The entire human resources staff at Kapiolani Community College has left the school, and recruitment is underway to fill the five-person office.
"Obviously you would prefer that there would be less of an abrupt transition, but it happens sometimes, and we’re able to manage it," said John Morton, vice president for community colleges at the University of Hawaii.
"This is not something we initiated, and so we’re making sure the processing, getting the faculty hired for the fall, and everything else that moves through that office, goes smoothly," he said. "We play with the cards we’re dealt."
Asked what was behind the sudden exodus, he said the administration had not triggered the departures, and "I can’t speak to the choices that individuals were making."
With 9,000 students, Kapiolani is the second-largest campus in the UH system. Its HR office already had two vacancies when its director, Eileen Torigoe, retired effective May 1. The other two permanent staff members left at the end of last month, along with a casual hire who had been filling one vacancy.
KCC Chancellor Leon Richards announced the departures in an email to faculty on May 1, stating that "on Friday, April 26, 2013, the College was informed of the retirement and/or the transfer of all HR staff starting May 1, 2013."
Staff from the UH community colleges vice president’s office have kept the office running, with help from employees of other community colleges. The human resources office at KCC was closed May 7 and 8 to deal with backlogged personnel work. One KCC employee who resigned agreed to delay his departure to help with the transition, Morton said.
"My central staff has gone over to help during the transition," Morton said. "We’ve also brought two people out of retirement to help us temporarily."
The college has advertised for a new human resources manager and human resources specialist, with a closing date of Monday. Another posting for a human resources specialist has a June 4 deadline, and the other two positions will be listed for recruitment soon, according to Milton Higa, vice chancellor for administrative services at the college.
"There are a number of vacancies that occurred simultaneously," Higa said. "It kind of put us in a bind in terms of continuity of service in the office."
In a farewell email to some of her colleagues, Torigoe said "while the timing may seem sudden, I assure you that the decision was not." She thanked her staff for "their support, toughness, friendship, perseverance, facing sometimes overwhelming adversity and odds."
"To clear the air and the rumors, when I informed my staff that I was reaching that crossroad, they were faced with the same career decision — a decision no one can make for them, each one made their own decision — the timing was not planned," Torigoe wrote.
"I leave with the hope that one day there will be understanding that it’s because of one or two people or one or two departments," she concluded.
Efforts to contact her and other former staffers were unsuccessful. One employee is headed to another position elsewhere in the university and another has found a different job, Higa said.
Kapiolani faculty reached by the Star-Advertiser said they were in the dark on the rationale for the mass departure and would not speculate publicly. One expressed relief, saying, "Why did it take so long?" Another suggested the office was overwhelmed with work, and "they just needed more people."
Last May, the Star-Advertiser reported that some instructors who taught noncredit classes through the Continuing Education program had been waiting three to six months for their paychecks, with overdue amounts ranging from a few hundred dollars to nearly $4,000. The college later confirmed that 17 instructors had not been paid on time. In response, the UH community colleges vice president’s office sent in staff to review and improve workflow and document management at KCC.
