In 1999-2000 public and community health officials held forums in the small towns of northern Hawaiʻi Island. They presented island residents with troubling health statistics, such as high rates of drug and alcohol abuse, high rates of domestic violence, and high rates of diabetes. Island residents responded to the simple question, “What would make us a happier and healthier community?” with these top three choices: (1) greater educational opportunities for island youth; (2) assurance that adults—especially young adults—are qualified for the new jobs that ought to be coming to the island; (3) a diversified economy.

Community leaders agreed with these choices, and they also expressed impatience with the government’s inability to move forward with an aggressive plan to create greater educational opportunities by establishing a strong postsecondary presence in the northern and western part of the island. Leaders also indicated that such a postsecondary presence could build on the island’s natural beauty, thus creating teaching and research programs that fostered a sense of respect for the environment. Native Hawaiian leaders, especially, embraced this idea and underscored the notion that Hawaiʻi Island is a valuable learning laboratory, a magnificent source of knowledge. When Cornell University launched its Earth and Atmospheric Systems field study program on Hawaiʻi Island through The Kohala Center, it announced: “The Island as Teacher. You as Student. Mutually Beneficial.”