weeklyreports_08_16

President Saunders' Last Days Squandering Students' and Taxpayers' Money Part 5 2012 "Does it really matter who is in charge?" On May 16-17, 2012, President Martha Saunders had just, in the previous month, been "ousted" or "retired," depending on whom you believe, and interim-President Aubrey Lucas was taking up right where she left off:

. . . breaking news . . Idgroup Now Feeding at the MUW Budget Trough HATTIESBURG – Documents obtained by USMNEWS.net from the Mississippi University for Women via a Mississippi Open Records Act request indicates that Mona Amodeo’s Idgroup is now feeding at the MUW budget trough. The insert below shows e-mail communication between Amodeo and officials at MUW, including MUW president Jim Borsig, regarding Core Dialogue sessions that Idgroup is preparing for MUW this fall (2012).

Peyrefitte Hauls in $50,000 Raise STILL GOOD TO BE AN ADMINISTRATOR AT USM At its 16-Aug-2012 meeting, the Mississippi IHL Board raised Joseph Peyrefitte’s salary from $125,000 per year to $175,000 per year. This $50,000 difference equates to a 40% raise for Peyrefitte, who has served as the CoB’s associate dean since April-2007, when former CoB marketing professor Alvin Williams was elevated to interim CoB dean after the resignation of Harold Doty from that post.

An Editorial, Does Evil Lurk in Our Community? Charles Jordan A recent breaking news report, "Another (Dangerous?) USM Professor Steps Forward," published at usmnews.net, reminded me of the apparent ease with which University of Southern Mississippi faculty are accused of being dangerous. Apparently, there's an epidemic at USM of "dangerous people." All too often hidden in the background are the mobbers, the "colleagues" who lurk behind the scenes and act in an effort to destroy the lives and careers of colleagues with whom they disagree. In Patty Munn's deposition, she insisted that a colleague must be a "person who views the world in the correct manner."

Dr. Rouse, It's Time to Stop Embarrassing Yourself and the State of Mississippi "The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning"-wow, what a title-in their "Final Board Handbook, dated August, 16, 2012" reported "Minutes of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning June 21, 2012"-hold on, our "trustees" are getting to the point,

Is the CoB’s SoA a Twilight Zone? A Guest Viewpoint The USM business college’s (CoB’s) two newest accounting faculty, Kirby “Skip” Hughes and Michael Dugan, were said to be big-time researchers. Hughes came to USM from LSU, while Dugan came in from Alabama – both top tier national universities. However, a recent perusal of the CoB’s School of Accountancy’s (SoA’s) journal articles webpage reveals that these two scholars are now publishing in the same types of low-level journals in which so many of the CoB’s long-time accountants have been, and are still, publishing.

. . breaking news . . Idgroup’s Price Tag for MUW Rises to $72,000 HATTIESBURG – According to the latest documents received by USMNEWS.net from the Mississippi University for Women, the Core Dialogues process that is being provided to MUW by Mona Amodeo’s Idgroup is going to cost Mississippi taxpayers and MUW students $72,000, a figure that is $40,000 higher than the figure reported a few days ago.

President Saunders' Last Days Squandering Students' and Taxpayers' Money Part 6 2012 "One more scandal for the road." On April 27, 2012, President Martha Saunders announced her "resignation." Whether it was voluntary is a matter of debate given the secrecy and suddenness of the "resignation." Interim President Aubrey Lucas immediately took over even though Saunders' "resignation" was not effective until June 30, 2012.

An Editorial Does Evil Lurk In Our Community? And Transfer to the University of South Alabama? ... A final word -- a warning from someone who has been there: You need to exercise caution around Alvin Williams. If he doesn't think you are collegial, if he and others don't like what you have to say, and if people like Patty Munn and he decide you are not a "person who views the world in the correct manner," he may join a mob who will make vile, unfounded accusations in an effort to destroy your career.

"29 people liked this comment" August 15, 2012, The Chronicle of Higher Education, reported "College Cost Too Much Because Faculty Lack Power" by Robert E. Martin. The following is my comment. Also, note that the comment is very long, but nevertheless garnered significant support among readers. Note that "29 people liked this comment" -- which is, unusually high. It means people took time to read and indicate their preference for the article.