Today's article in the Hattiesburg American http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/NEWS01/702010327
has some interesting comments on the story.

(1) "Since teacher ed was ranked in the top 10 such programs nationally, the only explanation must be that Thames and Stooges, who wish to change the direction of the unit, desire that it become among the bottom 10. That way, it will not compete with Polymer Sci for attention."
Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 11:09 am

(2)"I thought every one with a real job is held accountable for job performance? If his was not up to par (by he and his boss’s decision) then this must be the reason for stepping down. Those college professors live in la la land. When are they going to get their head out of their butt and realize this??"
Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 11:26 am

(3)"A funny thing about the dean's performance: it apparently was just finel! All the indicators were that the program has successfully finished the accreditation, and was ranked very highly. I almost laughed when I read the quote "We want to take the program in a different direction." Obviously the program is in an "upward" direction, so now the program will go in a "downward" direction. Thanks Shelby! This is not about job performance; this is about Shelby working on getting his daughter, Dana, into a nice slot before he leaves. What else can this man do to make the faculty morale even lower? Why can't he just stay in his office, keep his mouth shut, and go to whatever retirement receptions he'll have?
Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 8:29 pm