The University of Hawaii-Manoa Faculty Senate voted 43-16 Wednesday in favor of censuring UH President David Lassner over the group’s displeasure with how Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple was fired.

The largely symbolic move apparently is a first for a UH administrator, and comes less than three months into Lassner’s tenure as president and about two months after he terminated Apple following what he said was an unsatisfactory performance review.

Apple, who was two years into a five-year contract, says he was forced out and blamed for mismanaging Manoa’s finances. He contends he was removed for his failed attempts to fire the controversial director of the UH Cancer Center and for budget cuts that angered the medical school dean, but Lassner insists no one influenced his decision.

The Faculty Senate considered amending the censure resolution language to a stronger vote of no confidence, which some equated to a call for Lassner to step down. But that effort failed in a tie vote that Faculty Senate Chairman Ron Bontekoe broke in favor of the original censure language.

The censure vote has no practical effect on Lassner but is meant to convey the faculty’s disappointment with the new president.

Bontekoe said the move is "not by any means just a slap on the wrist," but not a call for Lassner’s resignation either. "It’s an indication that in some particular respect, we feel you have fallen short," he said.

A UH spokeswoman said Lassner was out of the country on university business Wednesday, but he said in a statement, "I am disappointed that the Faculty Senate chose to take this action, but I look forward to working with them to address the challenges and opportunities facing the University of Hawaii at Manoa."

Roughly 60 of the Senate’s 80 members attended the meeting, held in the School of Architecture’s auditorium. About a dozen students who have been protesting Apple’s termination and demanding his reinstatement lined the auditorium walls, holding signs that read "Transparency Now" and "Student Voices Count."

Several Faculty Senate members said they felt they had to send a message to Lassner that his handling of Apple’s firing was unacceptable because it did not involve consulting with students and faculty.

"I have to vote in favor of this, not because I dislike President Lassner — I like President Lassner," said Bonnyjean Manini, former Faculty Senate chairwoman. "However, what has happened, the decisions and the way that the decisions were made to remove Tom Apple, stepped on the students and stepped on the faculty, and did not respect the principles of shared governance. And for that I feel we have a responsibility to say publicly that we are not OK with that."

Longtime professor Vilsoni Hereniko, who teaches in the Academy for Creative Media, proposed changing the resolution to a vote of no confidence.

"It seems to me that it is pointless having a document that will not make any difference," he said of a censure. "I think it would be true for many of us here that we have no confidence in the president. We have no confidence in his ability to lead us to a better and more prosperous future."

A few members suggested that Lassner first be invited to address the body before pursuing that route.

Manfred Steger, a professor in the Department of Political Science, noted that neither of Lassner’s controversial predecessors, M.R.C. Greenwood and Evan Dobelle, received votes of no confidence.

"I understand the discontent, I understand the anger, but I think it behooves us to take step back," he said. "The response should be in proportion with the offense."

Zoology assistant professor Marguerite Butler countered that "this argument that we’ve had so many worse administrators … is the worst argument."

Butler said that she and others in her department are disgusted with "administrative abuse" because university administrators are highly paid and expected to serve in the best interests of students and faculty.

"So yes, the job is hard, but they’re expected to perform and if they don’t perform, then we have to say something about it. That is our job. We’re the faculty. We have more power than the students, we need to look out for them, we need to make sure that this university is the best that it can be for all of Hawaii," she said.

The censure resolution will be sent to the Board of Regents.

Regents Chairman Randy Moore said in a statement that the board hadn’t seen the resolution, but in reading a draft copy, he personally did not see anything that alters the board’s stated support of Lassner’s decision.