Alumni attending the Alumni Week Breakfast with President Mike Latham ’86 learned about the School’s new mission statement and the “why” behind Punahou’s decision to renew the mission for the first time since 1985.
About 100 alumni attended the breakfast and presentation in Luke Lecture Hall on Tuesday morning. In rethinking the mission statement, Latham explained that Punahou was seeking a statement that was purpose-driven, inspirational and impactful and also distinctive to Punahou’s culture, history and sense of place.
The nine-month process, spurred by a recent accreditation exercise, included input from faculty and staff, students, alumni, parents, chaplains, trustees, administrators and the Center for Hawaiian Studies. Common themes and historical references emerged.
The renewed mission statement reads:
We are the children of Ka Punahou, the new spring.
From under the hala tree, we weave a mat that seats many, our home to dream and discover our purpose and kuleana to Hawai’i and the world.
The first line was excerpted from a poem written by a Punahou fifth grader.
