Scandal at UH puts focus on role of Board of Regents

As the University of Hawaii’s costly and embarrassing $200,000 misunderstanding continues, the state’s leaders soon will have to decide whether the losses are to be ended or endured.

Sen. Donna Mercado Kim’s special committee on accountability puts the total cost for the slipshod attempt to stage a fundraising Stevie Wonder concert at $1.1 million, including a new salary for Jim Donovan, a new athletic director and fees for private attorneys and public relations.

The missing $200,000 doesn’t appear likely to be returned, and whatever investigation UH asked the FBI to conduct does not publicly appear close to resolving anything.

The UH Board of Regents is set to discuss the future of UH President M.R.C. Greenwood at a meeting Friday. The Faculty Senate is considering a resolution asking for a vote of no confidence in Greenwood to be held next week, and there is continuing legislative speculation regarding Greenwood’s effectiveness.

Greenwood, a nationally recognized nutritionist and expert in obesity and diabetes, acknowledged during her Senate testimony that she is battling to keep her job.

In 2005, she resigned as the No. 2 person in the University of California system after questions were raised regarding possible favoritism in her administration.

In 2010, Greenwood became the first UH president to address a joint session of the Legislature. She promised to increase UH graduation rates and said the system needed more money.

Since then, the university has not had an easy time at the Legislature. And there are questions whether a bruised UH president would retain any credibility at the Legislature next year.

There are also new concerns about repeated cost overruns with major building programs. The construction tab for West Oahu has reportedly gone from $110 million in 2010 to $177 million today, and that the UH Cancer Research Center was supposed to be $119 million but now is estimated to cost $150 million, according to a university source.

Greenwood, Apple and a number of regents apologized for the UH’s continued fumbling performance, but there is a concern that something more than a heartfelt "I’m sorry" is needed.

Rep. K. Mark Takai told this paper last week that "a change in leadership is need-ed at this point for the university to heal and move on."

Those changes are not purchased on the bargain aisle at Walmart. For instance, when the UH dumped its last president, Evan Dobelle, it was an expensive parting. After first firing him and then allowing him to resign, UH 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 cost added up to $1.6 million, according to the Saturday newspaper article.

University of Hawaii regents are not simply appointed by the governor; they first must be nominated by an advisory committee that forwards the top selections to the governor. The selection committee’s UH Web page contains a long list of requirements for those who want to be regents.

This is the best part: "Regents must have the courage and clarity demanded by any significant leadership position. They must be able to face up to and identify unpleasant realities and to act upon them. They must be able to forge a consensus from diverse points of view. And, they must have the ability to stand by a group decision even when they disagree with it personally."

After Friday we see just how the current regents meet the test to "face up to and identify unpleasant realities and act upon them."

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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser. com.