David Lassner says he hopes to help re-establish trust in the University of Hawaii while touting its accomplishments in his new role as interim president of the 10-campus system.
Lassner, 58, has worked at UH since 1977 in various technical and management roles that culminated with his creating and leading the university’s first systemwide information technology support organization. Since 2007 he has served as UH’s first vice president for information technology and chief information officer.
"I am incredibly honored to be asked to do this for an institution that has been my home since 1977," Lassner said Tuesday afternoon, shortly after UH’s Board of Regents unanimously voted to approve his appointment, effective Sept. 1.
Lassner will take the reins from President M.R.C. Greenwood, who announced in May that she will retire Aug. 31 to spend more time with family and deal with health issues. Her contract, after an extension in 2011, was set to expire July 31, 2015.
Greenwood’s announced departure came nearly a year after UH became embroiled in the so-called "Wonder blunder" from a botched Stevie Wonder concert that shook public confidence in the university’s leadership and spurred questions about its operations and accountability.
"It’s an opportunity and, after what UH has gone through, probably an obligation to serve UH and Hawaii," Lassner said of his new position. "I think we do have healing to do, and that probably starts with listening and establishing trust that people’s concerns were heard."
He said he wants to highlight UH’s accomplishments.
"I think the university does a bunch of wonderful things — we graduate students, we do great research, we’re working hard to improve the lives of people in every community — and that’s what I hope to spend most of my time focusing on," he told reporters. "That said, I think we have to be straightforward, I think we have to do what we say we’re going to do and we really have to communicate pretty relentlessly about positive things going on rather than dwell on things that have happened in the past."
Lassner said he supports the agenda regents have set for moving UH forward, including boosting the state’s educational capacity, increasing scholarships, helping diversify the economy and being a responsible steward of public resources.
J.N. Musto, head of UH’s faculty union, was the only person to testify at Tuesday’s meeting. He called Lassner "a good choice" and said he hopes Lassner will be proactive in negotiating a new labor contract with the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly. The union’s six-year contract ends in 2015.
Several regents described Lassner as an unconventional choice given his primarily technology-related background, but added that he genuinely cares about UH.
Regents Vice Chairman James Lee, who was on the committee that reviewed interim candidates, said, "As indicated by his 37 years of dedicated association with the University of Hawaii, Dr. Lassner’s heart is at the University of Hawaii."
Greenwood added, "He does what he says he’ll do, and he does it well."
Chairman John Holzman described Lassner as "enormously talented," sincere and humble.
Holzman said the board can now turn its attention to finding a permanent president, a process he says could take six to 10 months.
Several regents have indicated a preference that any interim appointee not be eligible for the permanent position. Lassner said he will not apply for the permanent post.
He will receive a salary increase of about 30 percent to $325,008 a year — the same amount approved for interim President David McClain when he was appointed in 2004 but less than the $475,000 salary Greenwood was paid at her hiring in 2009.
Lassner said he will not be paid a housing allowance or move into College Hill, the historic Manoa mansion that has been the residence of past UH presidents. (UH pays Greenwood a $5,000 monthly housing allowance that was intended to be temporary because College Hill was being renovated when she was hired.)
A native of Connecticut, Lassner received his doctorate in communication and information sciences from UH-Manoa in 1998. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
