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The comments on this page come from letters to the editor and other comments on President Dobelle and the university. Please forward your comments about the University of Hawaii to the Board of Regents at: UH Board of Regents, 2444 Dole Street, Honolulu, HI 96822. We encourage you to send the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and The Honolulu Advertiser your comments. If you would like to send a comment to the authors of the 'Dangerous Equations' article, email them at comments@DangerousEquations.com. July 20, 2003 The Advertiser continues its aggressive pursuit of public records with a good story today by Johnny Brannon describing the University of Hawaii's refusal to disclose contracts related to construction of the new medical school complex. It's a sad tale, another instance of UH in its own aggressive defense of secrecy. Where's President Dobelle in this matter? Contrast the UH secrecy with Dobelle's public pledge in a Freedom of Information Day speech last year. Dobelle pledged: Henceforth, the University's administration will follow the intent of Hawai`i's laws that the provisions requiring open meetings and open records SHALL be liberally construed. Our Board of Regents has its discussions, deliberations and actions as openly as possible, just as the Sunshine law requires. With specific reference to the medical school construction, he said: By now, you have all heard that the University has named a contractor for the construction of the Health and Wellness Center in Kakaako. We made a commitment early in the process that we would be open, that we would involved the public in the decision making process to the greatest extent possible . Now all we hear is a faint voice echoing out of Manoa valley...."Never mind." Lind, Ian July 18, 2003 High hopes for Dobelle meet harsh reality It was with great consternation that I read "Dangerous Equations" in your July 6 Insight section, which highlighted President Evan Dobelle's actions at the University of Hawaii. It appears money is not even a consideration when Dobelle fills positions. He has filled personal assistant positions that award salaries higher than that of a full professor. Dobelle has tackled the retirement program, which is going to cost us taxpayers thousands of dollars over the long term. It almost seems criminal that some UH executives will be allowed to make more in retirement than they made just three years earlier while working. I sincerely hope these actions come under some type of scrutiny. We all had big expectations when Dobelle came on board. I just don't believe that awarding outrageous salaries to your friends or ensuring some UH executives receive exorbitant retirement benefits were really what we were expecting. Withrow, Dan. Letters to the editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin July 18, 2003 Stop wasting money looking for a new UH logo; use the current UH seal and Warrior "H." UH has already spent and wasted $73,000 on this boondoggle. You had your chances. Money from logo merchandise sales should go to more pressing needs, not to search for another logo design. Nahm, Craig. Letters to the editor. The Honolulu Advertiser July 17, 2003 Higher pay is issue No. 1 with UH faculty We need to clear up something regarding University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle's response (July 13) to the "stinging analysis" published in the Star-Bulletin a week earlier. While he and his team are to be commended for negotiating part of a pretty good contract, he leaves the impression that (a) the contract is great (it isn't), and that (b) "In 21 of the 22 issues that we had direct control over, we came to ... agreement ... and (were) unable to offer the faculty an increase in salary, which was issue 22." Salary was not "issue 22"; it was and is issue No. 1. UH faculty members have not had a decent pay raise since 1992; full professors at Manoa now rank in the bottom 15 percent in pay in the nation. UH professors are collectively paid about $170 million a year and bring in $300 million via competitive grants. We 3,000 are the only component of the 11,000-employee UH system that more than pays for itself every year and yet our statewide average salary is less than half of that paid to the young man who answers Dobelle's phone. Something's seriously wrong. Radcliff,
John H. Letters to the Editor. Honolulu Star-Bulletin July 17, 2003 Malihini money rises to the top at university "Eh, Kimo! Did you get the memo?" "No, not me." "Manny, did you get the memo?" "What memo?" "The one that said we're going make the new guys at UH rich." "No joke!" "Yup, that's what the malihini are doing up there, paying themselves real good." King, William J. Letters to the editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin July 17, 2003 "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." UH President Evan Dobelle might be thinking something like that since his successor at Trinity College abruptly resigned at the end of June after just 15 months. Lind, Ian July 16, 2003 Dobelle contingent doing very well indeed Many years ago, a small group of people came to Hawai'i from New England to do good. It was said they did well. They were called missionaries. Recently a small group of people led by Evan Dobelle came from New England to do good at the University of Hawai'i. According to the article in Sunday's Advertiser entitled "Is Dobelle failing to deliver?," they also did well, very well. Since they were not men of the cloth, they could not be called missionaries. Based on their financial success, possibly they could be called mercenaries. Knerr, Peter. Letters to the editor. The Honolulu Advertiser. July 15, 2003 Even from thousands of miles away, the article Dangerous Equations leaves me troubled. In the summer of 2001, after 14 years as a staff and faculty member at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, I left UH for a Mainland job at Los Alamos National Laboratory. High among the reasons were two: 1. A lack of University resources and competence on the part of UHM Facilities Management with which to build and maintain the research laboratory that my career depended on. I understand that it is still not finished. 