Fabrication in Progress???? - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Feb 23, 2005

RE: RE: Fabrication in Progress????

Date: Feb 23, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Reporter
" Robert, The Faculty Senate listserv had a discussion of this today. Ken Malone has graduate faculty status approved by the credentials committee of Graduate Council (GC). To get this status there are several criteria that must be fulfilled including he must have a tenure tract position. I did learn that GC is considering a policy that when your program changes department and /or colleges the graduate faculty status must be re-approved by GC. This could develop into an interesting confrontation. "

Reporter,

It would be an excellent idea for the Graduate Council to enact such a policy--and not just on account of Ken Malone.

But that raises a further question: how on earth did Malone get graduate faculty status in the first place? Did the Graduate Council really review his credentials? When did it do that?

Robert Campbell

Date: Feb 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Reporter
"I did learn that GC is considering a policy that when your program changes department and /or colleges the graduate faculty status must be re-approved by GC."

That's a terrible idea.The Graduate Council should set the gold standard for the university. It should set and enforce a university-level standard below which no department or college can drop. That standard should not vary from college to college or department to department. Re- approving graduate faculty status each time a program moves to a different college or department should have no bearing on whether or not graduate status is retained or dropped for the faculty members in that program. Departments or colleges should not be allowed to set a standard that is less that the Graduate Council's university-level standard. There should be no reason to review a faculty member's graduate faculty status when a program is moved elsewhere. Please understand that my comments here are pro- Graduate Council and conform to the way things are done elsewhere.

Date: Feb 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
"
Reporter,
It would be an excellent idea for the Graduate Council to enact such a policy--and not just on account of Ken Malone.
But that raises a further question: how on earth did Malone get graduate faculty status in the first place? Did the Graduate Council really review his credentials? When did it do that?
Robert Campbell"

How on earth?
Graduate Council has a standing committee that evaluates the requests for graduate faculty status. The primary criteria used are terminal degree in the field, and a recommendation by the chair and dean. Back then, when dealing with interdisciplinary fields, Ithink the committee and the Graduate Council "believed" the chairs and deans - that this particular individual was qualified. Times and attitudes are quite different now!

I am now on that committee and I think it is inevitable that we will revisit this issue. This is primarily because of SACS requirements and I think there will need to be clearer justification for being an exception.

Malone went through at the very same time as Dvorak, I believe, and it was Harold Doty's signature on the form. Now Malone is in another college, and so I think in these cases, everyone who moved needs to go through the process again, just so the new dean can have the paperwork and the voice of approval.

Amy Young

Date: Feb 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Amy Young
"Malone went through at the very same time as Dvorak, I believe, and it was Harold Doty's signature on the form. Now Malone is in another college, and so I think in these cases, everyone who moved needs to go through the process again, just so the new dean can have the paperwork and the voice of approval. Amy Young"

I am just guessing but I wouldn't be surprised if Dean Doty is looking for those magic shoes that he could click three times and get home from Oz. Did he know when he arrived in 2003 what a fiasco economic development was or did he assume (remember the old adage about assuming) that the administrators in his college, the VP of R&D, the Provost, and the Department Chair of Economic Development, were actually qualified for the positions they were already in within the newly formed CBED. Should he have known?

There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home...

Date: Feb 24, 2005

The problem is that Doty shifts from being "on the team" to not. When he arrived, he was on Shelby's team. Then he wasn't. Then he was. Now he's not. He's got the academic equivalent of bipolar disorder. The determining factor is whether doing what Shelby wants will help or hurt his vita or not.

Date: Feb 24, 2005

I am just guessing but I wouldn't be surprised if Dean Doty is looking for those magic shoes that he could click three times and get home from Oz. Did he know when he arrived in 2003 what a fiasco economic development was or did he assume (remember the old adage about assuming) that the administrators in his college, the VP of R&D, the Provost, and the Department Chair of Economic Development, were actually qualified for the positions they were already in within the newly formed CBED. Should he have known?

Malone and Dvorak were really placed where they were because of Hudson. While Doty had to sign off on the graduate faculty status applications, I don't believe he had been here long enough to really either object or understand what kind of appointments they had.

I believe that one of the most fundamental problems that USM is experiencing right now with SACS and other accreditation is a total loack of institutional memory and basically new administrators not knowing what they had to do to make this work. This is especially signficant when one would expect "middle management" to take their lead from "upper management" and the President of this university completely fails to recognize one of his most important responsibilities - accreditation.

Should Doty have known? No. Did he learn and correct mistakes? Yes.

Amy Young

Date: Feb 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Amy Young
"I think the committee and the Graduate Council "believed" the chairs and deans - that this particular individual was qualified. Times and attitudes are quite different now!"

This helps confirm my long held suspicion that the Graduate Council has served to a great extent as a rubber stamp of chairs' and deans' recommendations. No wonder things got so screwed up acdemically at USM. I do hope this changes, if it has not already changed.

Date: Feb 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Pitiful past
"This helps confirm my long held suspicion that the Graduate Council has served to a great extent as a rubber stamp of chairs' and deans' recommendations. No wonder things got so screwed up acdemically at USM. I do hope this changes, if it has not already changed. "

Graduate faculty status should not be awarded on a lifetime basis. Only faculty members who are research active should be directing theses or dissertations. I hope the Graduate Council wil consider bestowing graduate faculty status for a limited period, say 7 years, and then requiring renewal.

