MARTHA D. SAUNDERS, PRESIDENT
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
For more articles and editorials concerning Dr. Saunders please click here.
(May 22, 2008 ) What do We Really Know about USM President Martha Saunders? by Duane Cobb It seems that
just about each news article, press release or Internet bio of USM President Martha Saunders has five things in
common. They each say that she (1) received a bachelor's from USM, her master's from Georgia, and her PhD from
Florida State, (2) has spent "nearly 30 years" in higher education, and (3) has taught thousands of students. The
fourth and fifth? (4) Each never offers much in the way of details about Saunders' teaching or research, and (5) each
never offers many, if any, details on the dates that she received her three academic degrees. These two themes, and
the other three above, are even present in Saunders' bio on the IHL website. (note from the editor: the preceding
link is no longer active.)
(May 27, 2008 ) Part I Nullification of the Faculty Grievance Process
(May 29, 2008 ) Special Report Does Martha Saunders Think Faculty Have Glamour Jobs? A Look at Saunders'
Views on Tenure and Organizational Conflict USM President Martha Saunders' 8-April-08 blog about the meaning
of academic tenure was one for the ages. In that blog entitled "2 Events," which is inserted below, Saunders states
that "[t]enure is probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of the academic world."
(June 1, 2008 ) Part II Labor Conflict is an Employment Issue
(June 2, 2008 ) Aunt Martha's "Banner Year" USM President, Martha Saunders, stood before USM faculty, staff and
students, along with local media, at the University's Fall 2007 Convocation and proclaimed that USM's athletics
would be producing a banner year during 2007-08. How did Saunders' proclamation stand up to the test of time? If
Table 1 below is any indication, not so well.
(June 1, 2008 ) Part III Deliberate Indifference
(June 10, 2008 ) CoB News, 11 June 2008 Martha, is that You? Valerie Wells' 8-June-08 story for The Hattiesburg
American, entitled "Saunders feels at home," revealed (1) some interesting statistics about the Martha Saunders
administration of USM and (2) what sources call Saunders' strange views on USM's mission. First, Wells
interviewed a number of USM students about Saunders' presidency of USM, and most of these students could not
link Saunders' name to the presidency of USM.