UH regents administrator Iha retiring after 40 years
After more than 40 years of service to the University of Hawaii system, David Iha, Board of Regents executive administrator and secretary, is retiring Oct. 1.
Iha, who was provost of Kauai Community College before coming to Manoa, helped the school recover from two hurricanes.
As part of an incentive early-retirement plan, Iha will work part time assisting with the transition to a new executive administrator and with special Board of Regents projects.
The regents appointed Presley Pang, a UH associate general counsel, as interim executive administrator and secretary to the board.
"David's institutional knowledge and support has been vital to the Board in performing our duties, and his retirement is bittersweet for us," said board Chairwoman Kitty Lagareta in a written news release. "We are grateful that he has structured his retirement so that we will have the benefit of his tremendous knowledge and experience on a part-time basis for a while longer."
Iha has been responsible for planning, coordinating and directing the administrative support services for the Board of Regents since 1998. He was also director of administrative services at Kauai Community College from 1970 to 1982, and served in various budget positions for the university system and the community college system.
"David Iha has provided calm, stable and farsighted leadership in support of student access to higher education for the benefit of Hawaii's communities," said UH President David McClain in the news release. "I'm most grateful for his many contributions to our university."
Iha has received numerous awards for his service to the university, including the UH Manager of the Year award in 1993 and the UH Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 1988.
During his tenure at UH, Iha held several regional and national positions in higher-education associations, including the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, for which he was president and chair of the board of directors in 1993-1995, and the American Council on Education and American Association of Community Colleges.
A Kauai native and graduate of Kauai High School, Iha received a bachelor's degree from Wheaton College in Illinois and a master's degree from UH-Manoa. He served two years in the Army, with assignments in Korea and Hawaii.