Punahou School has named its new learning facility after a prominent Native Hawaiian scholar who created the Hawaiian-English dictionary.
The late Mary Kawena Pukui taught at Punahou in the 1930s, where she established the school's curriculum in ʻike Hawaiʻi.
Punahou School President Michael Latham said Pukui's legacy inspired the naming of the building: Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons. This is also in light of the private school's recent revision of its mission statement.
"Mary Kawena Pukui is really a fascinating and compelling figure, both in the history of Hawaiʻi and in her engagement with Punahou as well," he said.
Pukui accomplished many things in her lifetime, including publishing 50 scholarly works, composing more than 100 songs and chants, and being nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981.
Kylee Pōmaikaʻi Mar, Punahou's archivist, said the school consulted with the family on naming the building after the late scholar.
She also said that Pukui is someone the students can identify or relate with since Pukui's father is from Massachusetts and her mother is from Kaʻu on Hawaiʻi Island.
"She's a perfect example of someone who is able to live in multiple words, in multiple languages," she said. "That's something that we do every day within our daily work and within our lives."
About 20% of students at Punahou are of Native Hawaiian ancestry, according to Latham.
He added that this is the third building on campus named after Hawaiian women. The others are named after Bernice Pauahi Bishop and Abigail Maipinepine Kuaihelani Campbell.
The more than 53,000-square-foot building is slated to open in 2026. It will include classrooms for design, technology and engineering labs.
The project was designed by WhiteSpace Architects and constructed by Albert C. Kobayashi.
