UH-Manoa dean
requests leave amid
internal strife
C. Barry Raleigh has resigned as dean of the University of Hawaii-Manoa School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology, which has grown into a roughly $60 million research enterprise under his leadership.
Raleigh, who is attending a conference in Italy, is asking the UH Board of Regents to approve a year's leave with pay starting Aug. 1 and for an opportunity to return to a faculty position.
The reasons for his departure from the dean's office are not clear, but a memorandum circulating on the campus expresses "no confidence" in Manoa Chancellor Peter Englert and lists issues reflecting a turf battle between Englert and some of the deans.
Paul Costello, university vice president for external affairs and university relations, said UH President Evan Dobelle "has always been supportive of Barry, but internal campus matters, when they arise, have to be dealt with by officials on campus."
He said Dobelle asked Raleigh to reconsider when he made a request to step down about two weeks ago.
"But he had already made up his mind," Costello said. "The president agreed to the request. He does regret Barry leaving the position. He obviously has been a superb leader."
Costello said Englert is trying to address "long-simmering issues, and there is a great deal of angst and consternation" because "when you try to implement change, it doesn't go down easy."
Englert said Raleigh "increased the research profile of SOEST and, along with other units at Manoa, brought us to new prominence as a premier research institution."
Englert said he will decide this summer on "interim leadership that will best maintain and increase UH-Manoa research momentum in ocean and earth sciences."
Raleigh was appointed in 1989 to head SOEST, created in 1988. He previously directed Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory. SOEST recently ranked third in the nation in research funding from the National Science Foundation's Ocean Sciences Division. Its oceanography program is among the top ones in the country.
News of Raleigh's resignation swept the campus yesterday, with SOEST faculty expressing dismay and concern about the school's future.
Tom Schroeder, chairman of the meteorology department and director of the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, said: "There has been a very rough transition to the new administrative structures at Manoa. There has been at least a year of chaos, and this (Raleigh's resignation) is an unfortunate outcome."
Schroeder said he expressed his concerns to the UH administration but never had a response, and "many of us are concerned about the future of our school in this new environment."
He said the faculty want to be heard on any interim appointment.
Roger Lukas, oceanography professor, said he sent an e-mail to the SOEST faculty yesterday soliciting nominations for an interim dean.
"We're trying to get an election process in place that would produce at least a majority consensus candidate for the regents' meeting in two weeks."
He pointed out that both the chancellor and president are on record about the importance of faculty governance. "I think they would want to support the SOEST faculty in selecting the appropriate successor."