UH President David Lassner will retire at 2024’s end

University of Hawaii President David Lassner announced Tuesday that after serving as head of the state’s 10-campus public-­education system for more than 10 years, he will retire “at the end of 2024,” and said the decision is “both personal and professional.”

Lassner notified the UH Board of Regents of his planned retirement via an email Tuesday, saying the long lead time will allow for a search for and transition to a successor. He did not give a date, but a UH spokesperson said Lassner meant the end of the calendar year 2024.

“In the meantime, anyone who expects me to act like a ‘lame duck’ will be sorely disappointed,” Lassner wrote in the email to the regents. “I plan to actively advance all aspects of our mission until my last day as President.”

Lassner, 69, has served as the 15th president of UH since July 2014, after serving as interim president from July 2013. Challenges he and the university have faced during his tenure include controversies over observatories on Mauna Kea and over leadership of UH athletics programs; restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic; and continuing divisions with some state lawmakers over the control of UH.

Several key UH stakeholders Tuesday praised Lassner for a stabilizing style of leadership that they said has kept the university thriving despite occasional tumult. There was no immediate response to Honolulu Star-Advertiser requests for comment from three state senators who said in February that they felt it was time for Lassner to resign.

Lassner, who declined media interviews Tuesday, wrote in his letter that he feels “incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished over these past 10 years. I assumed the presidency in a time of many challenges. Today, your university is academically, financially, culturally and organizationally strong.

“Of course there are many ways we can improve — I probably know them as well as anyone. I have every confidence that the next leader will be able to hit the ground running to work with our amazing leaders and the Board to take UH to even greater heights with our new vision, mission and strategic plan as the foundation.”

Lassner has worked for UH since 1977. He began in entry-level roles in information technology and eventually became UH’s first chief information officer and then its first vice president for IT.

He wrote that he “never had any aspiration or expectation to serve as President. But when called on, I was willing to be considered to assume what I truly believe to be one of the most important roles in Hawaii, leading the institution that is most critical to the future of our people and our islands.”

Lassner added that “the last president to serve (survive) this long was Gregg M. Sinclair, from 1942-1955. In 1955 UH was a single campus with an enrollment of 5,180.

“The job of UH president today is often described as the hardest job in the state. Constitutionally, the UH president reports to and is accountable to the Board (of Regents). But we all know that faculty, students, staff, community members and legislators are also important stakeholders with strong views. It is an intense job, one I approach every day with energy and enthusiasm to pursue continuous improvement. But I am ready to planfully pass the torch to the next leader while I am able, active and healthy.”

A UH news release said that under Lassner’s leadership, UH “successfully navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, promoting personal health and maintaining academic performance while ensuring financial stability. Lassner also led a restructuring of the relationship with the UH Foundation that has led to record philanthropic investment; a new approach to advancing research that has led to record extramural funding; and initiatives that improved student metrics across the system, with record graduation rates, retention rates and incoming class sizes at multiple campuses.”

Lassner said that “UH has given so much to me over these past 46 years, including bringing me to Hawaii and helping make it my home. I am committed to be flexible in supporting whatever search timeline and process the BOR adopts and to participate with enthusiasm in a transition that will be positive for UH and the next president.”

Lassner, who turned 69 this month, said that several years ago he advised then-Board of Regents Chair Randolph Moore of his intention to leave the position of president at age 70, but “neither of us believed it would be useful to make that public.”

He has no contract term, he said. “I have always been clear that when either the BOR or I decide it is time for me to step down, I want that to happen without acrimony, drama or lawyers,” he wrote. “I have seen what difficult separations do to the institution I care for so deeply and do not want to be the cause of that.”

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda on Tuesday praised Lassner’s work over decades at UH and said the final year before his retirement might actually present a unique opportunity for him to speak boldly and reset the relationship between UH and the state Legislature.

“The last decade has definitely presented a number of challenges for our university — both internal and external challenges. Any one of that could have broken the institution,” Tokuda said in a phone interview from Washington, D.C. “David has tackled those challenges head-on, and he has the ability to really relate and connect on a human level with folks. …

“There was every opportunity to just continue the conflict. What you saw in his type of leadership style was somebody who just truly cared and really wanted to develop relationships that would be for the betterment of our university, for our students and for our state.”

Tokuda said the run-up to Lassner’s departure will present a chance to “really set the stage and the rules of engagement, if you will, for how the university should move forward in relationship to key players like the Legislature. … I think, while a daunting task, I do believe, if I had to guess, that one of the things that David has on his bucket list is really to set those rules of engagement and have those hard discussions.”

State Sens. Donna Mercado Kim, Donovan Dela Cruz and Michelle Kidani have been frequent critics of UH and Lassner. Phone and email messages requesting comment from them on Tuesday were not immediately returned.

Lassner in February wrote a nearly 400-word response to a Star-Advertiser request for comment on the continuing struggle over who calls the shots for UH.

Board of Regents Chair Alapaki Nahale-a and University of Hawaii Professional Assembly Executive Director Christian Fern in separate conversations Tuesday also echoed appreciation for a “period of stability” that Lassner brought to the often beleaguered university.

“He has created a strong foundation upon which UH can continue to become the institution our state needs us to be,” Nahale-a said by email in response to questions from the Star-­Advertiser.

Lassner took the role during a time when UH and the state, and higher education nationwide, have faced numerous challenges, Nahale-a said. “You can’t be a leader of an institution of this size without your share of critics, but I believe David’s legacy and contribution to UH and Hawaii will be seen in the light of his great love and dedication for the institution and the stability he has brought. President Lassner will leave big shoes to fill.”

Fern also praised Lassner’s assembly of a strong leadership team, and a willingness to communicate with stakeholders even when they didn’t agree with him. “I think that’s why the university, despite being constantly attacked by the Legislature, is still continuing to thrive,” Fern said, pointing to still-growing enrollment, and extramural and philanthropic funding.

When asked about next steps for the search for a successor, Nahale-a said the regents would follow professional best practices, but added, “I would like us to utilize a process that reflects our Hawaii values and who we truly are as a people.”

On the type of leader the board will want, Nahale-a said, “UH is one of the most important organizations for Hawaii’s future and it must be solid on its own merits, while understanding our obligation to be integrated into the collective community working for our future. We need a leader that can embrace and carry that heavy kuleana, which includes a deep and thoughtful understanding of our place. I have faith in our Regents and their ability to act urgently and deliberately to find that leader.”