News Reports

For additional recent news reports  and editorials on various issues, click here.

(August 13, 2010) Saunders Sends e-Harbinger to USM Community "On 13-August-2010USM president Martha Saunders sent an e-mail to USM faculty and staff informing them that recommendations for handling a $15 million budget cut have been sent from the University Priorities Committee to her cabinet...".

(August 18, 2010)  Niroomand, UH-Victoria Land Yang: Former CoB Associate Dean Continues to Outmaneuver Former CoB Dean "Former CoB associate dean Farhang Niroomand continues to run circles around his former boss, Harold Doty...".

(August 13, 2010 update) Is Rod Posey Better than Michael Dugan? The Data Suggest That He Is "...These accolades prompted USMNEWS.net staff to revisit this website’s archives and vast library of documents. There we were reminded that another CoB accountant, Roderick Posey, may have had an even much more impressive academic career than even Dugan. '...".

(August 2, 2010) Postlewate Leaving USM "The Hattiesburg American’s higher education reporter Ed Kemp informed the Hattiesburg and USM communities on 31-July-2010 that Rusty Postlewate, USM’s physical plant director, has resigned his post effective...".

(August 10, 2010) Eight Hundred Thousand Bones:  How the FCCC Jury saw Davida Williams' Case "The recent USMNEWS.net report entitled USM 'Sends a Terrible Message' to College Co-Eds lays the groundwork for a multi-part series on the Davida Williams v. USM, Rex Stamper, et al. case ...". See also, The Williams-Stamper Facts: Anatomy of how Bad USM can Behave; USM 'Sends a Terrible Message' to College Co-Eds: Comments from the Stamper-Williams Court Proceedings; The English House Call': How One USM English Faculty Sees no Extra in Extracurricular; Testified:  how Williams Described an Encounter with Stamper; "Is Kim In?"  How Bad Behavior at USM Generates so Many Lawsuits; So Many Years, So Many Committees: How USM Breached its ‘Contract’ with Davida Williams

(August 5, 2010) Getting There: Some New(Ish) Cob Faculty Get Photos On Web "It may have taken years (in some cases), the CoB’s web pages at usm.edu are now getting some photo uploads. Much of the new uploading takes place among the CoB’s management faculty. This effort includes the photos of Bret Becton, Brian Collins, SherRhonda Gibbs, and Bruce Gilstrap...".

(August 2, 2010) Postlewate Leaving USM "The Hattiesburg American’s higher education reporter Ed Kemp informed the Hattiesburg and USM communities on 31-July-2010 that Rusty Postlewate, USM’s physical plant director, has resigned his post effective...".

(August 17, 2010) USM Remains near Bottom in 2011 Rankings "The U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 rankings of U.S. colleges and universities were released on 17-August-2010, and USM remains mired at the bottom of the group of about 260 “national” institutions ranked by magazine...".

(August 19, 2010) Saunders Speaks out Against Administration Abuse of Faculty As usmnews.net prepares for a complete overhaul and relaunch of the website, the editor has reviewed many articles in the usmnews.net archives.  Today, the editor found the above linked report in which Dr. Saunders claimed she wanted to focus on how USM treats its faculty.  However, given the abuse of faculty by Dr. Saunders, including that of this editor, the report is a chilling reminder of the disparity between the promise and the practice...". 

(August 20, 2010) Morgan Reassigned; Willis gets Big Raise "In a move approved by the Mississippi IHL Board on 19-Aug-2010, outgoing USM chief financial officer, Joe Morgan, has been reassigned, effective 1-Sept-2010, by the Martha Saunders administration. In just a few days Morgan will become the new associate director for internal operations in the alumni affairs office at USM. Despite the significant demotion, the Saunders administration allowed Morgan, pictured below, to retain his CFO salary...". (Editorial note: Morgan's CFO salary is reported by the IHL as $185,000.00 per year.)
.

(August 24, 2010) Undercutting ‘Ms. Doty’: USM’s Economics Education Effort Rises to New Heights in CoST "Former CoB dean Harold Doty may have established USM’s economics education initiative under the auspices of former USMer William Gunther’s old business research bureau, but the program once headed by Doty’s wife, Susan, is now garnering “national acclaim” under the leadership of the CoST’s Brent Hales, who is affiliated with the economic and workforce development unit there...".

(August 25, 2010) CoB News "Marvasti’s Replacement Arrives The replacement for departed CoAL economics professor Akbar Marvasti has arrived on campus and is now teaching two sections of international economics and one section of principles of macroeconomics...".
.

(August 26, 2010)  Has Monchuk Absconded? McBride Now Teaching ECO: Evidence Suggests USM has Lost its Last Tenured/Tenure-Track Economics Professor "USM may or may not stand alone in the world of academe in this regard, but George Carter’s 2009 pronouncement that USM would soon be without any economics professors appears to have become reality in 2010. A recent visit to the USM Registrar’s website reveals that CoAL associate professor of economics Daniel Monchuk has possibly made an eleventh hour departure from USM (before the 2010-11 academic year)...".

(August 26, 2010) One if by Email, Two if by Blog "With a $15 million budget cut looming that could cost the jobs of 100 USM faculty, USM president Martha Saunders and USM provost Robert Lyman recently met with the five USM deans and the co-chairs of the University Priorities Committee to discuss “how to ‘best communicate’ proposed cuts to employees” and others concerned...".

(August 27, 2010) Is Dr. Saunders’ Plane Worth Your Job? "The first numbers for Dr. Saunders’ airplane have been compiled.  According to University’s records, the first year's cash outflows for the airplane (N777AQ) are $313,745.10...". 

(August 28, 2010) Breaking News Sources including the Hattiesburg American and the USM Forum Board report to usmnews.net that the following faculty have received termination letters.  Please let usmnews.net know if there are any additions or deletions. 

(September 3, 2010) Is Information about the USM Plane Being Covered Up? "This week at USM couldn’t have gone any worse had USM president Martha Saunders prepared the Golden Eagles football team for its game against South Carolina and USM head football coach Larry Fedora dealt with the $15 million FY2012 budget cut. ..".

(September 3, 2010) USM Students Arrange Town Hall Meeting on Budget Cuts: President Saunders to be on Hand to Answer Questions "The USM Student Government Association has arranged an evening “Student Town Hall Meeting” regarding the FY2012 budget cuts for 14-September-2010 in the Thad Cochran Center...".

(September 3, 2010) New Interim CFO to Lead Q&A on Budget Crisis "Recently appointed to USM’s chief financial post (on an interim basis), Russ Willis begins his duties by moderating a Q&A session on the USM budget crisis....Sources note that it is interesting that Willis will lead this Q&A, especially given that he recently received a 28.4% raise when he was promoted from human resources director to interim CFO. This came at the same time that outgoing CFO, Joe Morgan, was demoted to director of internal operations in the alumni affairs office. Yet, Morgan was allowed to retain his CFO salary despite the demotion...".

(September 7, 2010) "Welcome Aboard IHL Air" Which IHL Board Members are Using the USM Plane "This Special Report examines use of the USM plane by various IHL board members, including the IHL commissioner, Hank Bounds. To begin, Table 1 below lists the IHL board members, including Bounds, along with information both on the number of trips taken on the plane and a brief description of each trip taken...".

(September 7, 2010) Pride and Priorities "Many in the USM family are now angered by the Martha Saunders administration’s plan to adjust to the recent E&G (state funding) cut of $15 million (for FY 2012). That plan - (1) to eliminate 29 tenured and tenure track faculty, (2) institute a one day per month employee furlough, and (3) establish a massive retirement incentive program - runs contrary to those of the state’s seven other public institutions, none of which reportedly will be terminating faculty...".

(September 8, 2010) ‘Good Afternoon, Professor President’ USM President Creates PR Buzz out of Teaching PR Course "The USM public relations department has created, through its recent video report, a public relations coup out of USM president Martha Saunders’ decision to teach a fall 2010 graduate level public relations course...".

(September 8, 2010) King Takes Commanding Lead in 2011 LKBRA Race  "The race for the CoB’s 2011 Louis K. Brandt Faculty Research Award has taken a dramatic turn of late, with legal studies professor Ernest King landing a second A-level publication for his 2009-10 LKBRA portfolio. King’s portfolio, shown below, now far outpaces that of Brian Collins, an assistant professor of management...".

(September 9, 2010)  Did Philosophy & Religion Get Hosed? "An anonymous reader recently sent a copy of the University Priorities Committee report to USMNEWS.net offices. From the information contained in the document, it appears that the UPC ranked academic programs at USM on an “efficiency” or “productivity” basis. What is astounding is that USM’s philosophy and religion programs - both of which were hammered in recent weeks by the USM administration - were ranked higher than many USM programs that ultimately dodged any program cuts, program consolidation, or faculty terminations...".

