Ponipate Rokolekutu

Dr. Ponipate Rokolekutu is an Assistant Professor of Critical Pacific Islands and Oceania Studies at San Francisco State University, housed in the Department of Race and Resistance Studies within the College of Ethnic Studies. He leads the Oceania Scholars Program, a CSU initiative supporting Pacific Islander students through culturally grounded initiatives. Originally from Fiji, he holds a BA in History/Politics and Sociology (1994), Postgraduate Diploma in Development Studies (2000) from the University of the South Pacific, and MA (2007) and PhD (2017) in Political Science from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

His research examines British colonialism's impact on Fiji’s iTaukei through land systems and the iTaukei Land Trust Board, challenging narratives of voluntary cession. His work appears in the 2024 Okinawa Journal of Island Studies special issue. He employs vanua pedagogy—a Fijian Indigenous framework linking land, people, and spirit—to decolonize education and advance Indigenous resurgence.

Recent activities include a Visiting Scholar residency at UC Berkeley, where he engaged with global Indigenous frameworks. He actively supports Pacific Islander student success through academic and community programs.