Over the past several years, usmnews.net has published literally thousands of reports from current and former faculty who share my belief that USM has ineffectively and inefficiently employed far too much of its resources, both in terms of money and people. The purpose of usmnews.net is not to provide a public relations view. That is amply supplied by The University of Southern Mississippi's public relations department.

Chauncey M. DePree, Jr.

(Click here for editorial policy.)
More than 85,000,000 hits
"The fun money is private money. At Southern Miss, I've got state dollars and I've got Foundation dollars. It's real easy to tell them apart. I tell people I've got two checkbooks. I've got my booze account and my non-booze account. Out of the state money I'm pretty constrained what in I can do. ... Foundation dollars, that's when I take my money out of my booze account, I can pretty much do anything I want with it." D. Harold Doty, former Dean, College of Business, University of Southern Mississippi, current Dean, University of Texas at Tyler
In August 2011, Martha Saunders smiled as she presented Galaxy Tabs to selected students. Three senior adminstrators were suspended. Two are no longer employees of the University. Saunders subsequently declared herself "tired" and resigned as president. (For more reports re "Tabletgate", click here.)
For readers who have requested quicker access to reports about Dr. Saunders' and now Dr. Bennett's airplane, please click here. A good place to start is Cost Per Flight Hour which includes links to the detailed cost and usage data obtained through open records requests.

usmnews.net
If you doubt that the parody, UH-V SBA Faculty Loyalty Pledge, is in effect what Niroomand expects of junior faculty, take a look at a copy of a letter from AAUP President of the Texas Conference to the Provost at UH-V "convey[ing] ... concern about reports of coercion of untenured faculty members in the School of Business Administration (SBA) at the University of Houston-Victoria (UHV)." As the letter says, "That this pledge of support was placed before untenured faculty members, several of whom, we understand, are eligible for promotion and tenure this year, and that members of the SBA administration were reportedly present when these signatures were solicited, heightens our concern." As the letter indicates, "... such a request [is] contrary to the fundamental principles of academic freedom."


UH-V SBA Faculty Loyalty Pledge I, ____________________, hereby pledge my allegiance to Farhang Niroomand, Dean of the School of Business Administration at the University of Houston – Victoria. In doing so, I affirm that it is only through the infinite benevolence of Farhang Niroomand that I have a salary, health benefits, and a retirement plan with which to support myself and my family. I also recognize that any raise I am to receive, whether secret or made public, comes only through his grace, and that I am entitled to nothing, including the air that I breathe, which comes only through his grace as well. Whether I teach online or face-to-face, in Victoria or in Katy, I am forever indebted to my supervisor, Farhang Niroomand.


Farhang Niroomand, AGB Conference, circa 2006
Once usmnews.net published the parody UH-V SBA Faculty Loyalty Pledge, we began to hear from colleagues that the parody was in effect what Niroomand said he expected from them when they were junior faculty. From the personal experience of this editor, Dr. Niroomand is a blowhard and a bully.
A former colleague of Dean Farhang Niroomand sent the following editorial/parody. Many of us who have had the misfortune of working with Niroomand first laughed, then recalled the bullying and threats used at Southern Miss to keep subordinates in line.
June 15, 2017
Updated 14-June-2017 HELP WANTED A Look at Business Dean Openings from Around the Country With four current/former CoB deans moving around in the academic world, some USMNEWS.net readers have requested an ongoing report that tracks current b-school dean openings. Long-time readers of USMNEWS.net are aware that Faye Gilbert is the current dean of the CoB. Another former CoB administrator, Farhang Niroomand, currently holds the dean’s post at the University of Houston – Victoria. Each of these is listed among all southern university/college business deans in USMNEWS.net’s series on deans’ salaries entitled The BSD Pay Project.
June 18, 2017
Farhang [Niroomand] Bullies Junior Faculty Readers want to know if Farhang Niroomand's "coercion" of untenured faculty is anything new. The answer is "no." The following is the sworn testimony of an associate professor in the CoB at Southern Miss. At the time Niroomand was Associate Dean in the College of Business. The testimony was not questioned or refuted by Southern Miss or its legal counsel.

June 19, 2017
Farhang [Niroomand] Bullies Senior Faculty, Too Readers want to know if Farhang Niroomand's "coercion" of untenured faculty is anything new. The answer is "no." Nor is Niroomand's bullying limited to untenured assistant professors. The following is the sworn testimony of a professor in the CoB at Southern Miss. At the time Niroomand was Associate Dean in the College of Business. The testimony was not questioned or refuted by Southern Miss or its legal counsel.


June 20, 2017
Updated 14-June-2017 The BSD Pay Project A Compilation of the Salaries of Southern B-School Deans Recent reporting here at USMNEWS.net regarding the salaries of three former USM b-school administrators – Harold Doty and Lance Nail, both former deans, and Farhang Niroomand, a former associate dean – has drawn interest among USMNEWS.net readers. In response to this interest, USMNEWS.net has begun compiling a list of southern b-school deans and their salaries,

June 21, 2017
Farhang [Niroomand] Bullies Senior Faculty, Too Readers want to know if Farhang Niroomand's "coercion" of untenured faculty is anything new. The answer is "no." Nor is Niroomand's bullying limited to untenured assistant professors. The following is the sworn testimony of a professor in the CoB at Southern Miss. At the time Niroomand was Associate Dean in the College of Business. The testimony was not questioned or refuted by Southern Miss or its legal counsel.


