http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070724/COL0414/707240328

MVSU community praises presidential candidate Roy Hudson
By Eric Stringfellow
edstring@hotmail.com

In choosing leaders for Mississippi's state colleges and universities, often there has been a fine line between recruiting an outsider and anointing someone on campus.

The inside route worked well at the University of Mississippi when the state College Board selected law professor and alum Robert Khayat as chancellor in 1995. Some Ole Miss alums believe Khayat's selection helped unify various factions in the university community.

The board's choice of Shelby Thames as the University of Southern Mississippi's leader in 2002 was a disaster.

Thames, a talented researcher and a generous donor to his alma mater, lacked the temperament to lead the school, a perspective the faculty and others made known....