{"id":191737,"date":"2024-02-11T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-11T18:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=191737"},"modified":"2024-02-13T14:01:04","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T00:01:04","slug":"hawaii-cc-community-honor-late-rockne-freitas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/02\/11\/hawaii-cc-community-honor-late-rockne-freitas\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawai\u02bbi CC<\/abbr>, community honor late UH<\/abbr> leader Rockne Freitas"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"Street<\/p>\n

In a fitting tribute, the main entry road to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Community College–P\u0101lamanui<\/a> has been officially named after the late Rockne Freitas, the former Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr> chancellor who played a major role in developing the campus on Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island. Before P\u0101lamanui opened in August 2015, West Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> had been the only major population center in the state without a permanent facility for higher education.<\/p>\n[vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RHeGpFpTCss” el_aspect=”916″ align=”right” el_id=”wrap-video-right”] <\/p>\n

A dedication ceremony that included k\u012bpaepae—a ceremony for the introduction and transition into new spaces—was held on February 10, when the new Rockne Freitas Way sign was also unveiled.<\/p>\n

Raynette “Kalei” Haleamau-Kam, director of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr>–P\u0101lamanui, knew Freitas for decades and worked with him when he served as chancellor at Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

“I would like to mahalo Rockne for his leadership and tenacity to not give up on our community. Now it is up to us to continue his vision and preserve his legacy,” said Haleamau-Kam. “He would extend his hand to those in the back row, encouraging them to step forward and embrace greater opportunities to service the community. I am a testament to Rockne\u2019s dedication to pulling people from the shadows and urging them to make a bigger impact.”<\/p>\n

The UH<\/abbr> Board of Regents approved the honorific naming in August 2023<\/a>. Freitas, who died in 2022<\/a>, served in many leadership roles at UH<\/abbr>, including as Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr> chancellor from 2004 to 2010. He was a driving force in securing funding and establishing the partnerships that would enable the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr>–P\u0101lamanui campus to be built.<\/p>\n

\"Taupouri<\/p>\n

When he served as chancellor of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr>, Freitas spurred Taupouri Tangar\u014d, the current director of Hawaiian culture and protocols engagement for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr> and UH<\/abbr> Hilo, to develop the k\u012bpaepae. The ceremony is now requested to enrich special occasions and events about 50 times a year.<\/p>\n

“Rockne did not lead from a distance, from behind closed doors. Rockne was in our offices, our classrooms, in our ceremonies,” said Tangar\u014d. “It was clear, always, how proud he was of how we intersected Hawaiian culture and academics. Rockne’s famous saying, ‘What\u2019s good for the Hawaiian is good for the world!” is true! When aloha is our anchor and our lead, nature smiles, and we smile. This is Rockne’s way!”<\/p>\n

The symbolism of the naming of Rockne Freitas Way resonated with his family, who said that Freitas believed that education was a path forward.<\/p>\n

\"Rockne<\/p>\n

“He said to be a lifelong learner. Every day you should be learning something different, and through that process of education, you are also building relationships. It was of huge importance to us growing up,” recalled son Makai Freitas.<\/p>\n

Son Makoa Freitas said, “The legacy I would think he would want is one of education. How life really is all about education and through education you can change lives and you can do things for the better.”<\/p>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr>–P\u0101lamanui offers associate degrees and certificate programs. The campus also serves as a University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Center<\/a>, with more than 60 certificates, bachelor\u2019s degrees and graduate degrees from campuses across the UH<\/abbr> system.<\/p>\n

—By Kelli Abe Trifonovitch<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Â鶹´«Ã½
Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr>–P\u0101lamanui<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Freitas served as Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC chancellor 2004–10 and was a driving force in building Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC–P\u0101lamanui.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,12],"tags":[61,435,71,947,56],"class_list":["post-191737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-video","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-palamanui","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-system","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t