June 22, 2017
June 27, 2017
Corrected Updated 14-June-2017 The BSD Pay Project A Compilation of the Salaries of Southern B-School Deans
March 4, 2018
BREAKING NEWS FARHANG NIROOMAND SUED FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST AND HARASSING FACULTY AT UH-V usmnews.net has received a report that three senior faculty have filed civil complaints against University of Houston - Victoria alleging Farhang Niroomand, former Dean, created a hostile work environment, engaged in racial discrimination, and threatened senior faculty at UH-V. These allegations come as no surprise to faculty and former faculty at the University of Southern Mississippi where Niroomand served as an associate dean for many years. Both junior and senior faculty were the victim of his intemperate behavior.

July 23, 2018
FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE MISSISSIPPI INSTITUTES OF HIGHER LEARNING BOARD OF TRUSTEES CARL NICHOLSON ARRAIGNED ON MULTIPLE FEDERAL TAX LAW VIOLATIONS The Hattiesburg Patriot and The Hattiesburg American are reporting that on Thursday, July 19, 2018, local accountant Carl Nicholson was arraigned on charges of conspiracy to defraud the government, four counts of making a false statement on an income tax return and six counts of willfully aiding and assisting in preparation of a false tax return. Playing fast and loose with the rules is nothing new for Mr. Nicholson. usmnews.net’s first contact with Mr. Nicholson occurred in 2000 when he was called on by Patty Munn and agreed to “fix” a complaint filed by the editor with the IHL. Links in this article connect to this history.



The photograph of Mr. Nicholson shown to the right was taken in 2015 at the Lamar County Detention Center
I’ve heard many 401(k) participants ask: “What mutual funds should I invest in? How do I know they’re the best? Can I do it?”

The purpose of 401(k): TAKE CONTROL! is to provide decision-tools to help you select investments from the lineup of mutual funds available in your 401(k) retirement plan. Your goal is to understand fund returns, costs, and risks. Our job is to help.

It is now available at Amazon.

Be sure to download the interactive spreadsheets at:

http://401k-help.net



Chauncey M. DePree, Jr., BA, MS, DBA
401(k): TAKE CONTROL!
Breaking News: Carl Nicholson Found Guilty on Eleven Counts of Tax Related Fraud Carl Nicholson, former Hattiesburg CPA, former member and President of the Mississippi Institutes of Higher Learning, and former President of the University of Southern Mississippi Foundation found guilty on eleven counts of tax related fraud. After a little more than two hours deliberation by the jury, Mr. Nicholson was found guilty of 11 felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States government, four counts of false statement on income tax return and six counts of willfully aiding/assisting in preparation of false tax returns. No sentencing date has been set, but Nicholson faces up to 35 years in prison and $2,750,000 in fines.
Picture from happier days from USM Foundation website announcing Mr. Nicholson (center front) as president.
February 8, 2019

In Ethics Seminar, Lawyers Say They’d Report A Client For Legally Owning A Gun

If your lawyer believes that having a firearm license defines you as dangerous, you may be at risk of losing your Second Amendment rights and even your freedom. You may not know about his belief or recognize the risk until it is too late....
The Federalist, 05/02/2019
Recent Publications
Breaking News -- Carl Nicholson, former president IHL, former president USM Foundation, and former CPA sentenced for criminal violation of tax laws U.S. News & World Report and WDAM TV are reporting that earlier this morning U.S. District Court Judge Keith Starrett sentenced Mr. Nicholson to five years in federal prison, ordered him to pay restitution of $629,432 to the IRS and a $25,000 fine. Mr. Nicholson could have received up to thirty five (35) years in prison and $2,750,000 in fines. On February 8, 2019, Mr. Nicholson was convicted on eleven (11) felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States government, four (4) counts of false statement on income tax returns, and six (6) counts of willfully aiding/assisting in preparation of false tax returns. According to U.S. News & World Report, during sentencing Judge Starrett stated "Somewhere along the way you forgot your moral compass. This is one of the most egregious (tax crimes). You knew what you were doing. You were cheating the government and stealing from your partners. It is sad that it has all come to this."


May 23, 2019
The popular press is replete with stories of corruption in higher education such as the recent college admissions cheating scandal. They're immaterial when compared to skyrocketing costs traced to mundane misconduct of faculty and administrators we describe in this report. Former president IHL, former president USM Foundation, and former CPA, Carl Nicholson, Interim Dean Rod Posey, Director Jim Crockett, his underperforming friend, Marvin Albin, and Instructor Patty Munn cannot claim ignorance about the implications of their behavior on University finances because they were all CPAs.

Editorial
September 23, 2019
Institutional Corruption: A Cause of Skyrocketing Costs of Higher Education

Rod Posey
Jim Crockett
Marvin Albin
Patty Munn

How An Unlimited Supply Of Borrowed Cash Is Destroying Higher Education

Both of us grew up poor. College was our way out of poverty. Now, we see too many young people locked into poverty by a college education. "You have to go to college" was an article of faith when we were growing up in poor families. Now we wonder if our ticket out of poverty still has the same value. Far too many of this generation are leaving college with substantial debt and few meaningful job opportunities.
The Federalist, 12/27/2019
While you are at home watching streaming TV, usmnews.net is offering an alternative. Download a FREE copy of Are AACSB and University Administrators Trustworthy, Miscreant Authorities or Just Plain Dumb? The book is a fully documented report of the failure of accreditation, including the complicity of the AACSB and University Administrators to silence and punish faculty who dared ask a difficult question?
FREE BOOK DOWNLOAD