A retired University of Hawaii vice president and a former television news director are on the short list of candidates for the UH Board of Regents.

Gov. Linda Lingle will select three of the five finalists recommended by the UH Regents Candidate Advisory Committee to fill seats that will be vacated June 30.

The finalists for three Oahu seats are:

» Doris M. Ching. She retired as UH vice president for student affairs in 2006 after 36 years with the university in a variety of leadership positions, and served on numerous national and international organizations for higher education.

» James J. McCoy. He is a partner in the Ho'akea Communications public relations firm and was formerly a news reporter and director with KHON2. He also was a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

» John C. Holzman. He is retired from the U.S. Foreign Service after serving as U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh and is a volunteer mediator at the Mediation Center of the Pacific.

» James H.Q. Lee. He is a partner in the law firm of Devens Nakano Saito Lee Wong & Ching and former managing director of Let's Eat Hawaii.

» Eric K. Martinson. He is managing director of Tradewind Capital Group, an investment subsidiary of Island Holdings Inc., and former director of Kamehameha Schools' financial assets division.

Martinson already had been nominated by the governor to finish a one-year term on the 15-member Board of Regents. Last month Lingle complied with a Hawaii Supreme Court order to immediately replace six regents who continued as holdovers after their terms expired. She also named UH agronomist Ramon de la Pena, Servco Pacific Chairman Mark Fukunaga, former UH Travel Industry Management Dean Chuck Gee, lawyer Michael Dahilig and UH student Grant Teichman.

The governor's appointments are subject to the approval of the state Senate in the current legislative session.