By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

Should university presidents hire friends?

It's a question posed last week by The Chronicle of Higher Education and explores the hiring of two top administrators by University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle — Paul Costello as vice president for external affairs and J.R.W. "Wick" Sloane as chief financial officer.

"When presidents take office," says the article, "it is expected that they will bring in some new faces to the administration. But when they hire people they have worked with previously and known closely, that doesn't always sit well on the campus."

On the plus side of hiring friends, the Chronicle quotes Marlene Ross, director of the American Council on Education's Fellows Program: "They've got people they can work well with and know they can trust, and that enables them to make changes more quickly."

Dobelle and Costello met 20 years ago while working in the Carter administration. Dobelle knew Sloane in Hartford, Conn., through Sloane's wife, Betsy, who was a fund-raiser at Trinity College, where Dobelle was president. (She has been named by the UH Foundation as its president. The decision was not Dobelle's, but he was a reference for her and another candidate.)

Dobelle picked Costello and Wick Sloane from among large fields of candidates. In the article, he said he does not see how it could be considered "cronyism," defining that as hiring people you know aren't qualified. Both men are highly skilled in their areas, he said, with years of experience.

In making those hires, Dobelle requested — and was granted — a waiver from the Board of Regents, setting aside the need to have his choices approved, as long as salaries fit certain criteria. "The president felt there was an urgency to get his team on board," said regents' secretary David Iha.

These two hires should not be judged on whether they knew the boss but whether they deliver, and it's too soon to know.

In picking Dobelle to lead UH, the selection committee and regents put faith in him. That faith also requires the trust to forge the team he needs.

It's the same trust given June Jones when he was hired as head UH football coach in 1998 — bringing in nine coaches whom he knew or had coached, who were friends or whom he admired. That is standard practice in college football. Nobody gave it a second thought.

In many ways that can be considered a benefit of choosing a strong leader: They know how and where to find good people.

Already Dobelle has placed confidence in long-time Hawai'i faculty members and administrators Deane Neubauer and Karl Kim, who have been close associates in these first eight months of strategic planning process. They aren't the only ones. Many from Manoa are part of his team.

Dobelle tends to lean toward those who aren't afraid to lead in their own right; those who will be straight with him.

Since more than 200 "pink slips" went out, there has been some consternation among administrators and deans about their future, even though Dobelle said his action was mostly protocol.

Dobelle said he has welcomed people to come to him and talk about their positions. "How do you want me to judge you?" he said, asking them to create criteria to evaluate performance.

Few have come, so he has undertaken a series of group meetings with his deans to talk about UH's future. And theirs.

"This is all about faculty," he tells them. "Our job is to inspire the faculty and not make their job difficult. Then they can inspire the students. So you tell me how you're going to accomplish that. Otherwise, you're a bureaucrat, and I'm not interested in bureaucrats."

Reach Bev Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.