Father Robert Mackey helped found Chaminade in 1955 and was the university’s first president from then until 1966. In his last year, he hired Chitha Unni to teach Philosophy here.
That was 57 years ago. And Unni, who earned his Philosophy doctorate from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1966, is still here today at Chaminade, teaching full-time. Now 83 years old and in his 66th year on campus, the native of India is recognizable for his walking stick as he slowly navigates the stairs on the campus.
“I am interested in what the students think because I am an old man, and I lived many years,” said Unni from his office in Henry Hall. “Students always encourage me to think differently, so at the end of each semester, the influence they have on my thinking is what I like about students.”
Even after six and a half decades of teaching at Chaminade, Unni still teaches two courses (two classes online and one in the classroom). He teaches Philosophy 100 and Philosophy 105.
“His colleagues and friends enjoy talking to him about his philosophical take on life,” said Dr. Cheryl Edelson, who is the dean of the School of Humanities, Arts and Design.
Unni was born in Nilambur, a valley in southwest India, on Sept. 22, 1940. India was under British Colonial rule then, and World War II was raging in its second year.
Unni started his education journey at the University of Madras, a Christian college in India, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He continued his education when he received the East-West Center Scholarship at the age of 23. He received his doctorate in Philosophy at the University of Hawai‘i.
Unni said he has always been a “philosophy man,” believing philosophy is the key to freedom.
“I help my students to be a master of ideas, rather than be mastered by the ideas of others,” he wrote in an email. “My students need empowerment. And I work to make that possible. [I] have confidence (Faith) in my [students’] future. I believe in their humanity. And I teach always in the Marianist tradition of valuing life to some theory of what it is.”
Unni estimates that he has taught “hundreds” of classes at Chaminade, but his favorite was in 1975 when he would bring his class to Chico’s Pizza Parlor. Located on Waialae Avenue, where City Mill now stands, Unni would take his students for “unforgettable” classes. He said he felt like bringing his students outside of the classrooms at Chaminade helped them open up and talk more freely.
“[We] had an unpredictable feeling of free inquiry during our sessions,” he wrote in an email.
Now, nearly six decades later, Unni can’t take students to an off-campus pizza parlor, and he may be a bit slower as he navigates the campus. But he’s maintained his love of philosophy and teaching.
“I taught the same thing starting from 1966 to now,” Unni said. “I have not changed. It’s the same thing. It makes me interested in life, students, and nature. I am always learning, interacting.”