feb2014

UPDATED 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.

updated Aunt Martha’s Coaches Did Saunders Lose the Magic Touch? Or, Did She Ever Have It? After the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater won the Division III national championship in 2007, former USM President Martha Saunders blogged that during the 2006-07 academic year while Chancellor at UW-W she had hired the first-year coach who led UW-W to the title. Apparently, Saunders believed that much of credit for the UW-W national championship was due to her special talents at selecting coaches.

updated Will 2013-14 be a Banner Year? During the 2012-13 academic year, USMNEWS.net staff followed the progress of USM's athletics. As you can see, the Golden Eagles sports units won only 40.8% of their contests (i.e., 200.5 wins, incl. ties, in 492 contests) during 2012-13, a result representing anything but a “banner year.”

Broken Priorities "You see it on every campus-an increase in administration and a decrease in full-time faculty, and an increase in the use of part-time faculty," he said. With that trend, along with rising tuition and falling state support, "you're painting a pretty fair picture of higher ed," he continued. "It's not what it should be. What's broken in higher ed is the priorities, and it's been broken for a long time." Administrator Hiring Drove 28% Boom in Higher-Ed Work Force, Report Says By Scott Carlson

Dear usmnews.net, When I read A star's downfall at historically black Alcorn [in The Hattiesburg American on February 22, 2014], two questions came to mind:

Breaking the Rules By Duane Cobb Yesterday's letter to the editor raised an interesting question -- why was Dr. M. Christopher Brown II, former president of Alcorn State very publicly forced out when Martha Saunders, former president of Southern Miss was allowed to resign? There is really no doubt that Saunders was fired. Yet the IHL provided Saunders extensive cover to re-build her reputation along with a generous salary.

Admin Bloat Updated We at usmnews.net have reported the phenomenal growth in administrative costs. For example: Over the past few years, Southern Miss has seen explosive growth in the number of administrators.

Dear usmnews.net, I was looking through the February [20, 2014] IHL Board Book [pdf page 81] and I noticed something interesting. Southern Miss just hired Bryan, Nelson, PA as legal counsel. Did you know that John Mark Weathers [current University Counsel] used to be a partner with that firm? Another example of the good old boy network in action?

Editorial Accreditation is Inherently Corrupt and a Waste of Resources "The Chronicle of Higher Education February 27, 2014 by Nick DeSantis Louisiana College Paid Ex-Official $33,000 to Stay Silent on Accusations Louisiana College paid a former official more than $33,000 as part of a severance agreement after he threatened to go ..."

Dear usmnews.net, Sunday's Hattiesburg American published an article that left me screaming words you won't publish [Campus Construction on the Rise].

SPECIAL REPORT SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE RISING COST OF EDUCATION CREATIVE FINANCING Part 3 of Speaking out about the Rising Cost of Education, Creative Financing continues an updated series from usmnews.net.

Martha Saunders Wants to be President As usmnews.net's ticker announced on March 6, 2014, Martha Saunders is a finalist for the job of president at the College of Charleston. Already, visitors from the College of Charleston are looking for information about their want-to-be president.

WLTX is reporting that Andrew Card has withdrawn his name from consideration as president of the College of Charleston. According to WLTX, three candidates remain: Dennis Encarnation, a former member of the faculty at Harvard ; Martha Saunders, provost at UWF; and South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Glenn McConnell.

Dear usmnews.net, Check out the recent "Rick's Blog" entry from Pensacola -- he's the guy who has been critical of Saunders -- on the Saunders' candidacy at CoC. Name withheld

Lee Gore -- Martha Saunders' Assistant But for how long? As previously reported by usmnews.net, Lee P. Gore, former University Counsel at Southern Miss, and former General Counsel at the University of West Florida was out as General Counsel at UWF .

Dear usmnews.net, After all the excuses and tall tales, finally we know why Martha Saunders stepped down as president at Southern Miss. We have it from Martha's own mouth. It was all Hank Bound's fault! Take a look at a report from the Post and Courier. While Saunders never said Bound's name, she certainly defined him as the bad guy in her departure.

Dear College of Charleston Students and Faculty Have you ever been falsely accused of doing something wrong? If you are falsely accused, you should know what to expect from Martha Saunders if she becomes the next president of the College of Charleston. The following is sworn testimony of Martha Saunders:

Dear College of Charleston Faculty A Rush to Perceived Safety is a Rush to Judgment You May Regret It all sounds so familiar. Some College of Charleston faculty are worried about impending disaster if a state politico is chosen as President. Well, maybe so. ... If the faculty is tempted by a flight to safety, i.e., Martha Saunders, they may crash and burn, just like the faculty at Southern Miss when they rushed to the perceived safety of Martha Saunders.

The College of Charleston Board of Trustees Didn't Fall for Martha Saunders' Public Relations Blather Late Saturday night the College of Charleston Board of Trustees announced the name of the new president, Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell.

"Saunders has not resigned"... yet. Just prior to Martha Saunders' failed on-campus interview for the position of president at the College of Charleston, PNJ.com, A Gannett Company (Pensacola News Journal) offered a report about Saunders: "UWF provost in running for top South Carolina job."

