Reports for September 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013
Click here for reports and editorials from August 1, 2013 - August 31, 2013
usmnews.net
September 3, 2013
Guest Editorial Where are they? What happened? It's pretty common for deans to have at least a brief retirement/going away "party" for faculty who have been at USM for twenty-five to thirty years -- even if it's just a small get together in the faculty lounge.


Dear usmnews.net, A recent editorial pointed out that when he first arrived, you "advised [Director of the School of Accountancy] Hughes that he would have to change faculty who for decades published only in low quality journals." Well, it appears he may be doing just that. Three are gone, now.
September 4, 2013
How does a Q&A dialogue unfold when an attorney catches a witness lying or exhibiting "a loose screw"? Re: Patricia P. Munn, Part 1 Here's one of many examples from usmnews.net's archives of how a Q&A unfolds when an attorney catches a witness lying, or being or acting just plain dumb, or exhibiting "a loose screw." The following testimony catches Patricia ("Patty") P. Munn.


Editorial It Isn't Just the Cuts in State Funding An article published in today's Hattiesburg American makes for interesting reading. However, the biggest misconception in the article is, "[t]he decline in state funding is the main culprit in the tuition inflation that has increasingly made college unaffordable."

September 5, 2013
Lee P. Gore "TROUBLED COUNSEL AT UWF" As of September 4, 2013, The Florida Bar (Protecting Rights, Pursuing Justice, Promoting Professionalism) is still reporting Lee P. Gore as the "Troubled Counsel At UWF."

Dear usmnews.net, I know the UWF VP [Brown] said Lee [Gore] passed the Florida Bar exam in February 2013. Do you think he may have failed it? If the pass rate is as shown in the report [632 out of 1,587], roughly 60% of the people taking the bar exam failed.

September 6, 2013
Revisiting Black Tuesday One of the Saddest and Most Shameful Days in the History of the College of Business Newcomers may wonder what Black Tuesday is and why it has such meaning to many people, most of whom are no longer at Southern Miss. It was a day on which administrators, with the assistance of Lee Gore, trampled faculty governance in the College of Business.

September 9, 2013
On the Boards What Southern Miss Football Fans Are Saying With Southern Miss football program flattened by a 0-14 record over the past two years, talk on the blogosphere increasingly focuses on whether, given its fiscal and market shortcomings, Southern Miss should attempt to compete in Division One football. Here one example.


Dear usmnews.net, Dr. Bennett's claim that "our (students') average ACT score has moved to just under 23" doesn't ring quite true. It isn't what I'm seeing in my classes. What do you think?

September 10, 2013
breaking news Southern Miss 2013 - 2014 Enrollment Numbers Drop Like a Rock According to the IHL, USM's "unduplicated headcount" dropped from 16,468 students (Fall 2012) to 15,325 students (Fall 2013). This change represents a devastating 6.9% drop in enrollment.
breaking news Bad News Continues USM Remains in Bottom Tier of U.S. News Ranking HATTIESBURG - With the release of the 2014 edition of Best Colleges from U.S. News & World Report, usmnews.net has learned that USM remains in the bottom tier of national colleges and universities with a ranking of "RNP" or rank not published.
September 11, 2013
Dear usmnews.net, Fyi...new USM president used the airplane and two pilots this past weekend to fly himself, wife, and his two kids to the Nebraska football game at a cost of over $4400. Would be good to see that on the front page of the hattiesburg American.



breaking news MORE BAD NEWS USM'S MBA Program Is Officially Unranked HATTIESBURG - Bad news continues to arrive. With the release of the 2014 edition of Best Colleges from U.S. News & World Report, usmnews.net has learned that USM's MBA program is "unranked".
September 12, 2013
Dear usmnews.net, U.S. News & World Report doesn't tell the whole story [of the problems at USM]. My oldest started at Southern Miss and did not, for lack of a better word, thrive. For one thing, far too many of his teachers barely spoke English. Have you ever tried to learn calculus from someone whose first language is Chinese?
In anticipation of usmnews.net's current Mississippi Open Records request which will update USM's and President Bennett's use of an airplane, N777AQ, usmnews.net offers a history of Bennett's use of this expensive administrator's toy, first leased by past-President Martha Saunders and paid for on an ongoing basis with student and taxpayer money. Do You Think...? USM Is Still Squandering Millions on Airplane N777AQ, Part 10

In anticipation of usmnews.net's current Mississippi Open Records request which will update USM's and President Bennett's use of an airplane, N777AQ, usmnews.net offers a history of Bennett's use of this expensive administrator's toy, first leased by past-President Martha Saunders and paid for on an ongoing basis with student and taxpayer money. Do You Think...? USM Is Still Squandering Millions on Airplane N777AQ, Part 11

September 13, 2013
Dear usmnews.net, Bill McGillis has been AD [athletic director] for less than two months and he's already talking about spending money that the State of Mississippi and Southern Miss' students don't have. "'I do feel like every facility we have needs improvement,' he said. 'Everyone of them.'" Where does he think the money is going to come from? Is he planning to borrow more money and add to the debt that is already threatening to swamp the University?

