UH president plans to also serve as interim Manoa chancellor
GEORGE F. LEE / JAN. 2016
University of Hawaii President David Lassner
University of Hawaii President David Lassner plans to expand his duties to include those of chancellor of the flagship Manoa campus, a critical post that for two years has not been permanently filled.
In an email this afternoon to university faculty, staff and students, Lassner said he’ll be recommending himself as an interim appointment to the Board of Regents at their monthly meeting next week, with a Sept. 1 start date and no additional compensation. He emphasized that he remains committed to filling the chancellor post.
Robert Bley-Vroman — previously dean of Manoa’s College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature — was approved as interim chancellor in August 2014, following the dismissal by Lassner of Tom Apple. Bley-Vroman’s interim term ends this month and he has said he will return to a faculty position. He declined to be considered for an extension.
“Almost everyone expressed concern that this approach might signal back-pedaling on the commitment to hire a new chancellor for Manoa,” Lassner wrote in his email. “I can only assure you that I still firmly believe the president of the (UH) system and chancellor of Manoa are two different and necessary leadership positions. I remain absolutely committed to the search that is actively underway.”
That search officially began in April, when a 20-member search advisory committee was announced to find candidates. Lassner said he expects to submit a recommendation to the regents for a permanent candidate during the fall semester, which begins later this month. The new chancellor, he said, would “hopefully begin in time for the spring 2017 semester.”
Although a temporary proposal, Lassner holding both titles is likely to rankle some at Manoa, who have been critical of a recent call by regents to revisit the need for both a system president and Manoa chancellor. The roles previously were separate until the 1980s, when they were combined, before being separated again in 2001.
The board did vote earlier this year to “affirm” the positions should remain separate, but it charged Lassner with implementing a plan to consolidate redundant services and improve deficiencies at Manoa and at the system level.
Lassner acknowledged some of the controversy, saying “I realize this approach does not represent the preferred choice for some,” but added that “nearly everyone told me that this is no time for a placeholder interim chancellor.”
“This transitional leadership period is the time to begin working hard together to create a bold, relevant and strategic future for UH Manoa,” Lassner wrote. “It will require hard decisions that may challenge some past conventions and practices to launch Manoa on a path to even greater excellence as Hawaii’s sole research university.”
Asked for further comment, UH spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said “it would be inappropriate to say anything more until the board takes a look and decides on the recommendation.”
8 responses to “UH president plans to also serve as interim Manoa chancellor”
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More BS coming from UH. Get rid of Lassner or make him the chancellor and get a new President.
Lassner is mediocre but we are happy to have anyone who is half way honest and competent. Is he great? By no means. But he could be worse. No need for yet nother failure at chancellor. One man can do both jobs. Don’t overstaff!
Decade or so ago the UH president was both president and Manoa chancellor and there were no problems with that. What is bogus is that UH Manoa is supposedly the most important and flagship of the UH system however over the years it has become secondary to W. Oahu and neighbor island campuses and now UH Manoa is run down with no money, a bankrupt UH cancer research center, cellar dwellar football team that should be helping to fund the upper campus, etc. Sad. Like Hawaii public school teachers who strive to send their kids to private schools in Hawaii, you better believe all of those UH administrators and professors who have children send their kids to nearby Punaho school or Iolan and then on to mainland colleges. Only the ones with academic or other problems stay behind to attend UH for their undergraduate degree.
So if one guy can do these two jobs at the same time, shouldn’t each job’s pay be cut in half?
What planet do you live on ryan02?
Obviously the jobs should be consolidated. I don’t think any of UH’s executive management actually works anyway. UH contracts out almost everything top management is responsible for doing including legal work, accounting/auditing and PR services. Lassner is no different, he has the chancellor position to do his duties.
UH is where the politicians send their family and party insiders to jack their pensions with 3 years of higher pay. UH is more or less a slush fund used by the Democrats to reward insiders and direct state contracts to their preferred vendor/political donors. Much of the state fat is at UH and the DOE because with the biggest budgets, that’s where it’s easiest to hide. Budget increases are easy to do too as it’s always pitched as “for the kids”. The AC debacle at the DOE is a good example, what’s another 100 million here or there right.
Good for him, Congratulations! He knows the job! Let him do it! Shows he is really dedicated to the university and the state! Let people at Manoa be rankled! They’ve been corrupt for too long and destroyed new comers w their politics for too long!
Uninformed comment from someone who clearly has no first hand experience with Lassner’s “leadership”!