) and the new College of Arts and Sciences. The act further authorized the Board of Regents to expand into whatever fields it felt appropriate to provide a thorough liberal arts education to the youth of Hawai´i.

The progress from College of Agriculture to University did not occur in a vacuum. Mr. William Kwai Fong Yap, realizing the need for a university in Hawai´i, circulated a petition requesting the legislature to act on this need. His petition, with approximately 400 signatures, is on the wall behind the cases. As a tribute to Mr. William Kwai Fong Yap for his work in the establishment of the University of Hawai´i, we display images of some of his family members in the center case.




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