IHL May minutes -- first pass (legal fees) - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jun 18, 2005

RE: IHL May minutes -- first pass (legal fees)

Date: Jun 18, 2005

stinky cheese man wrote:

i agree that it was purposefully delayed. they were paying other bills submitted by the same firm much earlier.

It shouldn't take long to pay a bill even if you write the check by hand. What Invictus said makes lots of sense.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

I agree with Invictus about the announcement of the $100+K payment being purposely delayed. Both to increase Thames' chances of getting renewed, and to keep the Board from looking as bad as it deserved to, for not firing him a year ago.

But the conspiracy isn't firing on all cylinders. Otherwise Thames would be President for Life.

Robert Campbell

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Robert Campbell wrote:

But the conspiracy isn't firing on all cylinders. Otherwise Thames would be President for Life.
Robert Campbell

The conspiracy is not & never has been about Shelby Thames. It is about relegating USM to second class citizenship with respect to the alma maters of the majority of IHL board members. And it predated Shelby by a long, long time. Aubrey Lucas discovered that it was easier to slide things through by appearing to go along with the game. Horace Fleming found his time at USM shortened, because he fought it. (I believe he was hired in the first place, because board members thought that his private-only experience would be less than what USM needed & they got more than they bargained for.) And Shelby Thame is too bone-headed foolish to realize that he is "only a pawn in their game."

We should start looking toward 2007. The president that follows Shelby Thames is the one that will really make or break the institution. My money is on the latter ... or at least my money is that IHL will do it's damnedest to make sure the latter happens.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Invictus wrote:

The president that follows Shelby Thames is the one that will really make or break the institution. My money is on the latter ... or at least my money is that IHL will do it's damnedest to make sure the latter happens.

IMHO, IHL decided to let SFT go because of mission accomplished. By 07, the institution will be in a state that it will take at least 4 years to stabilize the institution. The mystery to me is why HF upset the apple cart. As AKL showed, you could build on the stealth and there wasn't much IHL could do about it. Officially changing USMs allocation would have gotten even USM alumni exercised.

Oh well, what could have been. Time to check job listings again.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

USM should rate behind UM and MSU. In fact, USM should cease to exist and become UM-Hattiesburg and UM-Gulf Coast. Then USM faculty will be treated as they deserve to be -- as branch campus employees.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Shark City wrote:

Then USM faculty will be treated as they deserve to be -- as branch campus employees.

Got nowhere to go but up.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Invictus wrote:

RoThe conspiracy is not & never has been about Shelby Thames. It is about relegating USM to second class citizenship with respect to the alma maters of the majority of IHL board members. And it predated Shelby by a long, long time. Aubrey Lucas discovered that it was easier to slide things through by appearing to go along with the game.

My understanding is that the president of the board controls the agenda of the board. Roy Klumb was board president the entire year, Virginia Newton assumed that role only recently. Should we be surprised then that the embarrasingly large amount of money spent on USM legal fees was not made public in the board's minutes until after the board made it's long awaited decision about the president's appointment?

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Somebody at the HA needs to pick this one up & run with it. Point #1: SFT wasted $107K on a frivolous egocentric (il)legal action. Point #2: The IHL board "rewarded" this wastefulness with a one year contract extension. Point #3: The IHL staff (i.e., Crofts) "buried" the billing until after SFT's contract extension was announced. That's a pretty good coordinated effort, IM(NS)HO.

It's still happening. Today it's happening, next week it's happening . . . they think that they can outlast those who are suing them. Maybe they can with some, with others they can't. Chaze is jumping on the cases that scream "Done Deal" and is apparently taking a third - forty percent of the settlements - when they happen. The IHL doesn't realize that many of these cases aren't going away in the near (or legally far) future. Whether Thames is prez or not, the university is still liable.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Does anyone know who will be president after VN? Or who will be president during the time the search for Shelby's successor is conducted? Also, does anyone know when Roy rotates off the board? In fact, does anyone know which has a higher IQ -- Roy or a board? (Sorry: couldn't help myself.)

