LANCE NAIL, DEAN
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(January 8, 2009) The 2008 USMNEWS.net CoB Person of the Year by Duane Cobb 2. Lance Nail – 2008 was a big year for Lance Nail. He started it out as department chair at the University of Alabama – Birmingham, and he ended it as dean at the University of Southern Mississippi. On top of that, he came to USM’s business school with a better sense of the importance of quality academic research than any previous CoB dean save Tyrone Black, and he’s worked diligently to reorganize the CoB in order to put that new research focus in the best possible position for success.
(January 8, 2009) GH Chatter People are beginning to wonder aloud how CoB dean Lance Nail's plan to hire six new department chairs (as part of the CoB reorganization) is going to work out. The state's (and nation's) dire economic predicament was the most common suspect in late fall 2008 conversations when it comes to stumbling blocks facing the six hiring processes. Now, internal sabotage is being talked about as the biggest threat to Nail's ambitions. Reports are circulating that accounting is now in "botch it up" mode after having their wishes with regard to the accounting chair hire brushed aside by the Nail administration.
(January 8, 2009) The 2009 CoB Retreat: A Brief Review Despite all of the early indications that the 2009 CoB Faculty and Staff Retreat (CFSR) would be sparsely attended, a large crowd (relative to the total CoB roster) turned out for CoB dean Lance Nail's show.
(January 12, 2009) GH Chatter Discussions continue about dean Lance Nail's plan to develop standards for differential teaching loads. Just hearing that such a plan is in the works is enough to scare some of the CoB's old-timers, who feel entitled to their cushy teaching loads despite having written off research. The development of a sincere differential teaching load policy would be a major step in the right direction for USM's business school. Because that is so, some are saying don't count on it happening any time soon.
(January 14, 2009) Perks for Buds XXIII Accountants in “Retreat” Dean Nail’s first retreat was, by all accounts, a huge success. Reports say the area with the biggest no-shows for Lance seemed to be Accounting. Bob Smith apparently was still in Atlanta. Where were Stan Clark and Mary Anderson? Aren’t they two of the reputed movers-and-shakers? Was this a message sent to Lance that Lance is not in charge? Perhaps it was continued outrage over Lance’s non-hiring of their favored candidate for director? Maybe it was apathy like it seemingly was for Hsieh, Chen, and Malik. [Editor's note: DePree wasn't invited.] If there are no consequences – and why would you expect any – it is just another example of Perks for Buds.
(February 12, 2009) Is the CoB Becoming the U of Phoenix? A Look at the Mother of All Detrimental Residency Decisions Revelations over the past few months that more and more CoB faculty are choosing to live outside of Mississippi leave little reason to believe that CoB dean Lance Nail will ever turn the tide in USM's business school. With former dean and current economics professor/director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Development William Gunther living in Josephine, AL, while accounting professor Charles Jordan lives in Panama City, FL, those few CoB faculty who remain in Hattiesburg and are working hard to elevate the reputation of the organization are finding it next to impossible to keep up morale.