Changing Hawaii

By Diane Yukihiro Chang

Monday, January 25, 1999

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A futurist’s controversial plan for UH

DURING the Christmas break, while fellow UH professors enjoyed the holidays or toiled over usual workload assignments, Jim Dator of the Political Science Department was busily tapping away at his personal computer in his Waikiki apartment. Dator's self-imposed mission: to lay out in a blunt, compelling and comprehensive essay:

The reasons why the University of Hawaii will never be a world-class learning institution.

The 10 things UH must do at this pivotal point in its flailing existence to survive and perhaps even flourish.

What a recession-focused community needs to know about the educational engine that is supposed to power this state.

Dator's labor of love -- which he tentatively titled "The Little Engine That Couldn't" -- ran under the headline "First-Class? UH can be good but not great" in last Saturday's Insight section in the Star-Bulletin.

The 65-year-old Dator -- who has taught at UH since 1969 and who has a six-page, single-spaced resume of achievements -- was careful not to blame any one culprit for the sad deterioration of the university system. "It's not the fault of Mortimer or the Legislature or even the temporary economic decline," he explained. "It's been a long process."

While it's only Monday, and just two days after his commentary's publication, Dator predicts that much of the reaction to his piece -- from other UH faculty members, students and administrators, and from people in commerce, construction and other segments of the community -- will be mixed. He won't win any popularity contests.

Far from it. "I think most will agree with (my version of) the history of the university, and why UH is what it is today, but no one's going to like all of my recommendations," says Hawaii's most famous futurist. "Whether they'll ignore it or fight back, I don't know. But what I want to do is provoke discussion."

Dator is certain to get his wish, especially when his controversial vision includes:

Ending the quest for UH to be a major research university.

Scrapping the tenure system.

Slashing the number of faculty members working directly for UH and instead having free-lance instructors teach courses via the Internet and only on an on-demand basis.

Curtailing the number of maintenance staff on the payroll and thereby requiring students, administrators, staff and faculty to pitch in by cleaning and repairing facilities.

Reducing the size of the administration by having the president, deans, directors and the like chosen from within the faculty, and then rotating them back into teaching after a limited tour of duty.

Stopping UH participation in Division I-A sports and instead striving to involve more students in statewide inter-campus rivalries.

Read his lips: No new buildings.

WHO is Jim Dator and why is he saying all these "terrible" -- well, they're awful to a lot of folks -- things about UH? For many reasons. Because his specialty is the study of the future, and there are few issues as vital as the future of education. Because he cares about the campus and its inhabitants, and doesn't want to see UH die before its time.

But mostly because he wants us to start actively thinking and talking about what the heck we are going to do to save the massive but suffering entity known as the University of Hawaii system. Or should we just page Dr. Kevorkian and put UH out of its misery?

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Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
DianeChang@aol.com, or by fax at 523-7863.