Bob the Builder wrote:

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I'm not in COB, but have peeked in the building. There seems to be plenty of work going on. USM should be grateful. Skilled building tradesmen are in short supply.

If COB faculty are upset because the contractor is falling behind in his deadlines, get in line. There are thousands on the coast and in N.O. ahead of you. When has it ever been the case that a construction job was completed on time, under budget?

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bob, nobody would argue that we are not going to benefit from a new hvac system. nobody would argue that there is not an unusual building market in south mississippi and louisiana at present.

what we are saying is that doty was told by cob faculty in the undocumented cob faculty meeting not to believe the contractors' timetables. contractor timetables are notoriously short unless proper incentives (ie, money) are included to get the job done on time. doty ignored these admonitions.

what we are saying is that doty should have had an open dialogue within the cob so that any and every contingency could be planned for. he did not communicate properly with cob faculty.

in short, the havc system is a perfect exampe of doty's failed deanship. he failed to listen. he failed to plan. he failed to communicate properly. he failed to act aggressively when aggressiveness was called for. he failed to include faculty in decision making. he has placed the cob faculty in a situation of teaching a horrible spring schedule that is loathed by students. he has caused chaos by refusing to reschedule most classes to other classroom buildings (note that there are open rooms. many cob faculty had to reschedule their 2nd 8-week classes to college hall on their on volition.).

doty is a master of causing chaos. the hvac example is but one example. why not have a well-thought-out plan that included widespread faculty input? why not insist that timetables be padded so that overruns wouldn't throw the entire schedule off?

doty is an inexperienced dean who refuses to listen to others' input unless it reinforces his uninformed gut reaction.