Now that the University of Hawai'i is cranking up the machinery to hire a new athletic director, here's a plea for some openness and transparency in the process.

If there was a lesson to be learned from the last time UH hired an AD — and space constraints prohibit a complete listing of all the possibilities — it should be that when you throw a shroud over part of the process you tend to get what you deserve.

With the importance of this hire, there is a need to aim higher. With a $25 million athletic program at a key juncture, no one wants to see a repeat of some of the problems UH has faced over the past few years. Disappointments that might have been averted had there been more light on and input into the process that was responsible for the hiring of the last athletic director.

It isn't only UH staffers and media onlookers who felt the process wasn't all it could — or should — have been. Some of the people who served on the so-called selection committee in 2002 will tell you they felt misled and kept in the dark by the way it played out. So much so that when the announcement was made they claimed to be as surprised as anyone.

They talk about having been window dressing and of votes that were cast but totals never added up or announced in their presence.

"In hindsight it is pretty clear that the hiring of (Herman) Frazier was a done deal from the start when key information was kept from us and candidates with local ties weren't even given the opportunity to be interviewed," said one committee member who asked to remain anonymous.

It is not a solo opinion, judging from comments by others who served on the 16-member committee. So much so that as controversy over Frazier's administration swirled these last two years, you had to point a finger at the process that put him there as much as the man himself.

Before things get too far along on this one, here's a chance to assure some sunlight on the process and give it a chance to be all it can be. Tomorrow is the deadline for applications and a committee, be it advisory or selection, is expected to be announced and convened shortly.

The expectation is that the committee will be given a chance to exhaustively examine the candidates and their credentials. The hope is that they will be able to determine and interview all the finalists. Ideally, UH staff and members of the community will get an opportunity to meet and question the finalists to help find the best fit.

The last committee had good people with fine ideas but the process never gave them an opportunity to fully contribute. That turned out to be UH's mistake and the athletic department ended up paying a hefty price for it. And will be for some time.

This time UH needs to do it right — and that means in the open.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.