Letters to the Editor

Evan Dobelle huddles with Patricia Lee in this July 2003 photo after she was named chairwoman of the UH Board of Regents. Advertiser library photo

Evan Dobelle's firing has shocked our community, both for the fact that it happened and the way it happened.

Long before his firing, my name was always linked with President Dobelle's "troubled" relationship with the governor and her appointees to the Board of Regents.

By words and actions, I had long supported the university. When Evan Dobelle endorsed me, I was glad for it. He took a risk in doing so because Linda Lingle had been campaigning for governor for over four years, had a huge war chest and I was the underdog. As he has put it, he went with his heart, and I appreciated it.

Understandably, the question of political retribution has come up in connection with his firing. I hope that partisan politics was not a factor because the key issue remains — the regents' actions must withstand the "for cause" scrutiny that will surely come.

Evan Dobelle has energy, enthusiasm and a true commitment to the university. Regardless of how one feels about him, he deserved fair treatment. The events of the last few days do not reflect our aloha spirit. I regret how he was treated and extend my aloha and appreciation to him and his family.

Regents were right to get rid of Dobelle

As a retired professor in the University of Hawai'i system, I was excited and optimistic when Evan Dobelle first came on board. Like others, I had high hopes that he would bring honor to the university by raising its academic performance and national reputation as a center of outstanding education and research.

Instead, I soon found myself waiting ... and waiting ... for the regents to take Dobelle to task for many things: his bringing in former associates at very high salaries, his personal and inappropriate use of the "protocol fund" and his role in June Jones' obscene salary.

In short, Dobelle's financial focus seemed to be on everything but academics and education.

With his departure, the regents now have an opportunity to set a new course for the UH system — one focusing squarely on academics, teaching and research, not on the personal aggrandizement of the UH president.

Board of Regents lacks management skills

I was shocked, not with the firing of President Dobelle, but with the method in which it was handled.

All of the members of the Board of Regents are educated to the highest degree. They all hold key positions within their own businesses and are in charge of many people making many important decisions.

However, I'm sorry to say that not one of them understands the basics of human management, and therefore, they were not able to manage this termination in a fair and just way.

The spotlight should be on Board of Regents

The unusual manner in which Evan Dobelle's situation was handled has drawn public attention from across the country. Public hostility is widespread. The amount of information that the Board of Regents kept behind closed doors is deplorable. The review that the board did on Mr. Dobelle was very critical of the mistakes he did make and ignorant of his successes.

Certainly, many of the problems that were encountered were corrected. Mr. Dobelle's integrity, character and commitment to our school cannot be denied.

His goals of creating a college town and unifying the UH system were great ideas that needed his vision to become a reality.

The decision to make Mr. Dobelle's termination public before informing him is asinine. Emerging is a pattern of mistakes by the board that would make any president's job difficult. The board has the public questioning its integrity and commitment.

Dobelle demoralized university workers

I offer you the sentiments of many of us who work at the University of Hawai'i on Evan Dobelle's dismissal. I look forward to new growth at UH.

What the public doesn't see is that we are being told to cut our budgets (and services to students) while Dobelle flies to football games and attends concerts with an entourage of his staff. We, with many years of experience, have worked for modest wages while Dobelle's two inexperienced personal assistants make more than judges, Cabinet members and our full professors.

These things are demoralizing.

I support the decision of the regents. Even if we have to pay him off, it would cost us less in the long run. I hope they go one step further and remove other ineffective administrators.

Lingle has reinstituted the old-boy network

The university's regents can no longer "recognize" Evan Dobelle's "integrity, character and institutional commitment to this university" — what a wonderful, if unintentional, phrase. Those traits are abundant in Dr. Dobelle, as anyone paying attention these past few years can attest.

The Republican Party is making noise these days about bringing an end to the era of old-boy networks, government-by-patronage and backroom deals. Sadly, the governor's two-year vendetta against Dobelle, and her stacking of the university Board of Regents to ensure her victory, is the very worst kind of "old boy" politics. Voters would do well to remember that during this year's elections.

Cayetano appointees were also on UH board

In a recent news interview, former Gov. Ben Cayetano criticized Evan Dobelle's dismissal as being politically targeted by the Lingle administration and done in an untimely manner, with Dobelle away on the Mainland. He added that Lingle's "New Beginning" slogan subliminally entailed firing everyone associated with his administration, whereby Dobelle unfortunately fell victim.

Now, these certainly sound like strong accusations firmly planted in midair from a forgotten politician who has strong resentment issues. But let us remind ourselves that the Board of Regents is made up of reputable bipartisan individuals, including Cayetano appointees.

Could it be that the Board of Regents acted autonomously apart from Lingle's knowledge? In a world seen through Cayetano's political spectacles, the answer is no. However, the truth is yes, and justifiably so.

Simply put, the board is made up of highly competent individuals, and, unlike Cayetano, Lingle doesn't micromanage.