DR. AKBAR MARVASTI,
FORMER ECONOMICS PROFESSOR
(October 5, 2007) GH Chatter, The Jim Henderson chatter from our last installment gets even more interesting. Some
faculty are saying that Henderson boasted, at the 4-May-07 CoB faculty meeting, about having "bombed" more
undergraduate students than any other faculty present in the meeting room (JGH 303). What is it with some faculty
accounting faculty wanting to see students do bad?
(October 8, 2007) Breaking News Sawyer Does the (Once) Unthinkable HATTIESBURG – A significant buzz is being
generated around Joseph Greene Hall, and via an e-mail chain, regarding the latest news about the 2007-08 P&T
Jailbreak Train (in USM's College of Business). According to information that has reached reporters at USMNEWS.NET,
one of the three "outside reviewers'" letters written on behalf of Akbar Marvasti's application for promotion to full
professor of economics comes from former EFIB economist Charles Sawyer, who is now with TCU.
(October 9, 2007) Special Report All Eyes on Akbar An Investigative Series on CoB Faculty Research Credentials
Reporters at usmnews.net continue to investigate the story surrounding former CoB economist Charles Sawyer’s
“external review” of CoB associate professor of economics Akbar Marvasti. Marvasti, who joined the CoB in August of
2006, was hired by Sawyer during the spring of 2006. Then, after 25 years in the CoB (at USM), Sawyer departed for
TCU in August of 2007. A Breaking News story from 8-Oct-07 entitled "Sawyer Does the (Once) Unthinkable" revealed
that shortly after exiting the CoB Sawyer penned an “external review letter” supporting Marvasti’s 2007-08 application
for promotion to full professor in the CoB.
(October 10, 2007) 31st & Pearl Southern Fried Sawyer 2 It was only a few months ago that EFIB Chair George Carter
told the world that former EFIB economist, Charles Sawyer, is the king of reading recommendation letters for "unstated
content". Now, with Sawyer.s recent recommendation of prot¨¦g¨¦ Akbar Marvasti.s application for promotion to full,
Sawyer is also the emperor of writing them. The connections between Sawyer and Marvasti almost know no end.
(October 22, 2007) Promotion Then, Promotion Now (Gunther + Klinedinst) < Marvasti Scrutiny of the research records
of those on the so-called “2007-08 P&T Jailbreak Train” continues to pervade Greene Hall water cooler conversations as
well as the news pages of USMNEWS.NET. One of the passengers on that train is associate professor of economics
Akbar Marvasti, who was hired during the spring of 2006 from Pomona College, where he was serving as a visiting
professor of economics. After just one year in USM’s College of Business, Marvasti submitted his application for
promotion to full professor in September of 2007.
(October 22, 2007) Ethics Update, October 2007 There are a number of interesting stories on the ethics front in the CoB
to update USMNEWS.NET readers on. Let’s get started.