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(June 12, 2009) Underwater Professorships The recent USMNEWS.net report, The Mermaid President, indicated that most of the student scholarship endowments held by the USM Foundation are currently "under water," and that as a result the USMF will be able to award only 200 scholarships in 2009-10, down from the 620 of 2008-09. That bit of "very bad news" is now compounded by the information discovered by USMNEWS.net reporters that the CoB's professorship endowments are under water as well, and will not be funded during 2009-10 either.of 67.7% from 2008-09.

(June 15, 2009) Palmer by Land, Saunders by Air II In speaking about the national exposure that USM is currently receiving for winning the Gainesville Regional and advancing to the College World Series, USM president Martha Saunders told The Hattiesburg American that "[p]eople are writing about this Cinderella team, and connecting it to the school. Four years ago, we were flat on our backs after Katrina. We recovered from that and we received a $6 million gift from heaven. We just think the universe is smiling on us." In her comment, Saunders appears to have forgotten that most of USM's scholarship and professorship endowments are underwater, and that the University and State are facing dire budgetary situations (and for the second year in a row).

(June 16, 2009) 2008-09 No Banner Year Either During the 2007-08 academic year, USMNEWS.net staff followed the progress of USM's athletics teams in order to assess USM president Martha Saunders' Fall 2007 Convocation claim that Golden Eagles sports teams would be producing a "banner year" in 2007-08. The report that ultimately emerged from that assignment, "Aunt Martha's 'Banner Year'," is inserted below. As you can see, the Golden Eagles sports units won only 51.6% of their contests (i.e., 239 wins in 463 contests) during 2007-08, a result representing anything but a "banner year."

(June 17, 2009) Oops! She Did It Again Once again USM president Martha Saunders took to the air (yesterday, 16-June-09) to watch the Golden Eagles compete in the College World Series. Unfortunately, the Eagles did not perform well on this trip, losing consecutive games to Texas and North Carolina. But, as Saunders' 16-June-09 blog indicates, the CSW experience was an occasion for USM alumni the nation over to converge in one place for a reunion of sorts. Unlike most, Saunders arrived by private plane. Who else was there? Saunders' blog mentions Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny Dupree. As the Eagles walked in the winning run for Texas on Sunday night, the ESPN cameras panned over to unhappy Mississippi Senator Tom King of Petal. I wonder if either of these gentlemen travelled with Saunders, and, if so, if an ethics violation of any sort occurred because of it.

(June 19, 2009) Miffed Martha USM president Martha Saunders couldn't hide it – she's completely underwhelmed by the strategic acumen of Mississippi's IHL Board, which recently decided to keep USM's in-state tuition level.