University of Hawaii President David Lassner apologized Tuesday that a reported attempt by him to remove UH-Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple has become "a public spectacle."
"Experience teaches that personnel issues are best addressed in private, and when a change in leadership is necessary, it is best accomplished with as much dignity as the circumstances permit," Lassner said in a statement, marking the first time he’s addressed the issue since talk of Apple being ousted intensified during the weekend.
Lassner’s statement doesn’t say what Apple’s employment status is or clarify what he describes as "a mix of truths and rumors" circulating on the issue, but as of Tuesday afternoon, UH spokeswoman Lynne Waters said Apple is still chancellor of the flagship campus.
Lassner said it’s his job as president "to hold the executives who report to me accountable for their performance and the effectiveness of their leadership," but added that he has "maintained confidentiality both to provide the chancellor the privacy and dignity that any of us would want for ourselves in a difficult personnel situation."
Apple was hired in May 2012 at a $439,008 annual salary to replace former Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw, who stepped down and now teaches at the medical school.
He has retained Hawaii island attorney Jerry Hiatt to represent him in the dispute. Apple’s attorney says the chancellor has three years remaining on a five-year contract that includes rights to a tenured faculty position.
A May 2012 memo from former UH President M.R.C. Greenwood to the Board of Regents recommended Apple be appointed to a five-year term through June 30, 2017, "subject each year to successful annual performance evaluations at the level of satisfactory or above."
Local media, citing unnamed sources, have reported that Lassner recently asked Apple to step down from the chancellor post and that a settlement was being negotiated.
In response, UH released a statement Sunday that said that Lassner was working with Apple to address challenges facing UH-Manoa, after a confidential performance assessment.
"Unfortunately, many statements are circulating and the privacy I had hoped for has been compromised with a mix of truths and rumors from many sources," Lassner said. "I regret that my attempt at maintaining privacy and dignity has been perceived by some as lacking transparency and accountability. And I am truly sorry this has become a public spectacle."
In an email Tuesday to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hiatt said, "Tom Apple would simply like to state that he greatly appreciates the overwhelming outpouring of support he has received from UH faculty, students and community leaders who believe that a ‘change in leadership’ is not necessary."
Hiatt has said that Apple’s efforts to curb expenses at Manoa have riled some deans and directors, who have lobbied for his removal.
Earlier this month Apple announced a plan to save $10 million in each of the next two years by imposing a hiring freeze and suspending salary increases for nonunion employees until further notice. The plan also stipulates that programs that ended the fiscal year in the red will have their negative balances applied against their 2014-15 budgets.
Apple, the second-highest-paid executive at UH-Manoa, said the move was prompted by overspending at Manoa, which has a budget of approximately $540 million this year, with more than half of it coming from tuition revenue.
He’s also been criticized for allegedly favoring the athletic department, last year "forgiving" a $14.7 million accumulated net deficit the department built up over the previous decade.
"At this time we all need to focus on polishing our crown jewel in the new financial environment faced by UH and public higher education across the country," Lassner said. "The financial conditions that have developed at UH-Manoa over the past two years must be addressed with thoughtful leadership and deep collaboration. I am committed to embracing this broader challenge with effective campus leadership in a considered, open and collegial manner with the faculty, students, and staff of the UH-Manoa campus and our stakeholders."
Meanwhile, student groups plan to camp out at Lassner’s office starting Thursday morning in protest of the dispute with Apple.
The school’s Graduate Student Organization and the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii, Manoa’s undergraduate student organization, plan to stage a sit-in at Bachman Hall "until there is a written statement from President Lassner that Chancellor Apple will be retained," according to a news release.
The groups said students are outraged at the possibility of Apple being forced out. They praised Apple for his "student-focused leadership" and said terminating his contract early would be unwarranted and costly.
The Kuali‘i Council, which represents the interests of Native Hawaiians on the UH-Manoa campus, also expressed support for retaining Apple as chancellor.
"UH Manoa has greatly benefitted from Chancellor Apple’s innovative, visionary, open-minded, positive and practical style of advancing higher education," the group said in a statement. "In seeking an immediate reversal of this ill-timed and unnecessary error in judgment, the Kuali‘i Council implores President Lassner to be as open-minded and visionary as the chancellor and supporting his efforts to raise the level of positive outcomes and the visibility of integrity at UH Manoa."
