Regents may now
publicly criticize
the UH presidentBoard members say the policy
is not aimed at Dobelle but
to create more openness
HILO >> University of Hawaii regents did away yesterday with a policy that prevented them from criticizing the university president. But they insisted that action was not aimed at current UH President Evan Dobelle.
"This is not a personal decision in any way," said regent Kitty Lagareta.
Instead, the removal of the no-criticism policy is part of a general review of board policies intended to create greater openness, she said.
"We want to be able to speak openly, and we want to be able to say whatever we need to say," Lagareta said.
The policy review comes as seven of the 12-member board are relatively new appointees by Gov. Linda Lingle.
Although the no-criticism policy is gone, another rule remains that says a regent has to get consent of the chairperson to "represent" the board at events such as speaking engagements.
That means, "If we do disagree publicly, we would like it to be articulated through our chair," Lagareta said.
Regent Ted Hong said he will voice criticism if he feels the need to do so.
The whole discussion is a "tempest in a teapot," Dobelle said. "Common sense is that we are trying to work together. These are marginal cleanups of policy."
On other matters, the regents voted yesterday to ask the Legislature for an additional $20 million to supplement the current $300 million, two-year budget.
Part of the addition is $1.86 million for the John A. Burns School of Medicine library. The regents also approved establishing a Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the school.
For UH-Hilo, they approved upgrading the School of Business to the College of Business and Economics, and creating a new master's degree program in tropical conservation biology and environmental science. That will bring the number of master's degree programs to five by next year at UH-Hilo, once a strictly undergraduate university.
They also approved raising student activity fees to $67 from $25. The fees had not been raised since 1987, said student body President Liko Puha.
The regents authorized the first steps toward creating a federally funded, 34.5-acre energy park on Navy land at West Loch using photovoltaic generators and conducting research in hydrogen fuel.
