|
The UH big picture
got a lot clearer
From his first day as president of the University of Hawaii system, Evan S. Dobelle has made it clear he is going to change the way the university does business.
A charismatic leader with a background in politics, Dobelle burst onto the scene July 2, brimming with ideas and eager to share them. Announcements were plentiful his first few months at the head of the 10-campus, 45,000 student system: a four-year campus on Maui; a West Oahu campus in Kapolei; a film school at Manoa; a performing arts, athletics and conference center in Hilo.
By placing the faculty at the top of his priority list, Dobelle has breathed new life into a university still recovering from a 13-day faculty strike in April, encouraging those within the university to think big and compelling those outside to stand up and take notice.
He also has ruffled feathers among executives and managers across the system by notifying all 206 of them that their contracts may be terminated next year to allow him the flexibility to reorganize the university's administration.
Dobelle's biggest challenge will be convincing the state Legislature to fund his various proposals, but he already has pulled some lawmakers on board by pushing the university as a vehicle to stimulate the state's sluggish economy.
In his first public address to the Chamber of Commerce on July 18, Dobelle announced some 23 priorities for the university, all of which he intended to accomplish without submitting a supplemental budget request from the Legislature or governor.
But when the Legislature convened a special session in October to address the state's economic situation in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, in a move some call opportunist and others consider ingenious, Dobelle presented lawmakers with an ambitious $700 million capital improvements package that would include improvements on all campuses.
He walked away with $150 million from the tobacco settlement fund to initiate planning and construction of a Health and Wellness Center in Kakaako, which will include the John A. Burns School of Medicine and the Cancer Research Center; $8 million to begin planning the West Oahu campus; and some $17 million for repair and maintenance across the system.
Gov. Ben Cayetano gave Dobelle an A+ for his first six months on the job and said the president has his full support. "He's a big-picture guy and wants to move fast," Cayetano said.
Treena Shapiro, Star-Bulletin
