For the first time UH President MRC Greenwood spoke out on Monday about Gov. Neil Abercrombie's controversial voicemail KITV4 News aired on Friday.

A four-minute voice mail obtained by KITV4 News through a Freedom of Information Act request, was delivered at 3:58 p.m. on Aug. 16, six days after Abercrombie and Greenwood met in the governor's office about the widening Stevie Wonder concert scandal.

"I believe the Governor and I share one great passion. We both care about the future of the UH," said Greenwood.

Greenwood recently issued a press release apologizing for sending the Board of Regents a letter in October demanding a $2 million buyout and threatening a defamation lawsuit in the wake of the botched athletics fundraiser.

"This is an episode that occurred in one department on one campus," said Greenwood.  

"There's nothing more to say about that letter.  It has been discussed with the regents and was withdrawn.   

"I don't know if I have to give an answer to the public, but the answer is I thought it was in the best interest of the University, just as I thought it was in the best interest of the university to do it initially," said Greenwood.

For more than an hour and a half,  Greenwood answered questions from nearly 100 members of the faculty, student body, and community members at a public forum.