(September 10, 2010) When is Enough, Enough? "A 9-Sept-2010 USM press release is, according to sources, proof that USM president Martha Saunders is simply out of touch with the daily reality being faced by USM students, faculty, and staff. That presser, entitled “Singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett Spends Time on Hattiesburg Campus,” says perhaps all that need be said via a simple photo and caption...".

(September 13, 2010) Saunders Pointing Finger at University Priorities Committee "With a 10-Sept-2010 update to the USM budget page, sources say that it seems clear that USM president Martha Saunders is setting up the University Priorities Committee, largely made up of USM faculty, to take the blame (or the fall) for the decision to terminate 29 tenured/tenure-track faculty and a number of academic programs...".

(September 15, 2010) Aunt Martha's Coaches -- Has Saunders Lost the Magic Touch?  Or, Did She Ever Have It? After the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater won the Division III national championship in 2007, USM President Martha Saunders blogged that during the 2006-07 academic year while Chancellor at UW-W she had hired the first-year coach who led UW-W to the title.

(September 14, 2010) The Nail-von Herrmann Recommendations Proposals from USM’s CoB & CoAL "The lack of information surrounding the latest budget cuts (totaling $15 million) at USM has only worsened the mood on the Hattiesburg and Long Beach campuses since late Aug-2010. Recently, however, the Martha Saunders administration began releasing some of the details of the process leading up to its decision to terminate 29 tenured and tenure-track faculty. The insert below presents the reduction proposals made by CoB dean Lance Nail (in Aug-2010)...".

(September 14, 2010) Lyman in No Rush to Set Up Appeals Hearings "... In speaking with Kemp, however, Lyman went much further than other USM officials by stating that the USM central administration is in no hurry to set up an appeals process wherein the 29 tenured/tenure-track faculty receiving terminal contracts two weeks ago can salvage their USM academic careers...".

(September 15, 2010) A Crack in the Foundation? USM Associate Provost William Powell Separates Himself from the Rest As The Hattiesburg American’s higher education reporter Ed Kemp makes clear in his 14-Sept-2010 news story about the budget cuts, USM associate provost William Powell appears to be distancing himself from the finger pointing being done by his boss...".

(September 16, 2010) Saunders Gets Snarky with USM Student Possibly (1) Admitted Legal Violation, or (2) Lied "Things continue to spiral out of control on the USM campus in response to the Martha Saunders administration’s decision to terminate the employment of 29 tenured/tenure-track faculty for the 2011-12 academic year. These terminations come from Saunders’ response to a state-mandated $15 million budget cut for FY 2012, which combined with the FY 2011 cut of $10 million has led Saunders to deliver almost 50 pink slips to tenured/tenure-track USM faculty since summer of 2009..."

(September 21, 2010) “What You Talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?” USM CFO/HR Director Russ Willis Out Front in Support of Athletics "For some reason, the Martha Saunders administration is putting USM’s new interim chief financial officer/long-time human resources director, Russ Willis, out front to deflect criticism of the institution's practice of providing its athletics department with millions of dollars in financial assistance from student tuition revenue and E&G (education and general) funds...".

(September 21, 2010) USM Student Lays It Down, Some Faculty Still Oblivious "With his 21-Sept-2010 opinion piece for The Student Printz, CoB student Zach Mansell displays sophistication beyond his years. Having been one of the economics majors who lost his degree program and faculty from the $10 million FY 2011 budget cuts, Mansell warns those USM students who have been promised that they will be allowed to complete their degrees in programs cut by the recent $15 million FY 2012 budget cuts that they should “take the administration’s words with a grain of salt.” Why would Mansell offer such a warning?...".

(September 22, 2010) Taking it on the Chin: A Look At How Parts Of USM's (2009-2010) Budget Cuts Were Completed "Now that the details of the 2009-10 USM budget cuts have been released by the Martha D. Saunders administration, USMNEWS.net staffers took a moment to summarize some of the data. Table 1 below shows how cuts in actual personnel were made across USM's five academic colleges...".

(September 23, 2010) ECO Back From Venus, REL Sent to Mars "Recent inspection of the Fall 2010 USM Schedule Guide reveals that the 206 USM students currently enrolled in two large sections of ECO 202 are likely seeing this 3-hour portion of their class schedule spin off in an increasingly uncertain direction...".

(September 23, 2010) Marvasti Surfaces: Former USM Economics Professor Now Out of Academia "USMNEWS.net has learned that former USM economics professor Akbar Marvasti left USM after 2009-10 for a non-academic position. Marvasti is now a “commercial fisheries economist” with the Social Science Research Group of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami, FL...".

(September 24, 2010) CoB Administrators Feasting on USM's Budget " ... not only is CoB dean Lance Nail earning $225,000 per year while School of Accountancy director Skip Hughes is taking in $200,000 per year, new CoB marketing chair Leisa Flynn is being paid an annual salary (alone) of $145,000.  On top of this, relatively new CoB finance chair Francis Laatsch is reportedly being paid $139,920.  That's right at $285,000 for just two CoB chairs.  With Hughes' $200,000 added in, three of the CoB's five chairs are banking about $485,000 in salary alone...".

(September 27, 2010) Tisdale Story Expanding "The recent news that the Lance Nail administration of the CoB has hired James Tisdale, pictured below, to serve as the CoB’s new “director of external relations” has some USM faculty upset about what is being done with the institution’s existing budget in this time of crisis...".

(September 29, 2010) USM Still Filling Questionable Positions: Recent Openings Create New Budget-Related Questions "Even though USM is currently operating on a budget that is $10 million less than last year’s, and is planning for a budget next year that will be $15 million less than this year’s, a number of hires are still being made on the Hattiesburg and Long Beach campuses. Table 1 below shows just three of those positions one might characterize as questionable...".

(September 30, 2010) High School Students Now Questioning Competence of Saunders Administration Saint Andrews Episcopal Students Scratch USM from Lists "According to Mary Margaret Halford’s 30-Sept-2010 report for The Student Printz, more than two dozen students at Jackson’s Saint Andrews Episcopal High School have written letters to USM provost Robert Lyman regarding the Martha Saunders administration’s decision to eliminate the USM Latin program...".

(October 1, 2010) Former IHL Board Member Describes Bleak Future for USM Bill Crawford, a former Mississippi IHL Board member and Mississippi legislator from Meridian, penned an eye-opening editorial for The Hattiesburg American on 29-Sept-2010. That editorial, which is inserted below, details recent enrollment trends and future funding equations for Mississippi higher education. As you will see, it quite capably speaks for itself.

(October 4, 2010) Out of the Shadows A Practical Guide for Prospective USM Applicants/Students "High school students across Mississippi and beyond are navigating the college application process. Many potential USM applicants are likely circumspect with regard to the $25 million in budget cuts that USM executives have effected since 2009, not to mention the additional cut of $10 million to the institution’s FY 2013 budget that is being talked about around the state. ...".

(October 6, 2010) From Cowbells to “Lymanese” "One Major Theme from the Oct-2010 USM Faculty Senate Meeting  Unlike what is going on at USM, where athletics appears to be draining the institution’s tuition pool and general education fund, the athletics department at Mississippi State University is giving back to the academic side of its institutional home. According to Libby Sander’s 30-Sept-2010 news story for The Chronicle of Higher Education, 406 MSU faculty members each recently received a bonus of $2,500 (406 x $2,500 = $1.015 million) that was made possible by a $2 million fund consisting of $0.75 million from the institution’s athletics department and $1.25 million from private supporters...".

(October 8, 2010) New LED Sign on Corner of Campus Causing Stir "As of this writing, Ed Kemp’s 8-Oct-2010 investigative report for The Hattiesburg American on the new LED sign at the corner of the USM campus has already generated nearly 50 comments from online readers. The debate centers on the financing for the project, which cost USM $104,800. According to Kemp’s report, USM’s information technology auxiliary - iTech - funded the board; iTech head Homer Coffman said the video display board, located on the corner of Hardy Street and U.S. Hwy 49, needed to be upgraded from its previously idle state...".

(October 10, 2010) East Carolina Ruins Centennial Homecoming "... To make matters even worse, USM was called for four personal fouls during the second quarter, and USM linebacker Korey Williams was ejected from the game after taking a swing at an ECU player during a sideline scuffle. This national black eye was part of a 15-penalty night for USM, which entered the game as the fourth most penalized team in the country, ...".

(October 13, 2010)  New Website, usmlite.com, Launches "A new, anonymous weblog, usmlite.com, has launched, and it is covering events at USM in a unique fashion. Suggesting that USM is becoming a “64 calorie” university, USMlite, which is not affiliated with USMNEWS.net, specializes in a satirical approach to commenting on issues facing the 100-year old institution...".

