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For some, myself included, the University of Hawaii is the most important institution in all of Hawaii. It has a long history of promoting, nurturing, training, and guiding our leaders and our knowledge of the world.

So many who contributed to Hawaii’s growth and success came here to study at the UH. So many home-grown future leaders passed through. A former alumni governor now sits on the Board of Regents.

So now we are given two finalists for UH president. Perhaps many of us have not followed the process closely. Perhaps we did not know who even applied.

Certainly, we do not know why these two were determined by our Board of Regents to . Apparently, they will be front and center in a number public meetings. Good for them.

However, if we do not know what questions were asked of candidates, or their written answers, these meetings are likely to be a lot shallower than we would prefer.

Cliches. Generalizations. Unfamiliarity with UH history, the icons and professors and leaders upon whose shoulders UH was built.

We deserve to know more about them, their views, their attitudes, their knowledge, their strengths and their weaknesses.

We deserve to have time to question them to know what they think the obligations of a public university might be in terms of our Hawaiian roots, our civic and citizenship education, and the role they see the UH in providing good objective information to policy makers.

We deserve to know about their knowledge and ties to Asian nations, cultures, histories and local communities.

We deserve to know if it is OK that no one who graduates need never take a history course. That’s right! No more required World Civ as a freshman. No required Hawaiian history. 

We deserve to know if our Board of Regents cared about any of this in their search.

And perhaps most crucial, we deserve to know if they have been asked about their commitment to standing up for UH autonomy when a whole slew of power centers, including the Legislature, are all too willing to run roughshod over the constitutional commitment to having a first-class university system that has true autonomy.

Yes, it must be said that we deserve to know to what extent the BOR cared about this.

A few years ago, there was a push to transfer the College of Education outside of Manoa. The BOR declined to even formally object in writing.

Finally, I’ve noticed the planned community forums (serious dialogues or informal mixers?) for the UH president candidates are scheduled for only short times. On Oahu alone we have a handful of community colleges, UH Manoa, a med school, a law school. Lots of interests. Lots of questions.

Is the BOR wanting to limit questions and answers? I can see a candidate using some of this time just reviewing their resume.

The board should expand the time for serious Q&A sessions. Otherwise, folks will not only be frustrated but resentful of attempts to insulate them from a healthy dialogue.

Let’s embrace more sunshine on this. So we should welcome these finalists. And we should welcome transparency and sunshine.

Let’s make these open meetings with them meaningful.