A symbiosis of politics, academics

By Jerry Burris
Advertiser Editorial Editor

One of the driving themes at the University of Hawai'i has been "autonomy." While no one was precisely clear on what that term meant, there was general agreement that it included the idea that UH had to throw off the shackles of political oversight.

There was far too much "meddling" and second-guessing by the politicians down at the State Capitol — interference that stood in the way of the university's quest for greatness.

That effort culminated in approval of a constitutional amendment granting the UH system "autonomy" and vows of hands-off from prominent politicians.

Then what happened? The university selected, as its new president, Evan Dobelle, perhaps the most "political" animal to take charge at Bachman Hall in decades.

Dobelle, a former elected mayor and confidant of many in the highest reaches of politics, has been openly skeptical about the autonomy movement. "I'm not even sure what that means," he has said.

It may be turn out that there is "political interference" and then there is political interference.

In UH's glory days, the relationship between the Capitol and the university's governance was close and productive.

The late Gov. John A. Burns was deeply committed to making UH into an institution of national prominence. No one at Manoa complained when Burns took a hands-on approach. If he wanted to have a say in the expansion of the athletics program, or push ahead into uncharted waters of professional schools such as medicine, who was going to complain? After all, this kind of "interference" meant big money and a prominent place at the political table.

But the reins of control put into place by Burns began to chafe as the money dried up and the interest of those at the Capitol drifted elsewhere. Beginning with Burns' successor as governor, George Ariyoshi, who reluctantly gave the UH lump-sum budgeting through the constitutional amendment, the independence movement grew.

Dobelle may be signaling a return to the days of closer relationships between UH and the political establishment. He makes no bones about his friendship and access to U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye. The senior Hawai'i senator's access to federal dollars, Dobelle has suggested, will be a big key to making some of his ambitious plans become reality.

The truth is that in many ways, it has already been the very direct political "interference" by Inouye that has led to many of the university's greatest successes recently. Inouye is a master at the art of "earmarking" academic pork-barrel money for his home-state university. According to a recent issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, UH was among the top 30 institutions in the nation in winning unshared "earmarks" or academic pork. Overall, Hawai'i universities received at least $24 million in earmarks this year, the Chronicle reported.

This illustrates the reality that politics needn't be harmful to the university and can do a lot of good. The key is to get the political system and the university moving in the same direction.

That's Dobelle's greatest challenge.