(October 13, 2010)  Is AAUP-USM Falling All Over Itself? More on how the USM Faculty is its Own Worst Enemy Regarding Budget Cuts "Ashlyn Ervin’s 12-Oct-2010 story for The Student Printz entitled “USM professors disapprove of appeals process” included some encouraging information for USM faculty with regard to the latest round of budget cuts at USM. However, it also contained a disappointing note, at least according to sources...".

(October 11, 2010) Guest Editorial by Lindy Tolar "I have read this blog from time to time actually thinking the information presented was fair, accurate and relevant to what transpires at the University.  I have read this more often since the budget crisis than before but lately one subject has popped up that makes me realize the information published here is no more credible and as is one sided as the “job” done recently by the Hattiesburg American...".

(October 15, 2010) The Sagarin Small Colleges + USM Football Poll: How do Jeff Bower and Larry Fedora Compare? "As has been widely reported, the Martha Saunders administration of USM delivered termination notices to about 12 or 13 tenured/tenure-track faculty leading up to FY 2011, and she again delivered another 29 such notices heading into FY 2012, all in an effort to deal with a $25 million cut to the institution’s budget. At the same time, however, she increased the athletics department’s budget for FY 2011, and then cut only a portion of the $1 million that the athletics division gets from the overall education fund heading into FY 2012...".

(October 18, 2010) Basketball Bully:The Mother of all Eustachy-Green Comparisons "As pointed out in the recent USMNEWS.net study about the Sagarin Small Colleges + USM Football Poll, the “inconsistent treatment” by the Martha Saunders administration of USM’s academics and athletics has led to an enormous spotlight being aimed at aspects of the USM athletics programs not widely known by many in the USM family...".

(October 19, 2010) Money for Nothing: Could USM Run Its Soccer Program Another Way? "Since the Martha Saunders administration’s attempts to deal with the $15 million FY 2012 budget cut, a number of reports here at USMNEWS.net have shined a spotlight on the athletics side of USM. One theme in this series of reports has been the woeful performance of USM’s soccer program under head coach Scott Ebke. Ebke, a Saunders hire, has won only 12 times since coming to USM after the 2007 season. Table 1 below lists Ebke’s wins for 2008, 2009, and thus far for 2010...".

(October 22, 2010) CoB News, 22-October-2010 "Lai Still Going Strong . . . CoB associate professor of management Fujun Lai is still producing on the research front. A recent Google Scholar search reveals that Lai has added yet another unique A-level journal publication to his already hefty portfolio. The latest Lai publication gem comes via his 2010 article in Decision Support Systems...".

(October 25, 2010) Golden Eagles Fall One Spot in SSC+USM Football Poll "Even with his Golden Eagles football team taking the weekend off from game action, USM head coach Larry Fedora saw his team fall one spot in the latest Sagarin Small Colleges + USM Football Poll...".

(October 25, 2010) AAUP-USM Taking a Stand "The USM chapter of the AAUP is taking a stand against the Martha Saunders administration’s process for terminating 29 tenured and tenure-track faculty in response to the $15 million budget cut facing the institution. On 22-Oct-2010, AAUP-USM president Tammy Greer e-mailed USM faculty (see insert below), stating that the “budget reduction strategies” of 2009 and 2010 which were developed by Saunders et al. entailed “. . . LITTLE OR NO CONSULTATION WITH THE FACULTY.”...".

(October 26, 2010) Another USM Student Steps Up to Plate on Budget "USM students are stepping forward at unprecedented rates to offer solutions to the many problems plaguing the institution. From tough questions at student Q&A sessions on the budget, to explaining to religion, philosophy, and other USM students who are affected by program eliminations that the USM approach to “teaching out” is one that will likely leave them “high and dry,” USM students are calling into question the motives and capabilities of the Martha Saunders administration’s handling of the major issues of the day.

(October 26, 2010) Four More Years of Saunders "The Mississippi IHL board recently voted to extend USM president Martha Saunders’ contract for an additional four years...".

(October 27, 2010) Is Russ Willis Now Running Southern Miss? How Saunders Almost Never Goes Anywhere without Him, and Why that May Be "The Mississippi IHL recently released the news that USM president Martha Saunders has been awarded, and has accepted, a four year contract extension. Judging by his presence at her side on any occasion wherein a tough question about USM might be asked, the IHL’s recent action on Saunders may have also extended USM human resources director and interim chief financial officer (and, maybe, its vice president for administrative affairs) Russ Willis’ tenure at USM by at least the same four years...".

(October 28, 2010) Dear USMnews, "After reading Dr. DePree's column I was struck by the idea that a stalker is given free run on the Southern Miss campus. How does any student, staff, or faculty member feel safe? I request that Dr. DePree - for public safety reasons - break his silence and reveal the person's name so anyone near him or her can take appropriate measures for safety. I find it ironic indeed that Dr. DePree is cautious with this information while his campus attackers felt (and feel) free to attack him by name...".

(November 1, 2010) USM Campus Decorated with 'Impeach Saunders' Graffiti: USMPD Seeking Three White Males A breaking news update on 29-October-2010 from The Hattiesburg American entitled “Three sought in campus vandalism” indicates that the USM police department is seeking “three white males” who are accused of “early morning vandalism” on the same day. USM police chief Bob Hopkins informed THA that 10 locations on the Hattiesburg campus were “marked with graffiti,” as the suspects used “chalk” and “water soluble shoe-polish” 

(November 2, 2010) From Cowbells to Dave Ramsey . . . and Back How Mark Keenum’s Program of Giving Back is Generating a Large Return "The recent USMNEWS.net story, “From Cowbells to ‘Lymanese’,” described how Mississippi State University president Mark Keenum developed a program wherein the MSU athletics department added $0.75 million of its revenues to a private fund containing $1.25 million in order to provide $2 million in faculty bonuses and student scholarships. In the plan, 406 MSU professors each received a bonus of $2,500, leaving roughly half of the $2 million pot for student scholarships...".

(November 3, 2010 update) The Martha Belle More on what Maintaining Saunders’ Airplane is Costing Taxpayers The volume of reports and editorials here at USMNEWS.net regarding USM president Martha Saunders’ university airplane is already mindboggling, and yet the mountain keeps getting higher and higher in elevation. The twin-prop airplane that USM provost Robert Lyman once said may be “an extravagance” is looking more and more like just that with each and every completed paragraph...".

(November 4, 2010 ) Bounty on ‘Graffiti Vandals’ Raised to $1,000 "The Martha Saunders administration of USM has raised the so-called bounty on the three (white) males being sought for what USM officials are calling graffiti-related “vandalism” that occurred on the USM campus in the early morning hours of 29-October-2010.

(November 4, 2010) Is Your Department Bigger than Airplane Operations? A Campus-Wide Comparison "Much has been made around the USM campus, Hattiesburg, and Mississippi, as well as on the pages of USMNEWS.net, The Hattiesburg American, The Student Printz and other media outlets about USM president Martha Saunders’ decision to sign a $2 million lease of a Beechcraft airplane (for USM) during the worst economic period since the Great Depression...".

(November 8, 2010) Saunders Hints at Future Cuts to Academic Programs: Fall 2010 Press Conference Q&A Reveals New Details "After USM president Martha Saunders and her executive cabinet made the decision to (1) eliminate academic programs at USM in deaf education, religion, philosophy, education technology, and other areas, and (2) terminate 29 tenured and tenure-track faculty - all in response to a state-mandated $15 million budget cut - she held a press conference to inform local and state-wide media of the troubling fiscal situation at USM...".

(November 8, 2010) USM Student Posts YouTube Video Rant to Saunders URGES OTHER DISGRUNTLED STUDENTS TO FOLLOW LEAD "Charlie Davis, a junior/senior theater major at USM, has posted a YouTube video rant to USM president Martha Saunders, expressing his dissatisfaction with the Saunders administration’s handling of USM’s budgetary affairs since 2009. At the beginning of the video rant (see video screen below), Davis remarks that he is thankful his own academic program has not yet been cut by Saunders, though he mentions that his fear is that it will soon fall victim to the budget-cutting process...".

(November 9, 2010) Terminated FSU Faculty Push Back FSU Admin "In his article for The Chronicle of Higher Education (6-Nov-2010) entitled “Arbitrator Orders Florida State U. to Rescind Layoffs of Tenured Faculty Members,” Peter Schmidt explains that a Florida State University faculty union fought back against an FSU administration that last year terminated a number of tenured faculty in response to budget cuts on the Tallahassee-based campus...".

