Far more people than the University of Hawaii community need to be worried about the desperate financial straits in which the university now finds itself.

In fact, the entire state depends on the health of the university system to a degree that is usually understated. If the state is to build a robust economy for the future, there must be a well-educated workforce and a vibrant university faculty to attract research grants that can make new industries a reality.

What's even more disturbing than this distant challenge, however, is the immediate crisis: The state budget deficit continues to widen and the negotiation for a contract covering the members of the faculty union, the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, seems as troubled as ever.

UHPA members recently voted down the UH administration's "last, best offer," which included a 5 percent pay cut. And according to UH President M.R.C. Greenwood, the two sides are still far apart.

This chasm simply must be bridged — and soon. The longer the impasse drags on without resolution, the less time that remains in the budget year to accrue any savings from a settlement. That's sure to make the cuts larger and even more painful. Waiting it out is clearly poor strategy in this case. And the prospect of a bailout — from changes in tax policy or by spending the rainy-day fund or other emergency caches — appears unlikely.

There are simply too many claims on resources and a lack of political will at the Capitol to count on that. The pressure is already on to spare public school students from at least some of the planned furlough days in the coming academic year. Other unknowns could add further fiscal strain, including what's expected to be continuing shrinkage in state revenue.

Meanwhile, the UH administration is poised to begin budget cutting. The public can only hope that this process proceeds with deliberation. Rather than reduction through across-the-board cuts, the university administration and programs need to be restructured according to a matrix based on its strengths and the needs of the state.

This is a discussion that needs to be transparent, with an eye toward reinforcing programs that can best help the state realize its preferred future.

But none of that can have any chance of success without a settlement to the university's festering labor dispute.

If Hawaii is to avoid a panicked deconstruction of its principal higher-education institution, the pace toward accord must be quickened, now.