M.R.C. Greenwood, president of the University of Hawaii system, has announced that she will step down from her post this September, two years before the end of her contract. Dr. Greenwood stated that she was leaving for health and family reasons. She became president in August 2009 and is the first woman to hold the position. Dr. Greenwood will take an unpaid leave from the university and will later return as a tenured faculty member.
Dr. Greenwood was praised by Eric Martinson, chair of the University of Hawaii board of regents, who stated, “MRC Greenwood’s accomplishments have been outstanding. The university’s reputation has advanced nationally and internationally, the strategic goals set by the Board of Regents have advanced, and she helped navigate the university through one of our nation’s and state’s most severe recessions.”
Prior to joining the University of Hawaii, Dr. Greenwood was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs for the University of California system. Earlier she was chancellor of the University of California Santa Cruz.
Dr. Greenwood is a summa cum laude graduate of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She holds a Ph.D. from Rockefeller University.