(November 9, 2010) ‘Pretty Boy’: Patrick Magee’s Story on Larry Fedora’s $35,000 Raise Causing Stir "If asked to describe USM’s defenses under head football coach Larry Fedora using only the name of a color, many USM fans would likely choose soft pink or powder blue. That would be due to the way in which they are made to look porous, almost without regard to the quality of the opponent in question...".

(November 10, 2010) Is Miles Now Opposed to His Own Plan? "According to Cade Morrow’s 8-Nov-2010 report for The Student Printz entitled “Proposal presents problems,” USM sophomore Daniel Miles is now backing away from his own proposal to bridge a $3 million gap in USM’s FY2012 budget that would allow the institution’s religion, philosophy, deaf education, and other programs/faculty to be retained after 2010-11...".

(November 10, 2010) 'Saunders a Broken Record . . . Miles Made Things Worse' Speaking about USM at an 11-Nov-2010 luncheon with the Pine Belt Young Professionals (PBYP), USM president Martha Saunders said that “everything is up but the budget.” In outlining USM’s bright future, Saunders noted that expansion of the port facilities at Gulfport will lead to greater internationalization for south Mississippi and USM. Sources point out to USMNEWS.net, however, that morale on the USM campus continues to plummet, with the institution preparing for a $10 million FY2013 budget cut, which is one that will follow $25 million in budget cuts from FY2011 and FY2012.

(November 15, 2010) Three USM Football Players Shot at Nightclub "According to numerous media outlets, three USM football players were shot outside of Remington’s Hunt Club at about 1:20 a.m. on 14-Nov-2010. The three players have been identified as Martez Smith, a 22-year-old senior, Deddrick Jones, a 23-year-old junior, and Tim Green, a 23-year-old junior. Smith is a starting linebacker, Jones is a back-up linebacker, and Green is a starting defensive lineman...".

(November 15, 2010) Martez Smith May Be Paralyzed "WPAT-TV in Jackson  is reporting that James Smith, the grandfather of Martez Smith, one of the three USM football players who were shot at about 1:30 a.m. on 14-Nov-2010 outside of a Hattiesburg nightclub, has spoken with his son, who relayed the news to James that Martez is unable to move his legs.  A “tearful” James Smith said he has known since 14-Nov that his grandson may be paralyzed from the gunshot wound he sustained earlier that day...".

(November 15, 2010) USM Football Players Confined to Their Apartments "Reports are now circulating that USM football coach Larry Fedora has ordered all USM football players "not . . . to go anywhere for the time being."  This, of course, is in response to the 1:30 a.m. 14-Nov-2010 shooting of three USM football players at Hattiesburg's Hunt Club night spot...".  

(November 16, 2010) ESPN.com on Top of Nightclub Shooting Story--NEW DETAILS EMERGE "ESPN.com’s Andrea Adelson has been assigned to cover the saga surrounding the shooting of three USM football players - Martez Smith, Deddrick Jones, and Tim Green (pictured below, USM Athletics) - outside of a Hattiesburg nightclub at 1:30am on 14-November-2010. Backed by ESPN’s vast resources, Adelson’s reporting is, according to sources, likely to be one of the richer sources of information about this tragic episode...".

(November 16, 2010) Saunders Now Claiming Credit for Promotion Raises  In her 16-November-2010 news story  for The Student Printz entitled "Fedora receives $35,000 raise," reporter Mary Margaret Halford questioned multiple USM administrators about the recent one-year contract extension and $35,0000 raise given to USM head football coach Larry Fedora, one that bumps Fedora's "base pay" up to $685,000 per year. This

(November 16, 2010) FOXSPORTS.com Reporting that Smith is Paralyzed, 2 Women Have Been Arrested "Citing a source familiar with the situation, FOXSPORTS.com is reporting  that USM football player Martez Smith is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a gunshot wound he sustained at 1:30 am on 14-Nov-2010 outside of the Hunt Club in Hattiesburg.  According to the source, Smith's spinal cord was severed by the gunshot, while Smith's teammates, Deddrick Jones and Tim Green, sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and neck, respectively...".

(November 17, 2010) Special Report ‘IMPEACH’ USM’s New Retention Rewards Program "In what USMNEWS.net sources are referring to as USM’s surprise Incentive Model for Promoting Efforts to Advance Credit Hours (IMPEACH), the Martha Saunders administration is now using a line item in the USM budget to reward student retention successes at the department level at USM...".

(November 18, 2010) How much will getting to “the Next Level” in Athletics Cost? A Guest Study "Much has been said on this website and in the local media about how much money Southern Miss spends on athletics (about $19 million per year), and how good, or not so good, Southern Miss’s sports teams perform on the fields and courts of competition. This guest study combines the two issues into one by examining the cost per sports victory during (1) the 2008-09 academic year, (2) the 2009-10 academic year, and (3) the 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years combined...".

(November 22, 2010) Will Fedora Take on the CSF Challenge? Faculty “Senator A” Proposes that USM Coach Donate $35,000 Raise to the CSF "At its Nov-2010 monthly meeting, members of the USM faculty senate gave an impromptu ovation to a challenge to USM head football coach Larry Fedora made by a faculty senator who USMNEWS.net reporters are referring to as “Senator A.”...".

(November 22, 2010) USM Shooting Update . . . 22-November-2010 "According to Ashton Pittman’s 20-Nov-2010 news report for The Student Printz, a U.S. Marshal’s task force has arrested Travis Brown (see below), the alleged shooter in the recent nightclub incident involving three USM football players, Martez Smith, Deddrick Jones, and Tim Green.

(November 29, 2010) Sign Here: If a Fedora Donation would be Classy, How about a Willis One? "The $35,000 raise received this year by USM head football coach Larry Fedora has generated a firestorm on the USM campus (and beyond). The the most recent chapter in the stormy story is the challenge put to Fedora at the 5-Nov-2010 faculty senate meeting, wherein “Senator A” argued that Fedora should donate the entire $35,000 raise to USM’s Centennial Scholarship Fund (CSF).1 When “Senator A” posed the challenge to Fedora, the faculty senate spontaneously cheered the idea, which also prompted USM chief financial officer/human resources director to remark that such a move would indeed be a classy one...".

(updated November 29, 2010) The EuStachy Code Another Look at Larry Eustachy's Destruction of USM Basketball "Nearing the mid-point of sixth season as head men's basketball coach at the University of Southern Mississippi, Larry Eustachy's career USM record is a much-to-be-desired 84 wins and 84 losses. The fact that about 20 of these 84 wins have come against William Carey, Spring Hill, Loyola-New Orleans, Dillard-New Orleans, Belhaven, Reinhardt and Blue Mountain means that Eustachy's USM record shrinks by 20%-25% on the wins side when accounted for properly...".

(November 30, 2010) Is it Happening Already? The Post-Luyties Slide in USM Volleyball "As the 20-April-2010 update to Aunt Martha's Seasons stated, USMNEWS.net’s correspondents have an almost uncanny ability to forecast events related to USM. The statement was made in reference to the earlier prediction (in the original report) that USM would be losing its volleyball coach, former national champion and Olympic gold medalist Ricci Luyties, to another school...".

(November 30, 2010) USM Accepts Invitation to Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl "USM has accepted an invitation to participate in the Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, FL, on 21-Dec-2010. The Eagles (8-4) will take on a member of the Big East Conference at Tropicana Field in a bowl game that will be televised by ESPN (8:00 p.m. EST)...".

(December 2, 2010) Retirement Incentives - What Will They Cost? A VIEW FROM THE COB "The USM administration’s plan to bridge the FY2012 budget shortfall by offering a retirement incentive program to eligible retirees is projected, by USM chief financial officer Russ Willis, to initially cost the institution about $3 million. Under the program, any USM employee with 25 or more years of services, or who is at retirement age, will be able to receive ½ of his or her current salary if he or she will agree to retire on 30-June-2011...".

(December 7, 2010) SAUNDERS ADMINISTRATION SILENT ON CAMPUS BEATING USM Freshman Recuperating at Jackson Home "Almost 48 hours into the latest troublesome issue at USM - the on-campus beating of USM freshman Stuart Ramsey - and the Martha Saunders administration remains silent about Ramsey’s condition, the status of the investigation, and/or the general safety of students on the Hattiesburg campus, among other things...".

(December 9, 2010)  The Top 10 CoB Stories of 2010 by Duane CobbPart 1 10. Donna Davis Retires - CoB management information systems professor Donna Davis retired in 2010, after years to telling other CoBers such a move was imminent.

(December 10, 2010)  The Top 10 CoB Stories of 2010 by Duane CobbPart 2  6. Retirement Incentive Program to Hit CoB - In its effort to bridge the expected $15 million gap in the FY12 USM budget, the Martha Saunders administration secured the IHL’s approval of a plan to pay eligible USM retirees one-half of their current salaries if they retire on 30-June-2010.

