Fifty years ago, on July 1, 1974, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints changed the name of Church College of Hawaii to Brigham Young University–Hawaii.
It can be said the university’s history starts with a vision then-Elder David O. McKay of the Quorum of the Twelve had on February 7, 1921, while he watched a US flag-raising ceremony at the Laie mission school and foresaw a university would someday serve the international students from Hawaii, Asia, and the Pacific Islands.
As president of the Church on July 2, 1954, the beloved prophet announced the Church would establish a college in Hawaii; and on February 12, 1955, he broke ground in a sugar cane field for that university (near where the BYU–Hawaii multi-purpose chapel now stands) and foretold its “influence will be felt towards the establishment of peace internationally.”
A ‘missionary factor’ attracting millions: On that occasion, President McKay also said the college, temple, and town of Laie would “become a missionary factor, influencing not thousands, not tens of thousands, but millions of people who will come seeking to know what this town and its significance are.”
Advised that preparing the site would take about a year and a half, President McKay responded, “I would like it to begin in the fall of 1955.” Consequently, contractors quickly set up World War II war-surplus structures and other facilities around the temporary “anchor” of the Laie Ward chapel (which was built and dedicated in 1951 using funds partially raised by Laie Saints during the popular hukilau program).
CCH, as it was quickly nicknamed, started on September 26, 1955, on the southwest corner of Naniloa Loop and Lanihuli Street in Laie with 153 students, 20 faculty members and administrators, and the following “divisions”: Agriculture and industrial arts, art and music, business administration and secretarial training, education, home living, language arts, religion, and social sciences.
The permanent campus opened in 1958: By December 1955, labor missionaries began to build BYU–Hawaii’s permanent campus in its present location (and make other additions in Laie); and standing at the podium of the new auditorium on December 17, 1958, President McKay dedicated those first components of CCH’s permanent campus.
CCH was fully accredited in October 1959 as a two-year “junior college.” The Church’s Pacific Board of Education then authorized CCH to expand to a four-year curriculum (which was accomplished in 1961). In January 1960, the second labor missionary phase began to expand the CCH campus, and about a year later, it also began to build the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Aging Seasiders (comments by Mike Foley):
With each passing year, the number of living alumni who enrolled and graduated from the Church College of Hawaii diminishes. Even the youngest among us are probably in our 70s, and many have passed. Most of us are proud of our CCH associations and history, but I join many in also embracing our new status as BYUH Seasiders — although, I admit it seemed a little strange at first. For example:
- I was actually on the faculty during the name change and have first-hand knowledge of those days. A few old-timers might recall I used to teach English for foreign students (which we called ELI then), freshman English, journalism, photography, and kafefe, Samoan.
- I recall the earliest form of our “new name” actually included the word “campus,” as in Brigham Young University–Hawaii Campus, or BYUHC. You might even see that in some older references, and wonder, huh?
Fortunately, that extra-letter has almost disappeared from memory . . . although there are still some persnickety stylistics that requires using an en-dash — not a hyphen or even more awkward em-dash — between the letter U and Hawaii.
- During the changeover, “our” President Dan W. Andersen reported to the “real” president in Provo, which meant then, BYU President Dallin H. Oaks, and later Jeffrey R. Holland occasionally came over to preside at various functions. Of course, it was wonderful to see them, but fortunately, that got straightened out a few years later.
- As a “marketing communications guy” for most of my professional career (beyond my academic days), I think the change to BYU–Hawaii was brilliant brand-building.
Our CCH alma mater benefitted greatly from the closer ties with our “big sister” — although I remember a few of them took a bit of umbrage if we said (or wrote) BYU Provo: Their usual response? “We’re BYU or the Y; you’re BYU–Hawaii . . and I’m not familiar enough with our other sister in Idaho to comment on how they feel about such changes."
- I don’t hear it much anymore, but one of the better explanations I remember for the name change back in the 1970s was that some of our graduates were not getting enough respect from European, and especially British-oriented school systems, in the South Pacific and Asia. They reportedly equated: 1) “Church college” as some kind of seminary, or religious training institution. I.e., they didn’t consider a CCH degree equivalent to “their” university degrees. Or 2) “their college” degrees were sometimes associated with teacher-training “normal school” certificates or some upper-form diploma. Presumably, that’s all evaporated since we became BYU–Hawaii.
- Anyone who might have lesser feelings about my beloved CCH simply doesn’t realize how much our OG Seasiders loved our school, the Polynesian Cultural Center (from 1963 on), and each other. In one word, it was the GREATEST experience of my life — friends from all over Asia and the Pacific, a terrific education, and my very own, beautiful hula dancer.