The presentations are not being live-streamed but will be made available to the public for viewing. Thank you for your interest.

Update—Each candidate’s public presentation will be made accessible on the chancellor search website following the last candidate’s presentation.

I would like to preface my comment by acknowledging the work of the search committee–they have a difficult task.

However, I do want to state my concern that our searches for executive leadership at the system and campus levels are sadly notorious for not valuing our “local” and proven expertise. The recent list of finalists for the Mānoa chancellorship is a good illustration of this. It is a sad commentary that there is, apparently, NO ONE from our community who has the expertise to lead our flagship institution.

I am also concerned that we continue to conduct searches that do not invite any input from faculty, the community, and other stakeholders during the initial screening rounds. We are, after all, a land, sea, and space grant institution. Local knowledge/input is critical.

IT IS WITH THIS IN MIND THAT I CALL FOR A LIST OF FINALISTS THAT DIGS DEEPER INTO THE APPLICANT POOL.

There is nothing to be lost by offering up well qualified candidates with “local” knowledge (along with those already selected).

With this in mind, we need to consider candidates (especially with experiences at the executive level of administration) who are
* intimately familiar with campus leadership,
* understand the needs of our community, and
* able to balance Manoa’s responsibilities (in terms of research, teaching, and service) at the local, national, and international levels.

As an alumna of Mānoa and a faculty member of twenty years, I strongly believe that we have everything to gain from appointing someone who is familiar with the unique ways of Hawai’i.

I am interested in learning if others feel the same way. Please add your comments (whether supportive or not).