David Lassner *

WICHE Commission Chair, President, University of Hawai'i

David Lassner is the 15th president of University of Hawaiʻi (UH). In that capacity he leads the 10-campus system as well as the flagship research university, UH Mānoa and is the WICHE Commission Chair in 2022.  He has worked at the UH since 1977, most recently as its first vice president for information technology and chief information officer.  As a member of UH’s graduate faculty, he has taught both online and in-person in computer science, communications, business, and education. Lassner served on the boards of Hawai‘i’s High Technology Development Corporation and Public Broadcasting Service affiliate and chaired the state’s broadband task force. Lassner also served on the board of Internet2 and was a co-founder and board member of the Kuali Foundation, a founding steering committee member and past-chair of WICHE’s Western Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET), and past-chair of the boards of the Pacific Telecommunications Council and of EDUCAUSE. He is currently a board member of the National Association of System Heads (NASH), and on the Board of Governors of the East West Center.  Lassner earned a bachelors’ in economics and a master’s in computer science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. in communication and information sciences from University of Hawai‘i.

John Morton

Vice President Emeritus, University of Hawai'i Community Colleges

John Morton is the vice president emeritus of the University of Hawai’i Community Colleges.  Morton retired after nearly 49 years with the Hawai’i community colleges, including 21 years as CEO of Kapi‘olani Community College and 14 years as Vice President for Community Colleges.  As Vice President, he oversaw the seven-community-college system and led the development of the Hawai’i Promise scholarship program that offers support to meet all unmet financial need for eligible students; oversaw the development of a unified University of Hawai’i system student information system and student success initiatives, especially for Native Hawaiian students; and was active on boards of both local and national organizations. Morton earned a B.S. in chemistry and M.A. in political science from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in communication and information sciences from the University of Hawai‘i, Manoa.

Colleen Sathre

Vice President Emeritus, University of Hawai'i

Colleen Sathre is vice president emeritus of planning and policy of the University of Hawaii, where she served the university system as the chief academic planning officer for more than 25 years. She managed efforts that produced university mission statements and strategic plans, tuition schedules, university centers on neighbor islands, performance indicators, a reorganization of university information technology services, and numerous board and executive policies. She co-authored the book, “The Art and Politics of Academic Governance” in 2007 with Kenneth Mortimer, president emeritus of the University of Hawaii and Western Washington University. Sathre holds a B.A. from the College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN; and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Aaron Ling Johanson

Representative, Hawai'i State Legislature

Michelle N. Kidani

Senator, Hawai'i State Legislature

Donna Mercado Kim

Senator, Hawai'i State Legislature

Gregg Takayama

Representative, Hawai'i State Legislature