Regents to discuss
Dobelle in private
A University Board of Regents committee plans another closed-door meeting Friday to discuss a disputed evaluation of UH President Evan Dobelle.
The evaluation process has dragged on since May with several private executive sessions, including one in which Dobelle threatened to sue the board, according to sources. The review is reportedly critical of his performance.
Patricia Lee, chairwoman of the Board of Regents, said the board completed its evaluation in November and would like to move on. She said the regents have met with Dobelle, who also expressed that last year's evaluation was finished and that he, too, would like to move forward.
The regents were expecting a letter from Dobelle last month to confirm his statements, but they have not received the letter, so the Personnel and Legal Affairs Committee has scheduled an executive session meeting for Friday, Lee said.
"We're confused because we want to know where the president stands," Lee said. "We would like to sit down with him and complete the evaluation."
Committee Chairwoman Kitty Lagareta said the regents will also discuss, in open session, the procedures for this year's evaluation. She said the evaluation process might be sped up so it can be finished before up to six new board members take office in July.
Dobelle objected to the evaluation process last year because it began in May but continued after new regents were appointed by Gov. Linda Lingle. The new regents were not on the board during the year that was being evaluated, he said.
"One of the president's concerns is that the board is changing, and although we contacted all the regents who had ever worked with him for the last review, we wanted to be respectful of his wishes that the third-year review take place with people working with him rather than any new board members," Lagareta said yesterday.
The board might also discuss hiring an outside consultant to conduct the review.
"His contract calls for a complete third-year review," Lagareta said. "We want to make sure we do that. We also want to do that justice. We're discussing the best process for fulfilling that responsibility."
Dobelle did not return a call asking for comment.
Carolyn Tanaka, a UH spokeswoman, said she was not aware of the specifics of the meeting. "According to the hearing notice, it's going to be on the president's evaluation," she said. "That's all we know."
When asked if Dobelle would attend Friday's meeting, she said Dobelle would be at UH on Friday and that it would be up to the regents if he is part of the executive session.
Dobelle's apparently unfavorable evaluation last year appears to have caused a rift between the board and the president.
The Star-Bulletin and other news media have requested a copy of the evaluation and a set of goals for the president. But the regents and Dobelle say the evaluation is a private personnel matter and does not have to be made public.
The state Office of Information Practices is working on a legal opinion that may be completed next month on whether the public should be allowed to see the evaluation and performance goals.
