Does the University of Hawaii even need a new president?
That’s the argument being raised by the university’s faculty union — the University of Hawaii Professional Association. UHPA has for years urged UH to overhaul its governance structure, including eliminating the president’s post, so it can better manage its finances and establish clearer, more efficient lines of authority.
UHPA leaders and other critics say the current structure, which includes one university-wide president and a chancellor for each of the 10 campuses, is a recipe for dysfunction. They cite vague relationships among the president, chancellors and Board of Regents and “administrative redundancy,” among other systemic flaws.
J.N. Musto, UHPA’s executive director, says the delegation of tasks, such as oversight and control of the athletics program, is muddled, often making it confusing as to which administrator is accountable for specific duties.
“The paradigm in management is you can delegate authority but you can’t delegate responsibility,” he said. “That’s worked the other way around here.”
