Building a Rainbow:
A History of the Buildings and Grounds of the University of Hawaii-Manoa Campus
Edited by Victor N. Kobayashi
© 1983 University of Hawaii at Manoa/Hui O Students

Porteus Hall, the social sciences building of the University campus, is a seven-story, five-sided, concrete and glass structure located on Maile Way next to Crawford and Hawaii Halls. The Department of Accounting and General Services of the State of Hawaii began planning for the building in early 1970. The first phase of the building was designed by award-winning architects Vladimir Ossipoff, who designed Bachman Hall, and Sidney Snyder. The Allied Construction Company began work in 1973 a completed the building in 1974.

Designed just prior to the first energy crunch of 1973, Porteus Hall, nevertheless, included several energy-conserving features. Solar bronze glass, besides being aesthetic, was used to reduce heat gain. Frank Lum of Ferris and Hamig, Inc., architect and mechanical engineer, tried to eliminate cooling costs of the major circulation areas by leaving them open to natural ventilation. Engineer Forrest Bennet used energy-conserving mercury lights which emit more light than fluorescent lights and use less electrical power, thus producing less heat and demanding less air conditioning. Although most of the building is air conditioned, users of the perimeter spaces can open small windows and turn off the individually controlled fan coil units. By today's standards, however, Porteus Hall is not considered energy efficient.

The 300-room hall had three phases of development. The first phase involved six social sciences departments. Each located on its own floor of the building with department offices, conference rooms, classrooms, computer terminals, and faculty offices. Phase II involved the completion of the ground floor. originally designed for the office of the Dean of Social Sciences. Instead, the Pacific Planning and Urban Studies Program (PPUSP) has been located there. Future plans are for the eventual installation of the computers. Phase III would be a new wing attached to the northeast corner of Phase I. This new wing would allow for horizontal expansion of each floor. Additional space can also be created by enclosing the two open sides of the ground floor courtyard. The present directory (1982) for Porteus Hall is as follows: Floor Department 1 Urban and Regional Planning Program 2 Sociology 3 Anthropology 4 Geography 5 Economics 6 Political Science 7 Social Science Research Institute

"The building is in the shape of an 81 foot by 131 foot rectangle with a 45 degree triangle on the south side. The building's major axis is located on a north-south line. An interior courtyard provides light to the interior spaces as well as serving as a major circulation corridor. Cantilevered balconies, two per floor, project into the atrium space. The balconies alternate corners and floors." (Sheila Hixenbaugh, Porteus Hall. An Energy Conservation Analysis, 1978, Thesis for the degree of Master of Architecture, UHM, pp. 11 & 12.)

Two-thirds of the building's exterior skin is composed of glass. The other third is textured concrete of basalt and Waimea stone aggregates. "The vertical elements have a rough form work appearance while the horizontal members are sandblasted. Between the dark stone and the solar bronze glass, Porteus Hall presents a dark profile among the light-colored Hawaii, Crawford, and Business Administration Buildings." (Hixenbaugh, p. 13.)

In July 1974, the Regents named the social sciences building in honor of Stanley David Porteus, who had passed away two years earlier. Porteus, a professor at the University between 1922 and 1948, was internationally known for his contributions to the field of psychology, especially for the Porteus Maze Test which he devised to measure "intelligence." From his studies, Porteus had developed a theory of race differences based on genetic inheritance. He also drew social implications from his theory that supported the dominant beliefs about race in the twenties through the forties, which today would be labeled "racist." Porteus also claimed that women were inherently inferior to men in maze test performances and that the limited opportunities for women in a society were not the overriding factor.

By the time of the naming of Porteus Hall, the civil rights movements of ethnic minorities had been in full swing throughout the nation, and in Fall, 1974, when the new academic year opened after a summer recess, a "Coalition to Rename Porteus Hall" was formed by students and faculty who believed that Porteus had promoted racist views which were detrimental to society, and that, therefore, the name of Porteus ought not to be given to the building.

Professors such as Robert S. Cahill of the Political Science Department (which was housed in Porteus Hall) and Danny Steinberg of the Department of English as a Second Language, argued that Porteus had also favored an educational system in Hawaii based on his ideas of race differences, and had supported the exclusion of non-whites from immigrating to the United States, Canada, and Australia. Porteus, they claimed believed in protecting the more intellectual stocks (of whites) from inferior (non-white) genetic pools. Coalition members documented their arguments with quotations from Porteus' Temperament and Race, published in 1926:

Steinberg, in particular, wrote a paper in February 1975, outlining Porteus' views on race, using primarily Porteus' own words from his own publications. His paper showed Porteus' disparaging comments not only on the Asian peoples, but also on Portuguese, Puerto Ricans, Blacks, and Italians. On April 23, 1975, Steinberg sent a petition to the Regents, requesting that they rename Porteus Hall.

Ronald C. Johnson, a former chairman of the Psychology Department, came to the defense of Porteus, arguing that Porteus' total record showed him to be deserving of the honor. Porteus was a first rate scientist who developed the Maze Test and made other important contributions to psychology. He also made fundamental contributions to clinical psychology, a term which, Johnson claimed, may have been coined by Porteus. Porteus as a person had a high regard for different peoples and did not practice racism. Johnson pointed out that Porteus was a pro-Hawaiian witness in the Massie Case and an active supporter of Statehood (which tended to be opposed by white supremacists). Johnson also argued that the historical context of Porteus' writing was ignored by members of the Coalition.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin editor, A. A. Smyser, also came to the defense of Porteus. In an editorial, on December 14, 1974, he wrote that if Porteus Hall had to be renamed, then the East-West Center's Thomas Jefferson Hall also should be renamed, since Jefferson, who had advocated freedom and democracy, kept slaves. "It is hardly surprising," Smyser wrote on Porteus, "that he once held views that today are considered racist. Considering the times and the changes that have occurred, it would be more surprising if he hadn't."

The acting chancellor of the Manoa Campus, the late Douglas Yamamura, was against the renaming of Porteus, partly on grounds that it would set a precedent that could lead to a recurring problem of proposals to rename other buildings.

The Regents held public hearings on the matter, and although the Coalition remained largely unconvinced, the Board decided on May 15, 1975, to stand firm by its original decision to keep the name of Porteus Hall. The Coalition called the decision a "victory for racism" and a "defeat for community spirit. "

The controversy, however, led to a reconsideration of the naming policy for campus buildings, and a revised policy that specifies, among other things, that buildings "will not be named for living individuals and ordinarily not within five years of the person's death, except as specifically provided by law."

Article by Jane Takahashi