GOVERNOR’S OFFICE NEWS RELEASE: GOVERNOR APPOINTS THREE COMMUNITY LEADERS TO THE UH BOARD OF REGENTS

HONOLULU - Gov. David Ige announced the appointments of William Haning, III, M.D., Wayne Higaki and Diane Paloma to the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents.

Dr. William Haning, III (City & County of Honolulu seat) is currently the director of the Addiction Psychiatry/Addiction Medicine Training programs, and deputy program director for the Psychiatric Residency Training program at the University of Hawai'i Mānoa's John A. Burns School of Medicine. A retired Naval Captain and a tenured professor of psychiatry, he retired as director of Undergraduate Medical Education for JABSOM in 2017. He was designated Professor Emeritus in 2018 and is the incoming president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Haning is a graduate of Punahou School, Princeton University and the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Wayne Higaki (Hawai'i County-West seat) has served on the BOR representing Hawai'i County (West) since 2015. He is currently the assistant administrator for Fund Development and Support Services at North Hawai'i Community Hospital (Queen's Health Systems) in Kamuela, where he has served in various capacities since 1996. Mr. Higaki has worked as a radiation oncology technologist, chief technologist/supervisor, and department manager at Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center in California. He is a member of the Mayor's Health Sustainability Task Force and the Hawai'i Island Healthcare Alliance.

Diane Paloma, MBA, PhD (City & County of Honolulu seat) is chief executive officer of the King Lunalilo Trust and Home. She previously served as director of the Native Hawaiian Health Program with The Queen's Health Systems. Ms. Paloma is a former faculty member at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, and has worked for HMSA and its subsidiaries. She serves on the boards of the Partners in Development Foundation, UH Foundation, the Asian-Pacific Islander American Health Forum, and the Bishop Museum Association Council. She earned her undergraduate degree from the UCLA, an MBA from UH Mānoa, and her PhD from Capella University.

All three appointees are subject to Senate confirmation. If confirmed, they will begin their terms on July 1. The terms end on June 30, 2026.

The Board of Regents has exclusive jurisdiction over the internal structure, management, and operation of the University of Hawai'i System. The BOR is composed of 11 volunteer regents who are nominated by the Regents Candidate Advisory Council and appointed by the governor.

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