CAC Presents Finalists for Appointment to the UH Board of Regents  

News Release from UH BoR CAC February 7, 2014

HONOLULU – The Candidate Advisory Council (CAC) for the Board of Regents of the University of  Hawai’i has presented a list of candidates to Governor Neil Abercrombie to fill three City & County of Honolulu seats and one Student seat on the University of Hawai’i Board of Regents for terms beginning July 1st of this year.    

The regents whose terms will end on June 30, 2014 are Student Regent Jeffrey Acido and City and County of Honolulu Regents John Holzman and James Lee.   In addition, Regent Jeffrey Portnoy is currently serving on an interim appointment and, if confirmed by the Hawai’i State Senate, will also serve through June 30th.  

The Board of Regents is the governing body of the University of Hawai‘i and consist of fifteen (15) members.  Representation includes seven (7) from the City and County of Honolulu; two (2) from the Hawai‘i County; two (2) from the Maui County; one (1) from the Kauai County; two (2) At Large; and one (1) University of Hawai‘i student.   

The CAC was created after the passage of the Hawai‘i Board of Regents Candidates Act, a 2006 legislatively‐referred constitutional amendment.  Hawai‘i voters overwhelmingly cast their votes to require the Governor to select Board of Regents candidates from a pool of qualified candidates screened and proposed by the CAC.  

All candidate lists are compiled only after the CAC completes its comprehensive review and selection process, which is solely and exclusively merit‐based.  The Council adheres strictly to procedures that are set forth in either State statutes or the Council’s administrative rules.   

The CAC began this recruitment cycle during early fall 2013.  Council members personally recruited candidates and contacted and encouraged government, business, and community leaders to nominate regent candidates.  The Council placed print advertisements and issued press releases encouraging applications.   

The finalists for the Board of Regents seats are as follows:  

1.  City & County of Honolulu Seat (currently filled by John Holzman) 

• Peter Adler
• Russel Nagata
• Stanford Yuen

2. City & County of Honolulu Seat (currently filled by James Lee)     

• Walter Kirimitsu
• James Lee
• Lee Putnam
• Keith Vieira   

3. City & County of Honolulu Seat (currently filled by Jeffrey Portnoy)   

• Brian Panik
• Jeffrey Portnoy
• Eric Seitz   

4. Student Seat (currently filled by Jeffrey Acido)   

• Jori‐Anne Jasper
• Priya Rashid
• Michelle Tagorda 

CAC Chair Ramsey expressed his appreciation to the many individuals who applied during this recruitment period and encourages those not selected to re‐apply during future recruitments. 

Members of the Board of Regents as well as the CAC serve voluntarily and are not paid.  

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