A draft contract between the U.S. Navy and the University of Hawai'i for a controversial university affiliated research center is expected to be released today for the review of the UH-Manoa faculty senate and other concerned parties, according to UH officials.

Gary Ostrander, vice chancellor for research and graduate education, who has been participating in negotiations with the Navy, would not divulge details of the contract other than to say it would be posted on the UH-Manoa Web site today.

"It's a government contract. It deals with everything from significant issues like publication and trivial issues like how things have to be addressed when you send them," Ostrander said.

Calvin Pang, a member of the faculty senate committee that will review the contract, said yesterday that the faculty has requested at least six weeks for review.

"It (the contract) will be the public's first look at how the Navy views all of this," Pang said.

Up until now, Pang said the faculty's only understanding of the university affiliated research center, or UARC, has come from the administration.

UH officials have said that the center could bring in an estimated $50 million in research funding, but the proposal has generated considerable opposition on campus. Opponents fear that the research could involve development of military weapons, and Native Hawaiian students in particular objected because they said it represents a stronger military presence in Hawai'i. A weeklong sit-in of the UH president's office ended in May after interim President David McClain promised the opposition a full discussion of UARC.

If the contract is approved, UH-Manoa would be the fifth Navy UARC in the country.

Ostrander said the Navy and UH had 96 points of differences during contract negotiations and all but one or two minor points have been ironed out.

When posted, the contract will still be missing those few minor points, he said.

"We're still trying to see if we can get at least one of those points worked out so we can have a more complete document," Ostrander said. "It's nothing that is going to stop people from being able to evaluate," he said.

A public hearing and consideration of UARC has been pushed back by at least a month as the faculty senate and others take time to review the contract and the business management plan, which has been presented to faculty members.

University officials had tentatively planned to hold a public hearing on UARC on Wednesday, but the UH-Manoa faculty senate had asked for more time to review the business management plan and the contract, said Jim Manke, UH-Manoa spokesman. The faculty senate's role is advisory.

Once the faculty senate has taken action on UARC, the interim UH-Manoa chancellor, Denise Konan, would make a recommendation to McClain, who would then send the proposal for Board of Regents consideration, said Manke. Final authority rests with the regents.

In reviewing the documents, Sara Rutter, chair of the ad hoc faculty senate committee on UARC, said she would be looking for very specific things in order to "understand what the structure of UARC will be."

"One of the issues is that UARC is integrated into the campus, rather than a separate facility," Rutter said.

Rutter said some are wondering what sharing laboratory space will mean for faculty members involved with UARC. "We're very concerned about the dual use of equipment. So you buy equipment with UARC contract money — can you use it for other research?" she said.

Personnel issues also need to be clarified, she said. For instance, if a staff member is hired for the UARC contract, can that person also be employed to work on other research grants?

Rutter said many faculty members also are concerned about publishing rights for research.

"I know that Vice Chancellor (Kathy) Cutshaw has been working really hard to give as much publication rights to the researcher," Rutter said.

Pang said he also is interested in how much leeway will be outlined in the contract for publication of research. The administration has said in its negotiation that it would try to maintain those rights for researchers, he said.

"Whether it has been successful, it remains to be seen," Pang said.

Some faculty members are also concerned about negotiating "task orders" — research requests from the Navy, Pang said.

"I'd be interested to see how far the Navy is going to go in letting us shape what these orders are going to look like," Pang said. He said the work requests would have to meet both the Navy interests and the mission and values of UH-Manoa.

Joel Fischer, professor of social work at UH-Manoa and member of the Save UH/Stop UARC Coalition, said no matter what the contract says, the military research center does not fit into the school's mission.

"If the university accepts this UARC it is no longer a university," Fischer said.

While he said his opinion could not be swayed by terms of the contract, Fischer said he is interested in how publication rights will be outlined.

"We will be examining the contract to highlight the dangers, the risks and other possible contradictions in the contract that are in opposition to what a university should be," Fischer said.

Manoa Faculty Senate Chair Robert Bley-Vroman said the earliest any action can be taken by the faculty senate on the UARC would be Oct. 19 at the senate meeting.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.