Saunders Plane

Part 1 "Q. What investigation of the facts and circumstances of this matter have you undertaken since your [first] deposition in May of 2008?

A. Would you repeat the question?..."

Part 2 "...When your career is on the line, will Dr. Saunders ignore evidence so that she can punish you for speech or any other behavior she and/or others don’t like? Of course, if Dr. Saunders ignores evidence that does not support the conclusions she wants to reach, she can continue to punish any of us while Mississippi taxpayers pick up the tab...".

Three years have passed since Martha Saunders, President of the University of Southern Mississippi banned Professor DePree on August 2007 from teaching, service, faculty governance rights, and the College of Business building but not other parts of the campus. Martha Saunders, having been duly sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, was questioned recently in a deposition re litigation styled DePree v. Saunders, et al. Keep in mind by conservative estimate the cost President Saunders incurred to investigate Dr. DePree and conduct this campaign against his speech was between $2 million and $2.5 million.

Part 3 "Do good science, good research, and justice require objective evidence? Taking Dr. Saunders’ testimony at face value, she does not agree. If you are considering a position at the University of Southern Mississippi or are a current member of the faculty, be forewarned. Accusations without a shred of proof may be the means administrators at the USM attempt to terminate your hard earned tenure and promotions".

Part 4 "... One more thought. You don’t think this is the only example of Dr. Saunders’ reckless and wasteful behavior, do you? Just two more examples - her plane and the costs associated with remodeling her boudoir...".

Part 5 "...Why hasn’t Dr. Saunders taken any steps to determine if the claims were false? Is it because she already made up her mind and needed no evidence to support her decision? If she disrespects tenure and evidence to this extent, do you believe that your hard-earned award of tenure is safe in the face of such caprice?

Part 6 "...President Saunders did not have any evidence that DePree ever recorded anyone at USM. More importantly, as an indication of her competence to be president of a university, she did not care to look at the evidence that was readily available to her. (See also part 2, part 3, part 4 and part 5. ) If President Saunders’ other decisions appear haphazard and not well grounded, now you know why. Facts and evidence don’t matter.

Part 7 "...However, President Saunders acted on Interim Dean Williams’ unfounded accusations to punish Dr. DePree, just as if she had a shred of evidence for them. She refused to review the underlying data that demonstrated that her decision had no basis in fact. What do you call someone who acts on unfounded accusations? What do you call someone who acts to punish someone based on unfounded accusations?...".

Part 8 "...As you read the questions and President Saunders’ answers, it’s hard to believe anyone in a position of responsibility cares so little about having evidence and reasons for important decisions? Who holds her accountable for her unsupported decisions?

Part 10 "... Around and around President Saunders goes: Accusations, ombudsman, no evidence, accusations, ombudsman, no evidence. But that didn’t deter President Saunders from spending millions of dollars to punish a tenured full professor...".

Part 11 "... And here is a question that Dr. Saunders didn’t bother to consider, how does a rank and file professor have access to all emails on the USM network? The answer is, the claim is stupid on its face. However, that didn’t matter. Dr. DePree’s colleagues couldn’t tolerate differences of opinion. They wanted Dr. DePree silenced. Dr. Saunders was not going to let nonsensical and false claims going to get in her way...".

Part 12 "... When it became clear that no facts supported the specious claims found in the letters she nevertheless continued down the path of terminating Dr. DePree’s tenure and employment. When you think about Dr. Saunders’ failure to comply with University procedures or to act in accordance with fact, remember it could happen to you. What is your hard earned tenure worth when you cannot rely on the president of the University to honor either the letter or the spirit of the law and facts?...".

Part 13 "... Dr. Saunders could not be bothered to learn what motivated the current petition to fire DePree or even whether there was any veracity to the claim. Dr. Saunders preferred ignorance. Even after she learned that the claims were false, she insisted on punishing Dr. DePree. Power and ignorance - wait to see how it will affect your life...".

Part 14 "...Based on her testimony, it seems to be a fair conclusion that she doesn’t know “nuthin’ ‘bout nuthin’” and doesn’t care to learn nuthin’ neither. Nor does she pause to think about how absurd the accusations are. When she was questioned to the point of having to face her failures, and while admitting not a shred of evidence existed, she doggedly continued to act as though she had reason to believe the accusations...".

Part 15 "... Here’s the perfect accusation. Accuse someone of being a danger. Without a shred of evidence, a leader immediately exiles the accused, punish him/her, too. Then, that same leader persists in punishing the accused after three years when she does not have a shred of evidence to support the accusations. In fact, all of the evidence says the accusations are false. Add to that, while there is a threat that as many as a hundred faculty will be terminated due to budget constraints, she spends millions of dollars in public money to carry out the vendetta of a few faculty members. Would this be the only unwise behavior to expect from such a leader?...".

Part 16 "...President Saunders, does Shirley Sherrod remind you of anything close to home? The accusations against Ms. Sherrod were corrected in a few days because leaders were concerned enough about the facts to correct their rush to judgment. You have had three years, with the clock still running, and you refuse to correct your decisions...".