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Someone who knows wrote:

Somebody at the HA needs to pick this one up & run with it. Point #1: SFT wasted $107K on a frivolous egocentric (il)legal action. Point #2: The IHL board "rewarded" this wastefulness with a one year contract extension. Point #3: The IHL staff (i.e., Crofts) "buried" the billing until after SFT's contract extension was announced. That's a pretty good coordinated effort, IM(NS)HO.It's still happening. Today it's happening, next week it's happening . . . they think that they can outlast those who are suing them. Maybe they can with some, with others they can't. Chaze is jumping on the cases that scream "Done Deal" and is apparently taking a third - forty percent of the settlements - when they happen. The IHL doesn't realize that many of these cases aren't going away in the near (or legally far) future. Whether Thames is prez or not, the university is still liable.

I hope people sue the pants off Shelby (although that is not a pretty thought).

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Invictus wrote:

stinky cheese man wrote: no clear reason why the delay. Sure there is. Conspiracy theory. It's been explained up-thread. If this had come out, say, in January, there would've been a lot less support for Shelby's contract extension. (Quit talking about how he's gonna step down -- he got a freakin' contract extension!) Somebody at the HA needs to pick this one up & run with it. Point #1: SFT wasted $107K on a frivolous egocentric (il)legal action. Point #2: The IHL board "rewarded" this wastefulness with a one year contract extension. Point #3: The IHL staff (i.e., Crofts) "buried" the billing until after SFT's contract extension was announced. That's a pretty good coordinated effort, IM(NS)HO.

I have to admit that Invictus's conspiracy theory is making more and more (sickening) sense to me; this latest bit of evidence certainly does not make the IHL look good. Is this (i.e., the burying of the legal expenses until after the contract renewal) something Roy could coordinated? Whoever is responsible, I think Invictus is correct that this could be seen as a cover-up, and we all know that cover-ups often eventually cause more problems than the original crime. I hope an enterprising reporter digs into this and tries to discover who, exactly, was responsible for delaying this news.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Beelzebubba wrote:

I hope people sue the pants off Shelby (although that is not a pretty thought).

Beezlebubba, I love your nom.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Beezletta wrote:

Beezlebubba, I love your nom.

Why, thank ya' ma'am; thank ya' very much. I don't have a whole lot else to do down here except think, fan myself, and drink ice water.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Hang in down there B.bubba. You're going to have company sooner than later.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Beelzebubba wrote:

Why, thank ya' ma'am; thank ya' very much. I don't have a whole lot else to do down here except think, fan myself, and drink ice water.

Ice water? Sorry, Bubba. I'm the Mint Julep type.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Little old lady wrote:

Hang in down there B.bubba. You're going to have company sooner than later.

And if he thinks the current company in the Extremely Deep South is nasty, wait until he sees what's coming.

Date: Jun 18, 2005

We're all kind of nervous about one of the anticipated New Arrivals. We've heard he plans to give The Boss a run for his money . . . .

Date: Jun 18, 2005

Beelzebubba wrote:

We're all kind of nervous about one of the anticipated New Arrivals. We've heard he plans to give The Boss a run for his money . . . .

On the other hand, we ARE looking forward to the new light poles. We're gettin' a bit tired of all this dang "darkness visible."

Date: Jun 19, 2005

kick for trolls.

Date: Jun 20, 2005

From Googler on password:

"$107,589.05 = That ain't no Monopoly money, Mr. Lassen."

How was this indebtedness shown on the USM budget over this past year?

Date: Jun 20, 2005

Open Accounts wrote:

From Googler on password: "$107,589.05 = That ain't no Monopoly money, Mr. Lassen." How was this indebtedness shown on the USM budget over this past year?

Good question. Mr. Lassen probably needs to create a special account and call it DAD (Dumb A** Debts). Maybe even assign 10758905 as the account number.