September 16, 2013
Editorial 0 and 15 The Cure Let's turn around our USMTTT football program. 0 and 15! We were 12 and 2 just a year before last. Granted it took USM a few decades to get there, well, maybe a century to get there. But let's not belabor the facts. Let's turn our football program into a real football program. We're not quitters. Anyone who posts on Eagle Post, where Southern Miss fans meet on the net!, or BIG GOLD NATION, or listens to USM administrators and well paid USM athletic administrators know we, USM can do it. Just GoTTT! We have a "rich" tradition of striving, year after year after year, TTT. We're not quitters.

Dear usmnews.net, Why doesn't the University and the Foundation sell that stupid airplane? With declining enrollment and bad news from U.S. News [& World Report], it seems that the money could be put to a better use.

September 17, 2013
Revisiting Sports at Southern Miss Turmoil, part 1 Over the past couple of years, sports at Southern Miss has been in a state of near constant turmoil. What kind of turmoil? Three athletics directors, three head football coaches, two head basketball coaches, and various coaches from less well publicized sports.
The Problem with Sports at Southern Miss Although the picture above was taken at the end of the Saunders' era at Southern Miss, it defines the problem with the school's efforts to move into the "big time": Empty seats.
Revisiting Sports at Southern Miss, Sanctions Aren't college coaches supposed to set a standard for their young charges? Shouldn't those standards include respecting and following the rules?

September 18, 2013
Dear usmnews.net, I'm so mad I could spit. As my tuition bill keeps going out the roof, part of what I'm paying for is some new dorms. The University's news, uses words like "monumental", and "magnificent". [President] Bennett says he wants to "support their [students'] progression toward graduation." Is he out of his mind? What would support my progression toward graduation is if I didn't have to borrow so much money or work an extra job.

September 19, 2013
Will USM ever get its priorities straight? Almost daily, usmnews.net's reporters and editors receive some version of the following: "Why is it that USM can spends thousands of dollars a year on a private plane to haul the president, IHL board members, and various "friends" around and millions on athletics, but will not fund a valuable, academic program. ... It is far more likely to benefit our students than a private plan or a football ever will." Will USM ever get its priorities straight?


Revisiting Sports at Southern Miss, Losing and Sanctions Isn't it the worst of all possible worlds? A coach who consistently loses ... and gets popped with embarassing sanctions.


September 20, 2013
Revisiting Sports at Southern Miss, Expensive and REALLY Bad Contracts Does anyone remember the Ellis Johnson contract? The contract that former head football coach Ellis Johnson inked with USM before the 2012 season, a season in which USM finished 0-12 and resulting in Johnson being terminated. USM owes Johnson the remainder of his contract, or $2.1 million, even though Johnson secured employment, and at $800,000 per year - more than he was making as head coach at USM
Guest Editorial When will Anderson and Jackson go? By C. Anna Hall In a report a several weeks ago, usmnews.net asked what happened to Charles Jordan, Patty Munn, and Rod Posey? They were faculty at the School of Accountancy, College of Business, University of Southern Mississippi. They simply didn't continue their employment at USM last June 2013. And there were no administrative pronouncements thanking them for their decades of service. Very unusual.

September 23, 2013
Editorial Salesmanship Saturday' s Clarion-Ledger article (USM coach: 'Kids want to be here') by John Talty began with the statement that "Recruiting is ... salesmanship." What do you think of when you hear the word "salesmanship"? Hyperbole? Caveat Emptor (Let the buyer beware)? Half truths? Deception?

Revisiting Sports at Southern Miss, Indifference Why does women's sports have such a tradition of losing? Does anyone care?

September 24, 2013
It's Our Choice Not To Be "Ugly" "The story that was too ugly to tell," by Craig S. Wilder, was reported today in The Chronicle of Higher Education and is well worth reading. In it, Mr. Wilder states that "Colleges were not innocent occupants of a world with slavery; rather, they helped bring that world into existence."
Revisiting Sports at Southern Miss, Blaming Others for Bad Decisions Who was responsible for the breathtakingly bad Ellis Johnson contract? The contract that former head football coach Ellis Johnson inked with USM before the 2012 season, a season in which USM finished 0-12 and resulted in Johnson being terminated.
September 25, 2013
Editorial Screaming at the Deaf From time to time, an academic steps forward with an analogy and warning for higher education. Yesterday, it was Byran White, a journalist turned academic: "Take It From an Ex-Journalist, Adapt or Die."

Dear usmnews.net, Do you really believe the [USM] administration's claim that enrollment dropped [almost 7%] because of increased academic standards? There is a lot of gossip and speculation on campus and in the community, but none of it reflects positively on the school.


September 26, 2013
Reputational Risk: A Danger to Whom? The Chronicle of Higher Education's Jennifer Howard offered a report entitled, "Worried About Messages, Colleges Scrutinize Social Media." Ms. Howard reports "[a]s colleges take a greater interest in what employees do online as part of their work ... [h]ow to handle social media has become a popular topic at conferences for administrators..."
September 27, 2013
Revisiting Sports at Southern Miss - Boneheadedly Stupid Decisions Do you remember the nonsensical decision to accept a Christmas Eve bowl game in Hawaii against an inferior, unrated team? As usual, the USM PR blitz attempted to make a stupid decision appear wonderful. As usual, no one was fooled.

September 30, 2013
USM Loses to Boise State 60 to 7 USM extended its loosing streak to 16 with its loss to Boise State 60 to 7. And how many hundreds of millions has USM spent of football over the past 100+ years to accomplish this record?

Updated 29-Sept-2013 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.”