UH-Manoa names vice chancellor

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents has named a New Mexico education official to be vice chancellor for academic affairs at UH-Manoa.

The regents approved Reed Dasenbrock to be the top academic officer at the campus and deputy to Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw.

Dasenbrock has held a Cabinet position as secretary of the Higher Education Department in New Mexico since 2007, the only such position in any state, according to a UH announcement. He had oversight of state funding to 25 institutions and worked with them to develop statewide policies on higher education. He was formerly dean of the College of Arts and Science at the University of New Mexico, and an English professor there.

He will receive a salary of $285,000. He will begin work in mid-April in a contract that continues through 2012.

Dasenbrock will fill a position vacated in 2007 by Neal Smatresk. Peter Quigley, assistant vice chancellor, has been interim vice chancellor during the search for a replacement.

Free bus pass for UH-Manoa students

All University of Hawaii-Manoa students will receive a bus pass good for unlimited ridership on city buses as well as campus transportation under a measure approved Friday by the UH Board of Regents.

A fee of $20 per semester will be added to the cost of attending school under the measure intended to encourage the low-cost transportation option, according to a release.

The mandatory fee is an expansion of the existing optional U-PASS program. Similar programs at other universities demonstrated an average 7 percent annual increase in use of public transportation, according to the release.

The program will begin in 2010 pending completion of an agreement between campus officials and the city Department of Transportation Services. It was requested by the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii.

Lunalilo Home gets interim director

Dr. J. Kuhio Asam was appointed yesterday as interim executive director of the Lunalilo Home, an senior-care residence in Hawaii Kai.

“;Dr. Asam has a wealth of health and administrative leadership experience, and we are very pleased to have him join our team,”; said Stanley Hong, chairman of the King William Charles Lunalilo Trust board of trustees.

He was the medical director of APS Healthcare Hawaii from 2002 to 2008. Asam also ran Kahi Mohala Hospital as medical director from 1994 to 2002.

He is a graduate of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, Yale University and Kamehameha Schools.

City seeks caretaker for 7 horses

Mayor Mufi Hannemann says the city is considering the transfer of seven horses in the Honolulu police mounted patrol to another “;government entity experienced in the care of animals.”;

The mayor also said another possibility is that a private caretaker could take the horses on a large pasture.

“;There is no auction of the horses planned,”; Hannemann said, “;nor has HPD ever requested an auction.

“;We will use every effort to keep the horses together.”;

Award given to Big Isle horticulturist

A Big Island plant expert has received an award for aiding in the recovery of seven species of endangered plants.

Baron Horiuchi of Hilo is a horticulturist at the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on the windward slope of Mauna Kea.

Horiuchi was named Refuge Employee of the Year by the National Wildlife Refuge Association and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

One of the plant species Horiuchi revived is a native Hawaiian mint that was thought to be extinct but was recently rediscovered. More than 400 individual plants of the mint called Phyllostegia brevidens have since been produced.

The reward was presented to Horiuchi on Thursday at the 74th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Arlington, Va.

MADD celebrates 25 years in Hawaii

Mothers Against Drunk Driving-Hawaii chapter will commemorate its 25th anniversary in the isles this year.

A series of events will be held to mark the anniversary, including a fundraising goal of $250,000.

Some of the planned events include a demonstration at the state Capitol that will show how many people were killed due to drunken driving in the past 25 years.

On Jan. 30, MADDCab, a formal fundraising event, will be held. Attendees will be told the date and time of the party but not the location. Instead, they will receive a cab voucher that will be used to pay for the cab or limousine that will take them to and from the event. Those interested in learning more about MADDCab may call the MADD Hawaii office at 532-6232.

Those interested in making a donation to MADD Hawaii can go to http://www.madd.org/hi.