Kobayashi elected Chair of the UH Board of Regents

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Jim Manke, (808) 956-6099
External Affairs & University Relations
Kristen Cabral, (808) 956-5039
Public Information Officer
Posted: Jul 19, 2002

The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents today elected Bert A. Kobayashi to be chair for the next year. Kobayashi‘s selection came at the conclusion of the board‘s July meeting at UH Manoa. The new chair is in his eighth year as a regent — the final year of a second term with the university‘s governing board. Maui regent Everett R. Dowling was elected vice chair.

Also, two new regents began their terms on the board this month.

Myron A. Yamasato of Kamuela on the Big Island joins the board in the position formerly held by Billy Bergin, whose term expired June 30, 2002. Yamasato is presently vice president for finance with Waikoloa Land Company where he has worked for more than 20 years. He is a Certified Public Accountant who previously served as a consultant to the Hawaiʻi Economic Development Council and with the accounting firm of Touche Ross and Company.

Michael J. Hartley joins the board in the position formerly held by Sharon Weiner, now a member of the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. Hartley is President and CEO of The Hartley Foundation, a non-profit charitable foundation. He is a co-founder of Cheap Tickets, Inc., a distributor of discount leisure travel services that was sold in 2001 to Cendant Corporation. Prior to founding Cheap Tickets, Hartley was an executive and consultant in the airline industry, variously handling all aspects of air carrier operations and administration including aircraft maintenance, regulatory matters, crew training, reservations and sales.