As she prepares to end her tenure as the University of Hawaii’s 14th president, M.R.C. Greenwood said she is still trying to figure out how consequences from a botched Stevie Wonder benefit concert grew into "a full investigation of all the things the university does."

The university’s handling of the matter spurred a Senate investigation, prompted audits and dominated her time during the last year, amid mounting critiques of university operations under her leadership.

During the past legislative session, she was rarely present at hearings, unusual for the head of an institution trying to fight for more money, deflect changes to university procurement and counter criticism of UH executive salaries.

Her relative absence from the public eye in recent months has spurred even those who support Greenwood to agree that she had to go, that she could no longer effectively lead.

Greenwood, 70, announced May 6 that she will retire in September, though her contract runs through July 31, 2015.

She emphasized the decision was not linked to the Wonder concert. Rather, she cited her health and the opportunity to spend more time with family.

In an interview with the Star-Advertiser in her Bachman Hall offices last week, Greenwood was both defensive and apologetic, upbeat and a little resigned.

She said the concert debacle took away the state’s focus from the good things the university does every day, and from key initiatives she’s proud of, including efforts to boost graduation rates and attract more Native Hawaiian students to the 10 campuses.

Wearing a navy blue blazer and sipping decaffeinated coffee, Greenwood said she was also surprised at the level of vitriol she has encountered in the last several months.

A state Senate investigative panel grilled Greenwood, the Board of Regents and others about the concert and its aftermath, including the reassignment of former athletic director Jim Donovan.

"I think a lot of people were taken by surprise about the lack of respect with which they were treated," she said. "Folks don’t get to the positions that our regents are in, or for that matter that I’m in, because we’re idiots. We’ve worked really hard, and we’ve tried to do our best. And if we’re not able to answer questions properly in a particular moment, we have to be given an opportunity."

Greenwood added that in the wake of the concert debacle, the university has provided 15,000 to 20,000 pages of documents in response to legislative questions.

The concert was to have been a benefit for the university’s cash-strapped athletic department but cost the school more than $200,000 in an alleged scam. The debacle began in July when Donovan announced the event would not take place because the pop star and his representative had not authorized it.

Greenwood said while any institution needs improvement, UH is doing a good job.

"We’ve gotten through the worst recession in the nation’s history," she said. "We’ve accommodated more students than ever. I think there’s a lot to be proud of, and I do think that got lost in the discussions this year."

Even from her detractors, Greenwood has received praise for steering several major projects to completion, including the UH Cancer Center and the West Oahu campus, for shining a light on the economic engine that is UH and for getting more students to graduation day.

But at least in the short run, it’s likely that Greenwood’s presidency will be synonymous with the Wonder blunder, which shook public confidence in UH governance and tarnished its reputation.

Big questions about university operations spurred lawmakers to try to curtail UH’s power, including in procurement and contracting.

One measure, House Bill 114, which takes away the university president’s authority to serve as "chief procurement officer" for new construction projects, is on the governor’s desk.

Greenwood said the change, if made law, won’t be "fatal" to UH construction projects, but it will slow them down. Overall, she said, in the wake of the legislative session, "we’re certainly not better off."

Despite the problems, Greenwood is optimistic about her last months in the presidency and about the mark she made on UH.

She said her last four years at the institution have been "really terrific."

"I am genuinely sorry for many of the things that were said and done," she said. "But this is an institution to be very, very proud of, and I think by and large it is run competently. I think people should hold on to that and help us get better rather than trying to find places to grab on and try to unravel us."