UH Athletic Department Enjoyed Unusual Autonomy

Blogger Ian Lind has a nice post this morning picking apart the factfinders report on the University of Hawaii’s Stevie Wonder concert fiasco.

A big part of what landed the Athletic Department in deep kimchee was the fact that it enjoys unusual autonomy and access to top level administrators, allowing them to bypass the bureaucracy — and avoid built-in safeguards that come with it. 

Lind writes: 

The timeline outlined in the report appears to show then-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw remained in the dark about the concert until just days before tickets went on sale, when UH President M.R.C. Greenwood sent her a message asking about the event. At that point, the concert planning had already been underway for three months.

…Instead of working within the Manoa bureaucracy, key employees in the athletics department were able to go directly to the office of the university’s general counsel, which drafted the agreement setting up the concert deal with Honolulu promoter Bob Peyton. When questions were raised, athletics officials used what was actually only limited involvement of the general counsel’s office to deflect the concerns.

There’s more, and Lind does a nice job showcasing highlights from the report. Worth a read.