Shortly after Dr. Evan S. Dobelle assumes the presidency
of the University of Hawai`i July 1, he will visit with
UH alumni and others in the Bay Area on a date yet to be
determined.
On
March 12, the UH Board of Regents announced their
selection of Dobelle, 55, to succeed Dr. Kenneth Mortimer.
Dobelle was previously president of Trinity College
in Connecticut.
(HCCNC
members interested in attending Dobelle’s Bay Area
reception should e-mail their name and phone number
to kkamisugi@hccnc.com.)
Under
Dobelle’s leadership, Trinity setting the standard
for excellence in liberal arts education while at
the same time serving as a national model for linking
colleges and universities in innovative partnerships
with corporate, cultural, and government institutions.
Dr.
Evan S. Dobelle
Dobelle
is a leading advocate for the liberal arts, a staunch supporter
of research and technology, and a passionate advocate of
public-private partnerships to spur economic development.
He has been honored for his efforts and successes with numerous
awards, honorary degrees, and special recognition from service
organizations, community-based organizations and advocacy
groups, and universities in Hartford and throughout the
country. Dobelle, who is a professor of public policy, teaches
in this field at Trinity every year. He holds bachelor's,
master's, and doctoral degrees in education and public policy
from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a master's
in public administration at Harvard University.
During
Dobelle’s tenure at Trinity, the College has made great
strides on the admissions front. Applications this year
(to the Class of '04) will set a record for a fifth consecutive
year. Since Dobelle took the helm, total applications are
up 77% and early-decision applications are up 144%. The
College has made progress not only in terms of quantity
but also, importantly, in terms of quality. For example,
combined average SAT scores have increased by almost 30
points. Applications from multicultural students have increased
39%, and 47% more minorities enrolled in the Class of '03
than enrolled five years ago.
The
College successfully completed a $100-million capital campaign
ahead of schedule during the Dobelle administration, and
fundraising goals have been exceeded each year. During this
period, alumni participation in annual giving topped 51
percent, putting Trinity in elite company among the nation’s
universities and colleges.
Under
Dobelle’s leadership Trinity has spearheaded a $250-million
neighborhood revitalization initiative in a collaboration
among the College, three hospitals and Connecticut Public
Television. The initiative includes the construction just
beyond campus of three new schools and the first Boys and
Girls Club in the country to be affiliated with a college
or university, and recently announced plans for construction
of a new Connecticut History Center, to be designed by world-renowned
architect Frank Gehry.
The
initiative, born at and led by Trinity, has drawn national
attention and unprecedented local support. Hailed as "a
visionary college president," in 1996 Dobelle was named
"Business Person of the Year" by the Hartford Business Journal
for having taken "swift and decisive" action to connect
Trinity and its future to the neighborhoods that surround
the College’s campus. Trinity’s neighborhood initiative
received page-one coverage in The New York Times in 1997.
The article described in great depth and detail Dobelle’s
"grand vision for the liberal arts college in urban America"
and lauded him for setting out "to restore his community
to health and his institution to preeminence."
Both
the 1998 and 2000 editions of the Time/Princeton Review
The Best College for You guide celebrated Trinity College
as a "College of the Year." In 1998, retired General Colin
Powell, chairman of America’s Promise -- The Alliance for
Youth, announced that Trinity was the first "College of
Promise" in the country. Powell was at Trinity to participate
in the dedication of the first Boys & Girls Club in America
to be affiliated with a college or university. "Trinity
College’s commitment to improving the quality of life in
Hartford and to helping the city’s young people dream and
believe that they too might someday attend college and live
the American dream is exemplary. I am very pleased that
Trinity has responded to the challenge," said Powell at
the dedication ceremony.
In
1999, Dobelle was named New Englander of the Year "for his
outstanding contributions to the region’s academic community,
as well as to the Hartford community through revitalization
and economic development projects." "Dr. Dobelle’s vision
and energy are producing tremendous results for the Hartford
area and the New England region," according to James T.
Brett, president and chief executive officer of the New
England Council, which made the award. Also in 1999, Dobelle
was inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Hall
of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. Roxanne Spillett, the president
of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, lauded Dobelle for having
"moved mountains." "Your vision and leadership are an inspiration
to all. You are lighting the way for others to follow,"
she said. In February 2001, the National Child Labor Committee
bestowed on Dobelle its Lewis Hine Distinguished Service
Award for a his lifelong devotion to the social welfare
of children.
Dobelle
pursued a notable career in academia and public service.
After serving as the twice-elected Mayor of Pittsfield,
MA, while in his twenties, and as the Commissioner of Environmental
Management and Natural Resources for the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, Dobelle was chosen by President Jimmy Carter
to be United States Chief of Protocol for the White House
and Assistant Secretary of State with the rank of Ambassador
at age 31.
Prior
to assuming his current position at Trinity College, Dobelle
served as chancellor and president of the nine-campus, 85,000-student
City College of San Francisco and before that as president
of Middlesex Community College in Lowell, MA, the largest
such institution in New England.
Dobelle
has been married for 31 years to his wife, Kit. A Connecticut
native, Kit is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts,
served as the U.S. Chief of Protocol for two years during
the administration of President Jimmy Carter and then Chief
of Staff to First Lady, Rosalyn Carter. Kit and Evan have
a 14-year-old son, Harry.