(December 14, 2010)  The Top 10 CoB Stories of 2010 by Duane Cobb  Each year at about this time I provide USMNEWS.net my top ten news items involving USM’s business school for the year. This is Part 3 in that countdown for the top CoB stories of 2010.  3. Nail Friend, James Tisdale, Joins CoB - The news that CoB dean Lance Nail hired friend, James Tisdale, to be the CoB’s new director of external relations, of all things, was disheartening to many USM followers.

(December 8, 2010) Saunders Administration Grows, Yet Again "Despite the economic and fiscal challenges facing USM and Mississippi, the Martha Saunders administration continues to grow. It grew yet again this week, as David Tisdale’s 7-Dec-2010 USM presser entitled “Payne Named Associate Director for External Affairs for Alumni Association,” points out...".

(December 7, 2010) USM Vice President Speaks About Campus Beating: Joe Paul Breaks Silence of USM Administration "According to a 7-Dec-2010 story for The Hattiesburg American entitled “Father: Assault victim on the mend,” the USM freshman who allegedly suffered an on-campus beating at the hands of several members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity on the evening of 4-Dec-2010 is “shaken up,” but “healing” some 60 hours after the incident...".

(December 8, 2010 update) Will 2010-11 be a Banner Year? "During the 2009-10 academic year, USMNEWS.net staff followed the progress of USM's athletics. As you can see, the Golden Eagles sports units won only 47.0% of their contests (i.e., 224 wins, incl. ties, in 477 contests) during 2009-10, a result representing anything a 'banner year.'...".

(December 9, 2010) Arrest in On-Campus Beating; Fraternity Shelved "The USM police department made an arrest on 8-Dec-2010 of a suspected assailant in the recent campus beating of USM freshman Stuart Ramsey. USM senior Chase LaGarde (pictured below), a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, turned himself in after learning that a warrant had been issued for his arrest in the 4-Dec-2010 assault of Ramsey, a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon...".

(December 15, 2010) ‘President Saunders Presents' Love for Athletics  "Despite all of the editorial criticism about how USM president Martha Saunders (mis)uses her blog at www.usm.edu, the USM chief executive has now launched a new video blog entitled "President Saunders Presents."According to Saunders, 'I'm hoping to bring you more in-depth insights into a variety of topics and interesting personalities through regular video blog posts." ...".

(December 15, 2010) Was Coll Moved to Make Room for Payne? Some Curious Thanksgiving-Eve Restructuring in Communications Office "On Tuesday, 23-Nov-2010 - the day before Thanksgiving Holidays 2010 at USM - communications office manager Beth Taylor issued a USM presser entitled 'Southern Miss Restructures Office of University Communications.'...".

(December 22, 2010) Eagles Collapse in Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl "USM exploded to a 14-0 lead early in the 2010 Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, FL, on 21-Dec-2010, and led Louisville by 14 points again at 21-7, only to fall to the Cardinals by a final score of 28-31...".

(January 3, 2011) Lee-McNelis Serves Suspension for NCAA Violations "USM’s head women’s basketball coach Joye Lee-McNelis was suspended for USM’s 2-Jan-2011 game against Louisiana Tech University for committing a number of NCAA violations.

(January 13, 2011) ‘Ejection Larry’ Video Going Viral By Susan Green-Lewis "Video (courtesy of WSAZ News Channel 3) of USM head men’s basketball coach Larry Eustachy’s ejection from the 8-Jan-2011 Marshall game, a 30-point loss by USM, is going viral. Four snapshots of Eustachy’s tirade, one that earned the USM coach two technical fouls and ejection from the game (with about 10 minutes remaining), are inserted below...".

(January 13, 2011) Williams Professorship Now Occupied: CoB’s Jennifer Sequeira Inaugural Holder of New Entrepreneurship Chair "The new Alvin J. Williams Distinguished Professorship in Minority Entrepreneurship has its inaugural holder in CoB associate professor of management Jennifer Sequeira...".

(January 17, 2010) Award-Winning Thamesians? USM’s Controversial Past not Fading Away Van Arnold’s 13-Jan-2011 presser entitled “Noetic Technologies, Southern Miss Share Leadership Award” informed the USM community that Noetic Technologies and USM have won the John I. Rucker Community Innovation Leadership Award. This award recognizes leadership for organizations that represent a government, academic and private sector partnership.

(January 18, 2011) CoB News "... Monchuk Lands at World Bank:  According to his LinkedIn page, former USM associate professor of economics Daniel Monchuk is now an economist with The World Bank, though that same page lists him as residing/working in the 'Hattiesburg, Mississippi Area.'...".

(January 20, 2011) Appeals Committee Rejects Saunders’ Cuts "As The Hattiesburg American is reporting, the nine-member appeals committee is supporting the reinstatement of 10 of the 28 academic program cuts put forward during Fall-2010 by USM president Martha Saunders. If saved, the reinstatement of the 10 programs would also save 15 tenured/tenure-track faculty who are currently slated for termination on 30-June-2011. The Hattiesburg American also reports that, if agreed to by Saunders, the appeals committee’s decisions regarding academic programs would reduce the budget savings from the cuts only $160,000, taking them from $3.02 million to $2.86 million...".

(January 20, 2011) Shrinking Budget Feeding Growing Administration "Even though the USM budget will shrink by somewhere between $10 million and $25 million by 2012, the Martha Saunders administration continues to grow at an alarming rate. Much of this growth has been covered by reports here at USMNEWS.net, and this particular report brings even more news on the Saunders administration growth front...".

(January 24, 2011) an update to Aunt Martha’s Coaches Has Saunders Lost the Magic Touch? Or, Did She Ever Have It? "After the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater won the Division III national championship in 2007, USM President Martha Saunders blogged that during the 2006-07 academic year while Chancellor at UW-W she had hired the first-year coach who led UW-W to the title...".

(January 26, 2011) Was Morgan Hired to Dress Up the USM Centennial? Details that Could Usher in the Next Campus Scandal "A late Jan-2011 installment of The Farm that points out that USM’s Chester “Bo” Morgan holds the title of professor and university historian has sources asking whether Morgan (pictured below) was hired by USM in order to boost its year-long 2010 centennial celebration...".

(February 8, 2011) CoB News, 8-Feb-2001 "FIN’s Hood Set to Leave USM Reports coming out of USM’s b-school indicate that assistant professor of finance Matthew Hood will be departing USM at the end of the 2010-11 academic year...".

(February 14, 2011) In-House ‘Up and Comer’ Named Permanent VP "According to Beth Taylor’s 11-Feb-2011 USM presser, USM’s director of human resources and interim chief financial officer, Russ Willis, has been named vice president of administrative affairs at USM, pending IHL approval. Willis, pictured below, has, according to Taylor, been serving as USM’s interim VPAA since August of 2010...".

(February 14, 2011) “Missed the Boat” The Saunders Administration’s Plan to Save USM’s Psychology Program "Amid dealing with all of the budget cuts that the Martha Saunders administration of USM has been faced with for fiscal years 2011 and 2012, several USM psychology faculty have been courted by other U.S. institutions of higher education...".

(February 15, 2011) Confirmation of Willis’ Title Not Playing Well "The recent announcement that USM human resources director/interim CFO Russ Willis has been named, pending IHL approval, USM’s new permanent vice president for administrative affairs is not going over so well among the greater USM community...".

(February 17, 2011) Institutional Storm Brewing at UT-Tyler "Reports coming into USMNEWS.net paint a vivid picture of an institutional storm involving the cadre of former USM administrators that is now brewing at the University of Texas - Tyler...".

(February 18, 2011)  Doty Trampling All Over UT-Tyler? "... The report linked above also indicates that details about Doty’s activities at UT-T were being compiled and analyzed by USMNEWS.net. Some of that work has now been completed. This report brings us to the anonymous letter inserted below, which is dated 26-Jan-2011, stamped “CONFIDENTIAL,” and addressed to “Dr. Harold Doty Dean The University of Texas at Tyler.” The letter, which has been widely circulated throughout the UT-T and Tyler communities (and beyond), is analyzed in the space below the insert below...".

(January 14, 2011)  Sillybus: Stephen Bushardt’s Teaching Practices Unfazed by Move to UT-Tyler "A Guest Column When former USM management professor Stephen Bushardt packed up and departed tiny Spring Hill College several months ago, interest in him was renewed among some in the USM family. This was because his destination was the University of Texas - Tyler, where a number of former managers of USM’s Shelby Thames administration (2002-07) had fled to in prior years...".

(February 18, 2011) UT-Tyler President Struggling to Contain Chaos "Judging by his letter to the University of Texas - Tyler community dated 15-Feb-2011, UT-Tyler president Rod Mabry is struggling to contain the chaos being created on the campus by UT-Tyler business school dean, Harold Doty...".

