Originally located at Pensacola Street and Kapiʻolani Boulevard (from which the school gets its name), adjacent to
President William McKinley High School in the Makiki community, University of Hawaiʻi Kapiʻolani Community College was established in 1946 as Kapiʻolani Technical College. The school was administered by the
Territory of Hawaii as a vocational school specializing in food service. In 1965, it became a public college administered by the University of Hawaiʻi. As part of the realignment, the school adopted its current name.
Expansion Experiencing rapid growth in the 1970s, the Community College needed larger facilities. In 1974, the Board of Regents acquired a 52-acre (210,000 m2) parcel of land on the slopes of Diamond Head in Waikīkī. University of Hawaiʻi Kapiʻolani Community College opened its second campus at
Fort Ruger. All programs were transferred to the Fort Ruger campus, and the Makiki campus closed, in the 1980s. ==Notable alumni==