Ira Rohter, Co-Chair of Green Party of Hawaii Dies
The Green movement lost another great person yesterday as Hawaiian Green Ira Rohter passed away Monday. I don’t know much about him so if anyone could share their experiences about Ira in the comments section, it would be greatly appreciated.
HONOLULU — University of Hawaii at Manoa Political Science professor Ira Rohter passed away Monday after more than 40 years on the job.
Rohter earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Michigan State University in 1967 and joined UH Manoa in 1968, teaching political science.Rohter was most widely known as co-chair for Hawaii Green Party, which he helped found in 1992. He was also on the board of the Hawaii Clean Elections Project and was the first vice president of the Hawaii Coalition Against Legalized Gambling.
Friends said Rohter died of an illness he contracted last week.
“I’m personally very saddened to hear of Ira’s death,” Hawaii Democratic Party Chair Brian Schatz said in a statement. “He was a progressive thinker who was passionate about making Hawaii a better place … He understood the need for Hawaii to achieve economic and environmental sustainability and made it his mission to build a new generation of political activists.”Rohter also wrote a book, “A Green Hawaii: Sourcebook for Developmental Alternatives,” which analyzes and gives solutions for sustainable development advocates in Hawaii and Pacific islands.
Source: KITV.com
I did not know Ira, so like Walter, I would appreciate any remembrances others may have.
More coverage of Ira’s passing was posted by The Honolulu Advertiser.
Here is a bit from the Advertiser piece.
Here is his page at the university
His book is available at Amazon, although the Greener way to get it would be via the publisher, Na Kane O Ka Malo Press. They can be reached at
Na Kane O Ka Malo Press
92-1365 Hauone St.
Kapolei, HI 96707
(808)-677-9513
The publisher, who ran for Governor with the Green Party in 1993, can be reached at DrKioniDudley @ hawaii.rr.com That is not a clickable link, so you’ll need to remove the spaces before and after the @.
The book is $19.95 plus $5 shipping from Hawaii from the publisher.
I knew Ira well and was a happier and better member of the Dept of Political Science at UH because of it.
Ira was a passionate and concerned scholar and teacher who loved his students and his work…both academic and political. He had a very wry sense of humor which he generously shared.
He was also a great friend in need. When my wife at the time, who was a grad student in our department, had Crohn’s Disease and was hospitalized many times, no one came more often and cared more than Ira. Not only did he do every thing he could for her, but he was a great consolation to me.
He had a very strong and positive spirit and he will go on to a better world than this.
My consolations to his family, who will miss him a lot.
Ted Becker
Thank you Ted for sharing that with us.
My condolences to Ira’s family as well.
Ira Rohter was a founder of the Green Party in Hawaii and was for many years its voice, the person everyone turned to. He wrote the book, A Green Hawaii Sourcebook for Alternative Development in 1993, the first major effort that spoke of sustainability in Hawaii. The book became both the foundation for the sustainability movement here and the Green Party’s platform. Ira was often recognized as “the father of sustainability.” He was brilliant, and he was gutsy. When he took on the world, he knew he had the background to do it.
I edited and published his book, and in doing so became so inspired I asked to run for governor as the Green Party candidate in 1994. It was a great race and greatly advertised green ideas. Ira was my mentor throughout.
People know of the force Ira was for changing this state for the better, for the greener. But what they don’t know is that he was also an extremely virtuous man. He had all the great virtues — generosity, integrity, fortitude, daring, kindness, compassion, brotherly love, walking in another’s shoes. He didn’t preach. He just lived — a shining example of what it means to be a great human being. I’ll really miss him.
Dr. Kioni Dudley
ALOHA:…. i just heard about ira literally moments ago and i am devastated. i have known him for 16 years, since first becoming involved with the Hawai’i Green Party as it was forming in 1992. I spent time with him at numerous meetings, both here in Hawai’i, and on the mainland and stayed with him when i travelled from Maui to O’ahu. He was unique, an amazingly energetic thinker and devoted to democracy in all of its manifistations. I will personally miss a friend.
R.I.P Mr. Rohter
Professor Rohter was and is one of the best professors I have ever had. He inspired me to be a better person and an even better student. He opened my eyes to sustainability and how to live green. Thank you.
I was Ira Rohter’s student for two years. He inspired me more than any person has ever done so. His lectures were challenging and forced us to wake up and face reality. He preferred actions, not words, and most definitely left behind a group of students destined to continue Hawaii on a green path. Professor, i will miss you so much, and i speak for the thousands of students that you reached out to over your 40 years at UH. Thank you sir, from the bottom of my heart. Your legacy will live on and on forever. Take care “babes”
What did Ira die of? I saw him recently and he gave no inkling he was ill.
Ira was a colleague during the 20 years I taught in the UH’s Political Science Department. He enjoyed teaching and was passionate about environmental politics. He was a good citizen in the department’s community, and he and his wife often generously hosted large, lively, fun parties for the department at their home.
Ben,
This was in the “Advertiser” piece:
Karen Rohter said her husband died of a massive infection after returning from a camping trip to Oregon and Idaho.
The KITV piece said:
Friends said Rohter died of an illness he contracted last week.
Unfortunately that is all the detail I can provide. From all appearances it was sudden indeed.
I had the pleasure of spending a few hours chatting with Ira when he visited Maine a few years ago. He was engaging, interested in a wide range of topics, personable, and truly loved his state of Hawaii and the Green Party. I am very saddened by his passing.
I learned with shock of Ira’s passing within 48 hours, but only now see this posting so I can leave a comment. With Ira and half a dozen others, we began working on Hawai’i Green Party around 1989 or so, spending some two years, often at Ira and Karen’s house, developing a platform before we went public. He visited me on our family farm here in Maine a year ago with Karen, Shahnna, and Alon. I had returned here after 36 years in Hawai’i (but have returned 3 times since). He was a teacher and mentor for those of us formulating Green ideas and programs. We miss him. Aloha, my friend. Jon
I was very saddened finding out about Dr. Rohter’s death. He was a great professor who was always willing to help out us (students) when we needed help. He will surely be missed at UH Manoa. My sincere condolences for his wife & his children.
This post was written mid-summer and continues to get comments. It is obvious to me by this alone that Ira was an exceptional leader. We were lucky to have him.
Their are few memorable people that I met during my time at University of Hawaii. Ira was the one professor that I will never forget. I have taken two classes from him and have gained immense respect for the things that he represented. Ira stood for decentralized government and was more of a advocate than a professor. He’s the one who encouraged me to get in front of people and speak my mind. I wish he could live to see the start of change in Hawaii, I hope I live to see the social change that he pushed so hard for. I will keep fighting trying to touch people the same way Ira invigorated me. He will be missed.