By COLIN M. STEWART
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
Former University of Hawaii at Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng is expected to remain at the school’s College of Pharmacy as a tenured professor this fall.
Tseng stepped down as chancellor in late June 2010 after 12 years on the job. During her tenure, the campus saw explosive growth, with grant funding increasing from $3 million annually to more than $20 million.
In making the transition from chancellor to professor, Tseng saw her salary decrease from $284,000 a year to $187,596 last year. That salary will remain the same this year, according to a university spokesman. That’s still $100,000 more than the average professor at UHH makes, according to a salary study completed last month by the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly. The average professor’s salary on the Hilo campus in 2010-11 — the most recent data available — was $82,159.
Additionally, Tseng collected a year’s worth of her previous executive pay during a yearlong professional development leave before returning to teach at the pharmacy college last year.
Tseng did not respond to inquiries, but according to College of Pharmacy Public Information Officer Maggie Morris, Tseng intends to continue her work teaching at the school as a chemist and health professional, saying that “she fits in with many of our professors who have chemistry backgrounds. … The College of Pharmacy is lucky to be able to call on her expertise, and the students have opportunities unlike anywhere else.”
“As an example of her teaching load, last year she taught courses in leadership, nutrition, Asian health care systems, and Hawaiian pharmacy history,” Morris said. “These are subjects she developed, which offer a unique perspective not found at any other school of pharmacy.”
The spokeswoman said that Tseng would continue her work as director of international relationships for the College of Pharmacy and also will work as senior adviser with the UHH Chancellor’s Office to continue developing international ties for the campus.
“She continues to work in an advisory capacity with other areas on campus, such as ‘Imiloa,” Morris added.
When Tseng first planned her exit from the chancellorship at UHH, she did not intend on returning to the school following her paid leave. In 2008, she asked the UH Board of Regents to waive a policy that says faculty members must return to work for at least the length of time of their sabbatical.
Regents denied the waiver, however. Shortly thereafter, Tseng said she had a change of heart.
“I did request it (the waiver),” she said in 2010, “and I changed my mind. I decided I am still young, and besides, the new chancellor and I have talked about it and he needs a lot of transition help. You can’t even know the things he does not know right now.”
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
