Concert probe deserves answers

The University of Hawaii’s top brass would prefer that the Stevie Wonder concert snafu be laid to rest, but too many questions have gone unanswered in public. State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim has rightly refused to delay their response, which has been limited to closed-door sessions and redacted statements that have been unacceptable.

Kim has scheduled a hearing before her Senate Special Committee on Accountability for Sept. 24, rejecting the UH Board of Regents’ request for a postponement until Oct. 18. She has put the regents and administration on notice that they "cooperate with the committee to restore the public trust and confidence in the state’s only public institution of higher learning."

The session is not likely to be pleasant, and it shouldn’t be. Kim has said she believes the concert debacle "could be the tip of the iceberg as far as the policies in place, the procedures on oversight over university affairs. And that worries us. That worries the public as well." Ditto here.

So far, the only real questioning of UH President M.R.C. Greenwood and other UH officials may have occurred before the regents on Aug. 22, but that, included in a 7 1⁄2-hour session, was behind closed doors. Emerging, the board stood behind Greenwood and UH-Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple.

Of special interest to the committee should be the handling of athletic director Jim Donovan, who was put on administrative leave in July in the wake of the concert fraud that cost UH $200,000. On Aug. 12, Donovan was reassigned to Apple’s office and offered a $211,200 a year under a three-year contract, which he accepted, on the condition that he would not sue the school. Greenwood and Apple acknowledged that an external report cleared Donovan of "wrongdoing."

After the Aug. 22 closed meeting, regents briefly apologized for how UH administrators had "mishandled" the Donovan matter. They should be prepared to expand on that inadequate explanation before Kim’s committee.

Kim is known for her scolding of public officials so it’s hoped that she will ask the tough questions of Greenwood and others outside the cozy cocoon of the regents’ support. Kim has explained to constituents that "we’re not the body that fires or does any of that. … It is important that the public understands our roles." The UH officials "do have autonomy but with the understanding that there is accountability. It is the accountability that we have to look at."

Apple can expect to be asked about the delay of replacing Donovan as athletic director. He told coaches two weeks ago that he would move the process "expeditiously," but he has since said that meant by January, when the regular football season will have come to an end. As of this weekend, the job opening had yet to be listed on the UH website. Meanwhile, Rockne Freitas, the UH vice president for student affairs and university/community relations, doubles as temporary athletic director.

UH regents and administrators have many questions to answer that they have ducked in the past two months. Further silence before Kim’s Senate committee will only add to the student and public mistrust of those in charge at Manoa — and would unwisely bait antagonism with state lawmakers.