Paradise Lost: Evan Dobelle late with $125,000 research projectBy Anthony Fyden
12:00AM / Friday, May 13, 2005
 | | Evan Dobelle (file photo) |
Former Pittsfield Mayor Evan Dobelle is way behind on a $125,000 research project for the University of Hawaii, and school regents want some answers.
University regents fired Dobelle from his job as president in June, 2004, after he served for about three years, with members saying they had “lost trust” in him. Now, they’re wondering when he is going to fulfill his obligation to complete a research project that was part of a severance agreement. In the past nine months, they say, Dobelle has submitted only a page-and-a-half draft and had failed to sign specific terms for the project.
"It was our understanding that this is a real research project, not a sham," regents chairman Patricia Lee, told the Associated Press.
The school received the draft earlier this month, with no details on when the rest of the project would be completed. Dobelle’s attorney, Rick Fried, told the AP that his client would complete the project.
The research project, which is supposed to look at the impact of higher education projects benefit urban areas, was part of a settlement between Dobelle and the school, although many details were never finalized. The University originally fired Dobelle for cause – while the president was vacationing in Chicago – and then rescinded the firing with the settlement. As part of the deal, Dobelle was paid more than $1 million and attorney’s fees.
His term in Hawaii was a stormy one, highlighted by clashes with the board of regents. After he left the post, The Hawaii State Ethics Commission chastised Dobelle for failing to disclose as gifts two trips, to Japan and Molokai, and money from a $200,000 per year protocol fund.
Dobelle also raised eyebrows with other spending, such as when four students from Colby College in Maine received free room and board at a UH dormitory during a 2002 winter break. The students even reportedly took several towels and sheets with them when they left. Dobelle’s attorney said that the purpose was to explore "an exchange” between the two schools, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.
It was also alleged that Dobelle conducted some serious job hunting during his tenure at UH, possibly using state resources.
Dobelle served two terms as Mayor of Pittsfield, from 1973-1977. He served as president of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and Middlesex Community College in Lowell as well as other positions in academia, before taking the job in Hawaii.
In January, he took a job as president of the New England Board of Higher Education.
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