This month, the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents will choose a new president to lead the 10-campus system.
Two finalists were named in September to follow David Lassner and his UH career of four decades.
Lassner was the 15th University of Hawaiʻi president and will retire in December.
His journey to Hawaiʻi started on a one-year contract in 1977 to help the university launch computer software.
"And basically, I never left," Lassner said. "As I got to a leadership role in technology, I realized the impact that, not just technology, but UH has on the entire community.”
In his climb from an entry-level computer specialist, he held the roles of chief information officer, president for information technology, interim president, and finally, president in September 2013.
Lassner said he's most proud of helping develop the university’s physical data networks and Information Technology Services, as well as recent contracts with the Maui High Performance Computing Center and the Pacific Disaster Center on Maui.
He said UH’s tuition rates have largely remained flat and, despite the challenges brought on by COVID-19, he called the university's flexibility "really astonishing.”
Lassner hopes to stay engaged at UH as president emeritus while having more time to travel, hike and dance hula.
Two finalists from the continental U.S. are in the running to be the next UH president: Wendy Hensel and Julian Vasquez Heilig.
The Board of Regents will review public feedback, continue interviews and make their final decision this month.
