weeklyreports_05_01

Here's something new: Let's really practice ethical behavior The Chronicle of Higher Education recently offered "Corporate Responsibility Should Start in Business School" by Donna Sockell. Ms. Sockell advocates � [I]n business schools, our job is to prepare leaders to make workplaces vibrant, financially successful, and driven by values. The seemingly endless stream of business scandals is evidence that business schools are falling short.

SPECIAL REPORT SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE RISING COST OF EDUCATION MOUNTING DEBT TAKEN ON BY THE IHL EXCEEDS $1 BILLION DOLLARS Part 2 of Speaking out about the Rising Cost of Education investigates reasons the cost of a college education continues to climb, creating a massive, unsustainable burden for students and their families.

Ooops, another underfunded state program� A report in The Sun Herald reported, April 30, 2013, "Auditors: It may be underfunded by more than $100M," by Jeff Amy - Associated Press.

breaking news . . . New President, New Bloat Hattiesburg - According to Amy Martin's 1-May - 2013 presser, USM has hired Shannon Fleming as Executive Director of USM Foundation. According to Martin, Fleming will assume this new role at USM effective 1-June-2013.

SPECIAL REPORT SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE RISING COST OF EDUCATION CREATIVE FINANCING Part 3 of Speaking out about the Rising Cost of Education, Creative Financing continues an updated series from usmnews.net. Its purpose is to investigate reasons the cost of a college education continues to climb, creating a massive, unsustainable burden for students and their families.

EaglePost Dear Juggernaut, EaglePost refused to let me comment. As a private blog, that's EaglePost's prerogative. But the following posts on EaglePost warrant some public comment and wider publication:

Is PERS underfunding greater than (worse than) its administrators admit? We've run several reports about Mississippi PERS recently. PERS' underfunded status is troubling. It seems to be underfunded by approximately 40%. So PERS has reported. And, its magnitude of underfunding may be more troubling and even greater than previously reported or publicly understood.

SPECIAL REPORT SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE RISING COST OF EDUCATION THE COSTS OF CREATIVE FINANCING Speaking out about the Rising Cost of Education, Creative Financing continues with a discussion of the real costs of off-balance sheet financing. Part 3 of this series discussed off balance sheet financing. Off balance sheet financing such as that used for the Southern Miss parking garage is typically designed to conceal debt and make it easier to borrow more money

Your money, your tuition dollars, your university's spending habits We've reported many examples of administrative waste at USM and yesterday's special report follows up on the expensive multi-story parking facility built during the Saunders administration.

SPECIAL REPORT SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE RISING COST OF EDUCATION KEEPING IT ALL QUIET Speaking out about the Rising Cost of Education, Keeping it all Quiet continues with a discussion how the University conceals many of the details of its off-balance sheet financing. Parts 3 and 4 of this series discussed off balance sheet financing. Off balance sheet financing such as that used for the Southern Miss parking garage is typically designed to conceal debt and make it easier to borrow more money that will have to be paid by students and taxpayers.

An Excerpt It's exam week. Let's take a break from news reports, maybe have fun, too. Consider an excerpt from Rufus McCoy and Profiteers in the Ivory Tower. We step into Rufus' life when a colleague, Chad Holifield, for some unknown reason, takes mercy on him and his ignorance of office politics. We come in on their phone conversation:

. . . breaking news . . USM Softball Loses the Back 41 HATTIESBURG – By losing to UAB (2 to 3) in the first round of the 2013 C-USA softball tournament, the USM softball team dropped to a dismal 14 wins and 41 losses on the 2013 season, the second full season under co-head coaches Kirsten Voak and Jon Malgradi. The loss brings the overall record of Voak-Malgradi to a very underwhelming 27 wins and 75 losses, making for a winning percentage of only 26.5%.

Irresponsible? Self-Deception? Just Plain Stupid? Let's revisit yesterday's report about NCAA revenue data. What do the last eight years of revenue data tell USM about what to expect from future spor/ts revenues?

Top Conversations "Top Conversations on The Chronicle of Higher Education" are mailed to subscribers. The following is a recent Top Conversation:

Dear usmnews.net, While I was pleased to hear that an anonymous donor had given $1 million to beautify the campus, does that mean that nobody has stepped forward to pay off the sports deficit? [$1.5 million announced by AD Hammond or the $2.1 payout to former Coach Ellis Johnson]?

A public discussion I posted the following comment in response to this morning's report on usmnews.net being taken down at The Chronicle of Higher Education: The comment this thread is based on was taken down and the only reason was "This comment was flagged for review." I, and I assume other readers, would benefit from a discussion about why the decision was made.

