Two finalists named for new UH president

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents has named two finalists for the next president of the state’s 10-campus public higher education system.

The new president will succeed David Lassner, who will retire by the end of the year after serving since 2014 as UH’s 15th president.

Wendy F. Hensel is currently the executive vice chancellor and university provost for the City University of New York, where she oversees every aspect of the student and faculty experience across the 25 campus system.

Prior to joining CUNY, Hensel held leadership positions at Georgia State University as dean of the College of Law and later provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. She is a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and earned a bachelor’s with highest honors from Michigan State University, where she was a Harry S. Truman Scholar ​​and an intern at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Julian V. Heilig is currently serving as provost and vice president of academic affairs for Western Michigan University.

Prior to joining WMU, Vasquez Heilig was the dean of the College of Education at the University of Kentucky, part of his nearly two decades of leadership. His experience includes successful fundraising and financial management and spearheading strategic initiatives that bolstered research and educational innovation. Vasquez Heilig earned his doctorate and master’s degrees from Stanford University and holds additional degrees from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.

The finalists will be introduced to the UH community and general public through a series of open houses (meet and greet opportunities) and public forums (question and answer sessions) scheduled for the weeks of Sept. 23 and Sept. 30 in each of the four counties.

“There was a tremendous amount of interest shown in the president’s position, and now we have two excellent candidates,” said BOR Chair Gabe Lee. “We are asking all members of the UH ‘ohana and other stakeholders, along with the general public, to participate in the public events and provide feedback on our finalists. That input will be critical as the regents deliberate and select the next UH president.”

The Hawaii Island sessions with Hensel are on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at the following times and locations:

— 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.: Open house at the UH-Hilo University Classroom Building Room 127.

— 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.: Campus forum (Zoom available and recorded) at UH-Hilo Performing Arts Center.

The Hawaii Island sessions with Heilig are on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at the following times and locations:

— 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.: Open house at the UH-Hilo University Classroom Building Room 127.

— 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.: Campus forum (Zoom available and recorded) at UH-Hilo Performing Arts Center.

The two finalists will also meet with campus and system leadership teams and faculty, staff and student governance groups.

“It was very important to the regents that representatives from each campus and the various UH stakeholders have an opportunity to meet the finalists,” said Lee. “I know that all of these stakeholder groups will also provide valuable input to the regents.”

Information on how to provide feedback about each of the finalists will be announced prior to the open houses and public forums. The regents will interview each candidate after the public events and are scheduled to announce their decision in October.

There were 93 applicants for the position, a group that was then narrowed down by the Presidential Search Advisory Group. The advisory group interviewed 12 semifinalists in late August and then forwarded their recommendations for the finalists to regents for the final decision.