David McClain

Interim President, University of Hawaii

photo: Olivier Koning

"If these doors were both open," says University of Hawaii's interim president, David McClain, motioning to the large solid wood doors at the entrance to his office, "the chi would flow out." Although he arranges his Manoa office with Feng Shui principles in mind, McClain, a "weak believer" in Feng Shui, jokes, "I'm not intense about it, but hey, you might as well maximize your chances."

McClain's office is comfortable and denlike. A plush cream carpet covers his floor, accented by dark wood furniture, rattan chairs and a small couch. A cubbyhole bookshelf extends across an entire wall, housing books from McClain's personal collection, as well as publications from the University Press. The high ceilings with exposed wooden beams and the large, wooden stand-up desk on the opposite wall, with its heavy legs and massive surface, dwarfs the other features in the office. "Working standing up makes a lot of sense for me," says McClain, who admits, "I'm one of those people who spread out a lot."

McClain has spread out geographically, as well. A Midwest native, he moved to Kansas and Boston for school, served in Vietnam, taught in Japan and earned a Ph.D. from MIT before joining the UH system in 1991. "I'm pretty adaptive to whatever environment I find myself in," he says.

And adapt he has. Before McClain took over the presidency of the 10-campus UH system in August of last year, he served as the vice president of academic affairs and as dean of the business school.

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