UH protesters judging too soon?

Regardless of how you come down on the choice for a new University of Hawaii president, the fracas on campus is pretty disheartening.

A petition from students and faculty to the UH Board of Regents asserting that retired Lt. Gen. Frank Wiercinski is unqualified for the job is making the rounds. The former U.S. Army Pacific commander spent his entire career in the military and is "inappropriate for this position," according to the petition.

The other candidate is the current interim UH president, David Lassner.

It seems to a lot of people, even those who haven’t registered a preference in the hire, that discrediting a candidate on that basis seems wrong. It’s fine to protest, but the university is best served by giving both applicants their platform and hearing what they have to say.

Keeping an open mind … that should be part of the academic landscape, shouldn’t it?

Bank shows how to do succession

Leave it to turnaround specialist John Dean to devise an innovative succession plan for Central Pacific Bank.

He’s committed to staying on as chief executive officer for up to two more years, as the bank elevates two top executives to co-presidents of the institution, which was on the brink of collapse before Dean took the helm and guided it to 13 straight profitable quarters.

Dean expects one of the co-presidents — Lance Mizumoto and Catherine Ngo — to succeed him as CEO, and emphasized it was important to promote worthy Hawaii-based leaders from within the bank.