Biography
Dr. Kikuchi, William K. (William Kenji) 1935-2003
Dr. Kikuchi was born in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii in 1935. He graduated from Kaimuki High School in 1953. As an undergraduate, he pursued civil engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH) and obtained a drafting certificate from Boeing Airplane Company in 1955. Ultimately, he graduated with his bachelor's and master's in archaeology from UH in 1958 and 1963 respectively. In 1967, he completed his dissertation on Native Hawaiian fishponds and obtained his PhD from the University of Arizona.
Dr. Kikuchi's work included working in the anthropology and archaeology departments of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum between the years of 1959 and 1969. In 1972, he became an instructor at Kauai Community College where he remained until 1998 when he retired. He obtained Professor Emeritus status in 1998. He is cherished for his contributions to historic preservation in Hawaii. For example, he was a member of the Hawaii Historic Places Review Board, Kauai Historic Sites Board, Kauai County Historic Preservation Review Commission, served as Director for the Kauai Historical Society, and served as a board member of the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program. Additionally, for over a decade, he published the newsletter Archaeology on Kauai which was distributed to people, libraries and researchers across the nation.
For a more detailed overview of his biography, please visit the website "Pila's Pages."