10/15/14, 6:22 PMNew president of UH must help define its mission and values - Hawaii News - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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New president of UH must help define its mission andvaluesBy David Duffy
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser has laid out what itsees as the tasks ahead for the next University ofHawaii president: Increase community support, tacklethe maintenance backlog and strengthen educationand research to further economic development.
However, there are critical internal issues the newpresident will have to address, if UH is to satisfythese external expectations and become theuniversity our state needs.
The new president will have to create a greaterattitude of trust and responsibility, support bottom-upinitiatives and, most important, help define themission and values of the university system.
All good universities are meritocracies in intent, if not always in execution. UH, like our island culture,runs too often on whom you know, not whether you are up for the task. Past presidents haveaggravated this tendency by picking favorites based on their prejudices or agendas, rather than oncompetence or performance. Neither good teaching nor innovative research can emerge from thisapproach as it emanates from the fabric of the university.
To be a meritocracy, the "currency" of the university must be articulated, debated and accepted byconsensus: What do we value? Currencies usually flow from a sense of mission. Currencies mayinclude research prestige and impact, research dollars generated, education quality, number ofstudents taught, neighborhood support, economic impact or sports success.
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10/15/14, 6:22 PMNew president of UH must help define its mission and values - Hawaii News - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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Not all currencies are necessarily healthy, like winning football seasons, but if they are explicit, they canbe discussed. UH truly doesn't know what its mission is; it still wants to be all things to all people.
UH administrators need to rid themselves of the bureaucratic "cover your butt" mentality that feeds offpro-forma accountability. The administration wastes millions on these internal pre-audits, then missesblunders like Stevie Wonder concerts or UH-West Oahu construction overruns.
Individuals should be assigned to monitor an entire financial transaction, rather than have a dozenpeople sign off who haven't the time to check what is going on. Accountability should not be defined asa bureaucratic way to spread risk and blame.
The university administration must overcome its perceived indifference to its workforce. Theadministration doesn't trust its faculty and doesn't often acknowledge or reward their achievements,despite a provision in the union contract that allows them to award special salary bonuses based onmeritorious performance.
What is the "UH approach" for motivating the workforce, be they faculty, technical APTs, secretaries orjanitors?
Great universities are risk takers, highly entrepreneurial in how they support and structure greatresearch and great teaching. With risk comes failure, but the institution's response to failure is critical. Ifyou punish failure, the best you can hope for is mediocrity.
However, if you learn from the failure and encourage your workforce to persist, then the rewards ofsuccess will follow.
The next president needs to adopt the approach of a great university, by embracing risk, failure andreward as part of a complete package.
A good second-rate university or business can be top down with everyone taking instructions frommanagement, but there is no way for such an institution to "administer" itself to greatness. Innovationsrarely come down from on high; instead, new ideas and knowledge bubble up from those activelyengaged in teaching and research.
In contrast, administrators tend to hang out at national conferences, sharing ideas for new programsthat are rarely novel or attuned to local institutions and their communities. And, too often, the take-home innovations focus on form, not substance.
So a new president will have to craft a consensus on UH's mission and values and change the cultureto reward successful risk-taking and excellence while ensuring true accountability, not a paper-passingfacade.
The candidate who can accomplish this task will deserve the support of the faculty and staff, in additionto the personal financial rewards that come with the job.
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10/15/14, 6:22 PMNew president of UH must help define its mission and values - Hawaii News - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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10/15/14, 6:22 PMNew president of UH must help define its mission and values - Hawaii News - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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