The university’s longtime information technology chief says he’s open to the possibility of dialing back scheduled tuition increases, but recognizes that many of the goals laid out in an agenda set by the Board of Regents come with a hefty price tag.
One of the most expensive will be an effort to eliminate a massive repair backlog that has swelled to nearly $500 million.
"For operating dollars right now, we basically have tuition and we have state funds. We need to diversify our revenue sources," Lassner, 59, said in an interview Wednesday in his offices at Bachman Hall.
Lassner, who has been serving as interim president since September, was named UH’s 15th president Monday after a yearlong national search.
With the university in the middle of a five-year tuition schedule that will raise tuition by more than 30 percent by 2016-17, Lassner said his administration will complete a midterm review over the summer of any effects on students and access to higher education.
"Based on that, there’s opportunity to make adjustments for years four and five of the five-year schedule," he said. "But the question of how we manage our facilities upgrades will absolutely come into play. If we’re going to fix our facilities, and if the Legislature is unwilling to appropriate the funds we need, which remains to be seen, then really the only primary revenue source left for us is tuition."
He said he believes there’s consensus from lawmakers and UH supporters that the facilities need to be fixed.
"No one wants to see run-down facilities or facilities that aren’t equipped for 21st-century teaching and learning and scholarship. The question is how do we do it and where does the money come from," he said.
He’s proposing four areas where UH can drum up more revenue: commercializing research activities; leveraging its landholdings; boosting philanthropic support; and recruiting more international and mainland students, who pay significantly higher tuition rates than residents.
"Research doesn’t make money, to be clear. We engage in research to make Hawaii a better place and to make the world a better place," he said. "I think we can do better at commercializing the intellectual property that we’re creating and that is an opportunity where I think we need to up our game."
He also wants to see the university make better use of the 17,000 acres of land it owns or controls statewide.
"Historically, UH has not managed our land as an asset the way many other large enterprises have done," he said, citing Kamehameha Schools as an example. "Most of the parcels are not lucrative and we’re using lots of them for education, but I know there are some parcels that can help us either reduce costs or generate revenue or that maybe can be swapped for land that’s a better fit for our mission or for revenue generation for us."
The regents’ agenda for the new president lays out 10 aggressive goals that cover everything from making UH more accessible to students and improving graduation rates to advancing a commitment to serve Native Hawaiians and expanding university research activities into a stand-alone, multibillion-dollar innovation sector.
"In accepting this job, I’m accepting the agenda. It’s a long-term agenda, it’s not something that I’ll be able to get everything done in one year, and that means that there has to be permanent leadership," he said. "I think the work really is to lay out what do we do first, what do we do second, and to do that collaboratively."
Lassner, who grew up in Illinois, acknowledges the job can and will be stressful, but said he thinks UH has the potential to be the leading public higher education system in the nation. (Since accepting the interim position, he says he hasn’t had much time for his hobbies: hiking — the Kawainui Stream hike in Haleiwa is a favorite — and hula — he danced at one time under renowned kumu hula the late Aunty Maiki Aiu Lake.)
Soon after a regents selection committee in May named Lassner and retired Army Lt. Gen. Frank Wiercinski its top picks for the job, the board came under fire for the choices and the search process, which was handled internally without the help of an outside search firm.
In Lassner’s case, critics found it troubling that he was named a finalist when initially the board said any interim president would not be eligible to apply for the permanent job. (The board says Lassner did not apply for the post and was nominated by a letter signed by several high-ranking Manoa deans and another by Hawaii island businessman Barry Taniguchi.)
Others have speculated that Lassner will maintain the status quo at a time when UH needs to re-establish public trust and accountability.
"Change is always awkward, but I relish it. It would be easy for someone to let being an insider paralyze them, but I think I’ve been a pretty effective change agent within the university, and I continue to do so," Lassner said.
Regents Chairman John Holzman said Lassner’s appointment will be "continuous" and come with a $375,000 annual salary.
"I’ve been an at-will employee of the University of Hawaii since 1989," Lassner said, "it doesn’t seem unreasonable to me."
He said he has no plans to return to his former "dream job" heading IT for the university. And while he holds a doctorate in communication and information sciences, Lassner said he will not be asking for a tenured faculty position to fall back on, as have past university presidents.
He also has no plans to move into the university’s College Hill residence in Manoa and says he won’t be seeking a housing allowance that past presidents were given as part of their benefits package.
Jerris Hedges, dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine and one of the deans who nominated Lassner, said Lassner’s skill set will be an asset to UH.
"Making needed fundamental change in an institution that is 107 years old will take many leadership skills. We are blessed to have a leader who embodies strong basic leadership skills and so thoroughly understands our institution and Hawaii," Hedges said.
State Rep. Isaac Choy, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, called Lassner a "good pick," saying he’s "a lot more open and a lot easier to work with" than his predecessor, M.R.C. Greenwood.
Greenwood announced last summer she was retiring with two years still left on her contract. Her departure came about a year after UH became embroiled in the so-called Wonder Blunder fiasco in which the university was bilked out of $200,000 by promoters of a bogus Stevie Wonder concert. A state Senate inquiry into the missteps led to wider concerns over university governance, operations and accountability.
"He’s a good choice for our time, for this time, for what has to get done at the university right now," Choy said. "This is his time to shine. I think he can really get there and accomplish a lot with nothing to lose."
