Several months of active searching and nearly 600 candidates later, two people have emerged as top contenders to replace David McClain as the president of the University of Hawai'i's 10-campus system.

But enthusiasm may have been dampened last week over a blemish in one candidate's administrative background and the withdrawal of the third finalist.

The head of the university's faculty union said he is disappointed that someone with a better understanding of Hawai'i didn't emerge as a top candidate and concerned that the search committee wasn't formed until October, even though it was common knowledge that McClain's contract was set to expire July 30.

"Is this all we're to expect?" said J.N. Musto, executive director of the University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly. "How did the process run through? It got a very slow start any way you would cut it."

Others say there has been progress in the selection process compared to years past — notably, the 2001 selection of ousted UH President Evan Dobelle in a largely secretive process; and the 2006 decision by the UH Board of Regents to scrap a national search and select McClain.

"These (two finalists) are very well-qualified candidates. The process was quite comprehensive, starting with contacts of 500 possible candidates and a narrowing down by an outstanding selection advisory committee," said Al Landon, chairman of the Board of Regents and chairman and CEO of Bank of Hawaii.

After 14 finalists were interviewed in April, three top contenders emerged:

• M.R.C. Greenwood, the longtime chancellor of the University of California-Santa Cruz who rose to become provost of the UC system. She resigned from the post after two years amid allegations of favoritism in her hiring practices and an ethics investigation.

• Robert J. Jones, the senior vice president for system administration for the University of Minnesota and an internationally acclaimed expert on plant physiology.

• A third candidate, whose name was never released, who withdrew Wednesday in part because of concerns about participating in a public process.

CRITICAL QUESTIONS

While no one is questioning the experience of Greenwood or Jones, there have been questions: Why is there no candidate with local ties among the finalists? And why is UH considering a nominee whose administrative career ended amid an investigation?

Greenwood, an expert on obesity and diabetes, is currently director of the Foods for Health Initiative at the University of California-Davis. She was chancellor at UC-Santa Cruz from 1996 to 2004 then appointed provost, the second highest position in the university's administration.

Greenwood was highly regarded during her time at UC-Santa Cruz, increasing the number of academic programs by 52 percent, with a 41 percent increase in graduate programs; hiring 250 new faculty members; and more than doubling extramural research support.

But according to reports by The San Francisco Chronicle, her administrative career unraveled in 2005 when UC launched an investigation of her hiring practices and involvement in the promotion of a friend, UC-Santa Cruz Vice Provost Lynda Goff.

The investigation was prompted by reports in the Chronicle that Greenwood and Goff were business partners who owned rental property together.

ACTIONS EXPLAINED

Also under investigation was the hiring of Greenwood's son, James Greenwood, for a position on the UC-Merced campus. At the time, a senior administrator at Merced was put on administrative leave as the university's general counsel conducted an investigation of Greenwood's involvement in the hiring of her son.

As the investigation was launched, Greenwood resigned from her position as provost. She declined requests for comment by reporters.

UC's general counsel later found Greenwood violated the university's conflict-of-interest policy by participating in the hiring and promotion of her business partner, regardless of her qualifications for the jobs. The investigation also said she should have recused herself from the hiring of her friend.

Greenwood maintains that their rental property was sold and the business partnership annulled prior to Goff's hiring. But, she said, recording errors made it appear that the business partnership was still active.

"When she was going to be hired in the office of the president, the property was sold and the partnership was dissolved," Greenwood said Tuesday during an editorial board meeting at The Honolulu Advertiser.

Greenwood said the position was advertised and a "legitimately set up search committee" interviewed and made a unanimous recommendation to hire Goff, who was a UC-Santa Cruz faculty member.

"I attended none of the meetings. I saw none of the applications. I just got a unanimous recommendation," she said.

Greenwood said she resigned from her position as provost not because of the accusations but because she "could no longer support the president."

At the time, Greenwood said that the UC system was under scrutiny from the press over the high salaries and bonuses for administrators. She said she disagreed with the president's handling of that situation.

UH presidential selection chairwoman Donna Tanoue said Greenwood was forthcoming about the circumstances, and that the UH search committee conducted "extensive due diligence" and feels both Greenwood and Jones are highly qualified.

