UH Launches $10M Endowment for 500 Native Hawaiian Students

HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi system announced Thursday a $10 million endowment dedicated to providing tuition-free education for 500 Native Hawaiian high school graduates, effective next fall. The program, targeting students from across the islands including Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island, Maui and Kauaʻi, covers full tuition, fees and books at any UH campus. UH President David Lassner hailed it as 'a game-changer for Native Hawaiian youth,' building on decades of federal support like the $9.3 million ARPA grants awarded in 2021 to 13 UH programs focused on STEM pathways, Hawaiian language immersion and family engagement at campuses such as Mānoa, Hilo and Honolulu Community College.

This endowment arrives as Native Hawaiian education initiatives face mounting legal scrutiny. Conservative activists, including a Utah-based group, have filed lawsuits claiming programs like the Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship are racially discriminatory, targeting federal funds totaling over $100 million for health, housing and preschools. UH leaders, alongside advocates from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, frame the scholarships as essential redress for historical disparities in education and poverty among kanaka maoli, who comprise about 10% of Hawaiʻi’s population but lag in college completion rates.

Complementing existing efforts, the new fund partners with community colleges like Windward and Kauaʻi CC, where projects such as Poʻi Nā Nalu have boosted Native Hawaiian enrollment in CTE and STEM by 20% since 2021. Private scholarships from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation and Alaka’ina Foundation for Chaminade University will amplify reach, but UH's scale — serving 500 students annually — positions it as the largest state-backed Native Hawaiian higher ed push to date. Applications open June 1 for the Class of 2026 graduates.