Dont' be buying SFT any parting gifts yet.  Grimes is being setup for the fall.  Once again this error in management and administration will be placed at the door step of a provost.

First Hudson was blamed (loss in tier ranking,etc) now Grimes will be blamed for his letter.

Thanks pop

I agree that I remain hopeful that the events of the last week will mean big differences in the administration of USM, I am worried that Thames will again dodge his responsibility. Blaming provosts and others seems to the the methods usedby the Thames administration, I just hope local business leaders will speak up to show that this is decidedly not the best way to run anything, business or university.

Simply removing Grimes will not solve the problem. This is just one step in solving the problem.

Amy Young

quote:

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Originally posted by: In the News
"<should we go ahead and pick out a going-away gift for Jay? Should we look for one for SFT too?>"

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Probably you could get something for Jay that he could use out on a boat, because he's about to be a professor of marine sciences again (and, I suspect, a much happier camper). As far as Shelby, we'll see ... but I have no faith that the IHL board will do the right thing. I read between the lines in the article that Crofts advised Thames to distance himself from that memo & SFT certainly has done that.

The tragedy is that the Grimes memo is out of character for Jay but is a perfect reflection of Thames' sentiments about CoB. The very presence of Shelby-by-Proxy (Kenbot) at the Grimes-Doty memo is proof of this.

If IHL outright fires Grimes or sanctions Doty in any way, we conspiracy theorists are going to have a heyday. The people who should be whacked with a stick over this are Thames & Malone. But I don't think that's going to happen.

IHL has given Thames three chances (after the GS debacle, after the tier drop & after the probation). On Thursday, they will give him a fourth chance. HAS NOBODY EVER DISCIPLINED THE LITTLE FAT GUY IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE?

Smart money prediction: Big contribution from Clay & Scott to the Foundation this week...

quote:

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Originally posted by: life guard
"Are you suggesting someone needs to give Jay a life preserver?  "

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Or Dramamine?

By the way, it's nice to see Crofts confirming the analysis already offered by people on this board (except, of course, the always-insightful Albert).

How many more people are waiting in line to take a fall for Dr. Thames? You'd think at some point he would run out of sacrificial victims. Is this business of using people up, destroying them, and spitting them out, his usual M.O.?? Why does anyone do it?

In my opinion, this is the most important quote in the entire article.

"It was directives of a nature that are not normal in my understanding of the way you run a university...said Crofts."

Finally, we appear to have someone at the top who GETS IT!

Now, if he will only understand that although Provost Grimes may have written the "directives" this time, it is President Thames who does not understand how to run a university.

quote:

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Originally posted by: Bye Bye Kenbot
" If I were Ken Malone, I'd be polishing the resume so I could jump ship before being pushed. Its pretty clear his days here are numbered. "

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Bye Bye - I'm not so sure Kenbot will be gone.  SFT & Kenbot set up Grimes for the "Black Friday" memo and Kenbot was lurking in the shadows in the meetings (for SFT) to make sure Grimes followed through as he was told. 

I have asked myself many times, if were Grimes and SFT and/or Kenbot told me to author the BF memo, and I know it was unethical, put accreditaiton in danger and had many other problems, what would I do?  I'm not walking in Grimes' shoes - but the obvious answer would have been for Grimes to resign before he sent the BF memo.  Grimes may turn on SFT & Kenbot in discussions with Crofts.

I agree with Robert Campbell, Kenbot is equally responsible as SFT for these actions.  In any case, it's obvious Crofts, Klumb and the IHL are concerned.  Are they preparing anyone to take over at USM?

quote:

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Originally posted by: Bye Bye Kenbot
"If I were Ken Malone, I'd be polishing the resume so I could jump ship before being pushed. Its pretty clear his days here are numbered. "

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Where would he go? He doesn't have a lot of industry experience & he hasn't darked the door of a chemistry lab in ages. How many higher ed institutions would touch Malone with a 10 foot pole? Ken's best bet is that some fat cat politician will rescue him with an ED job somewhere.

quote:

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Originally posted by: Invictus' Robotics Engineering Dept.
"

Where would Malone go? He doesn't have a lot of industry experience & he hasn't darked the door of a chemistry lab in ages. How many higher ed institutions would touch Malone with a 10 foot pole? Ken's best bet is that some fat cat politician will rescue him with an ED job somewhere."

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You're right, Malone's career in higher education is over, save for, perhaps, the for-profit sector. No, he'll be looking for some mid-level management job in polymer/equipment sales. He has no credibility or legitimate experience in research. I think his wife is much more marketable, actually.

In articles titled "Provost's Letter Raises Concern" and "Higher ed chief concerned over USM business school dispute", both the Biloxi SunHerald and the Picayune Item, respectively, have picked up Kevin Walters most recent article about the strong response by Dr. Richard Crofts.

The Sun Herald adds the subtitle: "Accreditation for USM nearly lost, says higher ed chief"

That's pretty powerful stuff leading into the first paragraph:

"HATTIESBURG - A College Board official says the University of Southern Mississippi risked losing its overall accreditation and an almost certain loss of accreditation for its College of Business if instructions from interim provost Jay Grimes had been followed by business dean Harold Doty."

Where's the CL?