Mission & Vision
The Midkiff Learning Center’s mission is to provide exceptional resources and experiences
to inspire, inform, and enrich learning.
We envision ourselves as the Center of Excellence for our learning community.
Who was Midkiff?
In 1977, the Midkiff Learning Center was named in honor of Frank E. Midkiff, Ph.D., former President and Trustee, distinguished educator, and civic leader. Midkiff came to Kamehameha School as President in 1923 until 1933. He left in 1935 to attend Yale and received his doctorate in education. In 1939, Mr. Midkiff became a trustee of the Kamehameha Schools/Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate until his death in 1983.
During Mr. Midkiffʻs tenure at Kamehameha, he instituted the live baby program as part of the Senior Practice Cottage for the girls, and the high-11, low-11 work/study program for the boys. He also co-authored with John Wise the ʻTextbook in Hawaiian Language” which was used to teach the Hawaiian Language at KS and UH. In addition, Mr. Midkiff urged the Barstow Foundation to create a modern school system in Samoa. The Barstow Foundation created a million dollar educational foundation which Mr. Midkiff administered. He is a hero in American Samoa to this day.
Mele Inoa for Frank E. Midkiff presented at Midkiff’s Dedication Ceremony, 1977
History of Midkiff Learning Center
The Midkiff Learning Center was dedicated in 1977 at the Kamehameha Schools Kapālama High School campus. It was designed for current and future students of the high school to house materials from both the boys school library and girls school library. But it also envisioned a learning center for future generations with a dedicated room for Hawaiiana materials, a television studio and an audio and graphics center.
Today, that vision is being realized in a thriving Learning Center with a Library of over 60,000 books and other various resources, a Digital Media Production studio, a Student Production Center, the Hawaiʻi Pacific Collection, Student Publications, the Kamehameha Schools Museum Archive and multiple classroom spaces and work study spaces.
See our homepage and individual instructional area pages for more information about Midkiff Learning Center’s resources, services and classes.
Dedication & Grand Opening