Academic Research
Over the past several years, usmnews.net has published literally thousands of reports from current and former faculty who share my belief that USM has ineffectively and inefficiently employed far too much of its resources, both in terms of money and people. The purpose of usmnews.net is not to provide a public relations view. That is amply supplied by The University of Southern Mississippi's public relations department.

Chauncey M. DePree, Jr. Editor
marcdepree@gmail.com (Click here for editorial policy.)
Fiction
"TobaccoPharm, A Divine and Deadly Green Factory"

If you had the knowledge to put an end to the plague of diseases caused by cigarettes and tobacco, would you use it? Given the current knowledge of transgenic use of tobacco plants, TobaccoPharm will leave you wondering when, not if, the plague of tobacco will end. Purchase at: Amazon

Current research by Chauncey M. DePree, Jr., DBA can be downloaded free from SSRN (several projects are Top Ten downloads on SSRN):

"A General Theory to Test Social Reality"

"Is Accreditation a Reliable Authority on Academic Quality?: Testing Social Reality"

"University and AACSB Diversity: Testing Social Reality"

"A Sound Foundation: The FASB Got Its Conceptual Framework Right, The IASB Didn't"

"An Evolution of Form and Content: A Practical Guide to Use of the FASB's Conceptual Framework"


More than 7,214,000 hits
"The fun money is private money. At Southern Miss, I've got state dollars and I've got Foundation dollars. It's real easy to tell them apart. I tell people I've got two checkbooks. I've got my booze account and my non-booze account. Out of the state money I'm pretty constrained what in I can do. ... Foundation dollars, that's when I take my money out of my booze account, I can pretty much do anything I want with it." D. Harold Doty, former Dean, College of Business, University of Southern Mississippi, current Dean, University of Texas at Tyler
In August 2011, Martha Saunders smiled as she presented Galaxy Tabs to selected students. Now, three senior adminstrators have been suspended. Will Saunders be next? (For more reports re "Tabletgate", click here.)
May 18, 2012

(Noon) Martha’s Podium: An Editorial Cartoon Series from USMNEWS.net, part 21

(8:00 am) Breaking news: IHL Gives Lucas Mysterious Title . . . and Salary
Click here for reports from May 1, 2012 - May 15, 2012
For readers who have requested quicker access to reports about Dr. Saunders' airplane, please click here. A good place to start is Cost Per Flight Hour which includes links to the detailed cost and usage data obtained through open records requests.

Rufus McCoy and Profiteers in the Ivory Tower, a novel, offers an insider's view of the calamity overtaking American higher education.

It's FREE to Amazon Prime members. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007AOU33S

ASK RUFUS

Q2: You're a philanthropist? Or just a good-hearted alum thinking of donating to your college or university? After all, you might think, where better to donate your money or resources? You might be surprised what colleges do with your money. Click here for more.

I like Thomas Thibeault's novel and suspect you will, too. Mr. Thibeault will transport you to the world of "Monuments Men and Women" who saved the art of Western Civilization from the rubble of the defeated Nazis.

Ken Westhues' review is must reading. Ken is a distinguished professor at the University of Waterloo. He is a Sociologist and expert on mobbing. Be sure to peruse his website, too.

Purchase Balto's Nose at Amazon.

usmnews.net
Click here for reports from May 1, 2012 - May 15, 2012
May 10, 2012
31st & Pearl Del Boca Presidentista If interim USM president Aubrey Lucas is successful in hiring his replacement some time during the next 9 months, as he says he will be, then USM will have no fewer than 5 current or former college/university presidents among its faculty ranks. That would include the next USM president, Lucas, Martha Saunders, and Shelby Thames – each of whom has served as USM president at one time or another. The final member of the quintet is Frances Lucas, the former president of Millsaps College in Jackson. That has to put USM at the top of U.S. colleges and universities in terms of current/former presidents per capita.
Now Bloating A LOOK AT ADMINISTRATIVE HIRING AT USM With all of the turmoil at USM leading up to and in the wake of the sudden resignation of USM president Martha Saunders, USMNEWS.net is taking a look at the types of job announcements emanating from USM during the spring semester of 2012. A listing of these is shown in Table 1 below: ... Members of the USM community will likely be interested in the final entry of Table 1. It appears to be an advertisement to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Russ Willis, who held the VP for administrative affairs position before joining the USM Foundation (in early 2012).
May 11, 2012
Why USM-Gulf Coast for Saunders? A Guest Editorial With the recent resignation of Martha Saunders as USM president, along with her announcement about moving to the USM-Gulf Coast faculty, many at USM are dazed and confused. One of the many questions that keeps popping up concerns not only her decision to return to the USM faculty, a common question in editorials at usmnews, but why she has chosen to join the USM-Gulf Coast campus instead of the main campus in Hattiesburg. I think this particular question is both a legitimate and interesting one,
Lucas, USM Honor Giannini with Terrace Naming Interim USM President Seems to be Choosing Sides in Athletics Department Controversy In one of his first acts as USM’s new interim president, Aubrey Lucas announced that he would preside over the search for a new athletics director to replace Richard Giannini, and that he would seek Giannini’s advice in selecting that individual.
‘Marta’ Bids Farewell to the SMC Community USMlite Once Again Splashes Humor onto Events at USM Once again USMlite.com injected (on 3-May-2012) some much-needed humor around the current crises surrounding USM. This comes, as so many entries from USMlite.com do, via an audio address from fictional “Southern Miss College Chancellator Marta von Saunderheisen.”
May 14, 2012
President Martha Saunders under Oath Part 4 "Don't count her out yet. There are plenty of low level colleges where she could rise again." Name withheld
If there is a chance that Martha Saunders can repeat her incompetence as an administrator at another college or university, its faculty and administrators should have a clear picture of her conduct as president of Southern Miss. This series provides a rare opportunity for the Southern Miss family, as well as potential employers, to consider Martha Saunders' words, under oath. Click for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