Date: Jun 21, 2005

Googler wrote:

Open Accounts wrote: From Googler on password: "$107,589.05 = That ain't no Monopoly money, Mr. Lassen." How was this indebtedness shown on the USM budget over this past year? Good question. Mr. Lassen probably needs to create a special account and call it DAD (Dumb A** Debts). Maybe even assign 10758905 as the account number.

Thanks for my morning chuckle Googler!

Date: Jun 21, 2005

USM Sympathizer wrote:

Does anyone know who will be president after VN? Or who will be president during the time the search for Shelby's successor is conducted? Also, does anyone know when Roy rotates off the board? In fact, does anyone know which has a higher IQ -- Roy or a board? (Sorry: couldn't help myself.)

Isn't Magee the next Board President? They're supposed to be going to a system of presidents elected by the Board, but some kind of deal was cut so the elections won't start until Magee has taken his turn.

Klumb will still be there when they're searching for Thames' successor. Isn't RK only about halfway through his term on the Board? The best we can hope for is that Klumb will continue to marginalize himself, till even Ross, Colbert, and Davidson won't back him any more.

Robert Campbell

Date: Jun 21, 2005

colbert, klumb, magee, and newton's terms all expire may 7, 2008.

Date: Jun 21, 2005

scm,

Thanks. Klumb is farther along in his term than I realized, but he'll be here long enough to influence the choice of Thames' successor--unless the other Board members have quit listening to him by then.

Robert Campbell

Date: Jun 21, 2005

Robert Campbell wrote:

he'll be here long enough to influence the choice of Thames' successor

Dang!

Date: Jun 21, 2005

Robert Campbell wrote:

Isn't Magee the next Board President? They're supposed to be going to a system of presidents elected by the Board, but some kind of deal was cut so the elections won't start until Magee has taken his turn.

Magee is the part of the final 1996 "class" of four in which each person gets an automatic year as board president during a 12-year term. It's less of a deal for Magee, I think, than treating all four members of the class the same way. Yet there may be more to it. When the board decided at the Jan. 2004 meeting to delay by a month the approval of Newton's pro forma election to the vice-presidency, board member Ricki Garrett commented in the Sun Herald (1/16/04): "It's going to publicly look like this board is trying to prevent a woman and a minority from taking leadership of this board."

Reforms were passed a few years ago that changed the terms for new appointees, after 2012, from 12 years to 9 years. At the moment however the board is going through a transitional period to make way for the 9-year terms. Barbour's four 2004 appointees get 11 years. The 2008 appointees will get 10. In 2012 the 9-year term will be reached.

With 11/10/9-year terms and a 12-member board, the board had to come up with a new system of selecting presidents. Thus we have the new election plan the board recently adopted.

Board minutes from March 2005, pp. 40-41: "2. The Board of Trustees will elect a President and Vice President for one-year terms. Officers may succeed themselves for no more than one additional year. The Board President will appoint a nominating committee (using former Board Presidents where possible) to bring forward nominees for President and Vice President. The President will continue (along with the Commissioner) to serve as spokesperson for the Board of Trustees. Board members will defer to the President as the person in charge of Board meetings, without sacrificing the ability to challenge the rulings of the President or to speak on matters of policy or principle. The President of the Board will take a leadership role in ensuring that the Board�s Code of Conduct is followed. The President will appoint all committee chairs and committees. The Vice President will stand in for the President when the President is unavailable and will assist the President as called upon. The Vice President may be elected President in subsequent years.

Note: This election process will begin no sooner than the election of a Vice-President to serve during Dr. Magee's term as President."

To sum up. Newton in 2005-06. Magee in 2006-07. Election from the present board members for the presidency in 2007-08. It might be someone who hasn't served as president before (classes of 2000 or 2004) or it might be a second-termer.

Date: Jun 21, 2005

Serious question: To which minority group (other than USM alumni) does VN belong?

Date: Jun 21, 2005

beelzebubba wrote:

Serious question: To which minority group (other than USM alumni) does VN belong?

Garrett: "It's going to publicly look like this board is trying to prevent a woman [Newton, at the time the next VP] and a minority [Magee, an African-American and next in line after Newton] from taking leadership of this board."