The University of Hawaii’s handling of a botched Stevie Wonder benefit concert and its fallout made a bad situation worse, tarnished the institution’s image and left the public raising questions about the credibility of UH leaders, according to several legislators and onlookers.
A number of state lawmakers said there could be long-term consequences from the fiasco, and the university will no doubt have to explain its decisions in the upcoming legislative session.
Some have suggested the situation could bode poorly for UH when it heads to the Legislature asking that funding cuts be restored; others say the debacle could hamper UH fundraising efforts.
"This is definitely going to have a long-lasting effect all the way around for the university," said state Rep. James Tokioka (D, Wailua-Koloa), one of nine neighbor island legislators who expressed concern about the university’s handling of the concert fallout in a letter to the Board of Regents on Wednesday. The UH president and BOR, he said, "need to look in the mirror and say, ‘What responsibility did we have for this?’"
State Rep. Mark Takai (D, Newtown-Pearl City), who has been highly critical of the university’s decision to reassign UH athletic director Jim Donovan in the wake of the concert mess, said UH’s handling of the canceled concert has left many calling for more transparency.
"Mishandling might be too kind a word," Takai said of the university’s response. "They’re spinning this thing and a lot of people are getting dizzy. It’s like they think we’re dumb."
What is being described as a major image problem comes as UH pours new energy into systemwide public relations efforts, expanding online video content and its social media presence as part of a public relations overhaul that spurred several high-profile hires earlier this year.
Given the new initiative, some UH watchers were taken aback after several episodes in recent weeks that appeared to show a university unsure of how to tackle a growing crisis. In one example, on Aug. 13, UH-Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple held a news conference in which he praised Donovan highly for his performance as athletic director while outlining Donovan’s reassignment to a yet-to-be-named position.
"The bottom line is they just come across looking incompetent," said Robert Cooney, past chairman of the UH-Manoa Faculty Senate.
After a more than seven-hour closed-door Board of Regents session Wednesday, UH President M.R.C. Greenwood acknowledged that UH could have handled fallout from the bungled concert better, including by being more open about what UH knew and how it would proceed.
"I do believe we made mistakes in communicating the situation we were in and the issues we were facing," she said. "We are very, very sorry. This has been a really bad episode for the University of Hawaii, our fans and for the public."
But Greenwood also emphasized that UH appears to have been a victim of a $200,000 fraud in the ill-fated concert, planned for Aug. 18. And she defended the decision to put Donovan on leave and subsequently reassign him as part of a settlement agreement — actions the regents also supported.
"We made mistakes, but good people made mistakes. We can’t ignore these mistakes because it did endanger the institution, but we have to go back and say, ‘How could this have happened and what could we change so that it can’t happen again?’" she said.
The planned wonder concert was canceled July 10, a day after representatives of the singer told UH that he had not been scheduled to appear at the benefit. The FBI is investigating the whereabouts of $200,000 in UH money wired as a deposit for the event.
In the wake of the concert’s cancellation, UH put Donovan and Stan Sheriff Center manager Rich Sheriff on administrative leave. Four weeks later, UH cleared Sheriff and Donovan of wrongdoing and said Sheriff was to be reinstated while Donovan was to be reassigned. The reassignment set off a new wave of anger, with several legislators questioning why Donovan was being moved if he did nothing wrong. Donovan’s athletic director contract expires March 23.
In a scathing July 16 letter, Donovan attorney David Simons accused UH of scapegoating the former athletic director and sullying his reputation. In an Aug. 11 response, which Greenwood described as a "settlement," Apple outlined Donovan’s reassignment to a position where he will earn $211,200 a year under a three-year contract. In accepting the deal, Donovan agreed not to sue. UH also paid attorney’s fees for Donovan, which totaled $30,000.
Greenwood said Wednesday that Donovan’s working — but not final — title is "director of external affairs and community relations." His duties have been described as including marketing and communications.
The creation of the position, which at least in part is tied to the public relations arm at UH, has raised additional questions about how the university can justify the high-paid job even as it continues to tighten its belt in other ways. It is also shining a spotlight on the overhaul of a UH function that prefers to be behind the story.
Earlier this year, as part of a redesign of its system-level public relations operations, UH hired three former TV news people — two former journalists and a videographer. The overhaul is aimed at better telling the university’s story through online video and social media.
Hired were: former TV reporter and state Department of Transportation spokesman Dan Meisenzahl, who was named director of media production (with annual pay of $103,584); former KITV television anchor and reporter Jodi Leong, director of communications (with a pay range of $54,528-$138,288); and videographer Cliff Watson (with a pay range of $44,724-$113,000)
Lynne Waters, associate vice president of UH external affairs and university relations and also a former TV reporter, argues the overhaul has ultimately saved money at the system level, has redirected resources to video and digital platforms and has allowed for better communication among public relations offices across campuses.
It’s unclear whether Donovan will have any role in the revamped public relations operations.
But Takai and other legislators said UH will have to eventually justify the creation of Donovan’s position — and make clear how it fits in with other efforts to beef up the university’s marketing arm. Takai, a member of the House Higher Education Committee who has criticized the university’s spending on administrative positions, said Donovan’s new job raises many questions, not least of which is whether the position is actually needed.
"It’s still not clear what it is," he said.
He added, "There was no advertising of the position … no search process or screening process. For a position that pays that much money, you would expect the university would do that."
Sen. Jill Tokuda, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, agreed that the university will need to explain why the new position was necessary.
"When it comes to the creation of positions, the main question for the Legislature is, ‘Are you going to be able to sustain it from a funding perspective?’" she said. "They are going to have to, like every other department every year, justify financial decisions that were made and how that fits into the overall budget picture."
The UH faculty union said it is concerned the handling of the Wonder concert and Donovan’s reassignment will spur "legislative scrutiny of all UH funding," which could ultimately hurt students and faculty.
"The long-term implications of when we have incidents like this is a loss of confidence in the leadership and management of the institution," said Kristeen Hanselman, associate executive director of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly.
Tokuda also said that perhaps the biggest tragedy of the concert fiasco is it has diverted attention from the big gains UH has made in improving access and boosting graduation rates.
"For all the gains they made, it’s the stumbles that are noted," she said.
In this case, UH is not only dealing with an embarrassing series of mistakes that led up to the failed benefit, but with a host of people who are angry, concerned or disappointed over how university administrators dealt with the situation.
"They have made it very hard for those of us who love the university to defend it," said Kem Lowry, UH professor emeritus in urban and regional planning, adding that he was especially concerned with the university’s lack of transparency after the failed concert.
Lowry also said Greenwood’s admission on Wednesday that "mistakes were made" was too little, too late. "If they would have done that very quickly, if someone had taken responsibility … I think they would have had a lot more credibility," he said.
The image problem, he added, could be bad for the "kind of support we need for our instructional activities and everything else."
Cooney, who remains on the executive committee of Manoa’s Faculty Senate, said the situation has also reignited questions about who is leading UH-Manoa — the chancellor or the system president.
Cooney added that in the wake of the debacle, there appears to be a lack of accountability among UH leadership. "If I make a mistake, you can bet they’re going to hold me accountable," he said.
Thomas Mui, a Honolulu attorney who in recent years has helped clients donate big sums to athletics programs, fears the Wonder concert and its fallout have soured lawmakers’ perceptions of UH.
He said he hopes the concert mess won’t deter future private donations to UH athletics. Still, he said of UH, "I wish they would get their act together."
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