The University of Hawaii Board of Regents has scheduled a special meeting for Friday to discuss UH President M.R.C. Greenwood’s employment, a move that could lead to Greenwood’s resignation or firing.

The regents posted the agenda for the meeting Friday afternoon, a week before the meeting as required by the state open-meetings law. The only item on the agenda is a discussion of Greenwood’s contract. It will be handled in a closed-door executive session because the item is a personnel and legal matter that requires consultation with university lawyers.

The regents’ regularly scheduled meeting is Oct. 18.

Regents Chairman Eric Martinson, who it is believed asked for the special meeting, did not return phone calls asking for more information about the session.

Sources said there is a faction of regents who have lost confidence in Greenwood and believe she should be fired.

It is not clear whether there are enough votes on the 15-member board to do so.

Earlier this week, University of Hawaii spokeswoman Lynne Waters said Greenwood was ill with a 101-degree fever. On Friday, Waters gave the Star-Advertiser a statement related to this week’s Senate hearings from John Morton, UH vice president for community colleges but whom the statement referred to as "acting president."

Other UH officials said Greenwood left the state this week and is in California.

Greenwood, under contract through 2015, receives a salary of $427,512 plus a $5,000-a-month housing allowance and other benefits. Under her agreement, she may be bought out without cause for one year’s salary.

Greenwood has been under fire since July in the wake of the Stevie Wonder concert fiasco. She was widely criticized during two meetings of a state Senate Special Committee on Accountability for her handling of the failed concert and its aftermath, including the suspension with pay, reinstatement and transfer of Athletic Director Jim Donovan to a newly created position in the UH-Manoa Chancelor’s office.

The concert was supposed to be a fundraiser for the UH athletic department. Instead, UH lost $200,000 wired to an apparently bogus promoter.

State Rep. K. Mark Takai, a member of the House Higher Education Committee, said the hearings "validated" his concerns about Greenwood.

"We should not be led by leaders that try to save their jobs at the expense of hurting the institution or by hurting others," Takai said Friday. "I think that a change in leadership is necessary at this point for the university to heal and move on."

During the hearings, Greenwood was also criticized for negotiating a 10-month paid research sabbatical for former UH-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw.

Paid sabbaticals are a common practice for top executives in higher education and could be something Greenwood would ask for if she is asked to resign.

If Greenwood is fired with cause, that could also be expensive for the university if it leads to a costly legal battle or settlement.

The regents fired former UH President Evan Dobelle with cause in 2004, but they rescinded the firing and allowed Dobelle to resign after reaching an out-of-court settlement that gave him $1.05 million, plus a $125,000 per year faculty position for two years and $40,000 a year payments on an insurance policy, plus attorney fees. The total cost added up to $1.6 million.

Dobelle could have gotten up $2.26 million under the terms of his contract. He also gave up his right to return to the UH faculty in a tenured position.

Regents have given Greenwood glowing evaluations during the past three years, rating her performance as "exceptional."

She was hired in 2009 and is credited with steering the university through tight budget times, helping get the UH football team into the Mountain West conference and initiatives such as the UH Cancer Center and the university’s involvement in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings last November.

In January 2011, the regents extended her contract until July 31, 2015.

At the time, the regents’ then-Chairman Howard Karr said, "We believe Dr. Greenwood has demonstrated her effectiveness and her commitment to UH. The regents are confident that the university and the state of Hawaii will benefit from her continued leadership."

UH Board of Regents Agenda for 10/12/12