weeklyreports_06_23

Special Report Gaming the System An Investigative Series on CoB Faculty Research Credentials Scholarly Open Access, Critical Analysis of Scholarly Open Access Publishing, reports "� a list of questionable, scholarly open-access publishers." These publishers are so suspect that it recommends "�scholars not do any business with these publishers, including submitting articles, serving as editors or on editorial boards, or advertising with them.

Dear usmnews.net, How did one of the bogus journals (discussed in Gaming the System, An Investigative Series on Cob Faculty Research Credentials) get to be a B-level journal at the CoB?

Fitts to Replace Moore as Associate Dean of Students The early-2012 departure of Brooks Moore, then USM’s associate dean of students, has been addressed by the Martha Saunders administration. According to Chloe Rouse’s 25-June-2012 USM presser, Moore’s replacement is Wynde Fitts, who has recently served the institution as director of Greek Life and director of the Office of First Year Experience.

More in usmnew.net's look back at how bogus journals (discussed in Gaming the System, An Investigative Series on Cob Faculty Research Credentials) got to be included in the CoB's journal rankings -- (September 2007) 31st & Pearl CoB�'s Journal Ranking Process Politicized In last Friday�'s CoB faculty meeting, interim dean Alvin Williams stated that a new journal ranking was eminent and that the journal ranking committee would begin work at 8 A.M. on Tuesday, September 04, 2007.

Do Faculty Get What They Deserve? UVa Provides a Few Lessons Do we know why President Saunders stepped down as president in the final weeks of last semester? (For those of you who are not denizens of higher education, that's unusual and frequently signals trouble.)

University of Virginia The Faculty and Students Demand a Role In response to this morning's editorial, usmnews.net is providing a chronology of the recent removal and reinstatement of UVa president Teresa Sullivan as published by The Chronicle of Higher Education. See: http://chronicle.com/article/Teresa-Sullivan-Resigns-/132417/

. . breaking news . . Saunders to Co-Direct New Gandy Institute HATTIESBURG – David Tisdale’s 28-June-2012 presser entitled “Outgoing Southern Miss President Saunders Praised for Leadership” reveals more about what USM president Martha Saunders will be doing when she steps away from the presidency on 29-June-2012 and begins her new career on 1-July-2012 as a member of the faculty at USM-GC.

Unintentionally, The Hattiesburg American Underlines Martha Saunders Was "Fired" not "Tired" We say unintentionally, because The Hattiesburg American is not known for double entendre or in-depth reporting.

Dear usmnews.net, Monday's usmnews.net report addressed the often repeated question whether [former President] Saunders "resigned" because she was "tired' or departed because she was "fired."

Professor/past President Thames Let's Walk Down Memory Lane Some readers have asked why a recent report hypothesized a link between Professor Thames' retirement with the recent departure of President Saunders and her/USM's scandals?

Dear usmnews.net, Your predictions on what is likely to happen at "Southern Miss" are usually pretty good. However, the list of possible interim deans at the CoB contained a startling omission: Roderick Posey, former interim director of accounting and former interim dean. . If the past is any indication, becoming interim-dean should free time for his duties as a church minister, bicycle riding, advising his accounting clients, etc. If a pay raise goes with the deal, the assignment would also increase his PERS base. Posey is a known commodity, unlikely to rock any boats. What do you think?

"Sweetheart Deals" and "Dubious Contracts" A July 5, 2012 report in The Hattiesburg American offered a story entitled "Shelby Thames retires after four decades at USM. Before I get to comments about Dr. Thames retirement, for the sake of full disclosure, I personally liked Dr. Thames. Regardless of criticisms I've expressed, I'd enjoy sitting with him and reminiscing over a few cold beers. He's smart and witty with a deep commitment to the University of Southern Mississippi.

Dear usmnews.net, Last week I was in Hattiesburg. As I revisited the campus, it occurred to me that I didn't see any extension to the Centennial Gateway that was widely discussed on campus a couple of years ago.

Martha’s Podium An Editorial Cartoon Series from USMNEWS.net Even though I won't be your all's president anymore, I know y'all will think of me everytime you walk across campus.

Poon Takes Interim Reins at UNLV Another Attempt by Doty to Climb the Ladder Appears to have Ended Badly After searching for a new dean for its Lee Business School for much of the 2011-12 academic year, UNLV officials have turned to finance professor Percy Poon to fill the vacancy left by Paul Jarley’s departure for the University of Central Florida. Poon, pictured below, took over for Jarley on an interim basis back on 1-July-2012,

A Member of PERS? In a recent "LookingForward" from PERS of Mississippi (Summer 2012), Executive Director Pat Robertson recommends: "With increased scrutiny of the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) and public pensions nationwide in recent years, I encourage all of our members, retirees, and employers to take time to understand how pensions work�" Good advice. Here's a primer from the Wall Street Journal: "Pension Accounting for Dummies." If you have difficulty accessing the WSK article, click here.

Update to Letter to the Editor, Dr. Mary Anderson's Missing Accounting Horizon's Publication after usmnews.net recently published a letter to the editor mentioning Dr. Posey's missing publications, a reader reminded us of Dr. Mary Anderson's missing Accounting Horizon's publication.

IHL Spin In Perspective Bill Crawford's opinion piece in July 10, 2012 Hattiesburg American asks readers to understand that "Tuition fuels university spending." Mr. Crawford cut through IHL statistical tomfoolery by observing that,

Waiting for an (Interim) Dean at the College of Business On August 15, 2012, Lance Nail is scheduled to begin his new roll as Dean of the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech. In the meantime, the faculty at the College of Business at Southern Miss

. . . breaking news . . . Former USM President Shelby Thames Retires HATTIESBURG – A brief 5-July-2012 report from The Hattiesburg American states that former USM president Shelby Thames has retired from the university. According to most accounts, Thames’ presidency (2002-07) was disastrous for the 100 year old institution,

SPECIAL REPORT SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE RISING COST OF EDUCATION THE CONSTRUCTION BOOM Speaking out about the Rising Cost of Education is a new 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. The popular press is rife with stories about the rising cost of education and the massive debt our students are incurring as they struggle to pay for an education.