USM Athletics in Big Hole LOCAL MEDIA REPORTING DEFICIT NEARLY DOUBLED IN ONE YEAR The financial woes in USM’s athletics department are gargantuan, at least according to Patrick Magee of The Hattiesburg American. Magee reports that the department’s deficit was $439,255 at the end of the 2009-10 academic year, and that it nearly doubled, rising to $790,398, during the 2010-11 academic year. With the 2011-12 academic season coming to a close, the department’s total deficit is now above $1 million and counting.
May 15, 2012
MS Taxpayers on Hook for USM Athletics in Major Way TOTAL SUBSIDY TO USMAD OVER $8 MILLION ACCORDING TO RECENT USA Today REPORT USA Today recently released another new set of collegiate athletics financials, and it indicates that the USM athletics department’s public subsidy accounts for almost 40% of its total revenue, amounting to just over $8 million annually. According to the report, $8,015,417 of the USMAD’s $20,673,597 annual revenue comes from its public subsidy, accounting for 38.8% of the total take.
Hudson Secures Largest Endowment in ASU History ASU Alumnus Donates $5 Million to University In what can perhaps best be measured in mere days, Tim Hudson’s new tenure as chancellor at Arkansas State University has already produced the largest endowment gift in ASU history – a $5 million donation from ASU alumnus Neil Griffin.
May 17, 2012
Martha's Podium, An Editorial Cartoon Series from USMNEWS.net Now that the ground is broken on the new business building and spring 2012 commencement is done, my second term is officially complete. With the big things out of the way, I leave the easy tasks, like hiring a new AD and finding the $1 million missing from the athletics budget, to my successor.
Editor's note: As usmnews.net has recently published reports concerning the cost of sports at USM to students and taxpayers, and the million dollar deficit in the program. The increasingly spoken question on campus and in the community is what is USM getting for your money? So that you may begin to answer that question for yourself, usmnew.net publishes and update to:

Will 2011-2012 be a Banner Year? During the 2010-11 academic year, USMNEWS.net staff followed the progress of USM's athletics. As you can see, the Golden Eagles sports units won only 50.1% of their contests
Breaking News: Moser, Wiesenburg, and Cannon Collect Big Raises HATTIESBURG – At its 17-May-2012 monthly meeting, the Mississippi IHL injected a total of $107,620 additional dollars into the annual paychecks of USM administrators Denis Wiesenburg, Gordon Cannon, and Steven Moser. In being moved from interim provost to provost, Wiesenburg’s salary will rise from $250,000 per year to $275,000 per year on 1-July-2012 (see insert below).
May 16, 2012
. . breaking news . . Is Lance Nail Leaving USM for Texas Tech?
HATTIESBURG – When Allen McInnes, the dean of the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University, announced back in Sept-2011 his intention to retire at the end of the 2011-12 academic year, the Tech community began to search for his replacement. Now, with the approach of summer, Tech is closing out that search with its favored prospects visiting the Rawls College and the Tech campus in Lubbock.
May 18, 2012
. . breaking news . . . IHL Gives Lucas Mysterious Title . . . and Salary HATTIESBURG – At its 17-May-2012 monthly meeting, the Mississippi IHL Board threw a proverbial curve ball to the citizens of Mississippi by removing Aubrey Lucas’ “President Emeritus” title and replacing it with one referred to as “Executive Transitional Officer,” effective 1-May-2012.
Martha’s Podium: An Editorial Cartoon Series from USMNEWS.net With all of the craziness surrounding my sudden resignation back on April 27 [2012], including the groundbreaking for Scianna Hall and the spring 2012 commencement exercises, I decided to put off my final press conference. I guess you could say I saved the best for last.