Synopsis
Who Runs the University? is the first book to explore in detail the inner workings of public higher education in Hawaii. The author served as Vice President for Research and Graduate Education at the University of Hawaii during the seven-year period Albert Simone was president and during the early years of the Kenneth Mortimer administration. As a participant observer the author provides a lively, detailed account of the key players - their egos, self-interests, and oftentimes brilliance - who played supporting roles during the Simone era, a period of unprecedented growth for the university. Based on approximately 15,000 documents from 1981 to 1995 totaling 228,000 pages, the author describes with unusual candor the behind-the-scenes activity, the give and take, and the decisions of high-ranking university officials responsible for exercising authority at the University of Hawaii - including regents, administrators, deans and directors, and faculty. The actions of non university officials who influence Hawaii's higher education policy and funding are also described - federal officials, state officials, and powerful legislators. Beyond the hundreds of personalities mentioned and beyond all the controversial events described, the fundamental question raised is who is in charge of higher education in Hawaii: the academic leadership, the board of regents, or the politicians downtown? This book identifies the players, their strengths and weaknesses, the events and the drama (sometimes a tragic comedy) that drives the politics of higher education in Hawaii.