University of Hawaii President David Lassner plans to tap UH-Manoa’s dean for languages, linguistics and literature as interim chancellor of the flagship campus to replace Tom Apple, whom Lassner terminated last month.

Lassner is recommending Robert Bley-Vroman be appointed for one year, effective Sept. 1, at a $275,016 annual salary. The Board of Regents will take up the recommendation at its monthly meeting Thursday at Windward Community College.

Bley-Vroman did not seek the post, "but has agreed to assume the interim chancellorship in service to his campus," Lassner said in a statement.

He has been a Manoa faculty member since 1987 and previously served as chairman of the Manoa Faculty Senate’s executive committee.

"He currently serves as Dean of the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature, where he leads a vibrant, high-quality program of teaching and research while navigating the financial challenges faced by the campus on a daily basis," Lassner said.

Apple, who was hired in May 2012 at a $439,008 annual salary, has said he was forced out by Lassner July 30 after an unsatisfactory job rating that Apple claims was rigged against him. He was two years into a five-year appointment.

In a rebuttal letter to Lassner that Apple released, he said he believed resistance from the dean of the medical school for funding cuts and his failed attempts to remove the director of the Cancer Center contributed to his ouster.

Lassner has said he was concerned about Apple’s abilities to turn around a fiscal crisis at Manoa and inspire campus leadership to carry out strategic goals. He said what troubled him most was the financial crisis — what Apple has characterized as a $20 million annual shortfall in operating funds.

Lassner said Bley-Vroman has committed to four short-term goals, including ensuring that a hiring freeze imposed by Apple before his firing will not prevent students from taking courses, and working with Manoa’s vice chancellors and deans to address the campus’ budget challenges.

"There is no immediate fix, but structural and strategic changes are necessary to adapt to today’s fiscal realities," Lassner said.

Other goals include performing an "objective, forward-looking review of how the UH Cancer Center can be strengthened" and an evaluation of Manoa’s administrative structure "to improve management, decrease administrative costs and increase focus on academic excellence."

Apple has agreed to be reassigned as a tenured chemistry professor at a $299,000 annual salary. His firing prompted protests from student groups and some faculty, who have called on the regents to reinstate Apple.