ABOVE: An aerial photo of the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MANOA
Hawai‘i Governor David Ige and the state’s lawmakers are still ironing out the kinks in the state’s new biannual budget after Ige vetoed 26 budget-related bills and line items. But buried deep on page 1133 of the legislative budget worksheet was a provision untouched by the vetoing frenzy: the removal of University of Hawai‘i faculty position number 86231, a job that, until the beginning of this month, was filled by cancer researcher Carl-Wilhelm Vogel.
Because Ige didn’t veto that particular provision, the position’s removal went into effect at the beginning of July. According the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly (UHPA)—the union that represents Vogel and all other university faculty—Vogel was assigned a different position number by the university so that he remained employed by the institution. Still, the union is concerned by what it says ...