Hudson Speaks - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jan 3, 2005

Hudson Speaks

Date: Jan 3, 2005

Why the heck does he want to come back here? He has a clean slate and a good opportunity where he is -- he should go forward from there and not look back.

Date: Jan 4, 2005

Hudson was in town briefly over the holidays - anyone know what he had to say, if anything, about his name being drug through the mud by Shelby and being blamed for the SACS mess?

Date: Jan 4, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Chicken Soup Lady
"Why the heck does he want to come back here? He has a clean slate and a good opportunity where he is -- he should go forward from there and not look back."

Of course, I don't know what thoughts run around Dr. Hudson's mind, but I suspect the answer is that UHV has "only" 2,300 students. In other words, it is a smaller organization than Pearl River Community College or Jones County Junior College. An awful lot of presidents are ego-driven & "size matters."

Just look at the #1 goal in USM's "strategic plan"...

Date: Jan 4, 2005

if uhv has about 2300 students that makes it about the size of COAL or COST at USM. at major institutions with colleges of arts and sciences, these colleges can be as large as USM. (take Illinois with an arts and sciences college of over 14000).

Date: Jan 4, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"if uhv has about 2300 students that makes it about the size of COAL or COST at USM. at major institutions with colleges of arts and sciences, these colleges can be as large as USM. (take Illinois with an arts and sciences college of over 14000)."

Excellent point, SCM. I used local community colleges as examples simply because they have presidents -- COAL & COST have deans. Remember, presidents are ego-driven critters & the title itself is vital. For a timely illustration, at a SACS annual meeting, they have a "presidential breakfast." The president of the smallest technical college in South Carolina may attend & the president of the University of Texas may attend. But not deans, unless they are serving as proxies for their presidents & even then, most deans do not attend that particular function because it's a bit of an "exclusive club."

Ego. It's about ego.

All this said, I do not know whether TH wants to return to USM -- or if he would want to return to what SFT leaves of USM when he's finished "fixing" it. I think TH would be insane to want to come back.

Date: Jan 4, 2005

i also think that for a number of faculty TH wouldn't be welcomed back, regardless of whether he wants to return.

Date: Jan 4, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Angeline
"Hudson was in town briefly over the holidays - anyone know what he had to say, if anything, about his name being drug through the mud by Shelby and being blamed for the SACS mess?"

I spoke with him briefly, little more than a chance parking lot encounter and exchange of pleasantries. He commented that while he and DeeDee preferred the Mississippi environs, they'd been warmly received in Texas and weren't at all displeased with the change. He avoided directly addressing the SFT mess and blame games, only a sage smile and something to the effect that the present administrative incompetence and failure to acknowledge responsibility should come as a surprise to no one at USM who knew Thames' history. I'd say he was laboring to be at least moderately diplomatic. He did say that he was very happy with the situation at UHV, felt that he'd been "re-born" professionally. Apparently he's been given wide latitude by the chancellor. I surmise that he views the relative youth and small enrollment of the school as a plus, as he'll receive credit for any growth and innovations. Should he elect to remain within the UH system, he said there are several opportunities for career advancement, including heading up one of their larger campuses. He made no comment concerning a desire to return to USM, but did say that his Hattiesburg roots remained strong, and he'd always think of it as home. Read into that what you will.

Date: Jan 4, 2005

While UHV isn't large, it is growing and I believe it oversees the new University of Houston at Sugar Land. While the Sugar Land is only a single building at this time, the Sugar Land/Fort Bend area (which he addresses) is the second fastest growing community in the US, so there is huge potential for growth.

Date: Jan 4, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Advocate
"While UHV isn't large, it is growing and I believe it oversees the new University of Houston at Sugar Land. While the Sugar Land is only a single building at this time, the Sugar Land/Fort Bend area (which he addresses) is the second fastest growing community in the US, so there is huge potential for growth."

UH is a large well funded university on the rise. Beginning there with a blank slate TH would seem to have unlimited potential for professional advancement if he minds his P's and Q's. Perhaps his time at USM was instructive in that respect. From my perspective, any fondness he may have for USM notwithstanding, it seems as though he's having the last laugh on Thames and his sorry lot, as are fellow escapees Gary Stringer and Noel Polk. I'm certainly not comparing TH to Polk and Stringer, rather am opining that they've all improved their stations as a result of the Thames shenanigans.

