Profile

Professor Kame’enui was born in Hilo, Hawaii, and as a native Hawaiian, attended the Kamehameha Schools, a K-12 private school for children of Hawaiian ancestry only. He was the first member of his family to obtain a college degree.

Professor Kame’enui was a houseparent and special education teacher at a residential treatment center for children identified with serious academic and behavioral problems. He taught at the University of Montana (1980-1983) and Purdue University (1983-1987), where he received early promotion and tenure. Professor Kame’enui began his faculty appointment at the University of Oregon in 1988 and retired in 2018, after 30-years of service, including as Dean-Knight Professor of Education.

Professor Kame’enui is co-author of 20 college textbooks, 109 peer-reviewed journal articles, 52 book chapters, numerous government publications, and one state curriculum framework. In addition, he served as guest journal editor of 8 special issues and co-author of four commercially published reading and writing curriculum programs. Professor Kame’enui has mentored 13 Ph. D., and 5 D. Ed. students and served as program advisor to numerous master’s and undergraduate students.

From 2005-2007, Professor Kame’enui served as the Founding Commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which is the research, evaluation and statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Education.

Professor Kame’enui has spoken at the White House, directed numerous national federal research initiatives, and served on the original advisory boards for the PBS television shows “Between the Lions” and WETA’s “Reading Rockets.”