Date: Feb 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Pitiful past
"This helps confirm my long held suspicion that the Graduate Council has served to a great extent as a rubber stamp of chairs' and deans' recommendations. No wonder things got so screwed up acdemically at USM. I do hope this changes, if it has not already changed. "

There is a tremendous difference between "rubber stamping" and believing things a dean tells you! So don't get all excited about supporting your hypothesis. There are good people on that council, ones that faculty elect. I am on that council. Just like one tends to place the bulk of the decision-making processes at department/discipline levels (is this a reasonable class to add, is this a viable program, etc), the Graduate Council has tended to believe our colleagues.

Amy Young

Date: Feb 24, 2005

Amy,

The whole sorry story is becoming much clearer now.

Normally, the Graduate Council can believe a dean's recommendation, or the provost's recommendation, because there is no reason to think that they are lying about the applicant... or have been lied to by the applicant.

But under the Thames regime, Thames and the members of his crew have perfected both forms of lying. I can't blame anyone who was taken in during the early Thames administration--very few knew what they were up against. (The May 2004 compromise regarding Angie Dvorak's vita is different, because by then everyone at USM was in a position to know what they were up against.)

So the idea that Harold Doty was to blame for approving Malone's application for graduate faculty status is ludicrous. I rather doubt that Dean Doty was in on the deception. (And remember, if Malone were the only person in Economic Development who didn't have a PhD from an AACSB-accredited program, it wouldn't be enough to sink AACSB accreditation for the College of Business. Did Doty have any idea who else was going to be brought into Economic Development?)

Still, there are two things that I don't get.

1) Does Malone actually have a faculty appointment at USM? Did he have one when he first came before the Graduate Council? (If he didn't, of course, it was part of the deception.) And how about Angie Dvorak, when she was at USM? Can Shelby Thames hire people to faculty appointments all by himself?

2) Was the Graduate Council aware that a dean's signature, or the provost's, on Ken Malone's application doesn't have its normal meaning, because he doesn't actually report to any dean, or to the provost? Couldn't Malone just order Hudson and Doty to support his application for graduate faculty status--or else?

Robert Campbell

Date: Feb 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
"1) Does Malone actually have a faculty appointment at USM? Did he have one when he first came before the Graduate Council? (If he didn't, of course, it was part of the deception.) And how about Angie Dvorak, when she was at USM? Can Shelby Thames hire people to faculty appointments all by himself? 2) Was the Graduate Council aware that a dean's signature, or the provost's, on Ken Malone's application doesn't have its normal meaning, because he doesn't actually report to any dean, or to the provost? Robert Campbell"

1) Originally no, don't know if there has been one created since his initial appointment. Re-read the PineBelt Pacers article. He was brought in while ED was still in CISE.

2) Then or now? In Fall of 2003, probably prior to the handbook, the alcohol policy, the inflated enrollment numbers, certainly before the Dvorak revelations, the attempted terminations, and the multiple no-confidence votes and long before the ED move, tier drop, and SACS probation...whodathunkit?

Date: Feb 24, 2005

You mean CICE, right?

RC

Date: Feb 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
"You mean CICE, right? RC"

College of International and Continuing Education - sorry.

Date: Feb 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
"Amy, The whole sorry story is becoming much clearer now. Normally, the Graduate Council can believe a dean's recommendation, or the provost's recommendation, because there is no reason to think that they are lying about the applicant... or have been lied to by the applicant. But under the Thames regime, Thames and the members of his crew have perfected both forms of lying. I can't blame anyone who was taken in during the early Thames administration--very few knew what they were up against. (The May 2004 compromise regarding Angie Dvorak's vita is different, because by then everyone at USM was in a position to know what they were up against.) So the idea that Harold Doty was to blame for approving Malone's application for graduate faculty status is ludicrous. I rather doubt that Dean Doty was in on the deception. (And remember, if Malone were the only person in Economic Development who didn't have a PhD from an AACSB-accredited program, it wouldn't be enough to sink AACSB accreditation for the College of Business. Did Doty have any idea who else was going to be brought into Economic Development?) Still, there are two things that I don't get. 1) Does Malone actually have a faculty appointment at USM? Did he have one when he first came before the Graduate Council? (If he didn't, of course, it was part of the deception.) And how about Angie Dvorak, when she was at USM? Can Shelby Thames hire people to faculty appointments all by himself? 2) Was the Graduate Council aware that a dean's signature, or the provost's, on Ken Malone's application doesn't have its normal meaning, because he doesn't actually report to any dean, or to the provost? Couldn't Malone just order Hudson and Doty to support his application for graduate faculty status--or else? Robert Campbell"

Under normal circumstances, Malone could not "order" a dean or provost to support any application. But ideal doesn't match the real at USM very often! I suspect that Doty was simply unaware of the "faculty appointment" status of Malone and Dvorak at the time of his signature, but he has attempted to correct all mistakes.

I do not know Malone's faculty status at present. A. Dvorak was not in a regular faculty position which is why Grad Council voted to alter her graduate faculty status.

I believe - but do not know for sure - that the president can indeed change someone's status and say, (Poof!) "You are now tenure-track."

Date: Feb 24, 2005

If a chair is fabricating data, he will be held liable and someone should tell Dr. Exline. I have heard the instructions and they are to use what data you have and put it in the right reporting format. Never have we been told to fabricate data.

Date: Feb 25, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Amy Young
" I believe - but do not know for sure - that the president can indeed change someone's status and say, (Poof!) "You are now tenure-track.""

But surely such a move would not pass muster with SACS or the EEOC and would endanger departmental or college accreditation?

Jameela