Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple effusively praised Jim Donovan for his performance as University of Hawaii athletic director and said he could reapply for the position even as Apple started to outline a reassignment for him across campus from sports.
The bewildering crossover came during a press conference Monday in which Apple said a national search would be initiated for "someone that is going to take us to the next level — someone who is also going to help us think about the purpose and meaning of athletics at the University of Hawaii."
Apple lauded Donovan’s "incredible talents" and said he was someone "who has done a fantastic job in athletics, and now we’re ready to move forward and do even greater things about the core mission of the university around connecting to the community."
State Rep. K. Mark Takai, who was on hand at Hawaii Hall, was among those who said he was puzzled by Apple’s praise of Donovan in light of the sudden reassignment.
"I mean, if he did such a fantastic job as athletic director, why not keep him? He can still do a great job." Takai said. "You get rid of a guy who loves this job and, from my perspective, is doing the best job he can do, and then you go and move him into a position that we don’t know what it is gonna be and you pay him almost the same amount. I don’t get it."
Apple said he did not offer Donovan a contract extension as AD, but will give him a three-year deal to work in his office when the current contract expires March 23.
Apple’s comments came on the day that Donovan and Rich Sheriff, the two officials who had been placed on indefinite paid administrative leave July 11 pending the investigation into the ill-fated Stevie Wonder concert, returned to work after UH said they had been cleared of any wrongdoing.
While Sheriff returned to the Stan Sheriff Center, where he is the arena manager, Donovan, who had been athletic director for 41⁄2 years — and served in the athletic department for 18 years — has been reassigned to a still yet-to-be-named position in Apple’s office.
Apple said he was still working on a title for Donovan, including paring down one that was 15 words long.
Apple also said the UH-commissioned investigation into the concert fiasco is expected to conclude "that we had a lot of good people trying to do good things for the university."
Apple said he "couldn’t say" whether anyone will be disciplined for roles in the apparent loss of $200,000 in UH funds from the venture.
UH spokeswoman Lynne Waters said the report from the three-week investigation "is not complete; it has not been turned in, submitted and accepted."
But Apple said while the investigator is not reporting to him and the report is not completed, "I hear some things about it."
Asked whether he expected anyone to be disciplined, Apple said, "I can’t say. I’m being absolutely forthright. I haven’t seen the report from the investigator, and I will not be the first one to see it. It goes to a higher level than me. But I suspect that we will find that good people were trying to do good things but that we have some policies that we need to tighten."
UH canceled the planned Aug. 18 concert July 10 after being notified by Wonder’s management that the singer knew nothing of the announced fundraiser for UH athletics.
"We maybe lost some money in this deal from the actions of people who were trying to do some good things," Apple said.
"So, we need policies that are stronger, better, more clear," he added. "I’m seeing there is a bit of uncertainty in some things, so we’ll improve through this. But these are good people."
UH has so far refused to say how much the investigation, which was conducted by the downtown law firm of Cades Schutte, is expected to cost.
But information obtained under the state’s open-records law shows UH paid the same firm $43,688 last year for an investigation into allegations made by a lawyer representing former basketball player Dominic Brumfield against men’s basketball coach Gib Arnold, the program and the athletic department.
In selecting Donovan’s successor, "we will probably — not certainly, but probably — employ a search firm," Apple said. "I don’t know which one. We’re at a very early stage. I want to do that very soon so we can get some clarity about where we’re going in athletics."
The last time UH used a search firm to aid in the selection of an athletic director was 2002, when it paid Texas-based Eastman & Beaudine about $60,000 to assist in the process that led to the hiring of Herman Frazier.
