EDITORIAL
UH President Dobelle gets praise and a push

University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle received high — and generally well-deserved — praise from the UH Board of Regents for his performance during his first "honeymoon" year.

The first-year review cited many of Dobelle's initiatives and focused specifically on his efforts to restore morale and the mood on campus.

Of that, there can be no doubt. There is a fresh, upbeat mood on campus that is directly reflective of Dobelle's activist, take-charge approach.

But Dobelle, as much as anyone, knows that setting a mood for change and progress is only the first of many difficult steps in getting the UH system truly on a path to greatness.

The equation involves money, faculty morale, campus reputation both here and abroad, federal research support and physical improvements.

In their generally positive statement, the regents acknowledged all this and served a gentle warning that they expect to see practical followup to the ebullience and big dreams.

Said Board Chairman Bert Kobayashi: "The president has put forth many intriguing proposals for the betterment of the university community. There are indeed challenges ahead as the president, the board and the university community move forward to bring many of the proposed projects into fruition."

Challenges indeed. Clearly, the regents were in a mood to bestow laurels on their new president but were equally interested in reminding him not to rest on them.