Former University of Hawaii at Hilo Chancellor Edward Kormondy died April 28 at his home in Los Angeles, it was announced Monday. He was 91.
Kormondy led UH-Hilo from 1986-93 after serving the previous four years as vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. His seven-year tenure at UH-Hilo, at the time, marked the longest term for any chancellor since UH-Hilo became a four-year university in 1970.
As chancellor, Kormondy compiled a lengthy list of accomplishments, including a large increase in enrollment, which grew from 1,594 in fall 1986 to 2,953 in fall 1993.
He oversaw construction of the Hale Kehau dormitory and dining complex, which opened in 1989, and the opening of the UH-Hilo Park of Science and Technology the following year. He also presided over the separation of UH-Hilo and Hawaii Community College in 1991.
“Chancellor Kormondy’s contributions have had a lasting impact on UH-Hilo,” said Interim Chancellor Marcia Sakai. “Much of what he accomplished set the stage for future growth and development that took place years after his retirement.”
Kormondy became a regular donor to the UH system in 1987 and created an endowed fund to support professional development of faculty and staff at UH-Hilo. He also helped endow the Frank T. Inouye Endowed Scholarship Fund, established in 2003, in honor of the university’s first director, and was a trailblazer in helping raise funds for the scholarship, which supports UH-Hilo students pursuing a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences.
Kormondy is survived by his partner, Noriaki Nakano; his children, Lynn, Eric (Janet) and Mark (Susan) Kormondy; his grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and sister-in-law, Shirley Kormondy.
Based on his wishes, no memorial service is planned and the family gathered privately to scatter his ashes.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Kormondy-Hedrick Scholarship in the Life Sciences at Tusculum University, Alumni Office, P.O. Box 5040, Greeneville, TN 37743, or to another scholastic charity.
