Today is the anniversary of Shelby Thames changing the locks of and attempting to terminate two senior, tenured faculty members. This was in retaliation for AAUP exposing the enrollment scam in the fall and investigating the credentials of a university vice president. The Faculty Senate responded strongly under the able leadership of Myron Henry. This resulted in the first vote of no confidence (40-0) for a president in USM history. A few days later an anti Thames student rally was attended by over a thousand students. A vote of no confidence was also undertaken by the general faculty that week with over 90% voting no confidence.

Within a few months the three members of the "Kentucky Mafia" central to these incidents were no longer in their positions, and two were no longer employed by the university. The university attorney returned to his normal duties, and the previous Director of Human Resources was restored to his position.

As the result of a hearing and arbitration the two faculty members agreed to having no duties at the university in return for being compensated for the next two years. The settlement was approved by the IHL. It was at these hearings that the faculty learned of a major secret email monitoring program conducted by the administration which included the editor of the Student Printz, the advisor of the Student Printz, the president of the Faculty Senate, the president of the AAUP chapter and other faculty members.