Vision For Our Future

HPU Will Be the Leader in Innovative Higher Education

Taking the helm as Hawai‘i Pacific University president on July 1, 2016, John Y. Gotanda returned home to Hawai‘i from the East Coast after a successful 30-year career in law and higher education. Most recently, President Gotanda, who is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on damages in international law, served as Dean of Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law.

As HPU looks to the future we understand that today’s learner lives with an ecological mindset, and that success of a project relies on collaboration and interdependence; colloquialisms for values we know as aloha.

HPU recognizes a vital opportunity to attract, develop and keep Hawai‘i’s high-achieving future leaders here, while reinvesting in our future. We see these students going on to become the community leaders of tomorrow and the modern ambassadors of aloha in both Hawai‘i and beyond.

Establishing a strong, meaningful presence locally extends beyond enrollment, as HPU strives to offer all students a unifying experience and greater access to professional opportunities within Honolulu. Our vision is to have a singular campus downtown, transforming HPU into a world-class urban campus in the heart of Hawai‘i’s business community. Anchored by Aloha Tower Marketplace, we will be building upon our classrooms, student dorms, and meeting spaces with new state of the art teaching facilities, labs, faculty offices, and student spaces within walking distance of Aloha Tower and our city center.

As we prepare graduates of HPU to become leaders of a global society, we share with the world a way of living and working that is guided by aloha.