In September 1908, the opening of the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts made it possible for Hawai‘i students to pursue a college degree without traveling to the mainland or abroad. One hundred years later, we honor our university, our flagship campus, and our founding college with Hawai‘i’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources: Celebrating the First 100 Years, a beautifully illustrated, 300-page history.
Editors Barry Brennan and James Hollyer and designer Nancy Hoffman-Valies have shaped an enduring record of CTAHR and its people. In brief chapters, more than 90 contributors have pooled their knowledge and memories of more than 1,700 individuals, including 52 outstanding achievers honored for their unique impacts. The full-color, hardbound book boasts nearly 700 images that trace our growth from a house near Thomas Square in Honolulu to a statewide campus that conducts instruction, research, and outreach at 27 locations on five islands. CTAHR alumni can revisit their departments and clubs, stepping back in time through a treasure trove of sepia photographs.
From familiar crop varieties and trusted termite control methods to environmental management initiatives that protect communities and resources, the results of CTAHR’s broad investigations can be found throughout the islands. Discoveries made in our college have also had influence worldwide, including techniques for grafting macadamia saplings and pruning coffee plants, and soil studies that have helped farmers throughout the tropics feed their families.
The First 100 Years also celebrates the human resources side of the college, from early food science studies that proved the nutritional value of locally grown foods, to the Hawai‘i 4-H program, now in its 90th year, which provides leadership, citizenship, and life skills training to more than 15,000 youths annually. CTAHR outreach in nutrition and wellness, child and elder care, and household resource management has helped generations of families stay healthy and strong.
This limited-edition book is sure to please both Hawaiiana buffs and CTAHR’s extensive ‘ohana. To order, e-mail CTAHR’s Office of Communication Services at ocs@ctahr.hawaii.edu, or call (808) 956-7036.
