University of Hawaii President David Lassner is recommending longtime university executive Doris Ching to lead the UH-West Oahu campus on an interim basis after the scheduled retirement of Rockne Freitas at the end of the year.

The Board of Regents is expected to consider the interim appointment — and a $200,004 recommended salary — at its monthly meeting Thursday. Freitas earns $247,344 a year.

Ching, a former middle school teacher, began her career at UH in 1969 as an associate professor of education. She was later named associate dean of the College of Education at UH-Manoa and also served as assistant to the system president. Ching was the first woman appointed as a vice president at the university when in 1987 she was named vice president for student affairs for UH-Manoa and the 10-campus system. She retired in 2005.

Ching returned to UH earlier this year to serve as interim vice chancellor for academic affairs, or chief academic officer, at UH-West Oahu, where she earns $160,080 a year.

Lassner said in a statement that when he asked UH-West Oahu students, faculty, administrators and community supporters for recommendations for the chancellor post, "each and every group I talked with enthusiastically supported Dr. Doris Ching for the position." He added, "I am exceedingly grateful that she is willing to take on one more important role to serve UH."

Lassner said the Board of Regents has authorized him to begin the search for a permanent chancellor, which he expects will take six to nine months. "I believe we can have a new chancellor in place for the fall 2016 semester," he said.

He will be naming a search advisory committee to help conduct a nationwide search.

Freitas, who was named chancellor of West Oahu in mid-2013, announced in August that he plans to retire Dec. 31, following a nearly 23-year career in leadership roles with UH, including as chancellor of Hawaii Community College.

The UH-West Oahu campus serves approximately 2,700 students at its Kapolei campus, which opened in 2012. Established in 1976, the college previously operated out of portables next to Leeward Community College. It is the only UH campus that has posted enrollment gains in each of the past five years, but the double-digit growth seen in previous years — as much as 20 percent — slowed to a 1.4 percent increase for the current fall semester.