The Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii appointed Fujio “Fudge” Matsuda the 9th president of the university on July 24, 1974. He was the first Asian American to hold the position of president of a major university in the United States. He was also the first “local-born” president of the University of Hawaii. He served a ten year term and is credited with many accomplishments during a time when the state was experiencing an economic downturn.

Fujio “Fudge” Matsuda was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on October 18, 1924 to immigrant parents from Japan. They owned a small saimin shop and as a child he helped make noodles after school. He went through the public school system—Pohukaina School, Washington Intermediate School and McKinley High School. After one semester of college at UH, Matsuda volunteered for the Army. He served with the 232nd Combat Engineer Company which was part of the famous 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all Japanese American unit that became the most highly decorated regiment in the history of the United States Army.

Matsuda returned to the University of Hawaii when the war was over and completed two years in the engineering program before transferring to Rose Polytechnic Institute in Indiana. In 1949, he received his degree in Civil Engineering and was immediately accepted into the doctorate program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received his doctorate in 1952 and remained as a researcher at MIT for two years then at the University of Illinois for one year before returning to Hawaii. He taught in the Engineering Department at UH from 1955 to 1962. He was “one of the few oriental professors on campus” at that time.

In 1963, Governor John A. Burns requested Matsuda to head the Hawaii State Department of Transportation. Matsuda said he “really felt a social-moral obligation to accept the appointment.” He was responsible for the state highway, airport and harbor systems. He managed to consolidate all three into one transportation system during his ten year term from 1963-1973.

University President Harlan Cleveland then asked Matsuda to return to the university to become vice president for business affairs—the third highest post in the university administration. Shortly after, Cleveland resigned. A national search for a new president was conducted but both the community and the faculty were advocating for a “local-born” leader. Matsuda’s experience as the Department of Transportation Director and academic background at MIT and UH made him well qualified to assume the challenging position. The Board of Regents chose him to become the 9th President of the University of Hawaii.

Under Matsuda’s leadership the first system wide strategic plan was developed. The East-West Center was separated from the university. A reorganization of the community college system was established throughout the state. Several new dormitories were constructed which changed the Manoa campus from a primarily commuter college to a more traditional campus. More new buildings were constructed for the Korean Studies Center, Marine Sciences, Law School and Law Library, Athletic Complex with Kahanamoku Pool and the Institute for Astronomy. The School of Architecture opened and West Oahu College became the University of Hawaii West Oahu during his presidency. UH also became a Sea Grant institution.

Matsuda resigned as university president in 1984. The Fujio Matsuda Center was established in 1985 to serve as a technological education training center and named in his honor. He was also involved in the formation of the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research, a non-profit organization involved in developing photovoltaic and hybrid systems in Fiji and served as its Chairman of the Board. He served on many boards, including the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, and JAIMS (Japan-American Institute of Management Science), a non-profit postgraduate institute for intercultural management education. He continued to serve the community and received many awards and honorary degrees.

At the age of 79 years, Fujio “Fudge” Matsuda was honored in Hawaii as a “Living Treasure”—a man who made “significant contributions towards a more humane and fraternal society.”

With the exception of the first semester of the College of Hawai‘i, spring 1908, there has always been either a president, interim president, or acting president of the University of Hawai‘i. That first semester, Willis T. Pope refused the title of Acting President and said he would accept the title Acting Dean instead. By the following autumn, John W. Gilmore, the first president of College of Hawai‘i, had arrived from his former post at the University of California.

Since the beginning of College of Hawai‘i there have been fourteen presidents of the University; six acting presidents; an acting Dean; and one interim president who also became president. As mentioned above, Willis T. Pope functioned as acting dean for spring semester 1908. He recruited five students from the Territorial Normal School where he was vice principle to attend College of Hawai‘i. They took preparatory classes under Pope and some others on the faculty. The following fall semester, under President John W. Gilmore, the classes taught were college level classes. Gilmore resigned in 1913, and John S. Donaghho, professor of mathematics, became acting president.

Arthur L. Dean was hired, effective fall semester 1914, as president, coming from Yale University. He remained president until 1927 when he resigned from the University and became head of the Pineapple Research Institute. President David L. Crawford, professor of entomology, became president in 1927 and held the office for the longest tenure in the history of UH, until 1941. He resigned after a controversial battle with some members of the Board of Regents and at least one faculty person. Nevertheless, he seems to have been well liked by the students and a considerable portion of the faculty. Arthur Keller, dean of the college of Applied Sciences at UH, became acting president.

Shortly after the entry of the United States into World War II, Gregg M. Sinclair became the fourth president of University of Hawai‘i. He retired in 1955, being the second longest president in the university’s history. Paul Bachman became president immediately following President Sinclair’s retirement. His early death in January 1957 gave him the shortest term as president. Bachman's death occurred in the midst of the planning for the Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration (dating from the legislative approval of the College of Hawai‘i) held March 1957. Willard Wilson, professor of English and administrator in the University, functioned as acting president for about one and a half years.

Following World War II, the University expanded to include a campus in Hilo. Hilo College was a part of the University at Mānoa. Almost twenty years later, in 1965, the Hawai‘i State Legislature created the University of Hawai‘i System, incorporating many of the technical colleges in the state as community colleges in the System and raising Hilo College to University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. With this action, the university president’s role expanded to be in charge of all campuses with intermediaries over the individual campuses. At times, the president filled the role of chancellor for Mānoa campus, as well as president of the system; at other times the two offices were separated with two different individuals filling the offices. As a result, some of the records in the President’s Office record group will not contain as much material on Mānoa campus; one should also refer to the records in the Chancellor’s Office for additional material.

Laurence H. Snyder became the sixth president of University of Hawai‘i in 1958. Under his leadership, the University of Hawai‘i tried something very unusual, quitting participation in football in the fall of 1961. The regents reversed their decision less than one year later. Snyder left the presidency effective 1963, to be replaced by Thomas Hale Hamilton. Hamilton was president for another five years, resigning the presidency amid a struggle over the tenure of a controversial professor in 1968. Two acting presidents, Robert Hiatt and Richard S. Takasaki, led UH unitl the appointment of Harlan Cleveland as president became effective in fall semester 1969.

Fujio Matsuda, professor of civil engineering, became president in 1974 until 1984. Albert J. Simone became president following Matsuda’s retirement and remained in the presidency until 1992. The final acting president, Paul C. Yuen, held that office for the academic year 1992/1993. Kenneth P. Mortimer became president in 1993 until 2001. Evan S. Dobelle was president until 2004. David McClain, professor of economics became interim president and then president until 2009. M.R.C. Greenwood became the first woman to head the University in August 2009.