It was a pretty good day - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Mar 24, 2006

RE: It was a pretty good day

Date: Mar 24, 2006

Cossack wrote:
I really don't get it. I'm think I'm a pretty "regular guy." I'm happily married, was active as a Boy Scout leader when my son was younger, worship regularly at a neighborhood church, give generously to local charities, mow my own lawn, wash my own car, am an avid sports fan, play ball with the neighborhood kids, have a beer with my neighbors, go out of my way to be cordial, am never condescending to anyone. So why the hostility? I don't sense a hostile attitude from my immediate neighbors but obviously the Hattiesburg community at large has a low opinion of university professors. Maybe we really do need an image consultant.

I've given the issues raised by this poster a good deal of thought because the hostility towards faculty in this town is palpable.

Here's my take on things, for what it's worth.

There is an extreme disconnect between what middle class/professional Hattiesburg does for a living and what we as faculty do. Most middle class folks in this town are small businessmen, or middle managers at local branches of regional or national companies. Their jobs are pretty much limited to managing the flow of paperwork in their office, or managing a sustaining operation like a bank branch or retail operation. Sound, honest work, to be sure, but not something that predisposes one towards ideas.

Professionals are strictly lawyers and doctors. There are few outsiders: most everyone is from Mississippi, indeed, from South Mississippi

Hattiesburg simply doesn't have what Richard Florida call "the creative class". Outside of USM faculty there is almost no one who makes their living manipulating, expressing, or discovering knowledge and ideas. There are virtually no artists, writers, scientists, internet entrepreneurs, publishers, software developers, business consultants, or anyones else who derives their livelihood from the more advanced activities in the American economy. There may be a few folks here and there, but they are outliers, not representative of the community and its economy.

Folks here look at us and wonder what the hell we do. We don't punch a clock, lift heavy objects or work in the sun. They don't understand how our training and our work is any different from that of a high school teacher. Add to that the fact that faculty are from distant lands, like Atlanta, Nashville, or even, gasp! up north, and you have a recipe for town-gown conflict.

Date: Mar 25, 2006

Professionals are strictly lawyers and doctors.

One caveat to an excellent post. Lawyers and doctors are now professionals in the same sense airline pilots are. The MDs ply their narrow specializations and the lawyers push paper around. In HBG this is exacerbated by so many MDs from 1 medical school and lawyers mostly from 2 law schools. The usual effects of lack of diversity are observed. Hanging around the JDs and MDs here for 10 years, one only heard the usual banter about houses, cars, sports, the perfidy of liberals, etc. etc. A cut above the usual, but not much.

Now take this group out the professionals and what's left?

Date: Mar 25, 2006

The faculty of a degree mill is fundamentally different from the faculty of a university. Once USM has reached terminal degree mill status in 5 to 10 years the conflict between the community and the faculty will be over. Degree mill faculty members are just "regular" folks. Of course, the graduates of degree mills get the same sort of salary "regular" folks get.

Succinct, accurate, precise, and prophetic.

Date: Mar 26, 2006

local prof wrote:

The MDs ply their narrow specializations and the lawyers push paper around. In HBG this is exacerbated by so many MDs from 1 medical school and lawyers mostly from 2 law schools. The usual effects of lack of diversity are observed. Hanging around the JDs and MDs here for 10 years, one only heard the usual banter about houses, cars, sports, the perfidy of liberals, etc. etc. A cut above the usual, but not much.
Now take this group out the professionals and what's left?

What's left. Not much at all. A grim sitatuation, indeed.