Dobelle discloses spending to public
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle opened his private protocol fund to public scrutiny yesterday, revealing that he spent more than $280,000 in his first 16 months, the majority of it in travel costs, including $42,000 worth of airline upgrades that are part of his contract.
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Dobelle's spokesman said it is the first time that a UH president has opened the books on his work-related expenses.
University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle is the first of the school's presidents to open the books on work-related expenses.
"There have been rumors, myths and unsubstantiated beliefs about this money," said Paul Costello, vice president for external affairs and university relations. Costello acknowledged that Dobelle put some personal charges on his credit card, which he later reimbursed.
"There's nothing to hide here," he said. "Every president had these dollars in the past and every university president in the U.S. has this."
Dobelle took the step of opening the books after several months of low-level grumbling on campus about his spending.
UH regent Michael Hartley resigned last month, citing several factors, including what he referred to as "lavish and unproductive spending" by Dobelle.
The protocol fund consists of privately donated money used at the president's discretion, typically for events that raise the profile of the university.
State Senate Majority Co-leader Sen. Cal Kawamoto, who has been critical of Dobelle's management style, said he had no problem with his use of protocol money.
"We shouldn't be tying his hands," Kawamoto said. "You give him all the tools to do his job and that's part of his job. If we're going to be a Pacific Rim university, then someone's got to sell the university and who better to sell it than the president?"
Yesterday's action gives an unprecedented look at how the president views priorities and spends his money. Among the hundreds of items accounted for, the records include thousands of dollars for memberships in some of Hawai'i's top private clubs, a standard practice for university presidents; bills for two Thanksgiving Day dinners at College Hill for 140 students who weren't going to be with their families for the holiday; and money to buy hot dogs and bottled water for guests invited to UH football games at Aloha Stadium.
Also included in the receipts were $1,625 to purchase tickets for the Janet Jackson concert a year ago to which Dobelle took some of his staff and administrators, plus UH donors whose names weren't disclosed.
In the future, Costello said the president will have two separate credit cards, with UH business expenses going on one and personal expenses on the other. Problems have arisen, he said, because everything has gone on one card, and later Dobelle has repaid the foundation for personal expenditures.
Dobelle repaid $22,000 to the foundation for personal expenses, including reimbursing the difference between his standard Hyatt hotel room costs and more expensive hotels when those have been the only ones available.
Dobelle opened records covering July 1, 2001, when he took office, to Oct. 31, 2002. The biggest expenditures were $281,900 in travel costs during this time, when Dobelle spent 208 days on the road.
The costs included three trips to Asia, one as part of the governor's "aloha mission" to Japan after the Sept. 11 attacks. The two other trips included the costs of traveling with UH administrators to forge relationships with universities in five countries, plus travel and hotel costs for visiting scholars and recruitment of candidates for his senior staff.
Also included in the records were costs of trips taken by his wife, Kit Dobelle, for which the foundation paid — also part of the president's contract with the university.
The total of Dobelle's protocol fund for 2001 comes from two sources: the University of Hawai'i Foundation, which last fiscal year allotted the UH president $150,000 to travel, entertain and pay for everything from flower lei to Christmas cards; and a private, unnamed donor who gave the foundation $100,000 specifically for this use.
For the current fiscal year, the foundation has increased its portion to $200,000. Of that, Dobelle gives $50,000 to his senior chancellors for personal expenditures for their jobs. He gave them the same amount last year.
