Wendy Hensel was selected Thursday to lead the University of Hawaiʻi after the Board of Regents interviewed the final candidates behind closed doors.
Hensel will oversee the university's 10-campus system and earn an annual salary of $675,000. The 11-member board unanimously chose Hensel over Julian Vasquez Heilig, a provost and vice president for academic affairs at Western Michigan University.
Hensel, currently the executive vice chancellor and university provost of the City University of New York system, promised to uplift and honor Native Hawaiian values and eliminate equity gaps.
"I had a chance to speak with so many people who care so deeply about this institution," Hensel said. "I would not be here standing with you if I did not honor that legacy and look to elevate it in the future and serve it well as its next leader."
She also addressed concerns about her not being Indigenous and allegations of her targeting a Black law professor at Georgia State University, reported by Honolulu Civil Beat.
"While I say again clearly, there is no truth to these claims," she said at a news conference. "This is not the setting in which I had hoped to begin my tenure."
Hensel said the first thing she would do in her new role is tour each UH campus to meet with stakeholders, such as leadership, faculty, staff and students. UH Mānoa in Honolulu is the system's flagship research university.
Hensel will lead the state's sole public provider of post-secondary education with a $1.2 billion operating budget.
On Wednesday, some community members asked the BOR to conduct the interviews in public, citing a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that barred boards and commissions from holding closed meetings unless they prove they are protecting a privacy interest.
However, the board voted to interview the finalists in executive session.
The BOR started the search process last year after UH President David Lassner announced he would step down by the end of this year. Lassner has led the university since 2014 as the 15th president in its history.
The process narrowed down a pool of 93 candidates to two finalists, Hensel and Vasquez Heilig.
Board Chair Gabriel Lee said he was disappointed that the two finalists were not local, but he acknowledged Hensel's leadership vision and added that she would develop relationships across the university's campuses.
"We feel really great at the process we've documented, but it was a very complete process, and we've had excellent candidates, local candidates, but we had the finalists emerge, and we are very pleased with Wendy joining us," he said.
Lee complimented Vasquez Heilig's energy but "didn't feel that he had much system experience."
"I didn't feel his leadership skill was as broad as we need for our 10-campus system," Lee said.
Vasquez Heilig said in a written statement that he was honored to be interviewed and engage with stakeholders.
"Although I was not selected for the presidency, I remain deeply appreciative of the overwhelming community support from student groups, faculty, the Native Hawaiian, Pūko‘a Council, and many other stakeholders," he wrote. "I was incredibly floored by the heartfelt endorsements and testimony that came from so many, and it has left a lasting impression on me— being in community was a joyful experience for me."
Hensel will be the 16th president and the second woman in the university's history to hold the position, following Mary Rita Cooke Greenwood from 2009 to 2013.
Hensel's three-year contract also includes a $7,000 monthly housing allowance and moving expenses of up to $60,000. Her fallback position would be a tenured faculty position at the UH William S. Richardson School of Law.