2. Low salaries compared to Hawaii's high costs, my salary most emphatically included. Under President Mortimer's regime, one had to obtain a competing job offer in order to be considered for a raise (other than the normal increases provided to all Unit 7 members). So I polished my resume and applied for jobs, landing one here at LANL. The LANL job offer doubled the salary I had been earning at UH and it buys more in New Mexico. Barry Raleigh did an admirable job putting together a retention package for me, meeting some resistance from the UH administration. This was in spite of the fact that Barry would have been paying for my raise out of SOEST overhead return funds, which I understand are now at risk. My wife, a twenty year faculty member, full professor at KCC, and co-developer of KCC's well-respected Holomua remedial education program, had a salary at the low end of her department's range when compared to colleagues at the same rank. She was not considered for a raise because she did not have a competing job offer. Leaving our home in Hawai'i and my work in SOEST and the community was a very difficult choice, but we decided to leave. When we were leaving, many colleagues told us that we were making a big mistake: President Dobelle was going to be a breath of fresh air for UH. High among his goals was raising faculty salaries. The new President's fund raising, among other leadership skills, would make UH second to none in academic excellence. While we had second thoughts, the die was cast in our case. We figured we had missed the UH Renaissance. Oh, well. Our timing has always been off. I hoped, and continue to hope, that UH will dramatically improve itself under President Dobelle's leadership. It is therefore sad to read Dangerous Equations. While faculty salaries continue to languish, President Dobelle has let administrative salaries blossom like lawn-choking weeds. According to the article, this has been done in part by siphoning off research funds. In research units such as SOEST, overhead return funds typically allow deans and directors to maintain and improve laboratories, pay staff salaries supporting research, deal with emergency funding requests, and offer competitive salaries to scientists. I am reading that some of these funds are instead being funneled into a layer of expensive administrators. In the child's fable, this is called killing the goose that laid the golden egg. In Hawaii, it is sometimes called "high threes". Hawaii must wake up and smell the coffee. You have one university system upon which you are critically dependent. It was built up with care and Aloha by Hawaii's people and is the legacy left by countless dedicated faculty, staff, students, and yes, some very good administrators who have worked to made it shine. You must immediately act on the four recommendations made by Drs. Agbayani and Moberly and Legislators Takai and Kim. You must work together. I will also add a few comments: 1. A university does not rise to greatness because of great administrators living in the Central Administrations of the world. It rises on the shoulders of great faculty. The job of an administration, especially an excellent one, is to facilitate the educational endeavor and ensure that the faculty and students reach their full potential. That is the measure which must be used to evaluate success. 2. You are cutting yet another 10 million dollars from teaching and research at Manoa while paying unheard of salaries to administrators. What is wrong with this picture? Cuts must come from the glitz, not from the meat and bone. After more than a decade of debilitating cuts, there ain't much meat left on the bone. "Chainsaw Al" should not be your role model for a university administrator. 3. Research overhead must be returned to the units where it was generated. See point #1. Faculty and their immediate administrators (i.e., deans and directors) typically know more about how to spend research money than those more distant from the discipline. SOEST's preeminence under Barry Raleigh is a good example. If overhead is indeed being diverted to pay administrative salaries rather than supporting research, one wonders how far off the next Federal audit is. My time at Manoa was made richly rewarding by my interactions with colleagues and students. I miss that aspect of my life in Hawai'i, and continue to be deeply committed to Manoa's excellence. I hope you are too. Khal Spencer,
Khal. July 16, 2003 Dobelle offers hope, vision to Hawaiians Regarding "Embracing hope" (Insight, July 13), Evan Dobelle is the first University of Hawaii president in 100 years to support Hawaiian education. He believes a wrong was done to the Hawaiian people and he wants UH to help ameliorate that wrong through educational access. His speeches support Hawaiian rights even when there are no Hawaiians in the audience, and even when he knows he will be attacked by those who are anti-Hawaiian. For this reason alone he would be my hero. Dobelle also has vision and a desire to do what is right. He has given us hope at this university. In the last 30 years, who else has championed decent faculty salaries? While we know the Legislature has no money for raises, it is gratifying that our president champions our worth. In regard to fund raising, the plans made when Dobelle was hired were radically changed by 9/11. Who in America since that time has been able to raise a substantial amount of money? Finally, if the Board of Regents thinks Dobelle spends too much on administration, then let it exercise its veto power. Kameeleihiwa, Lilikala. Letters to the editor. Honolulu Star-Bulletin July 16, 2003 Dobelle talks a good story, but ... I read Sunday's special report about the great Evan Dobelle, written by Evan Dobelle, with disbelief. He does a great job writing about Evan Dobelle, even if he is coming up short as University of Hawaii president. UH is in shambles while Dobelle is paid $442,000 a year and his friend, coach June Jones, is paid $800,000. He has created administrative positions -- in what would best be described as "empire building" -- at salaries much higher than those paid to UH's educators. One might think UH is so financially strong that Dobelle doesn't need to use his considerable skills at raising money from outside sources. Perhaps Dobelle could be kept on in a public-relations role by the next UH president. Haugen, Keith.
