In the next couple of days, I will be posting an update about the USM situation on Liberty and Power.

There's plenty to talk about, what with USM's "tierdrop" in the US News ratings, the strained efforts at spin by Thames and Mader, and Ray Folse's frank public challenge to Mader's pretensions to speak for anyone but Thames (probably soon to be followed by an order from Thames to dissolve the PUC, now that it has finally hit him where he can't dodge).

But I also want to cover the looming issue of administrative gameplaying with faculty members' annual contracts. Are there any documented cases this time around?

I haven't heard of any on this board. And I would hope that if Thames has tried to rid himself of tenured faculty by "forgetting to mail" their contracts, or to "pocket veto" anyone's tenure or promotion by withholding a contract, such attempts would be getting maximum publicity. (No one but Thames and his flunkies benefits when such matters are kept quiet).

Robert Campbell