天美视频

PF Bentley/Civil Beat/2014

About the Author

Ray Tsuchiyama

Ray Tsuchiyama is a realtor and management consultant. He had roles with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Google, and Castle & Cooke. He was raised in Kalihi-Palama (W.R. Farrington) and spent 25 years in Japan. He was in AI R & D at Digital Equipment Corporation, and he is currently on the advisory board of the UH Information and Computer Science Department. Tsuchiyama is a former Maui County Commissioner, and he has lectured on leadership at Stanford and Waseda University. His essays have been published in Forbes, the New York Times, the Japan Times and The Hawaiian Journal of History. Born in northern Japan, he is Ainu via his maternal side.

Will the 16th leader help it become an engine of economic growth, or fall short of greatness?

Eleven University of Hawaii regents 鈥 including a banker, a former governor and Gen Z student 鈥 shall select the next UH president before current President David Lassner retires at end of 2024.

Their mission comes amid searches for new presidents of Harvard, Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale, universities that rank in the Top 10 global research institutions. University presidents are beset by congressional inquiries, s and campus riots.

Also, this year more Americans surveyed expressed doubts regarding . The Economist published The Wall Street Journal called any university president search

University of Hawaii president David Lassner meets the Civil Beat editorial board Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Honolulu. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2024)
University of Hawaii President David Lassner meeting the Civil Beat editorial board in January in Honolulu. A search is on for his replacement. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2024)

Whom did past UH regents choose as president? Simply, what were the regents鈥 reasons behind? Delving into the presidents鈥 profiles, we can infer regents鈥 high-level thinking, but not many details, many of which are lost to history.

John W. Gilmore. (UH)

With a track record operating agricultural schools in Asia, Cornell-trained No. 1 John Gilmore was the regents鈥 choice in 1914 (the year World War I began) to lead 鈥淎g鈥-focused UH, emphasizing 鈥淜ing鈥 sugar driving Hawaii鈥檚 economy.

No. 2 was a Yale Ph.D. in chemistry (Arthur Dean) who served for 13 years. Dean, who was in his 40s, brought the latest scientific innovations to the Territory of Hawaii. Today, that would be like UH regents selecting an AI expert as president.

Arthur L. Dean. (UH)

The regents envisioned a small scientific institute (think a mid-Pacific Caltech). Even today UH engineering faculty grumble about the school鈥檚 bias toward science.

After World War II No. 4 Gregg Sinclair, who taught in Japan and had a Columbia M.A. in English literature, launched the Oriental Institute for Asia-Pacific research and teaching. It was aligned with the UH regents鈥 positioning of Hawaii as the Asia-Pacific 鈥渂ridge.鈥 The U.S. government validated the regents鈥 prescience by funding the East-West Center adjacent to UH.

No. 5 was Paul Bachman, whose name graces the president鈥檚 office building. With a University of Washington Ph.D. in political science, he was appointed president in 1955, and sadly passed away two years later after a 30-year career at UH.

David L. Crawford. (UH)

In 1958 鈥 the year before statehood 鈥 UH regents returned to science: No. 6 Lawrence Snyder, a Harvard-trained geneticist. During his term the new state Legislature increased taxes to pay for 37 new buildings at the Manoa campus.

Unfortunately, Snyder incurred the regents鈥 and community鈥檚 displeasure when he terminated the UH football program (no scientist would be selected again until No. 14 in 2009).

Gregg M. Sinclair. (UH)

Statehood leaders, especially Gov. John Burns, believed a first-class state must have a first-class university. Burns said, 鈥淚n every phase of the full development of our school system and our university, we shall decline to settle for the ordinary.鈥

In 1963 the regents appointed No. 7 Thomas Hamilton (University of Chicago Ph.D.), who led the State University of New York system. Hamilton鈥檚 vision was that UH should be the same quality or ranking of a top mainland state university with emphasis on the 鈥渃ore curriculum鈥 鈥 English, math, social sciences, engineering et al.

Paul S. Bachman. (UH)

Under Hamilton, Hawaii Department of Education vocational schools become UH 鈥渟ystem鈥 community colleges, and the UH law and medical schools began their trajectories during his brief five years. Vietnam War protests and a faculty tenure case forced his resignation.

Hamilton鈥檚 leadership stopped abruptly, so there exists a lingering 鈥淲hat if?鈥 over Hamilton had he led the university for a longer term.

Laurence H. Snyder. (UH)

Returning to global engagement as the Vietnam War raged, UH regents selected No. 8, a diplomat and journalist who worked in Europe: Harlan Cleveland. Like Gilmore, Sinclair and No. 3 entomologist David Crawford, Cleveland did not have a Ph.D. His books on leadership influenced Fortune 250 CEOs.

Then the regents swung from 鈥渋nternationalist鈥 to consummate insider. Born and raised in Hawaii, No. 9 Fujio 鈥淔udge鈥 Matsuda was celebrated in 1974 as the first 鈥渓ocal鈥 UH president. A McKinley High School 鈥淭iger鈥 with an MIT engineering doctorate, Matsuda鈥檚 career was almost entirely with the state government. Like Cleveland and several others, he was never a tenured faculty professor.