Letters to the editor. Honolulu Star-Bulletin July 15, 2003 Dobelle shrugs off UH budget realities I want to express my gratitude to the authors of "Dangerous Equations" for the in-depth article covering University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle's tenure (Insight, Star-Bulletin, July 6). The article confirms what I felt has been happening during the last two years at the university. As a faculty member, I cannot accept the costly personnel additions to the administration and the outrageous salary of the football coach when most programs will be facing crippling cutbacks in faculty; when teaching facilities are inadequate and unrepaired; when students cannot get the courses they need to graduate; and when faculty members do not receive the salaries they deserve. As an alumna, I am deeply saddened and angered by the degradation of the university I attended and now work for. I can only hope that the Board of Regents rectifies this situation and strives as hard to find funds for the students and faculty as it did to find monies to pay the football coach and other administration officials. Fujimoto,
Patsy K. Letters to the editor. Honolulu Star-Bulletin July 14, 2003 Improving university takes more than hope After reading University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle's article, "Embracing hope" (Insight, Star-Bulletin, July 13), I had a flashback to more than 35 years ago. Upon completing my operations orders brief to my squad of Rangers, I ended by saying, "I hope you guys understand the plan and can execute." During the critique of my order, my Ranger adviser pointed out the error of my ways by saying, "Son, hope is not a method! Hope is what you do when all else fails. You either have a plan that all of your subordinates understand, embrace and will execute to the death, or you don't." His words have stayed with me all these years. They made sense then, and they make sense now. When charged with the strategic or tactical planning and execution of any organizational plan, if you are relying on hope, you probably have a problem. While Dobelle's charge of inspiring hope sounds good, how real is it in execution? Bottomline -- is it being understood, embraced and executed, or will Dobelle leave UH in the next few years with a legacy of having embraced hope but with having nothing to show for it? Swindell,
Tom. Letters to the editor. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 9, 2003 Following the Star-Bulletin's double hit on UH president Evan Dobelle, on Sunday (the op-ed focusing on his free spending ways, and Rob Perez's "Raising Cane" column on university secrecy), it seems an appropriate time to add a small footnote to history. Back in December 2002, records of Dobelle's expenditures from a protocol fund maintained by the UH Foundation were publicly disclosed and UH spokesman Paul Costello was quick to claim credit for the new "openness". Both the Star-Bulletin and Advertiser duly reported on Dobelle's spending, especially the large amounts for travel, and noted that he reimbursed the Foundation for thousands of dollars in personal expenses that had been charged to the protocol account. But they failed to note that some of those reimbursements were more than half a year late, and came only after university officials were trying to decide how to respond to my formal requests to inspect the records of Dobelle's foundation account. For example, Dobelle wrote separate checks to the UH Foundation on November 16, 2002, for $1,474.80 and $11,544.93 which included reimbursement for personal expenses from trips as far back as April and May. "President will issue a personal check upon return from his trip on 5/28/02," said one note attached to a credit card payment made from the protocol account on May 24, but that reimbursement to the foundation was not made until November. Mainstream reporters who wrote about the disclosures missed the delays, and never questioned the "voluntary" nature of the disclosures. Costello, of course, failed to tell them that the records were released in response to several requests I had made for access, and came only after university lawyers determined that they couldn't avoid disclosure. Costello, a talented and experienced public relations professional, used the daily reporters to dull the edge of an otherwise potentially damaging disclosure. Knowing that I was writing for Honolulu Weekly, he gave the scoop to the dailies while giving it a positive spin, effectively squeezing my potential story into the margins. My quest for access to the expenditure records began with an October 3, 2002 letter to the UH Foundation, which was not responded to until December 4, when Foundation president Betsy Sloane denied the request by claiming the foundation isn't subject to the state open records law. On November 24, I addressed a second, similar request to Costello's office. Initially, Costello tried to refer me back to the foundation, but on December 11 I received a written "notice to requester" advising that the records would be made available for inspection at 10 A.M. on December 18. But when I called a day or two ahead to make final arrangements, Costello informed me that there would be other reporters examining the records at the same time. It was a brilliant move on his part. Costello contacted the daily reporters and volunteered the records without disclosing that my formal request and underlying threat of litigation had been pried them loose. And then Costello provided other reporters with summaries and totals, while he maintained to me that no ledger or other type of regular account summaries existed. Costello's
fancy footwork did the trick, managing to blunt the critical edge of the
stories. It was one of those moments when I got screwed, but ended up
having to admire the way that he played the game. Lind, Ian.
