That was just nasty -- I think Cardiologist doesn't have a heart.

Wow Advocate:

You mean tht I have been accepted into the "ranks" of the malcontent faculty at USM and the AAUP American Association of Useless Professors?

quote:

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Originally posted by: Cardiologist
"Wow Advocate:
You mean tht I have been accepted into the "ranks" of the malcontent faculty at USM and the AAUP American Association of Useless Professors?"

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No. It means you are a jerk.

quote:

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Originally posted by: Cardiologist
"Wow Advocate: You mean tht I have been accepted into the "ranks" of the malcontent faculty at USM and the AAUP American Association of Useless Professors?"

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Actually, that isn't what I meant at all.  It is acceptable to criticize someone's acts, but to make nasty, snide comments about their personal appearance means not only do you have no heart, you have no honor either.  You, Mr. Heartless, are just a gutter-snipe.

I agree whole-heartedly.  Way to go, Dr. Henry!

Myron Henry is an Eagle Scout. 'Nuff said!

I am probably not the best person to respond, asdf, since I am not on the faculty; but I do know several faculty and here's my take:

Yes, many of the faculty did not particularly "like" Myron Henry when he was the provost.  They found him hard nosed, not prone to easy conpromise, committed to the positions adopted by the president.  Put otherwise, he certainly was not a pushover.

It would be easy for a troll to say, "See, the faculty was not happy then, and there (remember this is 'troll speak') not happy now. Bad, lazy faculty."  But that would be to oversimplify.

I would say that there can be honest disagreement among people of goodwill, and indeed there were those who disagreed with Dr. Henry, sometimes strongly.  But I do not remember anyone ever even suggesting that anything he did was done out of malice, greed, or the desire to advance himself at the expense of others or the university.  No one ever questioned his intelligence or integrity, at least that I can recall.

Yes, he was known as an administrator, so there was skepticism when he returned to the faculty ranks.  I am a big fan of skepticism (i.e., suspended judgement) so I think that is OK.  It looks to me like Dr. H has turned out to be an all right, stand up guy (yep, an Eagle) and just as active an advocate for the faculty as he was sometimes a worthy opponent when he was in administration. 

I have also had the chance to dine with his wife and him on one occasion and found them both to be extremely interesting, gracious people.

From asdf. This is a question, and only a question. I remember many faculty members that were not too happy with Henry when he was provost under Fleming. Some blamed the problems Fleming had on bad advice he received from Henry. I also remember that there was some animosity when he stepped down back to teaching. Was this accurate? What really happened?

ASDF. Fair questions. Before I respond to them (from my point of view), I want to state that my values when I was provost at USM are the same as they are now and as they were last year when I served as Faculty Senate President. I believe in shared governance, mutual respect that is earned and valued, integrity in administration and among faculty, and accountability at all levels. I have always embraced the principles of AAUP and believe they are worth every minute each of you has devoted to assuring that they are mainstays in higher education governance.

Permit me to point to a handful of examples during my short time as provost at USM that I believe provides evidence to the assertions of the previous paragraph.

1. The 1999 strategic planning process was an inclusive one with feedback loops, and the resulting strategic plan reflected the diverse input.
2. The post-tenure review policy developed in the fall 1999 and spring 2000 was a partnership between the Faculty Senate and the Provost’s Office.
3. The annual planning and budget process was much more open than it is now.
4. I was a strong advocate for maintaining unspent balances within units so they could combine resources across fiscal years, for unit authority to invest some personnel savings for important purchases without risk to personnel lines, and for financial incentives for units to save resources (units benefited directly from their own savings).
5. I gave detailed written reasons to candidates for promotion and tenure for my recommendations, not just a short, abstract paragraph.
6. I encouraged the Ernest Boyer approach to scholarship. That is, scholarship is a broad concept, and faculty can make maximal contributions to their units, colleges, and university in very different but equally important ways.
7. I overtly encourage units to stress the importance of diversity in appointments.
8. Major unit and program changes were discussed in timely ways with parties that would be affected [e.g., the role of USM Gulf Coast, the MBA at Stennis, and changes to the general education requirements (which I did not see through to conclusion)].

From my point of view, Horace Fleming and I had a very good professional relationship right up to the time I left the Provost’s Office. However, in the context of major reductions in the Academic Affairs Division (20 faculty positions were lost as we began 2000-2001), I expressed private concern to Dr. Fleming about the amount of funding being reallocated to improve our technology. I also expressed concern when the athletic portion of the tuition dollar was quietly increased, thereby reducing the amount available for academic units and programs. I did not support a move to re-centralize resource allocation and expenditure processes. (Parenthetically, I did not blame Dr. Fleming for budget reductions that were made in Academic Affairs as we prepared for fall 2000). I had critics among faculty, but we tried to address concerns and exchange views through conversations and forums such as “town hall” meetings with faculty (in all colleges and through other faculty forums such as the one called by the Faculty Senate in fall 2000). I acknowledge that there were different points of view (primarily on a few promotion cases and on budget cuts) that were strongly held and expressed by some faculty. However, no faculty member ever felt threatened from openly expressing his or her views on issues of importance.

Why was I reassigned out of the Provost’s Office in early January 2001 with just a few days notice? Although I am not completely sure, concerns some faculty expressed to Dr. Fleming probably played a role. The concerns I was expressing to him about our budget decisions probably played a role. The fact that he was under the gun from the Board of Trustees also may have played a role. It was painful to be dismissed so abruptly, but the only dispute as I returned to faculty was a contractual one. All of this is now in the past, and I wish Dr. Fleming good success at Mercer.

It seems appropriate to conclude this “essay” with a paragraph of reflection. My proudest moments at USM are mostly recent ones: they involve being part of faculty joining together to address the many issues that have been so evident over the last two and one half years. Through the Faculty Senate and AAUP USM, I feel privileged to have helped faculty express their views and provided an opportunity for faculty to vote on the performance of the Thames Administration. If I am elected as the representative from District V to the National AAUP governing counsel, then I will advocate actions based on the principles that USM faculty and others of you have championed so admirably. Jameela Lares, thanks for your confidence. To Invictus, thanks. I wear the Eagle lapel pin proudly, partly in remembrance of my late brother. He and I (and our father too) became Eagle Scouts at the same Court of Honor many years ago. And to all of you who stand together for mutual respect, shared governance, and AAUP principles, stay the course. Myron Henry

Myron:

Thank you so much for your detailed and eloquently-written post. I only wish that current administrators could be so forthcoming and thoughtful. Good luck in your candidacy for the AAUP position!

Truth (aka Andrea Hewitt)