Hokule'a navigator resigns from Board of Regents
By Jennifer Hiller and Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writers
Nainoa Thompson's resignation from the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents yesterday leaves the nine-member group without its most high-profile community member, a key figure in the renaissance of Hawaiian culture who helped balance out a board dominated by high-powered business leaders.
Thompson, master navigator of the voyaging canoe Hokule'a, was a quiet force on the UH board and was seen as a representative of Native Hawaiian sensibilities. Last year he helped facilitate a politically tricky plan to manage Mauna Kea, a mountaintop considered sacred by many Hawaiians and priceless by astronomers studying the skies.
In a letter to Gov. Ben Cayetano, Thompson cited new responsibilities as a trustee of Kamehameha Schools, his continuing duties as executive director of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and undisclosed family issues as his reasons for leaving.
Thompson was appointed in 1998; his term would have ended June 30, 2003. His resignation takes effect June 30.
Kathleen K.S.L. Thurston, a Honolulu businesswoman and commissioner with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, will succeed Thompson. Thurston will resign from the DHHL.
Thompson won fame as a pioneer in noninstrument navigation and charting the double-hulled canoe Hokule'a through 5,000 miles of open ocean in the 1970s. The voyage helped ignite a cultural renaissance with a resurgence of traditional navigation.
Thompson was a daring choice for regent in 1998. "When he was named there was quite a stir," said Ira Rohter, a UH political science professor who specializes in Hawai'i politics. "He was a significant person. He was well known and had really given to the community. People are in awe of him."
During his time as a regent, Thompson helped broker the master plan to manage the 13 telescopes atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island. But he abstained from voting on the issue. As a Hawaiian, he said, he keenly felt the opposing tug of land used for scientific and sacred purposes.
Thompson led other regents to side with student protesters in March 2000 when the UH administration wanted to raise tuition. "I understand, I respect and I appreciate the (administration's) hard work on this, and financially I think they are absolutely correct," he said at the time. "But in my heart, I didn't think it was the right thing to do."
Thompson was not present this March when regents unanimously passed a revised version of the tuition increase.
"I think his contribution in terms of being understanding of Hawaiian issues was probably his greatest asset and probably what, in terms of the university, we will miss the most," said State Rep. Mark Takai, D-34th (Waimalu, Newtown, Pearl City).
Thompson has been absent from many Board of Regents meetings in recent months. He became a trustee at Kamehameha Schools in November and missed a UH meeting in May because he was receiving an award from the Dalai Lama as one of 51 Unsung Heroes of Compassion from around the world.
He was at a Kamehameha trustees retreat and could not be reached yesterday. "While I am resigning as a regent, I remain committed to improving the quality of higher education and increasing access to that education for the people of Hawai'i," Thompson wrote in a statement.