Ilind.net. July 9, 2003 Why such secrecy and high salaries at UH? The Sunday Insight article on the University of Hawaii shows why the public should be suspicious of the high salaries paid to members of President Evan Dobelle's administration ("Dangerous Equations," Star-Bulletin, July 6). Thus far he has proven to be a high-priced talker with few accomplishments. I also was interested in the Sunday "Raising Cane" column by Rob Perez, about the secret $800,000-a-year contract for UH football coach June Jones -- half paid by the university and half by secret contributors. If, for example, a state judge or other official who was a staunch UH football fan, were soliciting funds, there could be a conflict of interest. Frankel,
Charles. Letters to the editor. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 9, 2003 Bring focus of UH back to local community If even half of the information in the Sunday Insight story about the University of Hawaii and its president, Evan Dobelle, is true, we are long past the time for Dobelle and some of his friends to leave. Do we know the cost of terminating his contract? When will we learn that rewarding would-be big-wigs from the mainland at the expense of the professors, support staff and the entire student body is not only bad business, but will bring disaster? Surely there are qualified, deserving individuals in Hawaii who could and would do better at reasonable salaries. I say forget the "world-class university" idea and get back the University of Hawaii as it was when local folks could afford to go there. If we taxpayers continue to be faced with this and similar situations, many of us will exercise our right of free choice and move elsewhere. Burger, Donald
H. Letters to the editor. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 8, 2003 Dobelle has broken trust of UH community UH President Dobelle has finally been exposed with both hands in the till ("University of Hawaii's money crisis -- Dangerous Equations," Star-Bulletin, July 6). Why does that not surprise me? Perhaps I'm biased because Dobelle selected my former boss Sam Callejo as his high-priced assistant. When former Gov. Ben Cayetano (with the help of politico friends on the University's Board of Regents and persuasive Democrats elsewhere) hand-picked Dobelle for what should be a nonpolitical position, why do we wonder at the questionable decisions and money-making policies at UH that have followed? Congratulations to all four article writers, who share a heartfelt interest in the success of the university, its staff, its students, its alumni and the taxpayers. The article only served as a reminder of a similar letter of "Broken Trust" and its repercussions at another, once politically entrenched institution. President Dobelle's mismanagement of university funds and other questionable leadership decisions, if not criminal in nature, should at least be more than sufficient reason to nullify his contract and initiate his immediate dismissal. Bischoff,
Stephen N. Letters to the editor. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 8, 2003 Beware the return of the New Englanders Many years ago, a small group of people came to Hawaii from New England to do good. It was said that they did well. They were called missionaries. Recently a small group of people led by Evan Dobelle came from New England to do good at the University of Hawaii. According to the "Insight" article "Dangerous Equations" (Star-Bulletin, July 6) they also did well -- very well. Since they were not men of the cloth, they could not be called missionaries. Based on their financial success, possibly they could be called mercenaries. Knerr, Peter.
Letters to the editor. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 7, 2003 Yesterday's Star-Bulletin op-ed about UH Pres Dobelle turned out to be quite a zinger. One reader commented: "I suspect the Agbayani-Kim-Moberly-Takai piece is intended to be the "broken trust" initiator for the end of Dobelle." But I haven't seen much comment on it, so it's hard to tell whether it struck a chord with the public, or the part of the public that counts on such matters. I suppose this is a "wait and see" situation for now. Lind, Ian. July 6, 2003 UH President Evan Dobelle is under fire today in a Star-Bulletin Op-Ed by Mark Takai, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, and several others with UH ties. Lind, Ian. July 1, 2003 The Honolulu Advertiser reports today that UH made a $1 million "loan" to the Athletic Department to cover its budget deficit for the fiscal year that ended yesterday. Meanwhile,
if you work at UH Manoa and mail that needs to go out, you may be temporarily
out of luck because the campus mail room is out of money: Lind, Ian June 25, 2003 The $800,000-a-year
contract given University of Hawai'i football coach June Jones is generating
passionate debate about state priorities, but other big executive salaries
approved by the Board of Regents the same day might prove more significant. Shapiro,
David, The Honolulu Advertiser. |