Editorial
Dobelle deserves fair shot at his lofty goals

Newly installed University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle came out of the box roaring this week, with a maiden policy speech that promised something for just about everyone.

And on top of everything else, he vowed that he would not be asking for more money to set his ambitious plans in motion.

In its breadth and detail, the speech sounded like the result of months of research into the needs and potential of the UH, not the first thoughts of someone who had been in the job for less than two weeks.

What remains to be seen is whether Dobelle can turn the huge ship that is the University of Hawai'i system through sheer force of energy and enthusiasm. Dobelle has enough information and political smarts to know exactly how tough a job that will be in the politicized climate that surrounds our state university.

He showed political agility by promising, right at the start, that he intends to move ahead over the next 18 months (the remainder of the current fiscal cycle and also the remainder of the term for the current governor) without asking for more money. It is important, Dobelle said, that the UH get its own fiscal and administrative house in order before asking for more help from the taxpayers.

If there is a concern about the first Dobelle agenda, it is that its reach may be too broad. In addition to reshaping the look and culture of the UH system (and reorganizing Manoa into something that more closely resembles a college town) Dobelle wants the UH actively involved in dealing with our major public issues: education, the environment and economic development.

The UH, he said, would act as a convener of summits on all three issues.

While this first speech was full of lofty rhetoric, Dobelle launched several diplomatically worded but finely honed barbs into the hides of those who have been managing the university's fortunes to date:

"The time has come to stop bemoaning what is wrong and get about setting things right," he said. "The time has come to move beyond zero sum games. The time has come to stop wasting energy on fixing blame rather than fixing problems. The time has come to say that at the University of Hawai'i mediocrity is not acceptable and average is not good enough."

Those sound like words from someone who has been watching the situation here for far more than 11 days.

Many will conclude that Dobelle has promised far more than he can deliver. But it is important that the entire community — business, political and campus — give him a fair shot at keeping his promise.