daily rumor mill #6 - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jun 5, 2004

daily rumor mill #6

Date: Jun 5, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by: gurunuburg
"3. The tale that Dean Doty is gearing up to leave is gaining legs. Just got a nice package from "envelope" containing the latest issue of the (attractive/slick) CBED magazine. The first half appears to be an homage to Doty. His vita is practically listed in the margin on one of the pages. Thanks envelope.

CBED and the University should only be so lucky. The ever self promoting Doty has accomplished little except to keep the college in an uproar. As for Doty's self promotion, take a look at the CBED webpage. The resume (which is embarassingly weak) is the only one published there.

Date: Jun 5, 2004

Lost Cause said:

CBED and the University should only be so lucky [should Doty take a job elsehwere]. The ever self promoting Doty has accomplished little except to keep the college in an uproar. As for Doty's self promotion, take a look at the CBED webpage. The resume (which is embarassingly weak) is the only one published there.

I figured that the Harold Doty who is now Dean of CBED at USM couldn't be the same Harold Doty who worked on a developmental psychology research project in Austin, Texas, back when I was a grad student at UT Austin and he was an undergrad at Southwest Texas State.

How wrong I was. He's the same Harold Doty... (See the second item from the bottom on his list of articles and presentations.) I haven't heard from him in 20 years.

You're right about the vita being fairly weak. Although there are no formal rules about it, failing to separate published articles from unpublished conference presentations gives the appearance of padding.

Robert Campbell

Date: Jun 5, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
"Lost Cause said: CBED and the University should only be so lucky [should Doty take a job elsehwere]. The ever self promoting Doty has accomplished little except to keep the college in an uproar. As for Doty's self promotion, take a look at the CBED webpage. The resume (which is embarassingly weak) is the only one published there. I figured that the Harold Doty who is now Dean of CBED at USM couldn't be the same Harold Doty who worked on a developmental psychology research project in Austin, Texas, back when I was a grad student at UT Austin and he was an undergrad at Southwest Texas State. How wrong I was. He's the same Harold Doty... (See the second item from the bottom on his list of articles and presentations.) I haven't heard from him in 20 years. You're right about the vita being fairly weak. Although there are no formal rules about it, failing to separate published articles from unpublished conference presentations gives the appearance of padding. Robert Campbell"

Robert:

What did you think about how terrible the CBED website is? There's nothing to it that I can tell (except for econ development).

elliott

Date: Jun 5, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
"
You're right about the vita being fairly weak. Although there are no formal rules about it, failing to separate published articles from unpublished conference presentations gives the appearance of padding.
Robert Campbell"

Resume padding? By USM administrators?!!
I'm shocked, shocked.

Date: Jun 6, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: elliott
" Robert: What did you think about how terrible the CBED website is? There's nothing to it that I can tell (except for econ development). elliott"

elliott,

I was surprised to find that what look like links off Dean Doty's page don't work--except for the one that leads to his vita.

Pretty amateurish, I would have to say.

Robert Campbell

Date: Jun 6, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
" elliott, I was surprised to find that what look like links off Dean Doty's page don't work--except for the one that leads to his vita. Pretty amateurish, I would have to say. Robert Campbell"

You have defined the CBED dean: amateurish and self centered.

Date: Jun 7, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
"

elliott,
I was surprised to find that what look like links off Dean Doty's page don't work--except for the one that leads to his vita.
Pretty amateurish, I would have to say.
Robert Campbell"

And now the much discussed vita is missing from the web site. Do you suppose Dean Doty reads and responds to the message board

Date: Jun 7, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: How funny
" And now the much discussed vita is missing from the web site. Do you suppose Dean Doty reads and responds to the message board"

How funny, I just tried but can't seem to move around the CBED site very well at the moment. Maybe they've learned how to "sanitize" their webpage as well (given discussion of it on this board).

Date: Jun 8, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: How funny
"

And now the much discussed vita is missing from the web site. Do you suppose Dean Doty reads and responds to the message board"

Remarkable! That CBED link to Doty's vita has disappeared since I viewed it yesterday afternoon. It said something like "To learn more about Dean Doty, click here." Maybe he just removed it temporarily, in order to add his crowning achievement--the new Academic Integrity Policy. I wouldn't be surprised if the newly expanded vita resurfaces as a pop-up ad.

