On Campus
Two named to replace outgoing UH regents
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By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
With just days to go before the University of Hawai'i closes the book on one of its most contentious semesters in history, Gov. Ben Cayetano has appointed two new members to the UH Board of Regents, the governing board for the 10-campus system.
Big Island native Duane Kurisu, a partner in Kurisu & Fergus, was confirmed by the Senate last week. He is the owner and chairman of Pacificbasin Communications Inc. and was the founder and owner of Hawai'i Winter Baseball in the late 1990s.
Kurisu, a Honolulu commercial real estate developer, was born and raised in a sugar plantation environment on the Big Island's Hamakua coast. He recently served on the UH Board of Regents' advisory committee on the presidential search. The search committee is responsible for bringing incoming president Evan Dobelle to Hawai'i.
Capsun Poe, a junior majoring in political science, will become the new student representative on the 12-member body.
Kurisu replaces outgoing board member Donald Kim, board chairman and CEO of R.M. Towill Corp. Poe replaces law student Sat Khalsa, who graduates this semester.
Yet to be named is the replacement for board Chairwoman Lily Yao, whose term also ends June 30. Cayetano has said he does not plan to appoint her replacement until after the Legislative session is over.
Q. How long is the term for a board member?
A. Regents are appointed by the governor, confirmed by the Senate and serve four-year terms. The student representative serves a two-year term but can be appointed to back-to-back terms. The new regents will start their terms July 1.
Q. With the departure of Lily Yao, who becomes the new president of the board?
A. The Board of Regents' by-laws state that the chair and vice chair will be selected at the July board meeting. Current vice-chair Alan Ikawa, who won accolades for leading the search committee that found Dobelle, is seen as a likely candidate to become the new chair.
Q. What issues are facing the Board of Regents?
A. Regents were named recently in a lawsuit that contends they violated state open meetings laws in deciding Dobelle's salary.
The Circuit Court lawsuit alleges that board members violated state open meetings laws when they more than doubled the president's salary without seeking public testimony or making their deliberations public.
Dobelle, who was hired by the board to replace outgoing president Kenneth Mortimer in July, will make $442,000 a year.
The board has called a special meeting Monday to discuss the lawsuit in closed session.
Also, board members have come under fire from UH faculty members who criticized them for not openly backing the professors during the recent faculty strike, and from students, who opposed a recent decision to raise tuition.
Let Jennifer Hiller know what's going on at your college or university. You can reach her by phone at 525-8084 or e-mail jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com
