Pālamanui, the planned Kona campus of , has taken a giant step towards becoming a reality. A kīpaepae ?eli honua, or groundbreaking ceremony for the new campus, was held in May 2013. Welcome news considering Pālamanui was first conceived of more than two decades ago, and had been in the planning stages since 2004.
“We are graduating from planning to doing,” said President M.R.C. Greenwood. “And that is a very important beginning.”
West Hawai?i is the only major geographic region and population center in Hawai?i without a permanent higher education facility. That will change in 2015 when the first phase of Pālamanui is scheduled for completion.
“The community colleges open the doors for our kamali?i, our children, for haumana, our students to dream,” said Hawai?i County Mayor Billy Kenoi.
The state-of-the-art, energy-independent campus is expected to serve as a model for other state projects.
The $25 million first phase includes a structure with 24,000 square feet of classrooms, science labs, learning kitchens, library, learning commons area and a large photovoltaic system.
It fits in perfectly with Hawai?i Community College’s mission of E ?Imi Pono, or seeking excellence.
“It is the same spirit that will guide us into the future and the endless possibilities this new campus will provide,” said Noreen Yamane, chancellor of Hawai?i Community College.
The groundbreaking ceremony prepared the land in a traditional Hawaiian way, and included Hānai ?Awa, feeding ?awa to the land; Kanu I?a, burying fish; Kanu 尝ā?补耻, planting 尝ā?补耻; and hula, with a mele or song for the spirit of the land, ocean and sky.
Then with ō?ō, or digging sticks, in hand; state, county and UH dignitaries dug into the earth, marking the start of the creation of a new home.
“We pledge all that we have, all that we are, to Hawai?i’s and its future,” said Governor Neil Abercrombie. “Pālamanui, is the future of Hawai?i.”