Date: Jan 4, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Least Venerable
" Beginning there with a blank slate TH would seem to have unlimited potential for professional advancement if he minds his P's and Q's. Perhaps his time at USM was instructive in that respect. "

This begs the question of innate vs. adaptive behavior. That is, did the conduct displayed by TH while at USM betray a natural bent toward unscrupulous behavior, or did he disengage his moral compass in order to prevail in what is obviously a corrupt good-ole-boy milieu. Perhaps this will be answered by his success, or lack thereof, at UH-V. From what little I know of UH and its governing body, the USM management paradigm will earn him a pink slip in no time.

Date: Jan 4, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Advocate
"While UHV isn't large, it is growing and I believe it oversees the new University of Houston at Sugar Land. While the Sugar Land is only a single building at this time, the Sugar Land/Fort Bend area (which he addresses) is the second fastest growing community in the US, so there is huge potential for growth."

"Awww, come on now." Why would anyone want to attend a university that doesn't even field a damn football team? UHV is headed nowhere in a hurry unless they immediately erect an immense stadium, complete with luxury skyboxes. Football now, Classrooms later.....

Date: Jan 13, 2005

That's interesting to know, because Hudson just had his office painted black and gold. Isn't that the same color scheme as USM?

Get this: he baught a house that Vick Padelford is now living in, but he and his family are renting a home. Doesn't seem like he plans to stay in the big Vic for long.

By the way, does anyone know anything about this Vick Padelford guy?

Date: Jan 13, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Victorian
"That's interesting to know, because Hudson just had his office painted black and gold. Isn't that the same color scheme as USM? Get this: he baught a house that Vick Padelford is now living in, but he and his family are renting a home. Doesn't seem like he plans to stay in the big Vic for long. By the way, does anyone know anything about this Vick Padelford guy? "

Centro Mexicano Internacional - CMI

Victor Padelford
Fray Antonio de San Miguel No 173
Morelia, Michoacan 58000

Centro Mexicano Internacional is an international learning center dedicated to the teaching of Spanish, Mexican culture, and other related courses to foreign students, English and American culture to Mexican students.

Date: Jan 13, 2005

doesn't usm have a program in Morelia?

Date: Jan 14, 2005

No, it was moved to the University of the Americas in Puebla several years ago.

Date: Jan 18, 2005

Yadda yadda yadda. We all know what Vick's job title is. What we really want to know is this: why was he appointed to that position without any publication of a job opening? Isn’t there a certain employment process that must be followed, according to law?

By the way, Vick comes across rather arrogant and chauvinistic with a noticeable chip on his shoulder. Being non-white does not guarantee that one is open-minded or qualified for a position like the one to which Vick was appointed. FYI: Nobody likes the fact that Vick is being shoved down our throats.

Do you really think you're earning points? Not according to what I've heard.

Date: Jan 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Victorian
"That's interesting to know, because Hudson just had his office painted black and gold. Isn't that the same color scheme as USM? Get this: he baught a house that Vick Padelford is now living in, but he and his family are renting a home. Doesn't seem like he plans to stay in the big Vic for long. By the way, does anyone know anything about this Vick Padelford guy? "

TH purchased the Victoria casa because a handsome relocation allowance provided a purchase subsidy, and because the additional tax deductions were too attractive to pass up. He doesn't plan to remain in Texas, and will keep his bags packed so long as Thames' position looks tenuous. USM faculty opinions of TH notwithstanding, he still has several strong supporters sitting on the IHL board, and so far as they know, TH remains untarnished by the litany of Thames' managerial bungles. The truly interesting aspect of the IHL support is the composition of his group of advocates. There are those with whom he remains friends, who believe he would be an excellent choice to succeed Thames, and those who would like to see him in place because they see him as a tool for keeping USM in the Mississippi university cellar. An unlikely alliance to be sure, but one which may ultimately bring him back to Hattiesburg.

