Have you checked out The Hot Seat?

It's our opinion-page blog that brings in your elected leaders and people in the news and lets you ask the questions.

On The Hot Seat last week was University of Hawai'i President David McClain.

Jake: I did not attend UH, though many of my high school classmates did (recently). The majority of them needed five years to complete their undergraduate studies simply because they couldn't get the classes they needed to finish in four years. What steps are you or the university taking to address this problem?

McClain: Jake, that's a great question. Helping students to finish their degrees in a timely manner is not only important to students and their parents, but also to the university and the state of Hawai'i. UH is focusing our attention on student support. We've increased academic advising personnel, streamlined our general (education) requirements, and improved our course registration system and we've added 8 percent more courses with no change in staffing.

Doug Vincent: The federal FY 2007 budget has not been passed yet. The new Democratic leadership has said that they will pass a yearlong continuing resolution, without any Congressional earmarks. Thanks to our Congressional delegation, UH receives lots of federal funding as a result of these earmarks — several million dollars. Have you assessed what the impact will be of the loss of this sizable amount of funding to UH?

McClain: We're monitoring this situation closely, and at the last regent's meeting, I spoke about this emerging risk. Until we have more specifics, we can't fully quantify the risk. But I'm sure we'll be challenged to match last year's record level of $430 million in research and training funding.

Jo: I'm a big UH fan! I watch the games on TV and sometimes I notice that the stadium looks half full. Wouldn't it be better to lower ticket prices or maybe give some away to fill up the stadium?

McClain: As you may have noticed, under our current approach, UH-Manoa Athletics has turned a deficit situation into a small surplus. At the Oregon State game, Aloha Stadium had 45,000 in attendance. We believe we're on the right track.

Coffee: With all the repair and funding needed for UH-Manoa, do you think it's a good idea to proceed with plans for UH-West O'ahu?

McClain: Thanks for this question, which a number of people have asked. As a result of our Second Decade Project, we've become convinced that the West O'ahu area is the most underserved by far in our state, with all the population growth. So we absolutely need to build out that campus in order to properly serve the citizens of the state; further, West O'ahu is more of a Cal-State type of university, rather than the flagship university that UH-Manoa is. That said, we certainly know we need to continue our recent vigorous efforts to refurbish UH-Manoa.

Lee: I'm a UH student and find that parking is horrible. I realize that there is limited space at UH, but are there any plans in the near future to work on more parking spaces?

McClain: Lee, you're right. Parking around universities is always a challenge. At UH-Manoa, we did add an additional parking structure a couple of years ago, and another structure is part of the UH-Manoa long-range development plan. We've worked with the City and County to give students a bus pass at a discounted rate, $100 per semester. That said, parking will continue to be a challenge.

Chris: Please explain how you can reconcile a UARC military center at UH with the UH motto, "Ma luna a'e o na lahui a pau ke ola ke kanaka" (Above all nations is humanity). The American military has participated in hundreds of armed conflicts with nations around the world.

As a proud UH alum, I wonder how military money came to stand ahead of the UH motto?

McClain: Our motto correctly expresses that people are at the center of our mission. That said, FYI, our founding charter in 1907 as a Land Grant Institution includes the requirement that UH shall "Give such military instruction as the Federal Government may require."

Whatever nation or state one inhabits, the military of that state or nation are part of its society. We aspire to serve all segments of our society.

Rob: I work full time and attend evening classes at UH. I'm wondering if more night classes will be available for the working adult?

McClain: As we strive to meet the state's education and work force needs, we're expanding enrollment at our community colleges and baccalaureate campuses in response to student demand, and some of those classes are being offered in the evenings, both in person and by distance methods. Alert those at the UH campus you attend of your interest in more night classes.

Anna Farawell: I love the beautification projects that have been implemented on the campus since you have been president of UH. I hope this continues as the appearance of the university is key to a sense of pride for the students and for Hawai'i and also how we represent ourselves to the Mainland and the rest of the world.

Recently I read that the dorms were going to be repaired. I wondered what the specifics were as they are in obvious dire need of maintenance change and upgrades.

McClain: Anna, if you're referring to the Manoa campus, the chancellor, Denise Konan, and her team get the credit for that. We do plan to spend about $40 million in the next couple of years to address the backlog in deferred maintenance and repair for all the dorms at Manoa. The Student Housing staff have identified the projects and prioritized them. I can give you more specifics if you e-mail me at mcclain@hawaii.edu.

Kekoa: What are you doing to raise the profile of the UH? For the most part, very little is known about what goes on there. This is a state university; you should be part of our community in a bigger way, right?

McClain: Kekoa, we're in the community in an amazing way. Eighty-thousand people pursue their education dreams on our campuses every week, and we have 140,000 alumni in Hawai'i alone; 700,000 attend our athletic events every year; 130,000 attend our arts performances. Our Web site highlights the UH calendar, and we're in the newspapers just about every day. But I'm sure we can do more to elevate our profile. Thanks for your suggestion.

Steve Doyle: There have been numerous remarks made about the inaccessibility to undergraduate and graduate students to their professors. Instead they, these students, have been referred to teaching assistants and couldn't even get an appointment with the professor. This seems inappropriate for a center of higher learning where the exchange of ideas is touted as crucial and the instructor is vital in that process.

Sir, would you care to comment?

McClain: My daughter is a graduate student at UH-Manoa, as well as a teaching assistant, so I have a couple of perspectives on this. When I was the dean of the business school, we ensured that our faculty were accessible to students, and I know now each one of our 10 chancellors has the same policy for their faculty. If you have a specific instance, let me know at mcclain@hawaii.edu.

Tina: I'm a student at Leeward Community College, and it seems our school is underfunded. I realize that it is a community college, but the rooms are appalling. They look like they are not maintained well. Some things don't work, such as the projectors and such. Will LCC be getting any extra funding?

McClain: Generally, all our campuses have less funding (general funds and tuition) than their peers. That said, it's a priority for the regents and for my administration to make a significant dent in our $165 million repair and maintenance backlog. LCC's backlog is $12 million, and we're working to reduce it. The new railings installed last year have improved the exterior appearance and safety of the campus significantly.