The University of Hawaii Board of Regents on Thursday approved UH President David Lassner to be interim chancellor of the Manoa campus over objections from some students and faculty, who argued that the two positions should be kept separate.

Lassner had recommended himself to replace outgoing interim Chancellor Robert Bley-Vroman, whose appointment ends this month. Bley-Vroman, formerly dean of the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature, did not want an extension and will return to a faculty position.

In making the recommendation, Lassner emphasized that he’s committed to continuing the search underway for a permanent chancellor. He said he hopes to have a new chancellor “ideally” for the start of the spring semester next year.

“I made this recommendation only in the interest of advancing UH Manoa as quickly as possible on some critical priorities,” Lassner said. “It will then be handed off to the permanent chancellor.”

The board voted 12-2 to approve the appointment, effective Sept. 1, with no additional compensation for the added duties. (As president, Lassner earns a $375,000 annual base salary. He received a positive annual performance evaluation from the board Thursday, but at Lassner’s request regents did not consider a salary adjustment.)

Most regents felt comfortable approving the appointment as “temporary and transitional” as the search continues. Still, some campus groups opposed the move.

“It’s not that we don’t like David,” associate professor Marguerite Butler, chairwoman of the Manoa Faculty Senate, told the regents ahead of the vote. “But there are certain, important characteristics that are required in order for success here. They have to be an academic, they have to truly understand the culture of the institution. … This is not the job for a CEO. This is also not the place to have on-the-job training.”

Amy McKee, president of the Graduate Student Organization at Manoa, said in written testimony that “while this may seem like a reasonable option and efficient in the short-term, we are not confident that a single person can serve in both capacities effectively. It would be a disservice to the students, faculty, staff, and campus and system community to have these two very important leadership positions filled by any single individual. … Having a single person serve in both capacities could lead to conflicts of interest, and we fear the system’s needs will be prioritized over those of Manoa, or vice versa.”

Regent Jeffrey Portnoy, who along with regent Wayne Higaki voted against the appointment, said that he’s “philosophically opposed” to combing the positions of president and chancellor, even on a short-term basis.

“I believe that the president’s job is to take care of the system and that each of the community colleges and other institutions require and deserve their own chancellors,” Portnoy said. “I think the challenges facing Manoa as well as the challenges facing the system require two separate individuals.”

The roles previously were separate until the 1980s, when they were combined. They were separated again in 2001.