Dobelle vows to
revisit UH policies
He tells students he'll review
a tuition increase and
explore the lands issue
By Treena Shapiro
tshapiro@starbulletin.com
In a wide-ranging forum with students yesterday, University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle distanced himself from some of the more controversial recent decisions of his predecessor.
Dobelle, along with new interim Manoa Chancellor Deane Neubauer, entertained questions from a standing room-only crowd of more than 200 yesterday at Hemenway Theatre in a forum sponsored by several student organizations. It was the first student forum with Dobelle, who started July 2.
Dobelle promised to look into a tuition increase pushed by former UH President Kenneth Mortimer and passed by the Board of Regents in March despite hours of student testimony in protest.
This semester, community college students began paying for every credit they enrolled for instead of just the first 12, as is the case at the four-year campuses.
Neither Dobelle nor Neubauer was aware of the issue, but Dobelle promised an answer within 72 hours to a question about changing the policy.
"Anything that doesn't encourage students to become full-time, to be able to get through, to be able to transfer over to Manoa or West Oahu or Hilo, doesn't make sense to me," he said.
Several questions dealt with native Hawaiian issues, to which Dobelle reaffirmed his commitment that "if nothing else happens at this institution there will be a full funding for Hawaiian studies at this campus and at the neighbor island campuses."
The bill would likely be in the millions of dollars, Dobelle noted.
Dobelle also said he was exploring whether the constitutional autonomy the university won in last year's election would allow UH to determine how to compensate Hawaiians for the university's use of ceded lands, rather than negotiating with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs over a percentage of the revenue.
"There is no question in my mind that some way -- either through increased resources or tuition waivers -- that the 20 percent level (for compensation for ceded lands' revenues can) be reached," Dobelle said.
In answering a question about plans for a new medical school, Dobelle also praised the School of Public Health, which closed last year amid faculty and staff protests and is now folded into the UH School of Medicine. In keeping with his belief that the medical school should partner with community medical organizations, he said, "I think it has a real drive to help resolve some of the issues of public health in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands."
The one-hour session left many students' questions unanswered, but both Dobelle and Neubauer said they welcomed student input and suggested holding similar forums monthly.
Dobelle said his administration was committed to being responsive to students. The Mortimer administration was often criticized for poor relations with students and faculty.
"Our job is only going to be successful if we meet your expectations," Dobelle said.