Date: Jan 19, 2005

Never fear. TH would continue the commercialization of the university though in a more charming way. Ask those who have taught in the study abroad program about his academic standards.

Date: Jan 19, 2005

"In the Know" is, I believe, "in the dark" when it comes to his/her opinion on USM's study-abroad programs. For example, most faculty and students who have participated in British Studies would attest to the quality and value of the program. Over the decades, a few such offerings may have been exceptions, but British Studies faculty generally would attest that educational outcomes from most British Studies courses exceed or match the outcomes of a majority of on-campus classes. Moreover, there is an extracurricular element of studying in London that is, to greatly understate the matter, hard to duplicate in Hattiesburg.

I believe I recall some British Studies assessment information collected a couple of summers ago that painted a favorable picture of the educational and student development value of the experience. Perhaps "In the Know" should consult this report.

If anyone wishes to make a whipping boy of Tim Hudson, I would recommend something other than study-abroad, which has over the years been one of the distinguishing areas of USM.

Date: Jan 19, 2005

To be fair, the initiator and architect of the British Studies Program was Bill Taylor.

Date: Jan 19, 2005

Flash,

You are even more bemusing than "In the Know."

Date: Jan 19, 2005

Bemused,

I certainly am not disparaging the British Studies program. I sent a child on it. But the standards in the academic work were set by the individual professors, not by Hudson.

Date: Jan 19, 2005

In the Know,

So, we have an excellent British Studies program in spite of the fact that an idiot was in charge for well over a decade when the program was growing and prospering.

Even more bemusing!

Date: Jan 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Bemused
"Flash,
You are even more bemusing than "In the Know." "

The British Studies Program began as a criminal justice course in the late Seventies under Bill Taylor, a graduate of the London School of Economics. The program was fully established when it was taken over in the late-Eighties by Tim Hudson who had served as a junior faculty member in the program in it's early years. Check it out.

Date: Jan 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Bemused
"In the Know, So, we have an excellent British Studies program in spite of the fact that an idiot was in charge for well over a decade when the program was growing and prospering. Even more bemusing! "

While never a fan of TH, let me see if I have this straight. While at USM, in areas for which Hudson was administratively responsible, and where matters were not managed as well as may have been desired, Tim, "an idiot," was the root of all evil. And in other areas for which he was similarly responsible, and where things went exceptionally well, Hudson deserves no credit as progress was made in spite of his incompetence? Does that pretty well sum it up?

Date: Jan 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Bemused
"In the Know, So, we have an excellent British Studies program in spite of the fact that an idiot was in charge for well over a decade when the program was growing and prospering. Even more bemusing! "

I never said Hudson was an idiot. In fact, I would describe him as quite the opposite. He's very smart, very ambitious, and very cagey.

Date: Jan 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: In the know
"I never said Hudson was an idiot. In fact, I would describe him as quite the opposite. He's very smart, very ambitious, and very cagey."

And also very likeable. I just wouldn't want him to be my president.

Date: Jan 19, 2005

Flash,

I have no problem in giving credit to Bill Taylor for initiating the British Studies program--as the program's founder, he envisioned a seemingly unlikely niche for USM. For the life of me, however, I cannot see how the fact that Bill Taylor founded British Studies has much to do with Tim Hudson's success (or failure) in administering the program. God forbid that we give a little credit to someone who helped make USM the place we would all like for it to be again.

I believe that most of those who have been associated with British Studies for long periods of time would say that the prominence of the program is due at least as much to Tim Hudson as to any other individual. Are you disputing this point or are is your head so deep in the sand (or somewhere else) that you are unwilling to concede the progress of British Studies under Tim Hudson's guidance and give him the credit he deserves?

Date: Jan 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: In the know
"And also very likeable. I just wouldn't want him to be my president."

Yes, smart, ambitious, cagey, likeable, and I'd also add that he's politically astute and unscrupulous as the dickens when he deems it necessary. I don't begrudge Tim his accomplishments, and I think in fairness, they're considerable, including the success of the USM foreign studies programs. I just don't think he's a person of honor, and for me that's a big thing. I wouldn't turn my back to him for fear of having it filled with arrows. He may do great things at UHV and make the best of his fresh start, but I'd just as soon he stays there.