Regents formally appoint Lassner as interim UH president

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents this afternoon unanimously agreed on naming UH Chief Information Officer David Lassner as interim president of the 10-campus system, effective Sept. 1.

Lassner, 58, will receive a salary increase of about 30 percent to $325,008 a year — the same amount approved for interim President David McClain when he was appointed in 2004 but less than the $475,000 salary M.R.C. Greenwood was paid at her hiring in 2009.

The board announced Lassner as their pick last week, ahead of Tuesday’s special meeting to vote on his appointment.

JN Musto, head of UH’s faulty union, was the only one to testify at the meeting. He called Lassner "a good choice."

Lassner has worked at UH since 1977 in various technical and management roles that culminated with his creating and leading the university’s first systemwide IT support organization. 

Since 2007 he has served as UH’s first vice president for information technology and chief information officer.

A native of Connecticut, Lassner received his doctorate in communication and information sciences from UH-Manoa in 1998.

He will take the reins from Greenwood, who announced in May that she will retire Aug. 31 to spend more time with family and deal with health issues. Her contract, after an extension in 2011, was set to expire July 31, 2015.

A presidential selection committee made up mostly of regents continues to search for a permanent candidate.