{"id":231019,"date":"2026-03-23T08:58:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T18:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=231019"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T20:55:08","slug":"kamana-beamer-to-lead-hawaiinuikea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/23\/kamana-beamer-to-lead-hawaiinuikea\/","title":{"rendered":"Kamana Beamer to lead Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Kamana
Kamanamaikalani Beamer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/span> Professor Kamanamaikalani Beamer<\/a> has been selected as dean of Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea<\/span> School of Hawaiian Knowledge<\/a> with his appointment set to take effect on July 1, 2026, following notice at the next Board of Regents\u2019 meeting in April. Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea<\/span> is the only Indigenous-serving college at a Research I\u2013designated university in the U.S.<\/p>\n

“Kamana brings a combination of intellectual rigor, cultural grounding and visionary leadership,” said UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> Interim Provost Vassilis L. Syrmos. “His work shows how ancestral wisdom can guide innovative solutions to today\u2019s most pressing challenges. As a scholar, teacher and convener, he inspires our students while helping position the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> as a place where Hawaiian knowledge not only thrives, but leads the way in shaping a more sustainable future for our islands and beyond.”<\/p>\n

Beamer, the inaugural Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature, & the Environment<\/a>, is director of Kamakakūokalani<\/span> Center for Hawaiian Studies<\/a> within Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea.<\/span> He also holds a faculty appointment at the William S. Richardson School of Law through the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law<\/a>. His research focuses on governance, land tenure and Native Hawaiian resource management.<\/p>\n

\"People
Beamer leads the annual Piʻo<\/span> Summit, guiding conversations on ʻāina<\/span> stewardship and justice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond scholarship, Beamer has helped shape some of the university\u2019s most visible public conversations around land stewardship and justice. He founded and leads the annual Piʻo<\/span> Summit<\/a>, hosted by UH<\/abbr> Mānoa,<\/span> which brings together community leaders, scholars, policymakers and students to explore solutions for ʻāina<\/span> restoration, stewardship and the return of lands to community care. The summit has become a signature gathering at the university, highlighting how traditional Hawaiian knowledge, policy and contemporary science can work together to address Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s environmental and social challenges.<\/p>\n

“Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea<\/span> has provided me with such an incredible foundation and the tools to advance ancestral knowledge and regenerative values at home and across our world,” Beamer said. “I am profoundly honored to build upon the successes of our school and community to navigate a course toward aloha and abundance for our students and ʻāina,<\/span> even in these challenging times. I can\u2019t wait to get to work!”<\/p>\n

\"Cover<\/p>\n

Scholarship, service<\/h2>\n

Beamer is also a prolific author whose work explores Hawaiian sustainability and governance. His books include Waiwai: Water and the Future of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/em> (2025), Islands & Cultures: How Pacific Islands Provide Paths toward Sustainability<\/em> (2022), and No Mākou<\/span> Ka Mana: Liberating the Nation<\/em> (2014).<\/p>\n

From 2022 to 2024, Beamer served as a founding member of the Mauna Kea Stewardship Oversight Authority. He also served two terms on the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Commission on Water Resource Management, where he helped restore water flow to 45 streams across Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and pressed the U.S. Navy to address fuel contamination of the aquifer at Red Hill.<\/p>\n

More on Beamer<\/h2>\n

Beamer has served as director of ʻāina-based<\/span> education at Kamehameha Schools, which helped prepare him for an ongoing role as director of Stanford University\u2019s First Nations Futures Institute, a development program for Indigenous leaders. He comes from a long line of highly acclaimed educators, composers and musicians in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, including his great-great-grandmother, legendary Hawaiian composer Helen Desha Beamer, and is the only grandchild of Winnona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer. “Aunty Nona” was a revered kumu hula, author, educator and activist. In 2008, the UH<\/abbr> Board of Regents awarded her a posthumous Regents\u2019 Medal of Distinction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beamer has been selected as the new dean, and his appointment will be effective July 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":231034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1193],"tags":[551,1465,9],"class_list":["post-231019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-administrative","tag-hawaiinuiakea-school-of-hawaiian-knowledge","tag-manoa-native-hawaiian-place-of-learning","tag-uh-manoa","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