The Hawaiian Studies Center at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa is being renamed in honor of Gladys Kamakakuokalani ‘Ainoa Brandt. Brandt, who is now in her ’90s, is well known on Kaua’i for her 17 years at Kapa’a High
The Hawaiian Studies Center at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa is being renamed in honor of Gladys Kamakakuokalani ‘Ainoa Brandt.
Brandt, who is now in her ’90s, is well known on Kaua’i for her 17 years at Kapa’a High School as the only female principal of a public high school in Hawai’i at the time.
Brandt was at Kapa’a High School from 1945 until the end of the 1961-62 school year. She also served as district superintendent for Kaua’i’s public schools in 1962.
A re-dedication and re-naming of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Center for Hawaiian Studies is taking place today at 3:30 p.m. at the center. Its new name will be the Gladys Kami-kakakuokalani ‘Ainoa Brandt Center for Hawaiian Studies University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Brandt is considered one of Hawai’i’s most distinguished and revered kupuna. She served as an educator and administrator for more than 40 years, and has been an advocate for Native Hawaiian issues.
Brandt graduated from the University of Hawai’i with a bachelor of education degree in 1942.
She also taught in the classroom and served as principal of Kamehameha School for Girls, as director of the secondary division of Kamehameha Schools. She played a major role in consolidating the boys’ and girls’ schools at Kamehameha into a coeducational institution and was director of the high school division. She retired in 1971.
She served as a member of the University of Hawai’i Board of Regents from 1983-1989, serving as its chair for four of those six years. Today she is an Emeritus Regent at UH.
While serving on the Board of Regents, Brandt was instrumental in the founding of the Center for Hawaiian Studies.
Her colleagues on the board as well as the University’s administration at the time, credit her as the person most responsible for the existence of the center today. She ushered the project through the board and subsequently, the Legislature.
Through her leadership, the Hawaiian Studies Center became a reality and today, remains the hub for Hawaiian studies in academia. In 1981, she received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Hawai’i
Brandt has served on numerous other boards and commissions, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Cancer Research Center of Hawai’i, and the John A. Burns School of Medicine.