(February 18, 2011) City of Tyler Getting an Education on Doty "More troubling news is now coming out of Tyler, Texas, and the University of Texas - Tyler, concerning former USM College of Business dean Harold Doty, now the b-school dean at UT-Tyler. To add to previous reports on the chaotic situation there, USMNEWS.net has obtained an additional letter regarding the administration turmoil at UT-T...".

(February 21, 2011) Is it Déjà vu All Over Again for Doty? "For the uninitiated (i.e., new USMNEWS.net readers), the trouble now surrounding (once again) Harold Doty, the business school dean at the University of Tyler, likely boggles the mind. Recent reports here at USMNEWS.net indicate that Doty’s actions have generated a serious administrative storm on the UT-Tyler campus, and in the greater Tyler community...".

(February 21, 2011) Any Way You Slice It Russ Willis’ New Title and Salary Contributing to Malaise at USM "When (in May-2010) USM chief financial officer Joe Morgan announced his impending resignation, the USM community was shocked. There were no signs indicating that such a move was coming...".

(February 22, 2011) Is USM Turning to Speed Traps to Augment its Budget? LOCAL NEWSPAPER PAINTS COMPELLING PICTURE "Edward Kemp’s 21-Feb-2011 report for The Hattiesburg American entitled “USM traffic tickets up” paints a picture of a university that appears to be turning to speed traps and moving violations citations in order to augment its sagging budget...".

(February 23, 2011) UT-Tyler President Balks: Harold Doty Remains in Charge of Institution’s Business School "Reports coming into USMNEWS.net’s news offices indicate that Harold Doty, the dean of the business school at the University of Texas-Tyler, remains in charge of that organization despite a flurry of accusations of financial mismanagement, nepotism, violations of employment policies/laws, and willful mishandling of official university records, among others...".

(February 25, 2011) No Payne, No Gain: Hiring of New Alumni Affairs ADEA Looks Sketchy . . . Again "The 7-Dec-2010 announcement that Jennifer Payne was hired as the USM alumni association’s new associate director for external affairs came at a time when 29 tenured and tenure-track faculty at USM were operating on the assumption that they would not return to USM in 2011-12. That assumption was the correct one for them to make at that time, because the Martha Saunders administration had only weeks earlier delivered terminal notices to them in an effort to deal with an expected budget cut of $15 million for FY2012...".

(March 1, 2011) Aunt Martha’s Coaches Has Saunders Lost the Magic Touch? Or, Did She Ever Have It? "After the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater won the Division III national championship in 2007, USM President Martha Saunders blogged...".

(March 1, 2011) What did UW-W Get for Its Money? "Reporters at usmnews.net continue to review records provided by colleagues at UW-W detailing Dr. Saunders’ use of UW-W and UW-W Foundation resources. Of particular interest to readers has been an expensive trip to London, England...".

(March 3, 2011) Eustachy’s Eagles Slip on Big Stage "Larry Eustachy’s USM men’s basketball team is, in early Mar-2011, on the proverbial March Madness bubble. Although much of the air in that bubble was released in late Feb-2011 on a last second loss to Central Florida in Orlando, the nation was watching again on 2-Mar-2011 as the Eagles welcomed fellow bubbler Alabama - Birmingham to Reed-Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg...".

(March 4, 2011 update) Will 2010-11 be a Banner Year? "During the 2009-10 academic year, USMNEWS.net staff followed the progress of USM's athletics...".

(March 8, 2011) Eagles Calling for Replacement of Lee-McNelis: Lady Eagles Coach Struggling in all Phases "Fans attendance has plummeted to only a few. Wins have become rare. Now, sources tell USMNEWS.net that many USM fans are calling for (see USM’s rivals.com site) USM athletics director Richard Giannini to replace Lady Eagles basketball coach Joye Lee-McNelis. With USM’s first-round game against Memphis in the C-USA Tournament looming, the Lady Eagles are only 10-19 (0.345) overall, and 19-40 (0.322) since the beginning of the 2009-10 season...".

(March 10, 2011) Lee-McNelis’ Seventh Season Ends with Thud  "While committing 28 personal fouls and 26 turnovers, Joye Lee-McNelis’ USM Lady Eagles basketball team dropped their first round 2011 C-USA Tournament game against Memphis by a score of 63 to 71. The loss ends Lee-McNelis’ seventh season at the helm of the program, as the 2010-11 version of the Lady Eagles finished with a disappointing 10-20 (0.333) record...".

(March 11, 2011) Saunders Administration Plans to Centralize Vacant Lines More on USM’s Plan to Support Signature Programs "As part of USM’s new policy to support so-called signature academic programs, the Martha Saunders administration is now centralizing vacant lines...".

(March 14, 2011) No Postseason in 2011 for Eustachy’s Eagles "By the time last week’s 2011 C-USA Tournament rolled around, conventional wisdom was that Larry Eustachy’s Golden Eagles had played themselves out of any chance at an at-large bid to the 68-team 2011 NCAA Tournament...".

(March 15, 2011) CoB News "Clark Leaving the CoB’s SoA Based on reports coming from the CoB’s School of Accountancy, long-time USM professor of accounting Stanley Clark is set to leave the CoB after the 2010-11 academic year. Clark will be joining the department of accounting in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University beginning with the 2011-12 academic year...".

(March 18, 2011) Another $17,000 for USM’s Administration "At its 17-March-2011 meeting, the Mississippi IHL approved [pdf page 72/100] a $17,000 raise for Ann Parker Blackwell (pictured below), the interim dean of USM’s College of Education & Psychology...".

(March 18, 2011) Ain’t Skeered? More on Eustachy’s ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ Campaign "The USMNEWS.net sports bureau and USMNEWS.net contributors have been working overtime in recent days, covering all of the news surrounding the USM basketball programs. This work is especially important these days, as USM athletics director Richard Giannini is engaging in a media blitz extolling the virtues of keeping Eustachy, pictured below, in the USM family...".

(March 21, 2011) Saunders Administration Centralizes Fundraising: University Processes Becoming Less and Less Transparent "With USM associate director for development Mike Bonnette's 16-March-2011 e-mail to the USM community - an e-mail that is inserted below - members of the USM community were informed that back in May-2010 the Martha Saunders administration centralized all fundraising efforts on behalf of the institution...".

(March 21, 2011) Pollittely Played: A New Type of Publishing Shenanigan Confronts the CoB "Long-time visitors to USMNEWS.net are aware of the many sketchy publishing practices that have occurred within USM’s b-school over the past few decades. The USMNEWS.net Archives contain many reports and editorials about double-counting, publishing in vanity journals, politicized journal ranking endeavors, and many more dubious exercises of the “scholarship” variety...".

(March 22, 2011) Buy, Sell or Swap? A Guest Analysis "Joye Lee-McNelis, the head coach of the USM Lady Eagles basketball program, was preceded by Rick Reeves. Reeves was never really accepted by USM fans, alumni, or other constituents. As a result, he was on the scene for a brief stint of only five seasons. His successor, Lee-McNelis, is a former USM Lady Eagle herself,...".

(March 23, 2011) Happiness is . . . A Look at the RATEMYPROFESSORS.com Surveys "Much has been made about USM’s top 20 placement using a U.S. News & World Report statistic that purports to indicate how “popular” a university or college is among prospective students. That statistic is the percentage of accepted applicants who ultimately enroll...".

(March 24, 2011) AT&T Goes to Sevier, Brandt Apparently Vacated "CoB management instructor Amy Sevier was the big winner (among the CoB’s faculty) at the recently-held 2011 CoB Awards Banquet...".

(March 28, 2011) Yet Again: ANOTHER FORMER USM ADMINISTRATOR LOOKING ELSEWHERE "The breaking news report here at USMNEWS.net about former USM legal counsel Lee Gore’s recent interview with Georgia Southern University raised some eyebrows. S...".

(March 29, 2011) “Teachers”: A Look at How the Powers at USM are Devaluing the CoB and Its Faculty "Recent upgrades to the CoB’s website reveals, to sources at least, that the USM business college and its “Faculty” are now being devalued, though there is some uncertainty as to whom to assign the credit/responsibility...".

(January 25, 2011) 31st & Pearl: Filling Lyman’s Shoes "As expected, Ed Kemp’s 20-Jan-2011 news story about the appeals of program cuts has everyone talking about USM provost Robert Lyman. It’s simple, really. ...".

(January 26, 2011) Keeping the Home Fires Burning: How the USM Plane can Help a Marriage Remain Fresh and New "So much has been written about USM’s $2 million lease of a Beechcraft King Air airplane, yet new revelations continue to emerge that add to the already large story. USMNEWS.net just recently received a new batch of documents regarding USM president Martha Saunders’ use of the university airplane...".

