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(January 10, 2008) Breaking News Was the BBER Economics Symposium a Plus or a Minus? HATTIESBURG – Reports coming from the Bureau of Business Research 10-Jan-08 Symposium indicate that the decision to host the event may have been a net minus for the CoB. Valerie Wells, a reporter for The Hattiesburg American, attended the day's events and produced a contemporaneous blog on the speakers and the conclusions that were reached. Wells arrived early, and her first observation was about the Thad Cochran Center, venue for the day's activities:

(January 14, 2008) CoB at a Crossroads PART 1 The Gunther Era: Waste, Scandal, and Farhang One can't understand where the CoB is today without delving into the past, at least a bit. Many of the CoB's current difficulties can be traced back as far as 1998, the year in which the William Gunther era in the CBA began. That year the CBA moved to replace Tyrone Black, its previous permanent dean, with a new leader.1 The University's choice was William Gunther, a retiree from the University of Alabama. Aside from having put a full career in at the UofAL, sources say that Gunther brought to the CBA a relatively weak academic record, both in terms of teaching and research.

(January 13, 2008) CoB News, 13 January 2008 The BBER's Dog and Pony Show Sources tell USMNEWS.NET that the Bureau of Business and Economic Research economics symposium of 10-Jan-08 did little other than provide some negative publicity for the CoB. According to speakers, Hurricane Katrina was a welcome event, as it spread economic joy throughout the southern portion of MS, and at a time when the economy here was feeling some pains. Luckily for the USM community who could not attend, The Hattiesburg American placed one of its reporters on the scene, and provided her with an Internet connection so that she could produce a contemporaneous blog. She did a commendable job. What was not reported, however, is that a healthy portion of the "crowd" for the event consisted of CoB administrators and compliant faculty.

(January 24, 2008) 31st & Pearl BBER Slumber Better for All The recent Economics Symposium put on by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research Director, CoB economist William Gunther, revealed much about the shallowness of the CoB's "Centers-in-Residence" The Symposium seemed to offer little beyond hoping for another hurricane like Katrina, since, according to Symposium presenters, Ms. K offered up economic bliss by the truck load. While BBER critics thought that Gunther's BBER had finally awakened from a long winter's nap, we all came to learn that, when it comes to the image of USM and its CoB, the BBER does more good when sleeping.

(February 10, 2008) CoB News, 11 February 2008 Is George Here to Stay? With Janis May's 7-Feb-08 press release entitled "Southern Miss Professors Take on Editorship of International Tourism Journal," it looks like visiting assistant professor
of tourism management, Babu George, may have found a permanent home in USM's College of Business. May's presser, inserted below, indicates that George will hold the "Managing Editor" title for the Journal of Tourism, a periodical that will be co-published by USM's CoB and Garhwal University (India).