UH West O‘ahu Chancellor Rockne Freitas awarded prestigious honor
University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu
UH West O'ahu Chancellor Rockne Freitas
UH West Oʻahu Chancellor Rockne Freitas received Oregon State University’s highest alumni honor when its Alumni Association named him this year’s recipient of the E.B. Lemon Distinguished Alumni Award.
The Lemon award honors alumni “who make significant contributions to society and whose accomplishments and careers bring acclaim to the university.” It is the highest recognition granted by the association.
Hawaiʻi Community College Chancellor Noreen Yamane, who nominated Freitas for the honor, noted Freitas’ numerous and significant contributions throughout his career while serving the university, as he “made the dreams of a community a reality.” As chancellor at UH West Oʻahu, Freitas is "addressing the financial difficulties of the campus, and improving the morale and service of one of the most underserved populations in the State of Hawaiʻi,” Yamane added.
Freitas graduated from OSU in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science. He earned master’s and doctoral degrees in education from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He became chancellor at UH West Oʻahu in May 2013. Freitas previously served as vice president for student affairs and university and community relations for the UH System, as well as chancellor at Hawaiʻi Community College.
Freitas played football for Oregon State and enjoyed a long career in the National Football League. He was inducted into both the Hawai‘i Sports Hall of Fame and the OSU Sports Hall of Fame.
He will be recognized at the alumni association’s Spring Awards Celebration on April 25.
About UH West O‘ahu
UH West O‘ahu became a four-year, regional comprehensive university when it served its first class of freshmen in fall 2007. The University offers quality education, small classes and personalized attention at convenient locations. UH West O‘ahu serves approximately 2,400 students at its brand new, state-of-the-art campus that opened in the City of Kapolei in 2012. For more information, visit uhwo.hawaii.edu, twitter.com/uhwestoahu, facebook.com/uhwestoahu or call 689-2800 or toll-free (866) 299-8656.