Konan appointed
chancellor of UH-Manoa

Her one-year interim assignment will be up
for confirmation by the Board of Regents

An economics professor will likely become the first woman leader of the University of Hawaii at Manoa if her appointment is confirmed by the Board of Regents next week.

Denise Konan, chairwoman of the economics department, has been named interim chancellor of the state's flagship public research university.

Konan's appointment is for one year -- until July 31, 2006. At last month's Board of Regents meeting, UH interim President David McClain said the search for a permanent Manoa chancellor will begin after a new permanent president for the UH system is selected.

Carolyn Tanaka, UH vice president for university relations, said Konan will not be a candidate for the permanent chancellor position. Her salary was not disclosed.

Konan teaches international trade and microeconomics at the graduate and undergraduate levels in the College of Social Sciences. Students selected her for the Excellence in Teaching Award in the 1997/1998 academic year. She's also a consultant to the World Bank.

Konan has served in the Manoa administration under Chancellor Peter Englert, where she was interim assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs from September 2001 to April 2004.

Englert's three-year contract expires July 31 and will not be renewed.

Colleagues and students praised Konan's appointment.

"She's a level-headed person who treats everyone with respect," said fellow economics professor Sumner La Croix.

"It's good that we've chosen someone who has lived in Hawaii for a while," he added, noting that Konan has spent most of her academic career at UH-Manoa after getting her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.

"She's a favorite at ASUH (Associated Students of the University of Hawaii student government)," said Grant Teichman, incoming president for the UH-Manoa student group.

"We have a few senators who have been in her classes; she's an awesome teacher," Teichman said.

Amy Agbayani, director of the student equity and diversity office at Manoa, praised the selection of a woman for a high administrative office.

Agbayani said Konan is the incoming chairwoman for the Women in Higher Education Administration chapter in Hawaii.

McClain chose Konan after consulting with faculty and student groups over the last several weeks.

Konan is also a Pacific Century Fellow, a program modeled after the White House Fellows in Washington, D.C., and started by Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who said he knows Konan well.

"I think that she's shown that her skills ... her talents, her ability in working with other people has been recognized. I'm very happy for her," Hannemann said. "I think she's going to do an outstanding job."

Other candidates for the position included Jim Gaines, the interim vice president for research; Neal Smatresk, vice-chancellor for academic affairs; Gary Ostrander, vice-chancellor for research; Aviam Soifer, dean of the law school; and Andrew Hashimoto, dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

Even though her appointment is only for a year, Konan will face a number of challenges including the decision with McClain on establishing a Navy University Affiliated Research Center or UARC, which would conduct some classified research at UH-Manoa.