DRAFT RESOLUTION #1: Opposed to the UARC proposal
- WHEREAS, the university is, fundamentally, a community of
scholars that joins in a commitment to inquiry, learning, and teaching
and that is governed by the highest ethical standards and humane
values; and
- WHEREAS, the proposed UARC would establish an institutional
relationship with the DoD that is structurally different than the
current one; and
- WHEREAS, this relationship is inconsistent with provisions in
the published mission statement of the University; and
- WHEREAS, the UARC would increase the level of classified
research at UHM, and the Faculty Senate has resolved that
publication-restricted research not be supported at UHM; and
- WHEREAS, research requiring security clearance impedes free
inquiry and creates two classes of researchers, affecting faculty,
students, and staff, and effectively restricting access to funding to
those who are approved by a non-university body; and
- WHEREAS, the UARC structure carries with it unusual contractual
encumbrance which has neither been sufficiently well understood by the
university community, nor as well explained to would-be participants
as it ought to have been; and
- WHEREAS, the proponents of the UARC have not made a persuasive
case that costs of the proposal to UH are outweighed by benefits to
the University, especially to faculty and academic units already part
of the University; and
- WHEREAS, UHM does not have a felicitous record of success with
costly new projects, especially projects for which the primary
rationale is increased revenue; and
- WHEREAS, the establishment of a UARC is strongly opposed by
several stakeholder groups, including ASUH, the Kualii Council, and
some DoD-supported faculty; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate opposes the UARC proposal and urges that the
Chancellor recommend that it not be approved.