Mississippi's goofy College Board setup - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: May 24, 2005

Mississippi's goofy College Board setup

Date: May 24, 2005

Speaking about Vanderbilt, it is different because it is a private school. So, of course, it has its own governing board (the Board of Trust). I don't know anything about the other schools.

I agree that the MS IHL system is fraught with problems...don't know if that will change anytime soon, though, unfortunately.

Truth

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: truth4usm/AH
"Speaking about Vanderbilt, it is different because it is a private school. So, of course, it has its own governing board (the Board of Trust). I don't know anything about the other schools. I agree that the MS IHL system is fraught with problems...don't know if that will change anytime soon, though, unfortunately. Truth"

Truth, you are right about Vanderbilt, though all of the others are publics.

Everyone should check out this site: http://mb2.ecs.org/reports/Report.aspx?id=224

It looks like Mississippi is a real outlier as far as the SEC publics go. Every other state has taken at least a small step away from a comprehensive board, and most of them give every institution its own board, including Alabama (which is mentioned specifically in the first post above).

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: talan
" Truth, you are right about Vanderbilt, though all of the others are publics. Everyone should check out this site: http://mb2.ecs.org/reports/Report.aspx?id=224 It looks like Mississippi is a real outlier as far as the SEC publics go. Every other state has taken at least a small step away from a comprehensive board, and most of them give every institution its own board, including Alabama (which is mentioned specifically in the first post above)."

Ironically, in Alabama there has long been discussion about moving TOWARD a single, comprehensive state board. But we are usually at least twenty years behind the times in most things . . .

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Dr. 90210
"Having a comprehensive board setup for all public 4-year universities in the state has certainly fueled the anti-USM conspiracy theorists. With more MSU/UM representation than others, USM's fall from Tier III to Tier IV (in USNWR) lends credence to the theory. The flip side is that neither UM nor MSU is likely being run near as well as they might be if they had their own boards. Just scan the USNWR rankings of the SEC schools: Tiers I/II (ranking position) Vanderbilt (1st-25th), Florida (26th-50th), Georgia (51st-75th), Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee (76th-100th), and South Carolina, Arkansas and Kentucky (101st-125th). Tier III LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss My guess is that all of the Tier I and II SEC schools have their own Board of Trustees (Directors, etc.). Meanwhile, both MSU and UM are floundering around Tier III (perpetually). It's true that MS is a poor state. So is Arkansas, but it manages to place UA at least in the bottom of Tier II, while Alabama (another poor Southern state) has perennially put 2 schools in the top half of Tier II. Klumb, and Ross and Patterson, and et al. can gang up on USM given the current setup if they want. But, that same set up is keeping their own institutions down (at least some) in the grand scheme of things. "

Arkansas' institutions have their own boards. MS stands alone!

Date: May 24, 2005

Major changes are taking place in the governance of the public universitities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and the College of William and Mary have been at the forefront in moving toward charter status. News items about the recently approved governance approved by the Virginia legislature are all over the internet. Here is one from an out of state source, the Daily Tar Heel: Va. universities gain autonomy

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: process
"Arkansas' institutions have their own boards. MS stands alone!"

Georgia still has a single governing body for all institutions.

Date: May 24, 2005

Don't know about you folks, but considering the local attitudes toward faculty around here, we might not be better off with our own board. Try to visualize Mixon, R. Jones, B. Drews, L. Warren, et. al. in actual charge of USM.

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Scared spitless
"Don't know about you folks, but considering the local attitudes toward faculty around here, we might not be better off with our own board. Try to visualize Mixon, R. Jones, B. Drews, L. Warren, et. al. in actual charge of USM."

Excuse me, please. Do you have a men's room around here? I gotta spit. Er...I mean split.

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Dawg
" Georgia still has a single governing body for all institutions. "

They look like the only one following the comprehensive board model as in MS.