Thomas H. Hamilton. (UH)

Matsuda was surrounded by World War II鈥檚 鈥淕reatest Generation鈥 leadership at their peak: 442nd veteran and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye turned 50 at that time, and the first Nisei governor, George Ariyoshi, was a youthful 48.

The No. 10 UH president search is described in UH physics professor David Yount鈥檚 He depicted UH as a sprawling 1 center with 鈥渋nternal鈥 and 鈥渆xternal鈥 influencers, including the Legislature, unions and regents, navigated by Albert Simone, who held an MIT Ph.D. in decision sciences (and to Yount was never a 鈥渄ecider鈥).

Harlan Cleveland. (UH)

The regents then prioritized 鈥渉ow to run a university鈥 background (higher education administration doctorate), and chose No. 11 . His tenure had a recession and 13-day UH faculty strike.

No. 12 Evan Dobelle proposed 8,000 dormitory rooms in Moiliili (鈥淐ollege Town鈥) and was recognized for his Native Hawaiian outreach. From 2001 to 2014 鈥 equal to pre-World War II Crawford鈥檚 tenure 鈥 the regents chose four UH presidents.

Dobelle and No. 14 M.R.C. Greenwood, the first female president and award-winning scientist (Rockefeller University Ph.D.), encountered controversies that cut short their terms and embroiled the UH regents.

Fujio Matsuda. (UH)

No. 13 and current No. 15 had UH roots to ensure stability: Shidler College of Business professor David McClain, an economist with Japan experience like Sinclair, and David Lassner, a UH chief information officer, who spent four decades at UH (his UH Ph.D. was on Asia-Pacific telecoms).

Twice in 14 years UH regents responded to 鈥渋nstability鈥 with 鈥渟tability.鈥 After No. 15鈥檚 10-year tenure, the regents must now choose No. 16.

Albert J. Simone. (UH)

Looking back, UH regents鈥 plans for a science institute was overwhelmed by Asian immigrants鈥 children who enrolled at UH 鈥 the ticket out of the plantation. Statehood leader Patsy Takemoto Mink鈥檚 father graduated from UH in 1922, so he was born in Honolulu around 1900 (the Chinatown Fire).

Masayuki Tokioka, the founder of Island Insurance, went from immigrant to UH to Harvard MBA in 1925. An aunt sailed from Maui to a Manoa dormitory to study elementary school teaching in 1940, a liberating journey for a Kahului girl whose parents barely spoke English.

Kenneth P. Mortimer. (UH)

Statehood leaders overwhelmingly had UH degrees, which gave them 鈥渄isruptive鈥 skill-sets and rigorous preparation for top graduate schools.

They included Mink (Maui High School, the University of Hawaii, University of Chicago), Spark Matsunaga (Kauai High School, UH, Harvard), Daniel Inouye (McKinley High School, UH, George Washington University), George Ariyoshi (McKinley High School, UH, the University of Michigan) and Thomas Gill (Roosevelt High School, UH, the University of California Berkeley).

Evan S. Dobelle. (UH)

(Having dropped out of UH, Burns always regretted not having a college degree.)

These leaders led purpose-driven lives: to end the Big Five-controlled territory, and to create an equitable society with new opportunities for all. If UH did not exist, the state of Hawaii may still be in the future.

David McClain. (UH)

That post-statehood society be without an impactful UH leader would be anathema to Burns and statehood leaders.

A recent essay, on the university president role (a job; a 鈥渃alling鈥) stressed that 鈥渉igher education is fundamentally our society鈥檚 future.鈥

M.R.C. Greenwood. (UH)

Today, with Hawaii鈥檚 society struggling with the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) cost-of-living crisis, housing woes and outmigration, whom will the 11 regents select as No. 16?

Will the next UH president lead UH to become the 鈥渆ngine of economic growth鈥 or in Harlan Cleveland鈥檚 words always be 鈥渇ive years to greatness鈥?

And again: 鈥淲hy鈥?

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About the Author

Ray Tsuchiyama

Ray Tsuchiyama is a realtor and management consultant. He had roles with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Google, and Castle & Cooke. He was raised in Kalihi-Palama (W.R. Farrington) and spent 25 years in Japan. He was in AI R & D at Digital Equipment Corporation, and he is currently on the advisory board of the UH Information and Computer Science Department. Tsuchiyama is a former Maui County Commissioner, and he has lectured on leadership at Stanford and Waseda University. His essays have been published in Forbes, the New York Times, the Japan Times and The Hawaiian Journal of History. Born in northern Japan, he is Ainu via his maternal side.


Latest Comments (0)

Pick the newest graduate with an advanced degree and they will run it just as well if not better.

Chroniccommentor · 7 months ago

Well, it looks like if you want to have a building named after you, strive to be a UH president. Some of these folks were lackluster and self-serving at best芒聙聰 Hawaii deserves better, folks!

Violamae · 7 months ago

Thanks for the interesting background on UH Presidents. I'm sorry, however, that this article continues the impression that the UH is somehow not living up to its promise. In fact, it hits well above its promise in providing students with excellent education in a broad variety of fields, as well as in bringing in research grants--demonstrating the respect UH has on the mainland. Hawaii is not a rich state, and all its institutions are burdened by an intrusive legislature that neither appreciates them nor funds them appropriately. Perhaps we can't afford better funding, but we can appreciate them. We would be very much poorer without them.

JusticePlease · 7 months ago

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