The Board of Regents and President Greenwood announced that their partnership to achieve ever higher standards of academic excellence throughout the UH system will continue and remains strong. Each acknowledged that the concert fiasco and its aftermath created strains in the University’s leadership. President Greenwood apologizes for having sent the letter to the Board of Regents, which she has since withdrawn, and has no plans to bring legal action against the University or the Board. Soul-searching has led the Regents and the President to rededicate themselves to the University’s unique role in educating the people of Hawaii as well as serving as a center for productive and innovative research.

The Regents and the President share a conviction that autonomy and independence in governing its internal affairs are essential if the University is to carry out its mission. They agree that improved communication and transparency within the University’s leadership is critical to avoiding future mishaps. The Regents are optimistic that under President Greenwood’s leadership the University will correct the management failures highlighted by the Advisory Task Group Report on Operational and Financial Controls Improvement.

Over the past three years the University has improved graduation rates, especially among under-served groups, and created an innovation initiative that focuses on the STEM fields. UH researchers garnered over $450 million in outside support in each of the last two years. A new four-year campus has risen on the Ewa plain to serve West O’ahu. A state-of-the-art Cancer Center, certified by the National Institutes of Health, will shortly open in Kakaako. The University is the linchpin of an international consortium to mount a billion-dollar thirty-meter telescope on Mauna Kea. The University has become a world leader in the field of indigenous studies. All of these accomplishments occurred while enrollment climbed by 50 percent to 60,000 students and state budgetary support was cut. President Greenwood, a nationally recognized scientist and administrator, has left her mark on all these achievements.

The Regents and President Greenwood will work together to build on this record by offering affordable access, excellence in teaching, internationally recognized research and innovation, and a culture of service to the people of Hawai’i. Our shared goal is to make the University the first choice of the people of Hawaii to achieve their academic goals and pursue their personal dreams.

Source: University of Hawaii Board of Regents, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012