In the last issue of Kalamalama I shared with you some thoughts
on the wonderful and unique multi-cultural aspects of our
student body and their impact on your education here at Hawai‘i
Pacific University. Today I would like to share with you some
thoughts on two of our degree programs that have particular
relevance in the current state of international affairs.
With demanding diplomatic and military crises arising with
all too frequent regularity, HPU is pleased to be offering
graduate and undergraduate degrees in diplomacy and military
studies that will prepare students to face the challenges
of our changing world. Both of these degrees are designed
to look at the international affairs through the application
of diplomatic relations that include the potential for the
use of military force.
In order to incorporate a variety of perspectives on the
topic, the diplomacy and military studies programs draw upon
a wide array of courses in various disciplines including history,
humanities, literature, philosophy, and political science.
The faculty who teach in these programs include our own full
time faculty, many of whom have made distinguished contributions
through publications and commentaries, as well as adjunct
faculty who have been or are practitioners in the area such
as retired high ranking military officers and former diplomats.
The quality of these programs is reflected in the success
of our graduates who have gone on to pursue even more advanced
academic work and who have found employment or career enhancement
in the military, the defense establishment, or the foreign
service.
That quality was recognized in October by the U.S. Naval
War College and the Joint Forces Staff College. Under the
terms of a bi-lateral agreement, HPU is currently the only
U.S. University to have all of the courses in an entire program
accepted by the Naval War College. And HPU students can apply
credits earned at the Staff College towards the MA in Diplomacy
and Military Studies degree at HPU.
As I anxiously watch the evening news these days, I am proud
to reflect on HPU’s role in preparing our students to understand
and, more importantly, perhaps influence those events in the
course of their careers in the years to come.
