{"id":222123,"date":"2025-09-16T14:50:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T00:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=222123"},"modified":"2025-09-17T09:06:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T19:06:06","slug":"osorio-returns-to-teaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/16\/osorio-returns-to-teaching\/","title":{"rendered":"Osorio to return to teaching after leading Hawai\u02bbinui\u0101kea"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Osorio
Dean Jon Osorio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole<\/span> Osorio has worn many p\u0101pale (hats)—historian, award-winning musician, advocate, kumu (teacher) and dean. After nearly a decade guiding the Â鶹´«Ã½nui\u0101kea<\/span> School of Hawaiian Knowledge<\/a> at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa, he is stepping away from administration and back into the classroom, where his career began more than 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

\"Osorio
Osorio with Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea<\/span> haumāna (students).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I consider the last eight years maybe the most blessed time of my life. The things I learned, about how a university operates, how to work with people around me that didn\u2019t see eye to eye with what we were trying to do, how to be persuasive, all of those things were really amazing to me,” said Osorio.<\/p>\n

The k\u0101naka ʻ\u014diwi<\/span> (Native Hawaiian) scholar became dean in 2017 at age 68, following years of service as a professor and director of the Kamakak\u016bokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies<\/a>. During his tenure, Â鶹´«Ã½nui\u0101kea<\/span> strengthened its reputation as the nation\u2019s only college of Indigenous knowledge at a Research I<\/abbr> university.<\/p>\n

\"people
Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea<\/span> is distinguished as the nation\u2019s sole college of Indigenous knowledge at a Research I university.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2024, the school earned a 10-year renewal of accreditation from the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium<\/a>, a testament to its role in preserving and revitalizing Hawaiian language, culture and values.<\/p>\n

Related UH<\/abbr> News<\/em> stories:<\/p>\n