SAMI DAKHLIA, FORMER ASSOCIATE
PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS
(September 18, 2007) Breaking News Has the 2007-08 P&T Jailbreak Begun? HATTIESBURG -- Reporters at
USMNEWS.NET were just on the receiving end of an e-mail in circulation that states that assistant professor of
economics Sami Dakhlia and associate professor of economics Akbar Marvasti have submitted their applications
for promotion. Recent columns at USMNEWS.NET have predicted that a P&T jailbreak of sorts was imminent, and
sources claim these applications could indeed mark the beginning of that.
(September 24, 2007) CoB News, 24 September 2007 CoB Fundraising Grinds to Halt If you've wandered by the
CoB's Development Office in recent weeks, you've noticed that the door is locked and the lights are off. That's
because the CoB's fundraising officer, Emile Dieth, is now serving as the Interim Executive Director of USM's
Foundation. Dieth's replacement, if there is to be one, has not reached Joseph Greene Hall yet. That means that
whatever fundraising programs were underway when Dieth departed the CoB over the summer of 2007 are no
longer operating at full throttle.
(September 26, 2007) Breaking News Bad News on the P&T Jailbreak Train LONG BEACH – Reporters with
USMNEWS.NET have just learned that the Draughn Assistant Professor of Healthcare Marketing, Michael
Wittmann, is submitting a 2007-08 application to become the Draughn Associate Professor of Healthcare Marketing.
Wittmann, who some sources believe is one of the highest paid assistant professors in marketing in the South,
stands to earn a 9-month taxpayer-supported salary of just under $100,000 per year with the salary increment that
comes with promotion in the CoB.
(October 8, 2007) Special Report Memo to Martha, Part I A Look at Alvin Williams’ Role in the Mobbing of Aug-07
Reporters at usmnews.net have received a copy of a memo sent by Interim CoB Dean Alvin Williams to USM
President Martha Saunders, through Interim Provost Bobby Middlebrooks, asking Saunders to terminate the
employment (at USM) of USMNEWS.NET editor and accounting professor, Marc DePree. Williams’ letter is dated
21 August 2007, the same day that Saunders penned a letter to DePree advising DePree that he was being relieved
of his teaching and services responsibilities to USM during the fall 2007 semester.