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USM Forum -- Message Board -> AAUP-USM MESSAGE BOARD -> opinions on USM
Post Info TOPIC: opinions on USM
local Mrs.

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opinions on USM
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I have been, like the rest of you, living with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  It's heartening to see so many parts of the community pulling together at this time. 


As a long follower of this site, I feel compelled to speak about a couple of issues.


It's time for USM faculty to stop blaming Dr. Thames for everything in life.  The storm dealt a blow to everyone, and continuing to berate him for not handling everything the way you want seems excessive.  He did not cause the storm, and certainly will not deal perfectly with it as a public servant.  His retirement from the USM leadership has been announced (first part of 2007).  Additionally, Dean Doty should stop trying to be President.  I have followed his battles with Thames in the newspapers, and I read his "information" on this board in the days after the storm when my power had returned.  When Dr. Thames steps down in 2007, Doty will get his chance to apply if he so desires. 


Sports at USM should be de-emphasized.  During the USM-AL game, the announcers kept harping on all that the USM players had been through.  Meanwhile, our paper kept us informed that the team avoided the storm's aftermath in Memphis via a $10,000/day expense.  This totalled around $100,000. At the same time we learned that Coach Bower lifted the one game suspensions of his two stars because the two had been through so much already (not because they were about to play Alabama).  At the end of the game a USM player threw a punch and was not disciplined by Bower and staff.  The more we learn the more we should return to the true purpose of the institution.


 



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Everyone has one

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Local misses the point...


In a perfunctory check of 100 threads since Katrina, not a single one blames Shelby Thames for everything in life, causing the storm, or not dealing with it perfectly as a public servant.   Several threads, however, do criticize him for job-related decisions, poor communication, lack of sensitivity, and ongoing character deficiencies.  You raise one of most controversial decisions -- the one to send the football team to Memphis to practice -- and yet, somehow, you don't seem to place the blame for it squarely at Shelby's feet, how odd.


Twenty more months until we return to the true purpose of the institution...yeah right, I'm a believer.



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Overworked

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Everyone has one wrote:
Local misses the point...
In a perfunctory check of 100 threads since Katrina, not a single one blames Shelby Thames for everything in life, causing the storm, or not dealing with it perfectly as a public servant.   Several threads, however, do criticize him for job-related decisions, poor communication, lack of sensitivity, and ongoing character deficiencies.  You raise one of most controversial decisions -- the one to send the football team to Memphis to practice -- and yet, somehow, you don't seem to place the blame for it squarely at Shelby's feet, how odd.
Twenty more months until we return to the true purpose of the institution...yeah right, I'm a believer.
If you did indeed check 100 threads and you are indeed a USM faculty member,then you've spoken volumes without intending to. Anyone who has that much idle time probably isn't working very hard. They need to increase your load from 9 hours a week to 12 hours.

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Gone, gone, gone

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Sorry overworked, but you have your figures wrong. We may spend nine hours a week in class, but here is a sample of the rest of the weekly time:

18 hours class preparation time
6 hours meeting with students
6 hours in committee meetings--department, college, university service
5-20 hours per week grading papers, reading dissertations, etc. Varies and some weeks can be light. So as a total, go with the lower figure of 5.
Those numbers plus the 9 hours in class come to 44 hours per week.

Now, that professor has not even begun his/her scholarly work. And that is the work that our raises primarily are based on. That is the work that makes USM into SFT's world class institution.





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3 R's

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Everyone has one wrote:
Local misses the point...
In a perfunctory check of 100 threads since Katrina, not a single one blames Shelby Thames for everything in life, causing the storm, or not dealing with it perfectly as a public servant.   Several threads, however, do criticize him for job-related decisions, poor communication, lack of sensitivity, and ongoing character deficiencies.  You raise one of most controversial decisions -- the one to send the football team to Memphis to practice -- and yet, somehow, you don't seem to place the blame for it squarely at Shelby's feet, how odd.
Twenty more months until we return to the true purpose of the institution...yeah right, I'm a believer.



Does that mean if I play golf or work on a committee at church I have too much time on my hands and I need to increase my class room hours......

You are correct everyone has one(opinion) and something else as well and you should know

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Invictus

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Everyone has one wrote:
In a perfunctory check of 100 threads since Katrina, not a single one blames Shelby Thames for everything in life, causing the storm, or not dealing with it perfectly as a public servant.


