Evan Dobelle has filed a 400-page research project with the University of Hawai'i, apparently fulfilling the terms of a mediation agreement that called for the former UH president to receive $250,000 over two years.

Although UH President David McClain continues to review the document, preliminarily he has said that it is "satisfactory" and meets the requirements of the mediated agreement, said Carolyn Tanaka, university spokeswoman.

Under the July 2004 agreement, the university agreed to pay Dobelle $125,000 annually for two years as a nontenured faculty researcher after he was ousted as president of the 10-campus system. The university has finished paying Dobelle for those years, Tanaka said.

The successful completion of the research project would mark the end of a five-year relationship between Dobelle and the university. He came to UH in 2001 amid high hopes and won a reputation as a visionary with a larger-than-life personality. But he was criticized for his high salary and inability to adapt to local style, among other things. Ultimately, his indifference to the growing dissatisfaction with his leadership lost him the confidence of the UH Board of Regents.

The board originally fired the former president "for cause," although the cause was never specified. Under the mediation agreement, Dobelle resigned as president on Aug. 14, 2004, and all parties agreed there was no fault on either side.

As part of the settlement, Dobelle agreed to complete a research project as a nontenured member of the faculty in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Tanaka said.

Board of Regents Chairwoman Kitty Lagareta said that it was "McClain's call" as to whether the research met the agreement.

"It sounds like a successful conclusion to the university's relationship with Evan Dobelle," Lagareta said.

Dobelle had a deadline of Aug. 14 and "he did meet it," Tanaka said.

The research project covers "the economic impact of colleges and universities on their respective communities," Tanaka said.

Dobelle has been working as president and chief operating officer of the New England Board of Higher Education since January 2005.

Dobelle is represented by attorney Rick Fried, who declined comment.

Former UH-Manoa Chancellor Peter Englert monitored Dobelle's research during the first year of the agreement. But when Englert was fired as chancellor in 2005, the responsibility was transferred to McClain.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.