I write this with a heavy heart and the distinct hope that all working for the interests of the University of Hawaii will listen to the voices of faculty, lecturers, staff and students to fulfill the promise of the university. This promise is that we must work together to prepare the next generation of Hawaii’s leaders to be ethical, empathetic humans who can build and participate in a vibrant society and diversified economy.
This task is even more urgent with the current economic crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic. At this juncture, we must prioritize the voice and security of those on the front lines. As the saying goes: “The teachers’ working conditions are the students’ learning conditions.”
UH Board of Regents (BOR) Chairman Benjamin Kudo recently put forth a resolution that sought to authorize the UH administration “to utilize whatever available means it has to reduce the operating costs and expenses of the university, including but not limited to, reduction-in-force, furloughs, retrenchment, freeze or reduction in remuneration, etc.” in light of the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He wrote an accompanying letter urging Gov. David Ige to attempt to defer faculty pay increases that the Legislature has already approved and budgeted. In response to a letter of protest signed by approximately 800 students, staff and faculty; nearly 1,000 testimonies of opposition; a strongly worded memo from the UH Professional Assembly (UHPA); and collaboration between UHPA, Academic Labor United, and the Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA), the BOR withdrew the letter to Ige and deferred the resolution at its July 16 meeting.
I find it troubling that the UH regents are attempting to centralize more and more power into the hands of the UH administration at the expense of professors, staff and students. They sought to achieve this by circumventing collective bargaining agreements and failing to consult with faculty. Their recent move to defer already negotiated faculty salary increases while their same meeting agenda tried to approve an $20,000-plus monthly salary for an administrator was an outrageous insult.
The “emergency” powers measure proposed by the BOR essentially attempts to grant the administration carte blanche in firing faculty, cutting programs and departments, and reducing our pay. The BOR and administration should approach faculty as partners who are doing the critical day-to-day work of educating our ‘opio, engaging in cutting-edge research, and serving our university and community.
If we approach education as a public good, then we must also work for the betterment of our society and economy by uplifting the voices and experiences of teachers and scholars. Faculty, staff, lecturers and students must have input in the decision-making process.
The University of Hawaii serves as a center of innovation. We must draw from the work of faculty who are planning and building a green future, expanded health care, and a diversified economy that moves away from our reliance on tourism. This emergency proclamation shows that the BOR is out of step with the grinding and visionary efforts that we undertake daily.
I moved home to Hawaii to serve my community through one of the best public universities in the Pacific. I reject any measures that harm faculty in the hope that my colleagues and I can have a chance to stay and continue to work for a better future for our islands and our world.
Laurel Mei-Singh is an assistant professor of ethnic studies at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.