Tanoue cited several areas where Greenwood stands out:

• She's an elected member of the Institute of Medicine, whose members are elected on the basis of their professional achievement. "The total membership worldwide is 1,600 individuals and there are only two members from the UH system in this Institute of Medicine," Tanoue said.

• Greenwood has served for six years on the National Science Board, the governing body of the U.S. National Science Foundation. "The 24 members of that board are appointed by the president on the basis of their preeminence in research education and science. To date, no one from the UH system has been honored by appointment to that board," Tanoue said.

JONES DUE HERE

The second candidate for president, Robert Jones, is expected to make public visits to UH campuses on O'ahu and Neighbor Islands next week.

An internationally renowned authority on plant physiology and the author of more than 100 scientific papers, Jones has had an administrative career at the University of Minnesota that spans 18 years. He is currently senior vice president for system administration.

"When the search firm contacted me, it was very clear that this was a job that aligned very closely with my current administrative experiences," Jones said in a telephone interview.

"I have a sense of the challenges that are ahead for the University of Hawai'i system."

Tanoue said UH would be lucky to have either Jones or Greenwood.

"Both are incredibly passionate educators and academic leaders with very distinguished academic credentials and records of leadership," Tanoue said.

DOBELLE'S SELECTION

Some at UH refuse to accept that the blemish on Greenwood's resume is minor.

"When you have a stain like this on somebody's record, I don't think we take that person," said John Cole, chairman of the humanities department at Hawai'i Community College.

Cole has e-mailed the advisory committee saying that Greenwood's candidacy brings back memories from the Dobelle years.

"President Dobelle came out here and hired lots of friends. ... That attitude of, 'I'm the boss and I'm going to hire people' is a scary attitude in the context of Hawai'i," Cole said.

During his first several months at the university, Dobelle hired two former associates to be chief financial officer and vice president of external affairs. Their annual salaries were set at $227,000 and $184,000, respectively.

Dobelle became UH's 12th president in July 2001 after a largely closed-door selection process, and was hired at a salary of some $442,000.

The current selection process is much more open than it was during the Dobelle hiring, said Dan Boylan, professor of humanities and history at UH-West O'ahu, who sat on the Dobelle selection committee.

"There was criticism of our last search, the one I was involved in, that it wasn't public enough," Boylan said.

"It's a very difficult thing. We interviewed eight people on the advisory list, then we ended up with a choice that I think everyone thought was a good choice at the time. I don't think he lasted two years, three years. It was very uncomfortable," Boylan said.

But there are drawbacks to a public search, like the withdrawal of the third finalist Wednesday partly because of concerns about the open process.

Good candidates are often reluctant to participate in a process that requires them to be seen campaigning for a job, said Sen. Norman Sakamoto.

"I'm not sure if more people might have been interested if it were not such an open process. There are pluses and minuses with the transparency. If someone is currently, say, heading another university, perhaps they wouldn't want to be openly seeking another job and jeopardizing their relationships," Sakamoto said.

LOCAL CANDIDATES

Those involved with the search have also fielded questions on whether a local candidate was ever considered.

Tanoue was not willing to divulge how many of the 14 finalists were local or have local ties.

"I prefer not to say. What I would say is that we considered candidates from all across the country, including Hawai'i. And from the start we had a commitment to transparency and openness to the extent possible, but we need to maintain the confidentiality about the candidates," Tanoue said.

Executive search firm Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, which was paid $100,000, contacted more than 500 candidates. The committee also considered 90 nominees and 78 applicants. Each of the 14 finalists was interviewed in person in Hawai'i in April, Tanoue said, with expenses paid for by the university.

Sakamoto said that while Mainland candidates should be considered, local candidates are often ready to understand Hawai'i's unique culture and political landscape. "Someone with local relationships or local understanding would be able to hit the ground running," he said.

The faculty union's Musto said transitioning to Hawai'i can be difficult. Newcomers often find it hard to adapt and leave within a few years, he said.

"It was my notion that we should be able to find someone that brings unique skills and understanding of the situation here in Hawai'i," he said. "I don't think people are appreciating how important that is."

McClain was a finalist in 2001 when Dobelle was hired.

"McClain in our search didn't have much of a shot at all. One of the problems with all local guys is that everybody knows them. You've got people who just dismiss them," Boylan said.