My comment was taken down. I put it back up. It was taken down, again. And I put it back up, again...The Chronicle of Higher Education reported an article on May 15, 2013 entitled "Avoiding a Failed Search" by Diane M. Fennig.

The BSD Pay Project A Compilation of the Salaries of Southern B-School Deans Recent reporting here at USMNEWS.net regarding the salaries of two former USM b-school administrators – Harold Doty, a former dean, and Farhang Niroomand, a former associate dean – has drawn interest among USMNEWS.net readers.

To Journal Editors Who Don't Give A D**N An article from the May 17, 2013 Chronicle of Higher Education, you might find interesting, was entitled "It's Time for Journals to Be Author-Reviewed." "Wouldn't it be better if we could publicly share such experiences [unprofessional or incompetent editors] with all those who might benefit? ...".

MPB Online: "Dr. Rodney Bennett ... was the right man for the job the moment he read his resume." Consider the following quote reported on mpbonline.org › News. Feb 7, 2013 by MPB 's Lawayne Childrey: "Ed Blakeslee, President of the Board of Trustees [IHL] for the State College Board says he knew Bennett was the right man for the job the moment he read his resume."

Updated 23-May-2013 HELP WANTED A Look at Business Dean Openings from Around the Country With four current/former CoB deans moving around in the academic world, some USMNEWS.net readers have requested an ongoing report that tracks current b-school dean openings. Long-time readers of USMNEWS.net are aware that Faye Gilbert is the current dean of the CoB, having replaced Lance Nail, who is now the business dean at Texas Tech University.

Administrators' Advantage See a report in today's Chronicle of Higher Education: "Texas Community College Seeks Dismissal of Tenured Professor." My views reported in the Comment section: "Don't expect administrators and their ally faculty to proclaim they are firing a colleague because they disagree with their target's speech...".

Administrative Bloat At USM USM had one of the "biggest increases" in the nation in "growth in managers and support personnel relative to enrollment": 84%. Whenever I read about USM hiring another high-level administrator, I can't help thinking about a report in The Chronicle of Higher Education. First: USM (Southern Miss Now) reporting the hire of another high-level administrator:

Questions from usmnews.net's readers, Question 8: Do you work during summers? If so, what kind of things do you work at? Answer: I do work over the summer. In addition to my usual writing and personal investment activities, I am involved in consulting with and advising small and medium-sized businesses. ...

Does Patty Munn Gossip? Based on a review of Patty Munn's sworn testimony it appears she loves to pass on gossip. We'll start a series of some of her favorites. Sometimes she's the subject of gossip. We'll report those, too.

update Will 2012-13 be a Banner Year? During the 2011-12 academic year, USMNEWS.net staff followed the progress of USM's athletics. As you can see, the Golden Eagles sports units won only 42.0% of their contests (i.e., 194.5 wins, incl. ties, in 463 contests) during 2011-12, a result representing anything but a “banner year.”

Special Report NCAA Releases 2012 Revenue Data The NCAA recently (on 7-May-2013) released data on athletics departments’ revenues, and The USA Today followed up by releasing a complete set of information on each institution to the general public. USM shows up at 105th in the overall ranking, after having generated about $21.5 million in total revenues during 2012. A complete snapshot for USM across the 2005-12 period is provided here.

Niroomand Revisited Universities Recycle Problematic Administrators Faculty who've been around for a decade or so are familiar with university practice of recycling administrators. The disservice of recycling is inadequate public history known about them.

Oops, I forgot to explain why we reprinted "I'm not going to commit." The Clarion Ledger recently reported that "Disbarred lawyer Dickie Scruggs loses appeal, asks to finish out sentence."

update Aunt Martha’s Coaches Did Saunders Lose the Magic Touch? Or, Did She Ever Have It? After the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater won the Division III national championship in 2007, former USM President Martha Saunders blogged that during the 2006-07 academic year while Chancellor at UW-W she had hired the first-year coach who led UW-W to the title.

Does Patty Munn Gossip?, part 2 Based on a review of Patty Munn's sworn testimony it appears she loves to pass on gossip. We started this as a series of some of her favorites.

Does Patty Munn Gossip?, part 3 ... Let me see if I can summarize Ms. Munn's view of the world. If she doesn't like what you have to say, she can define you as dangerous and seek to have you fired. In her own words, you don't have to do anything for her claim to be afraid. Scary thought, isn't it?

GH CHATTER Word around campus is that AD Jeff Hammond is on his way out the door. President Bennett's claim that he will consider month-to-month extensions for Hammond is reported to be a gentle way of encouraging Hammond to turn in his resignation. In any event, ...