HONOLULU — On Thursday, the University of Hawaii Board of Regents voted unanimously to appoint Wendy Hensel as the next president of the UH 10-campus system, which serves more than 50,000 students.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of an exhaustive, extensive, nationwide search and hiring process, where our stakeholders were able to participate at every stage,” said BOR Chair Gabe Lee in a statement. “I am confident that Wendy Hensel is the right person to lead UH and help guide the state through the significant challenges ahead.”
After UH President David Lassner, 69, announced in Sept. 2023 his plans to retire at the end of 2024, the university began its search for a replacement.
UH’s Board of Regents narrowed down the field from 93 applicants, announcing in September the selection of Wendy F. Hensel and Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig as finalists for the next president. The university introduced the finalists in a series of meet-and-greets and question-and-answer sessions. After the public events, the Regents held a closed-door interview with the candidates, despite critics saying the move was contrary to Hawaii law and the spirit of transparency, according to reporting from our media partner, Honolulu Civil Beat.
Hensel is currently the Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost for The City University of New York. Before starting her role at CUNY in 2022, she worked at Georgia State University as Dean of the College of Law and later Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and earned a bachelor’s from Michigan State University.
The Board of Regents agreed to pay Hensel an annual salary of $675,000. Lassner's annual salary at the end of his term was $409,704. He served as president for 11 years.
Along with Hensel’s salary, other benefits she will receive include:
- $7,000 a month housing allowance
- Up to $60,000 for moving expenses
- Tenure fallback position in the UH Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law
- Term: three years with up to a two-year extension subject to BOR approval