Every time the B-School wins a battle this rumor resurfaces.  It was another good for the good guys!

Somebodies been showin' their .... and they wouldn't be in CoB! 

Greg Lassen, as a way to survive beyond Shelby

Actually, it is the past 4 deans:

Ty Black still comes to JGH
Rod Posey (Interim Dean) still works at JGH
Bill Gunther still works at JGH
Doty would be on faculty in JGH

all while the new dean is taking the job.

Replacement wrote:

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If Doty does go back to faculty, who do you think the replacement will be?
I heard that they would like Trellis Green to take charge, he comes highly recommended.

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Alvin Williams perhaps?

Doty came in with the mindset that he was going to turn the CoB (then CBED) upside down. In so doing, he alienated his senior faculty members and proceeded to treat his junior faculty like they were lesser human beings.

His actions of the past year were not a shining example of fighting for academic freedom, they were simply a series of moves to preserve his job.

Few in the CoB are loyal to Doty. Some may support him for fear of what may come next. The common phrase is "He may be an ****, but he's our ****."

I heard Doty is voluntarily stepping down, he wants to go back to his first love. 

We've heard many rumors, what if's and wishes on this board, but sorry guys, unless I see it or hear it from a reliable source, I'm going to remain skeptical

cobbler wrote:

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Whence HD is not the best rumor of the week.  The best one is that part of the faculty handbook was rewritten in the Dome this week in a big hurry to comply with some SACS regulation.  Just another example of the well-oiled machine.

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I'm not sure what cobbler is implying in this rumor. There were several changes to the faculty handbook recommended to the president by the handbook committee. One of these changes I think dealt with grieving academic freedom issues and was supposedly a SACS issue, but this has been months in the the process.

My bad.  It was a COB document, not a university document.

Coping within CoEP wrote:

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Regardless of the newest version of the ever evolving Faculty Handbook, unless it is specifically stated - those contracted to the university answer to the Handbook that was in place when they joined this lovely nest of snakes, wasps, and black widows. Unless, the Handbook states that those employed prior to the newest handbook are revoked of their rights within the Handbook that they signed upon their employee contract, a new Handbook does not include employees who entered into a contract, via a former Handbook, unless they have willingly acknowledged the changes within the Handbook and agree to those set changes.  

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This is the reason tenured faculty must sign a new contract each year.  This is the answer for those who questioned this practice at USM.

Oldie Goldie wrote:

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Not a Lawyer wrote: This is the reason tenured faculty must sign a new contract each year.  This is the answer for those who questioned this practice at USM. When I first came to USM there was nothing in my contract about the faculty handbook. Is this a new policy?

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In a court of law the handbook is the contract.

Oldie Goldie wrote:

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Not A Lawyer wrote:  In a court of law the handbook is the contract. But that doesn't explain why tenured faculty members are required to sign a new contract each year. It is unnecessary. I've heard of only a few school that do it like that and those schools are generally bottom feeders. 

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Oldie Goldie,

I was responding to "Coping within CoEP" who stated, "Regardless of the newest version of the ever evolving Faculty Handbook, unless it is specifically stated - those contracted to the university answer to the Handbook that was in place when they joined this lovely nest of snakes, wasps, and black widows". 

It seems to me that you and "Coping" have to decide which handbook would be in effect if the administration and a prof have a disagreement.  I say it's the current handbook and not the one the prof was first hired under.  At USM this is accomplished by signing the contract each year.

My question to you is what would happen at the institutions where contracts are not signed each year.  How do you resolve "Coping's" contention about the original handbook?   It may be that the handbook is not changed so frequently at other institutions so there is no need for "new" contracts.  Or maybe the contract mentions the "current" hanbook. 

 

Oldie Goldie wrote:

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Not A Lawyer wrote:  I say it's the current handbook and not the one the prof was first hired under.  At USM this is accomplished by signing the contract each year. My question to you is what would happen at the institutions where contracts are not signed each year.  It most definitely is the current handbook that is applicable. At other schools that point is made clear in the initial appointment letter. The handbook content can, of course, vary from year-to-year, but each faculty member (tenured and untenured) is expected to comply with the handbook in effect at the moment. What varies is the salary. The salary for the forthcoming year is provided in an annual letter from an appropriate administrator. The awarding of academic tenure need be stated only once. The term "tenure" does not necessary refer to an indefinite period (academic tenure).My first academic appointment carried a "tenure of one year" and my contract clearly specified a "tenure of one year."  Near the end of that year I received a standard university form asking if I held "tenure." I didn't know what tenure was all about at that point in my career, so I reread my contract, saw that my appointment was carried a "tenure of one year," and I cheked "yes" on the form. When my department chair saw what I had checked, he called me into his office and explained the difference between academic tenure and a tenure period of one year, two years, three years, etc. The way USM does it makes it sound like we award a series of appointments, each with a one year period of tenure. But it doesn't matter. Things are not going to change just because other schools do it that way. I should add one more thing to this discussion. The schools that I'm talking about incorporate AAUP principles in their faculty handbooks. Life would be so much better for the USM administration and for the IHL if it did the same. 

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Thanks for the explanation, Oldie Goldie.  What you described is the way USM does "Summer Contracts".  In fact I don't think there is even a letter given to the faculty member for summer employment. 

I agree with you about using AAUP principles.  USM's contracts, instead of letters, even have to be approved by the IHL each year.  Micromanagement at its best.