The Board of Regents went into executive session on Wednesday despite calls that doing so was contrary to Hawaii's Sunshine Law and the spirit of transparency.

University of Hawaii regents met privately and separately for about six hours with the two finalists to become UH’s 16th president and ended Wednesday’s regents’ meeting with no announcement, but with plans to resume their special meeting this morning.

The University of Hawaii is one step closer to selecting a new president as the Board of Regents conducted in-person interviews Thursday with finalists Wendy Hensel and Julian Heilig.

Critics say closed-door interviews and other restrictions on public participation fall short of what’s needed for such an important hire.