Third finalist to interview for UH post

A third finalist for the University of Hawaii at Manoa chancellor position will be participating in a final round of interviews this month, UH officials announced Wednesday.

Lauren Robel, executive vice president and provost at Indiana University Bloomington, will give a public presentation Jan. 24 at 3:30 p.m. in the UH-Manoa School of Architecture’s auditorium.

The university previously announced two finalists for the chancellor post in late October.

Sonny Ramaswamy, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and John Valery White, acting chancellor for the Nevada System of Higher Education, participated in open forums on the Manoa campus in November.

The university said in a statement Wednesday that Robel was originally identified as a finalist and invited to Manoa at the same time as White and Ramaswamy, but was unable to accept the invitation then.

“The search advisory committee is delighted that the campus community will have the opportunity to meet a third outstanding candidate, and looks forward to receiving their comments,” David Karl, the committee’s co-chair, said in a statement.

Robel previously served as dean and associate dean of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where she earned her law degree. She has taught at the law school since 1985.

The selected candidate would oversee a research campus with a nearly $650 million annual operating budget serving 19,000 students.

UH launched a chancellor search last April. Robert Bley-Vroman, whose appointment as interim Manoa chancellor ended in August, did not want an extension and has returned to a faculty position.

Bley-Vroman was tapped in August 2014, following the dismissal of Tom Apple. UH President David Lassner said at the time that he gave Apple an unsatisfactory performance rating because he was unable to address serious financial troubles, while Apple maintained he was forced out two years into his five-year appointment.

The UH Board of Regents last year approved a recommendation from Lassner that he simultaneously serve as interim chancellor and president.

For information, go to 808ne.ws/chancellorfinalists.