HONOLULU -- Gov.Linda Lingle said Thursday that the University of Hawaii Board of Regents should consider keeping David McClain as the school's next president, succeeding Evan Dobelle.

McClain, the university's vice president for academic affairs, was named acting president when the regents voted unanimously to fire Dobelle on Tuesday night.

McClain became vice president last year after serving as dean of the College of Business at the Manoa Campus. He joined the faculty in 1991 as a professor with wide-ranging experience in Pacific and Asian business and economics.

Lingle said she thinks McClain has a lot of support inside and outside the state.

She said the regents should keep McClain in the position to provide stability and not rush the search for a new president.

Meanwhile, student leaders at the University of Hawaii's Manoa campus said a meeting is planned next week to find out how Dobelle's firing will affect students.

Whether they agreed with the decision or not, many students said they simply wanted to know more about what led to the action Tuesday night.

Regents said they have been advised to remain quiet about the decision because of potential legal action by Dobelle.

Susan Sanger, who is president of the U.H. Graduate Student Organization, said she was shocked by the news, but even more shocked that it didn't happen sooner.

Sanger said one of the main criticisms of Dobelle has been over his hiring of mainland people for top-paid administrative positions, calling some of his spending decisions into question.

Dobelle said he was amazed by the regents' action, and added he is proud of everything he has done as president. Dobelle was hired in March 2001 under a seven-year contract paying him an annual base salary of $422,000.