The University of Hawai‘i had its beginnings in 1907 as a college of agriculture and mechanical arts and became the territoryís Land Grant College, a designation that remains today. With the establishment of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1920, the College of Hawai‘i became a University. Enrollment growth in the early years was slow, but the close of World War II and increased educational demand fueled by returning GIís increased the Universityís enrollment to over 5,000 students in the 1950s. Statehood and the establishment of the University of Hawaiëi as the ìstate university marked the beginning of a period of accelerating enrollment that resulted in the formation of a large diverse system. In 1965, the State Legislature created a statewide system of community colleges and placed it within the University of Hawaiëi. In 1970, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo was founded. In 1989, West O‘ahu College, an upper division institution opened in 1976, was renamed the University of Hawai‘i-West O‘ahu. The flagship Manoa campus became the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
