Speaking about Hawaii’s movers and shakers and about the University of Hawaii, we sat down with M.R.C. Greenwood for a revealing look back and at what’s been changed since 2012.
"If we have sinned, if we have made some mistakes, well forgive us for them and let us have the chance to go on and do it right," states M.R.C. Greenwood.
A photo of happier times sits on her shelf, rehashing the last several months since the Stevie Wonder concert fiasco is about the last thing UH president M.R.C. Greenwood would like to do, but when asked, for the most part, she spoke rather candidly.
"People wanted people fired, they wanted people fired, they wanted actions taken and they wanted them to be very clear, it is simply more complex than that," explains Greenwood.
As a result of mistakes that lead to the $200,000 lost for the botched concert last August, she says people have been removed from their positions and moved to others, and not just former athletic director Jim Donovan.
"There were people but I’m not gonna name them publicly," she states.
But, as for her mistakes, she comments, "I think our mistake was misreading the intensity of the interest in the whole business and our communications didn’t work out the way we had expected that they would and I think we were misunderstood and I think I misunderstood others as well."
At senate hearings that followed, lawmakers called for checks, balances, and accountability.
"People have been held responsible, I mean Mr. Donovan’s not here anymore, we have a whole set of new rules for how certain types of requests are handled down there, the authority they had to move procurement for certain things have been revoked," says Greenwood.
The Board of Regents appointed an advisory task group and more changes are being implemented including training.
"One of the things that we did discover, or that the task force did discover, and it’s something serious that we’re following up on, is that while people had authority, they were not accepting their responsibility," she explains.
In October, Greenwood’s attorney sent the Board of Regents a letter asking for a $2 million settlement and claiming Governor Abercrombie pressured her to reinstate Donovan as athletic director. Greenwood later withdrew the letter.
Explaining why she withdrew the letter, Greenwood states, "It was withdrawn because I thought the reason that I had done it, which was to discuss with the regents what was going on, that that matter had been internally resolved."
In a one-on-one interview with Greenwood, KHON 2 news reporter, Kathy Muneno states, "You had the support of the board of regents."
"I had the support and also I believed that many of the issues it raised had simply been resolved," answers Greenwood.
"Including the issues with Governor Abercrombie…"
"Well, let me put it this way, I think the governor and I share one great passion and that is we’d like to see the University of Hawaii be the best that it can be and I think in all the brouhaha that went on perhaps that got overshadowed."
Commenting on the issue with Governor Abercrombie, Greenwood says, "We had a misunderstanding and I hope that’s all it is."
Now some have asked, why would she stay? Her answer is two-fold. We’ll explore that part of the story, tonight at 10.
See the original article at: KHON2 Developing Stories
