UH renews contract for dean of medical school

Jerris Hedges, dean of the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine, was reappointed Wednesday for four years.

His contract, which runs from January through December 2016, maintains his current salary, which after a 5 percent budget cut totals $479,760 — the highest of any non-sports university official.

By comparison, UH President M.R.C. Greenwood earns $427,512, though that doesn’t include a housing allowance and other reimbursable expenses to promote UH.

UH-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw said the medical school has made "dramatic progress towards meeting its strategic goals" since Hedges joined the university in March 2008.

"He has truly advanced a critical program for the state, and infused a sense of shared vision and partnerships in areas of academics, research and clinical studies," Hinshaw said in a statement. "He has renewed the strategic vision and plan for the school and his leadership and direction are critical for its implementation and success."

The medical school, which opened its Kakaako campus in 2005, was touted as the magnet to attract high-technology companies that would share research and lucrative ventures — the vision of former Dean Edwin Cadman.

But critical mass was never established, partly because of economic problems that prevented installation of costly laboratory and research space for companies that develop biotechnology, health therapies and medical devices.

Hedges was recruited to the dean’s position after several years of instability and stalled progress when Cadman abruptly resigned in 2005 due to declining health.