The Barbara Barnard Smith Foundation fund donated $3.5 million to the University of Hawaii’s music department.

The money will go toward creating an endowed chair and two additional faculty positions, according to a news release. It will also support revitalizing UH’s ethnomusicology department. 

What You Need To Know

  • The $3.5 million donation will go towards creating an endowed chair and two additional faculty positions

  • It will also support revitalizing UH’s ethnomusicology department

  • Barbara Smith was a beloved UH Manoa professor who died in 2021; she helped found UH's ethnomusicology program, one of the first in the nation

“This is the first major grant from the Barbara Barnard Smith Foundation and the board is very pleased that it will recognize Professor Smith’s legacy at the University of Hawaii while supporting the University’s commitment to enhancing the ethnomusicology program,” said Gregory Smith, the foundation’s president and nephew of the professor. 

Barbara Smith was a beloved UH Manoa professor who died in 2021. Smith started her career at UH in 1949, after being hired to teach piano and music theory. However, she soon became interested in the diversity of students’ backgrounds and questioned why the school was only teaching Western music. She took it upon herself to learn about musical traditions of Hawaii, the Pacific and Asia. Eventually, this led to the founding of UH’s ethnomusicology program, one of the first in the nation. While Smith officially retired in 1982, she continued to mentor students and volunteer with the university for another three decades, into her 90s. 

Barbara Smith demonstrating the koto with music students, 1951. (Photo courtesy of UH)
Barbara Smith demonstrating the koto with music students, 1951. (Photo courtesy of UH)

“The Barbara Barnard Smith Foundation grant is a truly transformative one,” said UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno. “It will build on the amazing legacy of Professor Smith and the internationally recognized ethnomusicology program she pioneered, as well as secure UH Manoa’s future significance in the field.”

Smith’s legacy is evident in the career paths of her students, such as legendary Hawaii musicians Herb Ohta and Eddie Kamae. R. Anderson Sutton is an ethnomusicology professor at UH and a former student of Smith’s, who graduated in 1975. He spoke of his excitement in helping utilize the new grant by bringing new faculty and students to the program. 

“Along with my many fellow graduates, I can say we are all truly grateful to the Foundation for providing the means to see Professor Smith’s legacy continue to grow and flourish,” said Sutton. 

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.