My plans are a bit up in the air today. I’m considering a possible short-term job which would shake my calendar up a bit for the next six weeks or so. I’ll say more if explorations proceed further.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has taken note of the troubled search for a new University of Hawaii president with a story titled, “Finalist Brings Experience, and Baggage, to Presidential Search at the U. of Hawaii“. The story is available to nonsubscribers for just a few days, so follow that link now if you want to read it.

The story notes that the presidential search ended with a single viable candidate.

Despite her strong credentials—besides her stint as provost, she is a former chancellor of the University of California at Santa Cruz and a noted expert on the study of obesity and diabetes—Ms. Greenwood is a controversial choice. She played a prominent role in a wide-ranging executive-compensation scandal that rocked the system.

Faculty union director J.N. Musto urged that the search be restarted.

Mr. Musto said faculty members are concerned about Ms. Greenwood’s lack of experience in Hawaii, and many feel it would be a mistake to hire a chief with such a controversial past, even if they accept the committee’s findings.

“Why take the risk?” he said. “This is the president of the university.”

And so on.

I highly recommend Peace Probe, a new blog by my old friend, Gene Stoltzfus. Gene has a long history as a pacifist activist, but he’s just really a very thoughtful guy. He’s now on an extended peace pilgrimage of sorts, and is filing observations from stops along the way. He speaks with a range of people and provides insights into their views of the world.

Noted this week: The passing of Tom Gill, long a prominent and famililar figure in island politics. And thanks to Gordon Pang for the obit published in the Advertiser, which rose above the relatively limited substance presented by the competition, both print and broadcast.

You must have noticed that it’s another Friday and time for the regular Friday Felines.

This is the natural choice for photo of the week. They struck the pose, I grabbed the nearest camera and managed to catch one shot before the moment was lost. But the one image perfectly expresses what was on their collective minds.

Anyway, click on this threesome to see more of this week’s cats.