Obviously, you ignored my threads. The things that I don't blame on Shelby Thames, I blame on the federal gummint.

For example, I'm realistic enough to know that Shelby's strictly bush league when it comes to global warming, which is clearly Bush league... OTOH, I do not blame the President of the United States for USM's accreditation woes.


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Kudzu King

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Bower didn't lift the suspensions of John Eubanks and Pedi Causey. They were suspended for the Tulane game. The Tulane game has been moved to the end of the season. They will be suspended for that game. Last season, Naton Stewart was displined after the Nebraska game. Bower announced to the news media that Stewart would not play in the Cal game. When the game was moved to the end of the season Stewarts suspension moved as well. He did play the next game, but was not allowed to play for the Cal game.

I believe you will find Eubanks and Causey on the sidelines for the Tulane game, just as Bower announced.

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Crystal (Foot)Ball

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Kudzu King wrote:
Bower didn't lift the suspensions of John Eubanks and Pedi Causey. They were suspended for the Tulane game. The Tulane game has been moved to the end of the season. They will be suspended for that game. Last season, Naton Stewart was displined after the Nebraska game. Bower announced to the news media that Stewart would not play in the Cal game. When the game was moved to the end of the season Stewarts suspension moved as well. He did play the next game, but was not allowed to play for the Cal game.

I believe you will find Eubanks and Causey on the sidelines for the Tulane game, just as Bower announced.


When asked about the suspensions prior to the Alabama game, Bower stated that they had suffered enough. I will be floored if either Causey or Eubanks is benched at any point this season.

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cha ching

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Gone, gone, gone wrote:

Sorry overworked, but you have your figures wrong. We may spend nine hours a week in class, but here is a sample of the rest of the weekly time: 18 hours class preparation time 6 hours meeting with students 6 hours in committee meetings--department, college, university service 5-20 hours per week grading papers, reading dissertations, etc. Varies and some weeks can be light. So as a total, go with the lower figure of 5. Those numbers plus the 9 hours in class come to 44 hours per week. Now, that professor has not even begun his/her scholarly work. And that is the work that our raises primarily are based on. That is the work that makes USM into SFT's world class institution.
Factor in 3 months off in summer, long holiday vacations, many holidays, low academic output of this university, those who only teach one class or those who are teaching the same material without change for 22 years or those who teach 3 sections of the same class, and one has a slim fraction of the claimed sweatshop hours, time to go hang out at the coffee shop or as many do, time to have a second career before retiring.

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Dumber than Dumb

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cha ching wrote:




Factor in 3 months off in summer


As is the case with our public school teachers, college teachers who do not teach in the summer do not receive a salary for that period. Are you really that uninformed?


many holidays


Take that up with your politicians who determine state and federal holidays.


those who only teach one class


Teaching only one class while busting your butt to obtain grants and produce in scholarly ways is a heck of a lot easier than teaching three classes.


those who are teaching the same material without change for 22 years


You have access to their syllabi for the past 22 years?


 those who teach 3 sections of the same class


You'd prefer that the students who are currently in three smaller classes be dumped into one big impersonal auditorium and the course be collapsed into one class? Then you'd probaly complain about large impersonal classes.


cha ching, it sounds like you are more interested with the sound of the cash register than you are with education.





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Overworked

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Re "Gone, Gone, Gone" posting of hours spent in job duties as a professor: Does "Gone" or anyone else know of studies on this? I'm about to start one myself and have been finding it hard to locate any decent literature on college professor time studies. Thank You!

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ClockPuncher

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Overworked wrote:

Re "Gone, Gone, Gone" posting of hours spent in job duties as a professor: Does "Gone" or anyone else know of studies on this? I'm about to start one myself and have been finding it hard to locate any decent literature on college professor time studies. Thank You!
I think there have been such studies, largely surveys, using "self report" as the measure. It's difficult to tell how much the hours reported might be inflated. I seem to recall that IHL did one of those surveys some years ago.

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NotUnderworked

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My apologies to the Message Board; I was unaware that I had selected a "name" which is already in use (I'm new here). I'm the "Overworked" who asked about studies on professorial time management earlier today. If you wish, please respond to . Thank You! New Board Name: NotUnderworked

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