weeklyreports_11_01

Tone Deaf University Presidents? It's A Lot Worse Than That ... "Efforts to measure value"? Start at the top? Let's start at my school. You can do the same at yours. At the University of Southern Mississippi, measuring value for dollars spent is -- like your school -- difficult. We collected information via Freedom of Information requests. It was like pulling teeth. And, there was a reason USM was reluctant to provide information.

. . . breaking news . . . Underwood Praises Johnson, Trashes FedoraHATTIESBURG – USM’s dismal 0-8 start to the 2012 college football season has left frayed nerves and testy attitudes among the USM faithful. Following a 12-2 season in 2011, former president Martha Saunders’ selection of Ellis Johnson, the former defensive coordinator of the South Carolina Gamecocks, to lead the USM football team is causing all sorts of divisions within the USM community.

. . . breaking news . . State Ethics Commission Reverses Ruling on Rouse HATTIESBURG – According to WDAM-TV’s Randy Swan, the Mississippi Ethics Commission has reversed its own earlier ruling from July-2012 stating that Mississippi IHL Board Commissioner Douglas Rouse violated state ethics laws by providing medical services to athletes at USM, an institution Rouse governs via his position on the IHL.

Meltdown Continues MORE AND MORE FANS CALLING FOR AD’S OUSTER With USM’s 3-Nov-2012 Homecoming loss to the foundering UAB Blazers, more and more members of the USM family are calling for the replacement of current USM athletics director Jeff Hammond. Many of these are reminding others in the family that Hammond’s current contract expires after this fiscal year, so that replacing him will be about as convenient as

Wishful AAUP Thinking The Chronicle of Higher Education calls your attention to the following report: "October 29, 2012 AAUP Rethinks Its Guidelines on Faculty Layoffs By Peter Schmidt Washington The American Association of University Professors is poised to overhaul its guidelines on faculty layoffs, by both taking a much broader view of the circumstances in which such job cuts are acceptable and requiring much more faculty involvement in decisions to eliminate academic programs and positions.

The Votes are in . . . Time for Counting PROVOST CHOICE SOON TO BE MADE AT UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA With the completion of the campus visits of finalists Brenda Nichols of Lamar University (1-Nov and 2-Nov) and Ralph Rascati of Kennesaw State University (5-Nov and 6-Nov), the fall 2012 search for a new provost at the University of West Florida is quickly coming to a close.

Doty Clowns Mabry Former CoB Dean Receives Golden Opportunity and Takes Advantage Long-time followers of USM, at least those whose memories go back 10 years, will recall that Harold Doty, the former CoB dean, is occasionally pitched a big, fat softball right over the plate, and he takes advantage of it. That recently occurred once again in Doty’s current position as dean of the business school at the University of Texas-Tyler,

Martha’s Podium An Editorial Cartoon Series from USMNEWS.net While we all wait for the search committee to forward its recommendation to the president, and then for her to make a final decision, I just want to reiterate that I am so excited about the idea of being your next provost. I live right up the road from here, which gives me at least one advantage over the other finalists. I’ve also got some ideas I want to lob at UWF students in order to enrich their time here.

Editorial "Ethics" In Mississippi In Re Dr. Doug Rouse Yes, members of the Mississippi Ethics Commission (MEC) changed their minds and now believes Dr. Doug Rouse is not acting unethically. Sort of. Let's look at the details of the MEC revised decision and draw some conclusions.

update to 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.

In the Books JEFF HAMMOND’S FIRST TWO 2012-13 SPORTS SEASONS COMPLETE With the USM women’s volleyball team’s 1 to 3 loss to UAB on 11-Nov-2012, the first two seasons of the 2012-13 academic year – the first under new USM athletics director Jeff Hammond – are now in the books. Abby Sutherland’s women’s volleyball team finished a dismal 8-20 on the fall 2012 season, a performance coming on the heels of the 4-12-1 season that Scott Ebke’s USM women’s soccer team completed during fall 2012.

. . . breaking news . . IHL Board: USMAF Gifts Giannini New Car HATTIESBURG – In news that will likely bother those USM faculty supporters of former USM president Martha Saunders, the Mississippi IHL announced today, 15-Nov-2012, at its scheduled monthly meeting, that former USM athletics director Richard Giannini was gifted a new car by the USM Athletic Foundation (USMAF). According to the IHL’s Board Book for Nov-2012, USM interim president Aubrey Lucas reported today that back on 14-June-2012 Giannini was gifted a vehicle valued at $42,390, “in honor of his years of service to the university . . .” That portion of the Board Book is inserted below.

Special Report So, how was Your Weekend? Another disastrous weekend for USM athletics has come and gone. This one, spanning 9-Nov-2012, 10-Nov-2012 and 11-Nov-2012, saw only a single victory, that of the USM men’s basketball team over Western Kentucky to open the 2012-13 season. The inserts below provide the chronology of events that made up USM’s most recent sports weekend.

Editorial Courage and Vision This is a time for plain language. Efforts and money spent in an effort to tweak a failed, very expensive, century long distraction from the primary mission of education -- sports to be specific -- is a failure of vision and courage. The faculty senate and President Lucas recently engaged in a debate about a moribund activity: USM football. The faculty senate and president Lucas totally missed their predicament and opportunity. Of course, it's not surprising to anyone who has observed South Mississippi's lack of leadership.

. . breaking news . . WDAM-TV: Saunders Forced Out of USM Presidency HATTIESBURG – Investigative reporting by WDAM-TV’s Randy Swan and the station’s 7 on Your Side news team has uncovered documents relating to Martha Saunders’ April-2012 resignation from the USM presidency. At her spring press conference to announce her resignation, Saunders, flanked by IHL commissioner Hank Bounds and IHL Board president Ed Blakeslee, stated that she was resigning after five years at the helm in order to rest and reenergize herself as she headed back to teaching at USM’s coast campus. Now, the USM community is learning, thanks to official documents obtained by WDAM-TV via an open records act request, that the IHL Board forced Saunders’ resignation and drafted an agreement whereby she would publicly claim that she was stepping down voluntarily.

. . . breaking news . . . Ebke Fired After Five Losing Seasons HATTIESBURG – Reports from The Hattiesburg American indicate that USM women’s soccer coach Scott Ebke has been fired by USMAD Jeff Hammond after completing five losing seasons. Ebke’s most recent season is just completed, with his Lady Eagles going 4-12-1. Ebke’s overall record at USM is a disappointing 20-65-7. The trend under Ebke since his arrival back in 2008 is shown below in Figure 1. As can be seen there, USM’s annual winning % bounced around between 20% and 30% under Ebke’s leadership