provost search - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Mar 24, 2005

RE: RE: provost search

Date: Mar 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Funny Money
"Where does your money go?"

Although I am a 32nd Degree Conspiracy Theorist, I think the simplest answer is that the SACS probation resulted in the formation of a new office (Exline's) with at least one new salary line (Exline's assistant), plus the consultant's fees & travel expenses, as well as a plethora of other costs. Now, the provost search has to be suspended. Makes sense to me.

But remember, all the expenses associated with the SACS probation were unnecessary & due to lack of oversight that occurred on SFT's watch. Had the university's top administration taken the fifth year report (& the two requests for monitoring reports) more seriously, it wouldn't be knee deep in the hoopla now.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Date: Mar 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Invictus
" But remember, all the expenses associated with the SACS probation were unnecessary & due to lack of oversight that occurred on SFT's watch. Had the university's top administration taken the fifth year report (& the two requests for monitoring reports) more seriously, it wouldn't be knee deep in the hoopla now. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.""

Thanks for a useful reminder.

Date: Mar 24, 2005

I’m an optimist. My theory is that the IHL, i.e. Interim Commissioner Crofts, informed SFT that he hasn’t had his annual evaluation yet. If the IHL decides to begin a search for a new president, that new president would have to have his own provost. Hiring a provost now with all of the uncertainty is not prudent.

Date: Mar 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: An Optimist
"I’m an optimist. My theory is that the IHL, i.e. Interim Commissioner Crofts, informed SFT that he hasn’t had his annual evaluation yet. If the IHL decides to begin a search for a new president, that new president would have to have his own provost. Hiring a provost now with all of the uncertainty is not prudent."

A good point. It seems to me, though, that Crofts would have had to have been pretty explicit about this to Thames, as in, "You have not had your annual evaluation, you're not likely to get a second term & you'd be advised not to hire a provost at the moment." Thames certainly isn't the type guy who would have reached that conclusion on his own, because it would require him to admit (a) that his presidency might not get a passing grade & (b) that the provost he selected might not be the first choice of anybody else.

But SFT is a dollars & cents guy. He knows that the SACS probation has cost a bundle & probably saw a figure that was pretty close to what a provost search would be projected to cost. So I'm inclined to read the memo at face value.