UH taps new VP for administration

The University of Hawaii system is reviving the position of vice president for administration and has named Jan Gouveia to the post with a proposed $225,000 salary.

Gouveia’s appointment is expected to be approved by the Board of Regents at its meeting Thursday and would be effective Aug. 15.

UH said in a statement that Gouveia would be responsible for overseeing and managing systemwide programs in procurement, real property and risk management, capital improvements, human resources, and internal and external communications.

The hiring would mark a return to UH for Gouveia, who earned her undergraduate degree from UH-Manoa and had been the university’s first director of risk management.

She earned a law degree and Master of Business Administration from Gonzaga University.

Gouveia currently is managing director for training and development and manager of strategy and transformation for Hawaiian Airlines. She previously had been named by the Abercrombie administration as deputy director of the state Department of Accounting and General Services.

An advisory task group that was formed in the wake of the Wonder Blunder fiasco to help UH improve financial and management oversight had recommended that the office of the VP for administration be re-established as one step in improving university operations.

"By taking a careful look at our structure, we were able to address this priority without adding new administrative positions," UH President David Lassner said in a statement. "I am absolutely delighted that Jan Gouveia has agreed to rejoin UH and take on this critical role."