(March 29, 2011) Back on Blocks? A Look at the State of USM’s Softball Program "The story of USM’s softball programs occurs in two parts. As the insert below shows, the program began in the early 1980s, but was put on proverbial blocks by the early 1990s...".

(March 29, 2011) East Texas Coin How the Apprentice Mastered his Former Master "When Farhang Niroomand was nearing the end of his reign as associate dean in USM’s CoB, he was earning $142,938. His boss then, former CoB dean Harold Doty, was earning $153,924. Both resigned their posts, and gave up these salaries, in April of 2007...".

(March 30, 2011) CoB to Get $33 Million Facility "According to a 29-Mar-2011 report by The Hattiesburg American, the Martha Saunders administration of USM announced (also on 29-Mar-2011) the kickoff of a $10 million private fundraising campaign to support construction of a new, $33 million facility for USM’s College of Business...".

(March 30, 2011) The BSD Pay Project A Compilation of the Salaries of Southern B-School Deans "Recent reporting here at USMNEWS.net regarding the salaries of two former USM b-school administrators - Harold Doty, a former dean, and Farhang Niroomand, a former associate dean - has drawn interest among USMNEWS.net readers...".

(March 30, 2011) USM’s Giannini Big Part of National Controversy "As the Associated Press reported on 29-Mar-2011, college football’s Fiesta Bowl is in serious jeopardy when it comes to its current inclusion among the sport’s BCS Bowl rotation. This precarious position for the Fiesta Bowl comes with the ousting of the FB’s President and CEO, John Junker, who was removed after an internal report uncovered that “excessive compensation, nonbusiness and inappropriate expenditures and inappropriate gifts” were prominent during his management of the bowl...".

(April 1, 2011) Giannini’s Response to Criticism ‘Weak’: Growing College Football-Related Controversy Harmful to Southern Miss "The growing controversy surrounding the late-March-2011 revelations that led to the end of Fiesta Bowl president and CEO John Junker’s tenure - which was marked by lavish gifts, a $1,200 visit to a strip club, an almost $30,000 per year car allowance, and memberships in various country clubs - continues to hound USM athletics director Richard Giannini...".

(April 7, 2011) Cleveland Warns Giannini and Saunders: Media Luminary Argues that USM’s Berry is Grossly Underpaid "Through his 6-Apr-2011 sports column in The Hattiesburg American, famed Mississippi sportswriter Rick Cleveland warns the USM administration - athletics director Richard Giannini and president Martha Saunders - that its head baseball coach, Scott Berry, is grossly underpaid, representing a real bargain...".

(April 7, 2011) Christmas in June: FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN FOR NEW COB FACILITY BEGINS "The title of this report is what USM president Martha Saunders and CoB dean Lance Nail are hoping for by kicking off the 2011 fundraising campaign for the CoB’s new building...".

(April 11, 2011) Is USM Hiding Something about the Parking Garage? "As David Tisdale’s USM presser points out, a celebratory opening of USM’s new five-story parking garage - a structure capable of accommodating 1,200 vehicles - occurred on the morning of 7-April-2011, complete with USM president Martha Saunders and USM vice president of student affairs Joe Paul driving an antique vehicle through a yellow ribbon to mark the occasion...".

(April 12, 2011) USM’s Focus on Athletics about to Spike: Saunders Governs More Like Thames Every Day "Just when conventional wisdom indicated that the Martha Saunders administration’s focus on athletics couldn’t be any sharper, news from a USM sports website known as The District (hosted by BigGoldNation of rivals.com) reveals that it can, and likely will. In a thread from 11-April-2011 entitled “Southern Miss Athletics Summit . . .,” SethManKA1 posted the following:...".

(April 13, 2011) Did They Get Fries with That? CoB “Teachers” Become “Professors” . . . Again "The 29-March-2011 Special Report entitled “Teachers . . .” described updates to the CoB’s webpages at usm.edu that indicated that professors in USM’s b-school were being referred to as “Teachers.”...".

(April 13, 2011)Team A’s New Parking Garage: USM STUDENTS ON THE HOOK FOR A LONG, LONG TIME "The recent story about the new five-level parking garage on USM’s campus raises a number of concerns regarding the so-called consortium of local companies that formed to finance its construction...".

(April 20, 2011) Muddy Waters: The CoB’s Past, Present, and Future All Come Together . . . . in a Building "After USM provost Robert Lyman’s brief presentation at the 1-April-2011 faculty senate meeting, USM professor of English, Stanley Hauer, asked Lyman the following question:...".

(April 21, 2011) Special Report: Think The Student Printz is in the Tank? "A few USMNEWS.net readers have expressed the view that USM’s student newspaper, The Student Printz, has been, thus far during 2011, in the proverbial tank for the institution’s administration...".

(April 25, 2011)  Sketchy USM - UT-Tyler Connection Drawing Interest  "A sketchy connection between USM and the University of Texas-Tyler is now drawing interest from various corners of the academic world...".

(April 27, 2011) Sex, Sports, & Secret Summits: USM’s Approach to Intercollegiate Athletics under Modern Day Presidents "On 12-April-2011, USMNEWS.net reported on a somewhat secret athletics summit convened by USM president Martha Saunders and USM athletics director Richard Giannini...".

(April 29, 2011) Fos Pushing Boundaries of Employment Practices "According to information pouring into USMNEWS.net from various quarters, former CoH dean and current University of Texas-Tyler provost Peter Fos has taken a faculty position with the LSU Health Sciences Center. Thus, at the end of this academic year Fos will be leaving Tyler, though UT-Tyler president Rod Mabry has already informed the UT-Tyler and City of Tyler communities that Fos will remain, via “telecommuting,” as UT-Tyler’s provost until a new provost is secured...". 

(May 2, 2011) Aunt Martha’s Psychiatry Couch: Kangaroo Court-Type Atmosphere Pervading USM "Ed Kemp’s 29-April-2011 news story for The Hattiesburg American tells more about the saga involving Kate Greene, the USM political science professor who has been suspended from her spring 2011 Supreme Court & Civil Liberties course...".

(May 3, 2011) Is the Saunders Administration Undermining Title IX? Data Tell the Story of a Program Geared Toward Only Male Success "The day before USMNEWS.net released its investigative report entitled “Sex, Sports & Secret Summits: USM’s Approach to Intercollegiate Athletics under Modern Day Presidents,” The New York Times published Katie Thomas’ 25-Apr-2011 report entitled “Gender Games: College Teams, Relying on Deception, Undermine Gender Equity.”...".

(May 5, 2011) Texas-Tyler Descending into Darkness  "One of the ugliest devolutions that can take place in a university setting occurs when administrators develop a disdain for the first amendment...".

(May 10, 2011) UT-System Now Investigating Alleged UT-T Corruption "According to information received by USMNEWS.net, the University of Texas System’s chancellor, Francisco Cigarroa, is now aware of the chaos at the University of Texas at Tyler. Not only that, sources indicate that an investigation of the alleged corruption at UT-T is now underway...".

(May 10, 2011) No Confidence Vote in UH-V Provost Dr. Suzanne V. LaBreque "Sources at University of Houston-Victoria are reporting that Friday, May 6, 2011, the Faculty Council at UH-V cast an overwhelming vote of no confidence in Provost Dr. Suzanne V. LaBrecque...". 

(May 11, 2011) No Confidence . . . by the Numbers "Votes of “no confidence” have spread from the Shelby Thames administration of USM (2002-07) to the University of Houston at Victoria, where former USM (Thamesian) provost Tim Hudson served as president until Aug-2010, and where former USM (Thamesian) associate dean Farhang Niroomand now serves as b-school dean...".

(May 11, 2011) The Tyler Pile: Documents Pouring in from East Texas-Based Institution "Like a raging river, documents and materials regarding the chaos occurring now at the University of Texas at Tyler are flowing into the news offices at USMNEWS.net. One interesting arrival is a set of e-mails involving Harold Doty, the former b-school dean at USM (2003-07) who is now in charge of the b-school at UTT. The first of these two e-mails is from Marilyn Young, the former UTT management department chair who was replaced in the summer of 2010 by another former CoB management professor, Stephen Bushardt...."

(May 12, 2011) Tyler Junior College Newspaper Stands Tall: East Texas Community College Press Represents UT-Tyler Students on First Amendment Issue When administrators at the University of Texas at Tyler stifled The Patriot Talon’s ability to report and editorialize on administration malfeasance there, the nearby The Apache Pow Wow of Tyler Junior College jumped into the breach...".

(May 18, 2011) King Takes 2011 Louis K. Brandt Research Award "Though it may have taken a while for the news to come, USMNEWS.net’s prediction about the CoB’s 2011 Louis K. Brandt Research Award race came to fruition a few days ago, as CoB legal studies professor Ernest King was announced as the winner...".

