[ OUR OPINION ]

Let debate continue
between Dobelle
and critics

THE ISSUE An accrediting agency has given the University of Hawaii high marks following an exchange of views by UH President Evan Dobelle and his critics.

CRITICS of University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle and Dobelle himself exchanged strong views about the health of the institution in this section of the Star-Bulletin on the past two Sundays, but the issues raised remain unresolved. Dobelle responded to some but not all of the accusations and welcomed "constructive" criticism. We regard any factual criticism to be constructive. Continued robust debate and documentation is the best method of determining what meets that criterion and what does not.

Dobelle's lack of response to many of the accusations does not mean his essay was mere platitude. The economic effects of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have made it more difficult to reach the financial goals he set in the previous months. Still, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges reported this week that UH-Manoa has "dramatically changed" for the better since its 1999 review of the campus.

The association's evaluation, however, is not the final word.

A July 6 essay titled "Dangerous Equations" maintained that the university, after two years with Dobelle at the helm, "is unfocused and faces an uncertain future." Dobelle maintained last Sunday that the university has turned the corner toward becoming "a local and a global university of which the people of Hawaii could be proud." The contrast could not be sharper.

The authors of the critique -- state Rep. K. Mark Takai, state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, UH affirmative-action administrator Amy Agbayani and retired UH geology and geophysics professor Ralph Moberly -- launched numerous missiles, and Dobelle, in last week's "Embracing Hope" essay, fired back:

>> Salaries for top-level administrators at UH's 10 campuses, the critics said, have increased from $3.58 million in June 2001 to $7.64 million. Selected positions ranging in salary from $82,440 to $133,008 now pay $200,000 to $260,000. Dobelle responded that money for salaries of senior administrators "has come from a rearrangement of administrative salaries, and does not reflect an increase in administrative costs."

>> Dobelle allegedly recommended large bonuses for retiring administrators. Ordinary requirements were waived so one Manoa faculty member who served in a temporary administrative position with a 50 percent raise could then retire on a pension pegged to the higher salary. Dobelle did not respond to the allegation.

>> Dobelle spent $1 million in renovations to College Hill, the president's home, but pledged to raise private funds to cover the cost overruns. The critics contend the only donation was $50,000 from a private foundation announced in November 2001. Dobelle implied that the home is an important site for hosting "many diverse events" but gave no updated fund-raising report.

>> Dobelle has raised only $500,000 of the $150 million he pledged in October 2001 to raise to match state spending for construction of a new medical school in Kakaako. Dobelle did not dispute the accusation, but wrote that a fund-raising plan for the remainder "has been developed with anticipated resources coming from public and private sources."

Kim and Takai are certain to carry this debate into the chambers of the Legislature. That is a more useful forum for clearing up these questions than the confinements of academia.

It also is more ominous for Dobelle. Though the Legislature, before Dobelle's arrival, passed an "autonomy" measure that granted the university wider powers to handle its own affairs, lawmakers -- through a single clause -- retained the power to step in when they deem it necessary. Dobelle should be more forthcoming with answers to his critics' questions before the Legislature decides that time is now.