Funny, not a word on their wish list about picking coaches!

So,
it begins in a closed meeting with the AAUP leadership from USM. How many other closed meetings with other groups will the Commissioner have as he directs the presidential search process for USM?

Will he have a closed meeting with the political powerful that put SFT in power if they request it? I am sure he will. He cannot afford to offend powerful people.

My advice is to keep the process in the Sunshine as much as possible.

I certainly understand that there are some candidaates for postiions that would not apply if their names are going to be made public. You may lose some candidates if names are revealed but, in the long run, an open "in the light of day" process, will yield good candidates that have not used the political process of Mississippi to obtain an advantage. (bad sentence, good thoughts.)

Don't worry about "outing" someone. When a faculty member applies elsewhere, is the person outed? Searches at all levels should be open.

So, AAUP, you have had your private meeting. He certainly can have private meetings and cannot conduct all his meetings in public.

Just be advised. There will be others that will have private meetings with the commissioner. Many will have much political power that faculty groups do not have.

The commissioner was not in the state when the SFT stole the presidency from HF. He knows Mississippi and he knows what happened. He will have to deal with the same forces as he initiates the process for USM.

The AAUP and all other ethical faculty and community groups MUST be active, open, demanding, and diligent. Otherwise, someone else will be calling all the shots.

Don't be lulled into a sense of belief that it will be different this time. There are forces out there that do not have the same agenda that you have.

Sunshine Man wrote:

---

So,
it begins in a closed meeting with the AAUP leadership from USM. How many other closed meetings with other groups will the Commissioner have as he directs the presidential search process for USM?

Will he have a closed meeting with the political powerful that put SFT in power if they request it? I am sure he will. He cannot afford to offend powerful people.

My advice is to keep the process in the Sunshine as much as possible.

I certainly understand that there are some candidaates for postiions that would not apply if their names are going to be made public. You may lose some candidates if names are revealed but, in the long run, an open "in the light of day" process, will yield good candidates that have not used the political process of Mississippi to obtain an advantage. (bad sentence, good thoughts.)

Don't worry about "outing" someone. When a faculty member applies elsewhere, is the person outed? Searches at all levels should be open.

So, AAUP, you have had your private meeting. He certainly can have private meetings and cannot conduct all his meetings in public.

Just be advised. There will be others that will have private meetings with the commissioner. Many will have much political power that faculty groups do not have.

The commissioner was not in the state when the SFT stole the presidency from HF. He knows Mississippi and he knows what happened. He will have to deal with the same forces as he initiates the process for USM.

The AAUP and all other ethical faculty and community groups MUST be active, open, demanding, and diligent. Otherwise, someone else will be calling all the shots.

Don't be lulled into a sense of belief that it will be different this time. There are forces out there that do not have the same agenda that you have.

---

It was certainly NOT a closed meeting. Those of us who were there, however, felt that Meredith deserved the opportunity to make certain statements about the search before we (AAUP) did.

AAUP IS active, as evidenced by the meeting with the commissioner, soemething the membership voted on!

Do we believe that it will all work the way it should this time? I think we believe, like you, that we must be active. AAUP will be active. Faculty Senate will be active.

Do we think we can call the shots? Absolutely not. But we deserve legitimate input that is thoughtfully considered. Shared governance remains our dream at USM.

Amy Young

Amy,
Stay after them, it, those, them, and the good ole boys.

sunshine

Hello all:

Since I was the fellow who called the meeting with Dr. Meredith, and was charged with facilitating the meeting by my AAUP colleagues, I guess I can weigh in now.

Dr. Meredith was provided a list of questions about a week or so beforehand to help guide the conversation. We can post them now (Stephen, I will be out of town, so please feel free to share this list with the community). This was not a secret meeting by any means--our FS leadership was informed about the specifics (before and after), and, as a courtesy, I gave my chair and dean a heads up that the AAUP EC would be meeting with Dr. Meredith.

The meeting started with all of us describing our backgrounds, including Dr. Meredith (academic discipline, administrative experience, role in AAUP, and so on). The focus of the meeting was on the future of USM.

Of note -- Dr. Meredith recognizes AAUP as an important organization in higher education, and invited the AAUP to be one of many voices in the search for our next President. He provided an overview of the process to be used for both searches (USM and MSU), including the use of a search firm, the goal of having a President in place in time to make budgetary decisions in the Spring of 2007 for USM, and beginning the search in Fall 2006. He provided solid reasons for these decisions. He suggested that we not formally announce this information for a day or two, as he was planning to talk about these issues at various public venues during the week, which he did do.

Dr. Meredith made a personal commitment to conduct the search in a transparent, honest, and inclusive manner. As Stephen mentioned, he said watching the MSU search would be informative for us at USM (recall that the last MSU Presidential search was also messy and politically influenced). He was clear that he will listen attentively to all interested parties, including faculty, staff, alumni, athletic boosters, and donors (a process we at the AAUP support).

Dr. Meredith stressed the importance of fund raising as one of the central roles for a President, and indicated that he prefers an academic model that includes a strong Provost who is attuned to his or her faculty. Improving the salary structure for faculty and staff is also one of his priorities.      

I'm sure I missed some details, and if my recall is inaccurate, one of the other attendees can elaborate.

Mitchell E. Berman, Ph.D.