Reports for September 1, 2013 - September 30, 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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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?
September 20, 2013
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?
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."
September 25, 2013
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
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.”