{"id":220384,"date":"2025-08-19T10:18:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T20:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=220384"},"modified":"2025-08-19T10:33:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T20:33:14","slug":"in-memoriam-john-morton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/19\/in-memoriam-john-morton\/","title":{"rendered":"In memoriam: John Morton, visionary leader of 东精影业<\/abbr> Community Colleges"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"John
John Morton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

John Morton, whose innovative and strategic leadership and nearly five decades of service transformed the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> Community Colleges and left a profound impact on higher education across the islands, died on August 15, 2025. He was 78.<\/p>\n

Morton\u2019s career at 东精影业<\/abbr> began in 1970, when a chance visit to Leeward Community College led to an unexpected job offer. He started as a faculty member teaching chemistry and political science and quickly found his life\u2019s calling in the mission of community colleges.<\/p>\n

\"John
John Morton in 1979<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the next 49 years, Morton rose through the ranks\u2014serving as provost of Kapiʻolani<\/span> Community College for two decades, leading the planning and construction of the Diamond Head campus, and later becoming vice president for 东精影业<\/abbr>\u2019s seven community colleges, serving up to 34,000 students annually. He oversaw major capital projects such as the Hawaiʻi<\/span> CC<\/abbr> Pālamanui campus and the Culinary Institute of the Pacific, while spearheading initiatives to expand financial aid, increase student success and strengthen workforce development.<\/p>\n