As a bureaucrat, outgoing University of Hawaii President Kenneth Mortimer said, he had to look for ways to spend money for many years. Mortimer leaves legacy
of fund raising for UHBy Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin
But after leading the state university system through eight years of budget cuts, Mortimer said his role has shifted to thinking about ways to raise money.
"I think my legacy will be on how people start thinking about money for the University of Hawaii," he said yesterday in his last public appearance as UH president before the Rotary Club of Honolulu. His last day at UH will be June 29.
Mortimer said that since he took the job in 1993, the university's share of the state budget had dropped to about 9 percent from 13 percent, forcing the university to diversify its sources of revenue, drawing funds from student tuition, research training money and private fund-raising. A four-year capital fund-raising drive that ended May 31 brought $116 million to the university.
Decreased funding forced the university to set priorities, Mortimer said. Providing access to quality classes remained the first priority. But determining which programs to invest in became second in importance.
Defining what the university could do exceptionally well -- astronomy, biotechnology and ocean sciences -- meant that "despite budget cuts in other areas, we needed to continue to put resources toward those programs."
"There's nothing that frosts me more than somebody (telling) me these cuts were across the board," he said.
One of Mortimer's goals as president had been constitutional autonomy for the university, which was passed during last year's election. Getting the autonomy bill passed was only the first step, however, and he said it will be important to "stay the course" and set an agenda to strategize and implement autonomy.
Another thing Mortimer said the university will have to push for is a fixed proportion of the state budget that will not be adjusted by the amount of other funds the university brings in.
As he concluded his speech, Mortimer told the audience, "As far as my own future is concerned, you will notice that I'm getting happier every day."
Mortimer and his wife Lorrie will move back to Bellingham, Wash., and Mortimer will take a position as a Senior Scholar at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems in Boulder, Colo.
University of Hawaii