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Scared spitless
"Don't know about you folks, but considering the local attitudes toward faculty around here, we might not be better off with our own board. Try to visualize Mixon, R. Jones, B. Drews, L. Warren, et. al. in actual charge of USM. "

All of these individuals (being from Hattiesburg) would not make it on the board. Also, many of the "local supporters" aren't USM people (e.g., Brad Brian played baseball at LSU). Finally, it's hard to imagine things worse than with Klumb and Ross.

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Scared spitless
"Don't know about you folks, but considering the local attitudes toward faculty around here, we might not be better off with our own board. Try to visualize Mixon, R. Jones, B. Drews, L. Warren, et. al. in actual charge of USM. "

Be like letting the road gang run the asylum. I'm sure they think they could kick some a$phalt over here.

Date: May 24, 2005

The IHL board has just approved the new governance model that puts a strong commissioner in charge. I support the people like Richard Crofts, Virginia Shanteau Newton and visiting expert Thomas Meredith who helped to develop it. Let's give this system that puts an academic in charge a chance.

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Let the academics govern
"The IHL board has just approved the new governance model that puts a strong commissioner in charge. I support the people like Richard Crofts, Virginia Shanteau Newton and visiting expert Thomas Meredith who helped to develop it. Let's give this system that puts an academic in charge a chance."

The only reason that the "strong commissioner" model is perceived as "putting an academic in charge" is that Crofts is perceived as an academic. As Schneider used to say on One Day at a Time, "Always remember & never forget" that Crofts is a temporary commissioner (now that "interim" has been dropped from his title). The "permanent" commissioner could just as easily be a political good ole boy as an academic. This is Mississippi, after all.

We won't really know how well the "strong commissioner" model works until we're a couple of commissioners down the road. Heck, it took over 50 years for folks to realize that the "weak commissioner" model didn't work very well...

Date: May 24, 2005

i also think the commissioner will be as strong as the IHL lets him or her be.

Date: May 24, 2005

Ok then Invictus and Stinky Cheese Man, you two fatalists, what's the solution?

Date: May 24, 2005

like the one poster's excerpt from earlier today--be hopeful. hope it works out. but as with most things, time will tell.

Date: May 24, 2005

Thanks but I'm afraid of got this instant gratification thing going on...

Date: May 24, 2005

I've got

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: process
"They look like the only one following the comprehensive board model as in MS. "

What about Tennessee's Board of Regent's? Isn't it comprehensive?

Date: May 24, 2005

florida has a comprehensive system.

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"florida has a comprehensive system."

Mississippi has an incomprehensible system.

Date: May 24, 2005

I think we need a committee of the AAUP and the USM faculty senate to study the IHL system in Mississippi and make recomendations of solutions to the problem. I am 32 years old and I believe we would have an answer by my 45th birthday.

Date: May 24, 2005

STOP! STOP! STOP IN YOUR TRACKS. Don't dare respond to JoJo. We've wasted too much time on him the past few days.

Date: May 24, 2005

It's been a long time since I was there, but it seems like there was a separate board for UT than for the other schools. UT comprised UT-Knoxville, UT-Martin, the medical and dental schools in Memphis, and maybe a campus in Nashville. Then Memphis, Austin Peay, East Tenn State, Tenn State, etc were under the Board of Regents. But this could have changed. I just remember Memphis always feeling that it was getting the short end of the stick.

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Troll Zapper
"STOP! STOP! STOP IN YOUR TRACKS. Don't dare respond to JoJo. We've wasted too much time on him the past few days."

Troll Japper, JoJosays he's 32 years old. That's twice as old as I thought he was. We'll be able to deal with him much better than the adolescent I previously thought he was.

Date: May 24, 2005

Death by neglect would be good. Metaphorical death, of course. Don't feed, don't water, don't attend.

Date: May 24, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Lazy Professor
"Troll Japper, JoJosays he's 32 years old. That's twice as old as I thought he was. We'll be able to deal with him much better than the adolescent I previously thought he was. "

We can talk to each other, LP, but let's not respond to JoJo. We'll not let him come between conversations of other posters on this thread.

Date: May 24, 2005

Why not add Clemson' Campbell and make it 25 years for a decision?

Date: May 24, 2005

Oklahoma U. and Oklahoma State each has its own board.