Senate Committee on Higher Education and the Arts
Thursday, February 5, 2015
2:00 p.m.

SB 1240, Proposing a Constitutional Amendment to Article X, Section 6, of the Hawaii State Constitution to Modify the Appointment Process for the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii.

Dear Chairperson Taniguchi and Committee Members:

On behalf of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, our union supports the repeal of the candidate advisory council for the Board of Regents through a constitutional amendment. We believe the current system used to select members of the Board of Regents has become so onerous that many outstanding citizens, who would have made excellent Board of Regents, are not willing to submit to the advisory council process. In the past, UHPA opposed the current approach and has continued to do so believing it did not represent the interests of the faculty nor the institution itself.

We believe that the Governor should have the authority to nominate and appoint Board of Regent members on their own volition. The Governor, in order to be accountable to the people, should not be limited in his or her choices through a restricted list garnered by an advisory committee. Senate consent is the correct mechanism to ensure the appropriateness of the appointment.

The University of Hawaii Professional Assembly strongly recommends passage of this bill.

Respectively submitted,

Kristeen Hanselman
Associate Executive Director