walt,

Your new scenario strikes me as quite plausible, unlike the first two or three, which were cosmically pessimistic.

There's no doubt that Thames is gunning for Doty and Pierce.  And at least a couple of his allies and underlings are looking for faculty members to scapegoat if SACS probation is extended.

I do wonder whether Malone and Lassen have any long-term plans to stick around USM.  But we'll find out soon enough whether they do.

A big liability for Thames is that no one in his or her right mind is going to want to step in and take over Lisa Mader's job.  How much can the Godwin Group do from afar to make Thames look good?

One really big item on Thames' public to-do list is finding a new home for Nursing.  What are the prospects of his actually getting that done?

Robert Campbell

This contest  for successor to Thames  is shaping up to be a major pi$$ing contest among a bunch of skunks. Lemme see, Exline, Lassen, Grimes, Hudson,  and believe it or not, even dark horse Angie Dvorak (yes, I said Angie Dvorak) all have designs on the Throne in the Dome. So did Shelboo's evil twin Malone, but he's finally seen the writing on the wall and is trying to figure out what to do after Big Daddy is gone.  This is a particularly vexing problem for Kenny boy, since he'll never be able to come close to his inflated USM salaries in industry or academia and when he goes, his wife's income stream is gone as well.  Interesting isn't it, seeing them scheme, maneuver, connive, and backstab one another. 

Robert Campbell wrote:

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I still think that USM needs to get a new president from the outside. Someone with no prior USM ties, who specializes in rescuing troubled institutions.

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Handicapper wrote:

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This contest  for successor to Thames  is shaping up to be a major pi$$ing contest among a bunch of skunks. Lemme see, Exline, Lassen, Grimes, Hudson,  and believe it or not, even dark horse Angie Dvorak (yes, I said Angie Dvorak) all have designs on the Throne in the Dome. So did Shelboo's evil twin Malone, but he's finally seen the writing on the wall and is trying to figure out what to do after Big Daddy is gone.  

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I know you're kidding (you are kidding, right?) about this collection of losers vying for the USM presidency, but I'm not so sure that we won't be hearing from Tim Hudson come 2007.  Yes, I know, this is speculation, rumor, conjecture, and star gazing all rolled into one, but this is a slow day on the board so indulge me. 

Granted, Hudson enjoys few fans among present USM faculty but from an IHL perspective, he's a well connected native son with a terminal degree from a prestigious eastern university, knows the ins-and-outs in Hattiesburg well enough to forgo a "training wheels" period,  is in a perverse way reputationally enhanced by all the feces thrown at him by Thames,  and he'll have a resume that boasts every academic position from T.A. to university president.  I know for a fact that he still speaks of making a triumphant return to Hattiesburg and he's still in regular contact with the local movers and shakers.    I'm not saying Tim Hudson would be the IHL's first draft choice but I'd bet a glass of pinot noir that he'll appear on the list of candidates if he chooses to toss his hat into the ring. After all, stranger things happen in Hattiesburg, every day.

given the group of losers that populate IHL, one can only guess who the dog will drag in for the next president.  if we're lucky we'll get some nonentity like charles lee.  methinks ihl will find it very difficult to get a president worth the paycheck for any institution in ms.  they've cooked more than usm in this process.  the candidate pool for the um president will be a big test.  wonder what any decent potential president is likely to think about the prospect of working for people like klumb, et al.  of course there's no grapevine among current and potential administrators about this particular group of polished professionals.

This contest  for successor to Thames is shaping up to be a major pi$$ing contest among a bunch of skunks. Lemme see, Exline, Lassen, Grimes, Hudson,

That was demeaning to skunks.  As far as I know, skunks are not as ethically challenged as this group or the members of IHL.  Ethically challenged people usually don't like having ethical people around.  Hudson should pass on that count and he has the knack of not making stupid people feel stupid.  Even IHL can probably figure out that Exline and Grimes are too dumb to run a gas station, much less USM.  Lassen is a world class a$$kisser, he missed his calling as a proctologist.   However, I predict his very close relationship with Mr. Klumb will and his extensive academic experience will keep him in the running.  You folks can't do much about Hudson (yet, but watch the woodwork if he outs himself) but Lassen's past as a crackpot politician (Libertarian in TX to Democrat in UT) ought to give even someone like Robin Robinson pause.  It says mountains about Phoenix that they were willing to overlook that.

Can you share any more details about this conversation?  What did they say, exactly?  This report is just further confirmation that news about USM has spread far and wide.

JAO,

It wasn't a very detailed conversation on that point.  Just the point that the train wreck at USM and the fact we have a loco President is common knowledge among headhunters.  If it's common knowledge among them, it must be common knowledge among others.  If I get any info at a later date (quite possible) I'll post it.

Thank goodness there's nothing lower than Tier IV.

Beelzebubba wrote:

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logjam wrote:  Thank goodness there's nothing lower than Tier IV. Don't be so sure . . . .   Beelzebubba

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