Director panned, praised as he exits

The embattled head of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center resigned from the post Friday, capping a tumultuous five years as director of the facility.

Robert Bley-Vroman, interim chancellor for UH-Manoa, told a crowd gathered at a Friday afternoon staff and faculty meeting called on short notice that Dr. Michele Carbone had submitted a resignation letter that day and wanted to focus on research as a faculty member.

People at the meeting applauded Carbone, according to several attendees. But after the meeting, Carbone’s detractors lauded his resignation.

"I was delighted; I was overjoyed," said professor Adrian Franke, a cancer center faculty member for the past 25 years. He said Carbone’s leadership had been "dominated by lies and favoritism."

Carbone assumed the center’s top spot on an interim basis in 2008 and was appointed on a permanent basis the following year. He was earning $412,000 a year, the third-highest-paid employee at UH.

From the start, Carbone’s tenure was marked by turmoil, including criticism from some faculty who said he was unqualified for the job but got it anyway.

More recently the turmoil came to a head in December when a handful of former and current faculty members urged the Board of Regents to remove Carbone after two failed attempts by then-UH-Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple to terminate him.

Apple himself was subsequently fired and cited his failed attempts to remove Carbone as one possible reason.

In seeking Carbone’s ouster in December, the former and current faculty members described a research institution in decline, overseen by a director who they said ruled by dictate, lacked transparency, retaliated against critics and created a hostile work environment.

Following that flap, the university announced a new leadership team, which included keeping Carbone at the helm while bringing on a chief operating officer and adviser to help him.

At the time, Patricia Blan­chette, chief executive of a faculty practice organization that supports UH-Manoa’s medical school, was named as the center’s associate director for administration and chief operating officer.

Bley-Vroman told the dozens who attended Friday’s meeting that Jerris Hedges, the medical school dean, would run the cancer center while a search is conducted to name Carbone’s successor.

Dr. Loic Le Mar­chand, a professor at the center’s cancer epidemiology program and among Carbone’s detractors, said the university faces a challenge in trying to lure a top scientist and manager to oversee the facility given its contentious history in recent years.

Given that history, Le Mar­chand said he believes someone from outside Hawaii would have the best shot at successfully leading the institution while dealing with the internal conflict that persists.

Asked what he thought of Friday’s development, Le Mar­chand said, "I think it’s good news for cancer research in Hawaii."

Carbone’s supporters, meanwhile, lauded his leadership as head of one of 68 National Cancer Institute-designated centers across the country. It attracts about $30 million a year in federal research grants.

"Dr. Carbone and the university accomplished something very special together for the people of Hawaii," said state Sen. Josh Green, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, who is also an emergency room doctor. "They have built a first-class cancer center. Dr. Carbone’s vision made this possible, and now I have faith that the chancellor and regents will find the right person to take the administrative reins as Carbone focuses his efforts on major cancer breakthroughs."

Bley-Vroman told those at Friday’s meeting that he accepted Carbone’s resignation while acknowledging the "critical role" he has played in developing the center to where it is today.

Carbone’s leadership led to construction of the Kaka­ako building, which opened in 2013 and is considered one of the most beautiful and functional research facilities in the country, Bley-Vroman said in a written statement issued after the meeting.

Bley-Vroman also cited the partnership with the Queen’s Medical Center, Hawaii Pacific Health, Kua­kini Medical Center and the medical school to improve clinical trials for local cancer patients.

"A successful cancer center is essential to the health of the people of Hawaii and to the contributions that Hawaii can make to the world," Bley-Vroman said. "Under Dr. Carbone’s leadership we have made great progress toward our dream of a world without cancer through research, education and care, and we are in an excellent position to do even more."

Carbone could not be reached Friday afternoon for comment.

But in a statement, he said leading the center was a great privilege and that he was proud of what was accomplished with the faculty, UH leadership, community supporters and the center’s partners.

"There are cycles in life," Carbone wrote. "Now my focus is on finding a cure for cancer."

He lauded the faculty and the state-of-the-art building. "I think everything is here for this cancer center to become one of the best in the country."