Reports for April 1, 2015 - May 31, 2015
usmnews.net
April 6, 2015
SHAME ON USM USM is requesting views about its mission, values,
vision and plan. Its shame is raised every time USM bureaucrats
raise issues of ethics and conduct. The following is an excerpt from
USM request for information and my comments.
April 7, 2015
April 8, 2015
Dear usmnews.net, You probably got a copy of a letter from Dr. John
Warrick, Producer of Southern Arena Theatre announcing SAT will
not run a summer repertory theatre at Southern Miss for the first
time in nearly 40 years." Why? According to Dr. Warrick, "this
necessary closure" is directly "associated with low enrollment for
the 2014-15 academic year."
April 13, 2015
April 17, 2015
April 20, 2015
April 22, 2015
Weisenburg A press release from USM reports that "University of
Southern Mississippi Provost Denis Wiesenburg will return to the
faculty in the Department of Marine Science, effective July 1, 2015.
'Late yesterday, Provost Wiesenburg shared with me his intention to
resign from his position as Provost and Vice President for Academic
Affairs,' University President Rodney D. Bennett said. 'He also
indicated his desire to return to our faculty as a tenured professor of
Marine Science."
April 23, 2015
SOUTHERN MISS CAN'T EVEN CHEAT THE SMART WAY
In a national scandal, Southern Miss and former head basketball
coach Donnie Tyndall have been under investigation for financial
assistance to Southern Miss players who were academically
ineligible at the time. Multiple sources have reported the violations
stem from how non-scholarship athletes paid for tuition and living
expenses, along with potential academic improprieties. The oft
repeated question is how could Southern Miss and Tyndall have
been so stupid.
April 24, 2015
Dear usmnews.net, Thanks for the report about Southern Miss'
and [Donnie] Tyndall's inability to cheat without getting caught. As
I recall, this is not the first time Southern Miss has been
disciplined by the NCAA for misconduct.
April 27, 2015
Dear usmnews.net, Try your hand at making sense of another of
USM's slogans: "Stay here. Go Far." Looks like someone, perhaps
[former USM President] Saunders, lifted the slogan from
Whitewater!!
May 8, 2015
Editorial USM and AACSB: Willful and Ongoing Failures of
Integrity James Lang in "Cheating Inadvertently," Chronicle of
Higher Education reported "Academe doesn't have hard-and-fast
criteria for what constitutes plagiarism..." So true. Our case
research reported the behavior of faculty and administrators at the
University of Southern Mississippi and the AACSB (Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) when concern was
expressed that they had copied without proper citation other
school's documents during reaccreditation.
May 11, 2015
May 12, 2015
Editorial Is there a word for this behavior? The Clarion Ledger
reported recently that "Six days after news hit that Ole Miss
Chancellor Dan Jones' contract would not be renewed, the state
College Board asked a public relations and messaging firm for
help..." When the College Board felt it couldn't withstand the
criticism for its decision, it blubbered for help.
May 13, 2015
May 14, 2015
Dear usmnews.net, The Hattiesburg American ran yet another
puff piece for Southern Miss. The most recent article praises the
online MBA program. I know Southern Miss is desperate for
paying students, but Dean Gilbert had to be either holding her
nose or giggling as she either cherry picked and/or wildly
overstated the quality of the program.
Dear usmnews.net, When you read The Hattiesburg American
article in praise of Southern Miss' online MBA program, you have
to question who would pay to attend an online "unranked"
graduate business program at a bottom tier university. If I'm
getting my degree online -- it won't matter where I'm located -- I'm
going to attend a ranked program at a top tier university (or at least
as high up in the rankings as I can get admitted.)
May 15, 2015
May 28, 2015
May 29, 2015
More Fees On The Way For USM Students As recently as
19-November-2014, The Hattiesburg American reported a 3.2% tuition
increase facing in-state USM students beginning 2014-15. According to
that report, "... increasing college costs are far outstripping stagnant
family incomes. In-state tuition will rise 66 percent from fall 2005 to fall
2015, while household incomes have been basically flat in
Mississippi...".