(May 19, 2011) Back to Brandt An Early Look at the 2013 Louis K. Brandt Award Race "The 2011 Louis K. Brandt Research Award results are barely in the record books, yet it is time to take an early look at how the race for the 2013 LKBA is shaping up. Only four months into the 24-month eligibility that covers 2011-12, there are a few CoB faculty beyond the starting gate...".

(May 19, 2011) Special Report What Would MSU do with Dobson? "According to an 18-May-2011 Hattiesburg American report out of Starkville, Mississippi State University athletics executives have decided to part ways with MSU head softball coach Jay Miller...".

(May 20, 2011) A Brandt Award Primer PART 1 "With the recent reports on the CoB’s Louis K. Brandt Research Award, it occurred to USMNEWS.net staffers that many of the website’s newer readers are probably unfamiliar with this particular award. It is given out biannually to the top researcher in the b-school...".

(May 20, 2011 update)  Aunt Martha's Coaches:  Has Saunders Lost the Magic Touch?  Or Did She Ever Have It?  "After the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater won the Division III national championship in 2007, USM President Martha Saunders blogged that during the 2006-07 academic year while Chancellor at UW-W she had hired the first-year coach who led UW-W to the title...".

(May 23, 2011) UH-Victoria Provost Stepping Down "For several days, USMNEWS.net has been scrolling a tip from a source indicating that the University of Houston - Victoria’s Suzanne LaBrecque is relinquishing her post as the UH-V provost...".

(May 23, 2011) updated Will 2010-11 be a Banner Year? "During the 2009-10 academic year, USMNEWS.net staff followed the progress of USM's athletics. As you can see, the Golden Eagles sports units won only 47.0% of their contests (i.e., 224 wins, incl. ties, in 477 contests) during 2009-10, a result representing anything a 'banner year.'...".

(May 24, 2011) A Brandt Award Primer PART 2 "With the recent reports on the CoB’s Louis K. Brandt Research Award, it occurred to USMNEWS.net staffers that many of the website’s newer readers are probably unfamiliar with this particular award. It is given out biannually to the top researcher in the b-school...".

(May 25, 2011) Cannon’s Salary Pushed to $145,000 "New USM associate vice president for research, Gordon Cannon, experienced a “Christmas in May” of sorts when, at is May-2011 meeting, the Mississippi IHL raised his salary from $95,319 to $145,000 to go along with his move from rank-and-file faculty to central administration...".

(May 25, 2011) Five CoB Faculty Tenured in 2011 "Five of USM’s b-school faculty received tenure from the Mississippi IHL during that governing body’s May-2011 meeting. These five CoBers join 35 other USM faculty in being awarded tenure by the IHL. The five CoB faculty are:...".

(May 27, 2011) Update to Tracking Turnover through Tenure A Look at How Bad Leadership has Impacted USM "Regular followers of happenings at the University of Southern Mississippi are well aware of the damage done to the institution by the Shelby F. Thames administration (2002-07). Thames’ tenure was characterized by scandals, beginning immediately upon taking office. Those scandals led to unprecedented faculty turnover during the 2002-07 period...".

(May 31, 2011) Did Greene’s Detractor Threaten to use “Campus Pull”? "Ed Kemp’s 30-May-2011 article for The Hattiesburg American entitled “Prof’s suspension shows holes in university policy” provides a few new details surrounding the Martha Saunders administration’s recent suspension of USM political science professor Kate Greene...".

(May 16, 2011) Eat What You Kill? A Look at How the USM President’s Office will Fail at RCM "During a recent meeting devoted to discussing Responsibility Centered Management (RCM), USM president Martha Saunders quoted USM paraphrased Robert Lyman as saying that RCM is like the eat what you kill model of university budgeting...".

(June 7, 2011) Eagles End 2011 Season on Low Note Late Season Collapse Led by Academic Problems "The end-of-season academic suspension of pitchers Geoffrey Thomas and Jonathan Thompson led, as USMNEWS.net sources predicted, to a quick end to USM’s postseason play...".

(June 7, 2011) Buy, Sell or Swap? A Guest Analysis "Joye Lee-McNelis, the head coach of the USM Lady Eagles basketball program, was preceded by Rick Reeves. Reeves was never really accepted by USM fans, alumni, or other constituents. As a result, he was on the scene for a brief stint of only five seasons...".

(June 8, 2011) Part One of The Marvasti File:  Former CoB Economist Now Confronting Legal Issues in South Florida  "One needs only to type “Akbar Marvasti” into the new USMNEWS.net Google search engine to find a plethora of reports and editorials about the highly controversial former USM economics professor, Akbar Marvasti. Now, Marvasti is facing a new set of financial-related issues in South Florida, his new home. According to a batch of federal court documents received recently by USMNEWS.net, Chase Bank has filed legal action ”...".

(June 8, 2011) Malik Leaving the CoB "CoB associate professor of finance, Farooq Malik, will be leaving USM before the start of the upcoming 2011-12 academic year...".

(June 9, 2011) Part Two of The Marvasti File:  Former CoB Economist Now Confronting Legal Issues in South Florida "... Part 1 introduces readers to a federal court action filed by Chase Bank against Marvasti, an action taken on the heels of Marvasti’s 1-Nov-2010 filing of a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy petition. Further examination of Marvasti’s Chapter 7 filing, however, reveals that his issues with Chase Bank are relatively minor when stacked up against others whose credit Marvasti availed of himself. Among the secured debts owed by Marvasti at the 1-Nov-2010 Chapter 7 filing are:...". For part one, click here.

(June 6, 2011) What do USM administrators mean by “milestone achievement”? The Hattiesburg American reprinted a public relations notice provided by the USM College of Business entitled, “Southern Miss HR Program Earns Endorsement.”

(June 10, 2011) Part Three of The Marvasti File:  Former CoB Economist Now Confronting Legal Issues in South Florida "...  The insert above shows that Marvasti also had unpaid credit card debts in the amounts of $11,482 (Bank of America), $14,828 (Chase Freedom), $9,500 (Citi), and $2,960 (Citi). These four credit card debts total $38,770. Still, this is not the end of the story, as the insert below shows: ...".

(June 10, 2011) updated Aunt Martha’s Coaches Has Saunders Lost the Magic Touch? Or, Did She Ever Have It? "After the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater won the Division III national championship in 2007, USM President Martha Saunders blogged that during the 2006-07 academic year while Chancellor at UW-W she had hired the first-year coach who led UW-W to the title...".

(June 13, 2011) Part Four of The Marvasti File:  Former CoB Economist Now Confronting Legal Issues in South Florida "... In addressing his financial difficulties, this series has described how Marvasti filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy petition in federal court. At the time of the Chapter 7 filing, Marvasti was (and is) employed with the Southeast Fisheries unit of NOAA, as shown below:  ...".

(June 14, 2011) Part Five of The Marvasti File:  Former CoB Economist Now Confronting Legal Issues in South Florida "...  As the insert below shows, Marvasti’s problems, including a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing and a federal court action taken by Chase Bank, were exacerbated, if not created, by his departure from USM at the end of the 2009-10 academic year.  ...".

(June 20, 2011)  We’ve [USM] Won The Silver Anvil Award! Part 4 "As promised at the end of Part 3, in Part 4 we’ll consider what good is a subcategory “award” from a public relations organization that costs tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of dollars? Has it advanced the education of students? USM is an educational institution, isn’t it?...".

(June 14, 2011) update to Will 2010-11 be a Banner Year? "During the 2009-10 academic year, USMNEWS.net staff followed the progress of USM's athletics. As you can see, the Golden Eagles sports units won only 47.0% of their contests (i.e., 224 wins, incl. ties, in 477 contests) during 2009-10, a result representing anything a “banner year.”...".

(June 20, 2011)  Hsieh Leaving USM’s Business College "After a 20-25 year tenure in USM’s business college, MIS professor Chang-Tseh Hsieh is departing. Hsieh, who recently was named one of only a handful of University Distinguished Professors (UDP) at USM, becomes the third CoB faculty to announce his departure in recent weeks, following finance faculty Matthew Hood and Farooq Malik...".

(June 25, 2011) Dear www.eaglepost.net readers, "...I am currently a full professor, paid my full salary at the School of Accountancy, College of Business, University of Southern Mississippi. It’s easy to fabricate slurs when you post anonymously.  It takes courage to sign your name when you gratuitously attack someone, particularly when you don’t bother to check the facts..." 

(July 6, 2011) Lost Horizons "In June 2008, Mary Morgan Anderson claimed an Accounting Horizons publication for her vita.  Under the CoB journal rankings, Accounting Horizons is an A-level pub...".