Especially clear after Bush's speech tonight, the federal government will be investing billions to reconstruct the devested Gulf Coast.  Given Thames past track record (particularly, the financial shell games practiced by Lawson), I have no confidence in this administration's ability to proactively interface with funding agencies to ensure USM gains its appropriate share of resources.  In many respects, this terrible tragedy represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in the university's future -- to use our H'burg and Coast campuses as the foundation for the region's (dare I say it) economic development (in the truest sense, not the witchcraft often cited by Shelby).

How can we convince the administration of the need to appoint a "recovery czar"-type person with strong financial and project management capabilities and government relations skills to oversee this area for us?  I suspect this would be a full-time job for at least two years.  I just don't think a traditional academic (or academic admin type) is best suited for this role. 

Just a thought...