National Recruitment for Next UH President is Underway

The national recruitment for the next president of the University of Hawaiʻi 10-campus system officially began in May 2024 with the goal of having a new president in place by early 2025.

The UH Board of Regents (BOR) approved the position description and leadership profile at its May 16 BOR meeting. Both were based on feedback provided through six public forums on four islands (565 people attended in-person and virtually) and a public survey (2,093 responses), along with input from the regents and the Presidential Search Advisory Group (PSAG). PSAG also developed the position description and leadership profile.

"We are very pleased that the next phase of the search can officially begin, and the regents thank the PSAG for their important work," said BOR Interim Chair Gabriel Lee. "We are hoping there is a lot of local and national interest in the position and that we are able to attract the best candidates possible."

The timeline for the search was approved by the regents on March 21.

● May to August-Candidate recruitment period
● August-Review of candidate materials, first round of candidate interviews
● September-Three to four finalists named
● October-Final selection and negotiation, new president is announced
● Early 2025-New president begins

The PSAG is made up of stakeholders from across the UH system and local community who are tasked with reviewing candidate applications, interviewing the first round of eight to 12 candidates and recommending semifinalists to the selection committee, which consists of all 11 regents.

The new president will succeed President David Lassner, who announced in September that he will retire at the end of 2024.