Former University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle was selected Wednesday as the new president of Westfield State College in Massachusetts.

Dobelle, who resigned as president of the UH system in 2004, was one of three finalists seeking the top job at the 5,000-student liberal arts college in Westfield, Mass.

The college's board of trustees voted unanimously Wednesday to offer the post to Dobelle, according to a news release. The choice is subject to approval of the state Board of Higher Education, the release said.

The UH Board of Regents originally fired Dobelle "for cause" in June 2004, although the cause was never specified. The firing was rescinded after he and the university reached a $1.8 million settlement in return for his resignation.

Dobelle resigned as president on Aug. 14, 2004, and all parties agreed there was no fault on either side.

Under the agreement, the university agreed to pay Dobelle $125,000 a year for two years as a nontenured faculty researcher. He was required to file a research project as a nontenured faculty member of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. He filed a 400-page research project last year.

The university has finished paying Dobelle for those years, UH officials have said.

He currently serves as president of the New England Board of Higher Education, a consortium that serves public and independent colleges, universities and graduate schools in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Westfield State College was founded in 1839 by Horace Mann. It is one of nine state colleges in Massachusetts.

Maureen H. Powers, former dean of students at Stanford University, and Michael Gargano Jr., vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, were also finalists for the job, according to the college.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Make a difference. Donate to The Advertiser Christmas Fund.