RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 states "the historical and cultural foundations of the Nation should be preserved as a living part of our community life and development in order to give a sense of orientation to the American people"; and

WHEREAS, the state of Hawaii recognized this commitment to historic preservation in H.R.S. §6E-1, stating in part "the legislature further declares that it is in the public interest to engage in a comprehensive program of historic preservation at all levels of government to promote the use and conservation of such property for the education, inspiration, pleasure, and enrichment of its citizens"; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has a unique and spectacular history found nowhere else in the world that should be preserved and shared for current and future generations and with the millions of individuals who visit the state each year; and

WHEREAS, historic preservation is a dynamic field that focuses on the care and management of the built environment and the protection of other cultural resources; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa currently offers a Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation, to be completed alone or in conjunction with another graduate certificate or degree program; and

WHEREAS, there are over two dozen higher learning institutions in the country that currently offer degrees or other courses or training in historic preservation; and

WHEREAS, the University's Historic Preservation program has benefited from the experience and expertise of its faculty and lecturers and distinguished visiting professors, in addition to its annual Preservation Field Schools, which are intensive summer programs that provide students from Hawaii and all over the world with hands-on experience working with neighborhoods or buildings worthy of documentation and analysis; and

WHEREAS, the Department of American Studies at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa is currently in the process of trying to realign its courses to include Historic Preservation with the required coursework for a prospective degree program within these fields, which would succeed in training museum and historic preservation staff in the State and would be an investment in Hawaii's heritage and future care of its heritage resources; and

WHEREAS, one of the goals of the historic preservation program is the expansion of a community's awareness about the opportunities that exist for preservation within its neighborhood; and

WHEREAS, the current certificate program at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa attempts to keep issues of cultural identity and the recognition of traditional cultural properties at the forefront of discussions and instruction, and are interested in increasing Native and indigenous participation in the respectful presentation and use of Native cultural resources housed within museum collections; and

WHEREAS, these degree programs would establish Hawaii as a leader in heritage issues for the Pacific Rim and would attract students internationally, especially from the Asia Pacific region, and could positively impact Hawaii and other island cultures that are concerned with preserving their heritages and negotiating tourism; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature requests the University of Hawai`i to create a four-year degree program within the discipline of Historic Preservation at the University of Hawaii at Manoa; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the University of Hawai`i and the Board of Regents of the University of Hawai`i.

Report Title:

A 4-year degree program in historic preservation at University of Hawai`i at Manoa