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Chancellor The secrecy that shrouded his own selection as University of Hawaii president last year will be lifted during the search for a new Manoa chancellor, Evan Dobelle said yesterday.
selection
sees light
UH President Dobelle says
Regents 'awarded' for secrecy
the selection of a Manoa
chancellor will be more publicBy Treena Shapiro
tshapiro@starbulletin.com
He added, however, that the public selection process could make it difficult to attract good candidates, acknowledging that he may have been less than willing to consider the UH post if the process had been open.
At the Hawaii Imin Conference Center, Dobelle spoke before the annual Freedom of Information Day luncheon sponsored by the Honolulu Community-Media Council, Society of Professional Journalists professional and student members, the East West Center and Ka Leo O Hawaii.
In the selection process for UH president, Dobelle said that when first approached by the university, he immediately informed the chairman of the board at Trinity College.
"If they're not going to be prepared or willing to (participate in an open selection process), then they're not going to be able to do business in Hawaii when they get here, because if they're used to operating in that world, then they're not going to be able to deal with what is a very political state," Dobelle said, referring to the chancellor candidates.
While it may be difficult to persuade presidents of other institutions or major deans to risk publicly announcing their intentions, Dobelle said he will streamline the process, suggesting that the search committee fly in the top three to five candidates on a Thursday night to appear before faculty, students, the Board of Regents and lawmakers on Friday and Saturday, then he will interview them and make a decision by that Sunday.
That way, their names would only appear in the media on Saturday and Monday, he said.
"What happens is that people get their names public, and they stretch it out for two weeks or a two-month period of time. ... It can be really disabling," he said. "I'm trying to be realistic and deal with sunshine."
Dobelle's keynote speech signaled a turning point for the university, which has often been criticized for its secrecy.
"Basically we have an entrenched bureaucracy here that has been trained to say no, that has been trained to hide things. It's been trained to keep people in the dark, and it's a culture that has built up," he said.
From now on, the regents will have their discussions, deliberations and actions as openly as possible, in accordance with the Sunshine Laws.
"The university has needlessly expended a great deal of staff time and expertise in court trying to defend its secret settlements or to justify its hiring and salary procedures," he said. "Perhaps we can serve as a model for the rest of the states. There are other ways, besides bureaucracy, to ensure accountability."
The media council also honored one of its founding members and 26-year executive secretary, Ah Jook Ku, with the Fletcher Knebel Award for outstanding contributions to journalism.
Ku was one of the first two Asian journalists at the Star-Bulletin, the first Asian reporter for the Associated Press during World War II and the English editor for the nationalist government in China before returning to Hawaii to work in public relations for a number of organizations, including the Department of Education.
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HILO >> The University of Hawaii Board of Regents has received a Lava Tube Award from the Big Island Press Club for keeping certain matters secret. Regents ‘awarded’
for secrecy in cloning
suit and Dobelle's payStar-Bulletin staff
The club announced the award yesterday for the regents' failure to discuss the salary of President Evan Dobelle before his appointment and for failing to disclose the terms of a lawsuit settlement regarding a cloning researcher until the Office of Information Practices threatened to sue the regents.
In a speech yesterday, Dobelle said the university had indeed wasted time on such matters.
The amount of a salary should not be disclosed until a final agreement, but the range of the salary should be announced, Dobelle said.
His own $442,000 per year falls in the median nationwide -- 300 university presidents earn more than he does -- and an announcement might have been made that the university expected to pay about the median, he said.
The Press Club also awarded a Torch of Light award to Big Island Mayor Harry Kim for instructing his staff to give the public easy access to information and for sponsoring a two-day workshop on openness for county employees.
Dobelle said he will ask the Office of Information Practices to put on a similar workshop for the regents.
The club gave honorable mention to the Hawaii County Police Department for providing quick information on officers suspected of wrongdoing.
It gave dishonorable mention to Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliott Enoki for keeping information about a terrorism task force secret; to the state Reapportionment Commission for giving the Legislature a closed-door briefing; and to the Legislature for exempting itself from the state Sunshine Law.
University of Hawaii