Part 17 "...President Saunders demanded an investigation of Dr. DePree for vague, general, unsupported and later discredited allegations. Certainly, Dr. Doty was not “investigated” by a so-called independent ombudsman. President Saunders did not even consider requesting an investigation of Associate Dean Niroomand or Chairperson Becker for allegations of assault that were supported by specific and detailed sworn evidence...".

Part 18 "...This reporter usually adds some comment to explain or provide context to Dr. Saunders’ testimony. However, based on such incredible testimony, what can one really add to Dr. Saunders’ words? Her behavior goes beyond simple indifference or mere incompetence. Based on statements that were false, and which the University’s counsel knew were false, Dr. Saunders singled out for punishment the editor of usmnews.net. She took no action to investigate or punish those who made false statements. To the contrary, she has rewarded and sheltered them. Remember, Dr. Saunders can do the same thing to you. What is your hard-earned tenure really worth?

Part 19 "...After three years, let me repeat that-after three years-and millions in costs squandered in a failed attempt to fire a tenured full professor, President Saunders couldn’t look at the evidence she had readily available to her. Saunders hired two outside law firms, incurred costs of IHL attorneys and USM attorneys and half a dozen “expert witnesses”, hundreds of hours of faculty time and she couldn’t find cause to fire Professor DePree. She also didn’t take the time to review the evidence as incurred millions in costs in failed efforts over three years to fire Professor DePree. Tell me you wouldn’t be held to account for that degree of incompetence...".

Part 20 "...Incompetence is defined as 'not having or showing the necessary skills to do something successfully.' (New Oxford American Dictionary) Competent leaders determine facts and act on reliable information. They do not ignore readily available evidence and facts...".

Part 21 "...“Apparently not?” Professor DePree’s attorney is reading the USM Faculty Handbook President Saunders is not familiar with after four years on the job and applying her lack of understanding of USM Faculty Handbook to proceeding to fire a tenured faculty. Does President Saunders have any idea what she’s doing?...".

Part 22 "... Who is more incompetent and dishonest with regard to making baseless recommendations to terminate a tenured faculty, the administrator, Interim Dean Williams, who knowingly misrepresents accusations to terminate a tenured faculty or the deciding administrator, President Saunders, who knowingly continues to act on the misrepresentations of her fellow administrator, Williams, when she knows his accusations are false?"

Part 23 "... While we can only speculate concerning Dr. Williams’ reasons, we do know that Dr. Williams’ sworn testimony contradicted his letter to Saunders in which he requested Saunders fire DePree. We know that Saunders punished a professor without a shred of evidence and without looking for a shred of evidence. When Dr. Saunders unilaterally decides who is worthy of the protection of our rules and procedures and the Constitution of the United States, she denies all of us our rights."

Part 24 "... Well, are they lying (since its under oath, it is perjury) or do they really choose to terminate a tenured full professor without looking at readily accessible evidence? Are Williams and Saunders credible? Does their sworn testimony make sense? If you don’t believe their sworn testimony is credible and/or makes sense, are they participating in some secret “Star Chamber” process to accomplish what they cannot do or say publicly? Or are they ignorant that their positions of responsibility require that they have evidence, facts, and sound reasoning as a basis for their decisions? Or are they just plain stupid?...".

Part 25 "... “When will it [evidence DePree was falsely accused] become a factor in the decisions before [Dr. Saunders]?” Three years? Three years have already passed. Four years? Five years? Or Saunders has no intention of correcting her decision? That too is an abuse for which Saunders must be held accountable. Dear colleagues, when will you find yourself isolated and abused? Accused of matters for which there is no evidence? Banned from your classroom? Denied access to your office? What is your tenure worth?"

Part 26 "... Martha-in-Wonderland? Is President Saunders a true solipsist? Everything and everyone exists only in her mind? If it’s true that you exist only in her mind, then you have access to her thoughts, if any, and her reasoning, if any. So, what’s in there? Anything? President Saunders, as you will learn in future reports, expects others to know what is in her mind. We’re not kidding, just continue to read the series. She may expect you to “hear” her telepathic communications. If you are chosen as one of USM faculty to be discharged due to budget shortfalls, all you need to do is read her mind to learn your fate...".

Part 27 "… some of Professor DePree’s accusers had been caught copying other’s ideas and words “without proper citation”-Charlie Jordan’s phrase to describe his participation. Dr. Jordan and his friends attacked Dr. DePree and other colleagues who initially brought the potential misconduct to the attention of those copied 'without proper citation'-Charlie Jordan among them. Dr. Jordan and the other participants were afforded an opportunity to say, “Oops, we’ll correct that” or 'it's boilerplate ask anybody'. After being ignored, Dr. DePree and colleagues took the potential misconduct to internal USM decision-makers for review. They were ignored again, but the decision-makers quietly got to work behind the scenes 'fixing the problem.'..."

Part 28 "… Try something different, President Saunders. Escape the solipsistic world you live in. Why don’t Dr. DePree and you both have a psychiatric evaluation -include the accounting faculty, too, and a couple of deans while we’re at it-and do it publicly and report the results publicly. Keep in mind, President Saunders, you can’t pretend that you’ve accomplished a psychiatric evaluation by saying I accomplished it “in my mind.” You have to really do it...".

