L and P on the short-leashing...

It's been a long week.

RC

I hate to throw cold water on your optimistic blog, but some one I know who recently spoke with a board member reported that half of the board was still prone to give Shelby a second term. I can't divulge my source, but s/he is reliable. (I am not a troll.)

quote:

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Originally posted by: Arnold
"I hate to throw cold water on your optimistic blog, but some one I know who recently spoke with a board member reported that half of the board was still prone to give Shelby a second term. I can't divulge my source, but s/he is reliable. (I am not a troll.)"

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Reliable, perhaps. The same old story over and over. But valid? That's another story.

quote:

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Originally posted by: Arnold
" I certainly hope that s/he is incorrect and that there are more grounds for hope."

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Based on what I saw today -- I think there are. It was a very different board today . . .

 

Robert:

Thanks again for your wonderful posts.  Your blog is the first place I send new readers of this board...what a great archive you've created for us! 

Thanks for all that you do,

Truth

Kick!

quote:

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Originally posted by: stephen judd
" No . . . . Maybe I should start a "Saturday with Stephen" over at Javawerks . . . They never do show up.    "

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Saturday at SEVEN or SIX with Stephen.  I, alas, can hold no such meeting - unless I use words such as elephant, emu, electricity, England, eegads, egocentric, egret, or perhaps El Paso?

quote:

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Originally posted by: stephen judd
"
No . . . .
Maybe I should start a "Saturday with Stephen" over at Javawerks . . .
They never do show up.
 
 "

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Perhaps it is that you arise too early, mon cher? One would have to be very passionate to arise before the dawn and arrange one's diamonds just so. Also, it is a sad fact that JavaWerks does not serve mimosas. One has requirements . . .

All that sunshine can be a bit daunting for some ladies, although I do believe that our dear USM needs a very big dose of sunshine in several areas. You are a public university. Nothing you do should be hidden. If it is a secret, dear administrators, what do you fear? Truth will out, as they say. Perhaps soon we shall have a day as in that charming song, "Today is a day of reckoning."

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Originally posted by: Outside Observer
"EVERY day with Emma and her Emu?"

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Vindication!!!  Thank you OO.  I will, with my Emu, shout NO QUARTER Everyday until the fat lady sings.

At FIVE!!!!

Leave Exline alone.  She is trying to get us off probation so we have a place to work next year.

you don't know her or her strengths or what motivates her to keep doing her job.  All you care about is who she reports to and feeding the lies.  That isn't right.  Why don't you wait and see what the outcome is rather than passing judgement and trying to get people to work against her? 

You don't work here so you don't care what happens to us.  Without her efforts, we would be likely to lose accreditation.  Look at the mess Brad Bond left us in.  If we lose accreditation, we lose our jobs.

quote:

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Originally posted by: Get Real
"you don't know her or her strengths or what motivates her to keep doing her job.  All you care about is who she reports to and feeding the lies.  That isn't right.  Why don't you wait and see what the outcome is rather than passing judgement and trying to get people to work against her?  You don't work here so you don't care what happens to us.  Without her efforts, we would be likely to lose accreditation.  Look at the mess Brad Bond left us in.  If we lose accreditation, we lose our jobs."

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GR,

I'm not sure where you're coming from here.

People whose judgment on the subject I trust have reported that Exline has very little experience dealing with accreditation in general, or SACS in particular.

And I'm not sure what you mean by "feeding the lies."

What I do know is that USM will not emerge from probation without the hard work of large numbers of faculty members who, it appears, will get few thanks from Joan Exline, and none at all from her boss, Shelby Thames.

Nor will USM emerge from probation without Richard Crofts (or his successor) continuing to restrain Shelby Thames.  As long as Thames has any degrees of freedom, he and certain of his underlings will undertake further actions that endanger USM's accreditation.

To my knowledge none of those hard-working faculty are working against Exline.  But many of them are working against Thames.  If they do not work against him, USM will go down the toilet--in fact, it may become history altogether.

The time will come--it could come soon--when Exline will have to decide whether her primary goal is to help get USM off probation and properly positioned for the next accreditation cycle, or her primary goal is to preserve the Shelby Thames regime.  Those goals are incompatible.

Robert Campbell

PS. I have no idea whether Brad Bond had the aptitude or the experience needed to deal with SACS accreditation.  What's obvious is that he was thrown the assignment by a president who thought SACS was scarcely worthy of his attention.

in 2001 brad bond was made assistant to the provost, and his primary responsibilities were the same as Joan Exline's are now.  he was made assistant to the provost by Andy Griffin, who was interim provost then.  this was during the Fleming administration.  brad formed the first university planning and assessment committee about 3 years ago, joan exline was co-chair of that committee.  so brad was involved with SACS (including going to SACS conventions) since 2001.  don't know why he stepped down.