UH President Greenwood Announces Retirement

UH President M.R.C. Greenwood (center) and UH Regents at a recent Board meeting on Maui. File photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

The University of Hawaiʻi is expected to start a job search after its president, M.R.C. Greenwood, announced on Monday her plans to retire.

According to a press release issued by the university, Greenwood plans to step down in September saying her decision was “personal, health-related, and family oriented.”

Her retirement comes in the wake of the failed Stevie Wonder concert, that has become known in public circles as the “Wonder Blunder,” which cost the school an estimated $200,000.

Governor Neil Abercrombie responded to the news by wishing Greenwood good fortune saying, “From the moment I met President Greenwood, I was impressed with her commitment and her desire to give her very best effort on behalf of the University of Hawaiʻi.”

UH Board Chair Eric Martinson also credited Greenwood for her accomplishments during her four years at the helm, saying the “university’s reputation has advanced nationally and internationally, the strategic goals set by the Board of Regents have advanced, and she helped navigate the university through one of our nation’s and state’s most severe recessions.”

According to information released by the university, Greenwood plans to take an unpaid leave upon her retirement, and then return to her tenured faculty position.

As for the university and the presidency, Gov. Abercrombie said he will be contacting the Board of Regents and the wider university community to chart next steps.