Part 29 "… Keep in mind, President Saunders was the decision-maker to initiate termination proceedings against Professor DePree. Ask yourself what a decision-maker does. Now consider that President Saunders had access to Professor DePree’s research record for the relevant period. She could have accessed on her computer the USM research vita for Dr. DePree in a matter of seconds. That search would have identified several publications, two of which are “A” level publications (Publications are listed as A, B, C, and Other, similar to grades.) One paper won an award from the premier professional accounting organization. It was also reprinted in several ethics books and translated into foreign languages and published in a premier international professional accounting journal...".

Part 30 "... Let’s review this to make sure we understand Dr. Saunders. When she was asked, “What would you look for in terms of determining whether to reverse an evaluation?” she answered, “I would look for anything in the appeal or in the process that indicated that the department may have departed from its own policy.” But when asked if she read the department's “own policy” to be able to understand the standard she’d apply, she answered, 'no.'...".

Part 31 "... Saunders swore under oath that she read and considered the documents “carefully,” but when asked about their contents, she remembered nothing. What is the truth, Dr. Saunders?...". For more in series, please click here.

Part 32 "...Clearly, President Saunders made significant decisions during the three years of removing Professor DePree from his classroom and his office while pointedly ignoring the fact that the letters she had relied on in 2007 were admitted by the authors to be false. Even though Dr. Saunders admits that she did not review sworn testimony that had been, for several years, readily available to her, she continues to rely on them to punishment Professor DePree. This is not just incompetence. This is not just an abuse of authority. She is, in her own words, admitting negligence sufficient to terminate her employment for cause. What is your hard earned tenure really worth?...". For more in series, please click here.

Part 33 "...President Saunders is making decisions to fire a tenured professor without the least concern for the evidence she had in her possession. She is relying on Interim Director Jackson’s letter recommending firing Professor DePree, even though Dr. Jackson’s sworn testimony contradicted that letter...".

Part 34 "...What can you do, dear colleagues with a dishonest administrator? Some of Dr. Saunders’ decisions may be honest. Some, we know from her own sworn testimony, may not be. What is the basis for her decisions during this period when faculty positions are being eliminated? You will be left to guess whether her decisions are honest because it is unlikely that you will be able put her under oath to testify about the basis of her decisions. What is your hard earned tenure really worth?"

Part 35 "... Saunders says, “I don’t know…I don’t know… I don’t know.” Three years Saunders has luxuriated in “I don’t know.” She “I don’t knows” us to the point that we wonder what does she know? Since “I don’t know” is her preferred answer, what does she spend her time doing? It does not take much time to prepare for “I don’t know.” We recommend that President Saunders spend less time posing for what appear to be either very old or air brushed photographs, which seem to be everywhere. We know what you look like. Stop with the public relations nonsense and actually prepare yourself so you don’t have to answer, “I don’t know…I don’t know… I don’t know.” After all, taking the responsibility to fire a tenured full professor requires more work and more evidence than saying “I don’t know…I don’t know… I don’t know.”...".

Part 36 "... “Yes,” Dr. Saunders says she is concerned about false representations in Professor DePree’s annual evaluations, but, “I don’t know,” is Saunders commitment to correcting deliberate, false representations in the evaluations. Her decisions have advanced those false representations to punish a full professor for speaking truth to power about petty corruption and misconduct at the School of Accountancy and College of Business, University of Southern Mississippi. Although they were readily available to her, Saunders has not reviewed the depositions in the years before this April 2010 deposition and Saunders has not reviewed them since April 2010. One might conclude that Dr. Saunders has no concern for the competent, honest conduct of her duties as president of USM...". For more in the series, please click here.

Part 37 "... Interim Director Jackson refused to read (or perhaps he simply didn’t bother because he had already made up his mind what the outcome would be and the content was irrelevant) Dr. DePree’s research but scored his research as unsatisfactory in his annual evaluation. That decision was in spite of an “A” level publication which warranted an excellent score for DePree’s research. President Saunders knew these details and still affirmed the unsatisfactory evaluation. She chose to participate in the mobbing of Professor DePree. [A future series will chronicle Interim Director Jackson’s administrative misconduct.]...".

Part 38 "... Unless Dr. Saunders is forced to read the documents that she prepares under oath or the rules of the University which are supposed to provide guidance to faculty and administrators, she will deny their existence. And when caught? She doesn’t seem to care. Does she believe she is not accountable, not to the faculty, not to the Institutions of Higher Learning, not to the taxpayers of Mississippi? Does she believe she can abdicate responsibility, shielded by the claim that she does not know and does not care to find out? Does she believe she is immune from accountability to the extent she can mislead, dissemble, lie, even under oath?What is your hard earned tenure really worth?"

Part 39 "... More than the truth, more than the spirit of inquiry and scholarly integrity, Saunders honors the principle of “I don’t know.” Again and again throughout her deposition she repeats, “I don’t know.” Even worse, she blithely admits that she does not know when she will know. The extent to which she repeats “I don’t know” when it is her duty to know brings disrepute upon the office of President of the University of Southern Mississippi and corrupts the standards to which every faculty is entitled...".