Is Alvin Williams an Incompetent Administrator Who Practices Tribal Morality? Several visitors to usmnews.net yesterday were interested in Alvin Williams. (See usmnews.net visitors listed below.) Here's my concern about Williams. In his University of South Alabama bio, it states that he has "administrative duties..." Alvin Williams is a staunch advocate of Tribal Morality. "Morality binds" but it also "blinds."

Updated 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.

Dear usmnews.net, I have heard a number of people say that Dr. [Martha] Saunders didn't get the job at [the College of] Charleston, in large part, because of the articles [about her] you ran. What do you think of the theory? Name withheld

What Some Eagle Post Fans Think About the Current Status of USM'S Leaders Re: Let's Grade USM'S VIP'S by OldRanchHand " Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:58 am President - F Bennett has been MIA since taking the job. Probably busy working on a diversity powerpoint presentation.

Dear usmnews.net, What's the word on Frances Lucas being pushed out as campus executive officer for the Coast? There has been a lot of speculation on both campuses that [Dr.] Bennett did not like the competition from [President-Emeritus] Aubrey Lucas' daughter. Name withheld

Do You Have Integrity, President Bennett? Prove It! Well, you've had a chance "to get your feet on the ground," Mr. Bennett. USM is publishing documents that are the words and ideas taken from others "without proper citation."

Dear usmnews.net, Last Friday [March 28, 2014], I thought I saw your wife and you at the Beau [Rivage, Biloxi, MS]. Did you go to the Foundation black tie get together? Name withheld

What is a metaphor and what does it tell us? Why, Ed, didn't you ask for translation? In a recent Hattiesburg American article entitled "Bennett's first year at USM a busy one," reporter Ed Kemp forgets to ask, "What do you mean?" Keep in mind that metaphor is a poor, sometimes ridiculous means of communication. Too often metaphor conceals what's actually going on.

Where's Lee P. Gore? After Lee P. Gore attorney at law in Mississippi played fast and loose with the rules/laws in Florida and got caught by the Florida Bar, he was supposed to be reassigned to Martha Saunders' Office Staff (She apparently doesn't mind Lee Gore playing fast and loose with rules/laws) at the University of West Florida.

Dear usmnews.net, Do you know if Steve Jackson [Associate Professor of Accounting] was given tenure? My reading of the faculty handbook, and as it has been explained to me, is that after six years one either is granted tenure or a terminal contract.

Where's Skip Hughes Going? Part 3 Do You Have Integrity, Director Hughes? USM has posted a notice: "The University of Southern Mississippi invites applicants for a full-time, 12-month, tenure-track faculty position as director of the School of Accountancy in the College of Business�Starting date is July 1, 2014...".

Oops, I forgot to explain why we reprinted "I'm not going to commit." ...
Skip offered mighty fine words in support of a self-admitted felon, Richard Scruggs, in a Sentencing Memorandum. The purpose was to request the court to be lenient during the sentencing phase after Scruggs' conviction for conspiring to bribe a Circuit Court Judge. According to Hughes, "In a profession where trust is everything, Dickie [Scruggs] was solid in his word, exemplary in his conduct..."

"There are no rules." Director Skip Hughes (Accounting) and I met to discuss procedures he and other USM administrators were trumping up to fire me under the guise of post tenure review. He insisted on recording the conversation. I offer it below for your review. You'll see-hear, I mean, because it's an audio-why he/they failed. (It's a big file and will take a while to load.)

Student-Teacher Evaluations: Just How Abusive and Dishonest Can An Administrators Get? A recent article from Inside Higher Ed, "Rate My Professor - For Real," (Colleen Flaherty) reminded me, not of potential student misuse of student-teacher evaluations, but how administrators actually misuse and abuse faculty with student-teacher evaluations.

A Sense of Humor Ya gotta have it! You have to have a sense of humor, especially when living with people like my former colleagues at the University of Southern Mississippi. I personally keem my sense of humor by writing. For my academic work-non-fiction-I use my formal name, Chauncey M. DePree, Jr., DBA. See, for example, "Ethics, Power, and Academic Corruption" available at Amazon.

Adios, Skip Dear Skip, We don't know if you're leaving as the Director of accounting and staying at USM in some other capacity or leaving USM altogether. Be sure to let us know. We'll inform folks as soon as we hear. Well, Skip, it was entertaining. Adios.

Dear usmnews.net,usmnews.net hadn't reported about Donnie Tyndall's departure. So, I have something to say. When is Southern Miss going to learn its lesson about its sports program? It is always cash strapped.

Brace Yourself, Maybe You Should Sit Down, Too Here's wisdom and from, of all places, a sports message board: "Eaglepost, Where Southern Miss Fans meet on the net!

What did Martha Saunders teach me? Martha Saunders and her fellow mobbers taught me how to regard them. If you find yourself hunted by such miscreants, usmnews.net offers, by example, details of how to regard them. Let's start with the following sworn testimony of Martha Saunders. She, in her own words-under oath, identifies herself. Let me show you what I'm talking about.