Cayetano to teach course at Manoa

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

Former Gov. Ben Cayetano will dust off his sneakers and blue jeans and join the hordes heading to the University of Hawai'i-Manoa this week — not as a student, but as a lecturer, making something close to the bottom of the barrel.

He is teaching a course called "Selected Topics in Hawai'i Politics" that filled so quickly that extra seats were added.

"There are about 40 absolutely excited undergraduates," said Jonathan Goldberg-Hiller, chairman of the political-science department.

But Cayetano — who was governor during a divisive faculty strike four years ago during which he battled the faculty over wage issues — admitted to a bit of trepidation over that point.

"I hope if there's controversy, it's because of our discussions," he said.

Cayetano expects to give students a peek inside the governor's office during his eight-year tenure and pose such questions as how to deal with a recession or how a governor would follow through if the Akaka bill, which would create federal recognition of Hawaiians, were passed by Congress.

"I think they might be surprised because it's kind of a different world," he said.

Cayetano hasn't yet been told what he'll be paid — between $3,000 and $4,500, which is the range for lecturers — but said it sounds like it will probably work out to something below minimum wage based on the hours he will invest in the course.

But he said the job does come with parking.

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