Posted on: Saturday, January 22, 2005

EDITORIAL
UH autonomy changes deserve early approval

After a setback or two, efforts by the University of Hawai'i to gain greater control of its own academic, fiscal and administrative affairs have picked up welcome speed.

Gov. Linda Lingle says she will ask the Legislature to approve a package of bills that will grant the university greater autonomy and allow it to handle its own affairs in a timely manner.

The package deserves swift approval by the Legislature.

It appears that Lingle's proposal was motivated in part by a good working relationship between her office and that of interim UH President David McClain.

While Lingle has long endorsed the idea of UH autonomy, that effort slowed somewhat under former President Evan Dobelle, who had a cool and sometimes contentious relationship with the governor.

That led to less-than-enthusiastic support for all of Dobelle's initiatives and to tighter administrative control by the state.

One concrete example: Last year UH was placed back under the restrictions of the state procurement law and the authority of the Department of Accounting and General Services.

That was a retreat from purchasing and procurement freedom that had been given to UH only a few years earlier.

Now, in addition to grant-ing UH authority to follow its own system for purchasing goods and services, Lingle has urged up to $250 million in revenue bonds for needed university construction projects. She also is granting UH independent authority to enter into public-private partnership and making permanent its power to have its own financial and accounting systems, among other changes.

In total, the changes would give UH much-needed authority to be more innovative, entrepreneurial and responsive to opportunities that might disappear if not swiftly seized.