AE

Date: Jun 8, 2004

I'm a little confused here. First we tear people down for not making vitas public, then we tear people down for making vitas public, then we tear people down for not making vitas public. Maybe our credibility would be better if we were to chose one approach and stick with it. I don't have strong preferences for which way we chose to attack, but I think we need to quit flip-flopping on so many issues.

Date: Jun 8, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: confused
"I'm a little confused here. First we tear people down for not making vitas public, then we tear people down for making vitas public, then we tear people down for not making vitas public. Maybe our credibility would be better if we were to chose one approach and stick with it. I don't have strong preferences for which way we chose to attack, but I think we need to quit flip-flopping on so many issues."

I did not understand the issue to be whether a vita was public, rather (a) the substance of the vita, and (b) the apparently resultant disappearance of the vita when its quality came under question.

Date: Jun 8, 2004

ramI, you are exactly right in your summation. Reading "confused" I believe he/she to be a supporter of Doty. S/he has defended him in other postings.

Date: Jun 8, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
" elliott, I was surprised to find that what look like links off Dean Doty's page don't work--except for the one that leads to his vita. Pretty amateurish, I would have to say. Robert Campbell"

The CBED website makes the following claim:

Developing Careers...

...is our mission. Learn more.

The problem is you can't learn more because few links are connected. Of the few that are connected there are obvious errors. For example, the School of Accountancy and Information Systems description refers to the School of Public Accountancy and completely ignores Information Systems. If a student produced such poor quality work, I think s/he would be well on his/her way to probation.

Don't Dean Doty and the chairs care enough to check publications, including the CBED website, to make sure they are not an embarrassment to CBED, its faculty and students (past and present)?

Date: Jun 8, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by: Can this be
" Don't Dean Doty and the chairs care enough to check publications, including the CBED website, to make sure they are not an embarrassment to CBED, its faculty and students (past and present)? "

I seem to remember that several months ago a message went out from Public Relations that all USM correspondence (including websites) was to be scrutinized by Mader & Co. to assure the very quality that seems now to be lacking. Of course, it was a crackbrain idea in the first place, but one wonders if the rules have changed, or if the folks in CBED just didn't get the memo. Boy, will they be in big trouble if Lisa finds out.

Date: Jun 8, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: ram
" I seem to remember that several months ago a message went out from Public Relations that all USM correspondence (including websites) was to be scrutinized by Mader & Co. to assure the very quality that seems now to be lacking. (snipped)"

That's been USM policy for as far back as when I first worked there (1995). I remember getting a nasty note from PR when Bud Kirkpatrick was in charge telling us in the Honors College that one of our brochures, I believe, hadn't gone through the proper "channels" in order to be considered "certified" for public consumption. Can't blame this one entirely on the Mader Machine.

Date: Jun 8, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: ram
" I seem to remember that several months ago a message went out from Public Relations that all USM correspondence (including websites) was to be scrutinized by Mader & Co. to assure the very quality that seems now to be lacking. Of course, it was a crackbrain idea in the first place, but one wonders if the rules have changed, or if the folks in CBED just didn't get the memo. Boy, will they be in big trouble if Lisa finds out."

More like a couple of years - a year and a half, to be exact.

I am taking comps at the end of this week (God help me), but I will check on this Web site on Monday. I know that the CBED depends on its PR person to handle its stories and Web site development, so Dr. Doty doesn't have a whole bunch to do with that. One person can't do it all. And I know the PR person had to deal with other issues when she first got there, so she must just now be getting to the Web site, hence the changes you are seeing.

I'll talk to the PR person to see when they will be sending me the hard copies of the updated Web site. We usually take an entire site down until all is completed so that there are no dead links or misspellings and so on. Jenny and I will talk about it and decide next week.

Sorry to burst yet another bubble, but it's not "Mader & Co." (Eek! An ampersand!) It's just me and Jenny - again - you need to criticize. We read and approved all Web sites in the last year and a half, but when changes are made to them, we have to do a lot of Web viewing to see when there are problems because not everyone wants things to be proofed. (I still can't figure this out. Shouldn't everyone want his or her documents to be as perfect as possible? Dunno.) Usually I just send an e-mail to get things fixed and poof, they are. But with comps, and my surgery before that, I've been slackin'.

Sorry some think that it's a dumb idea to proofread Web sites and other things. It goes to show that not everyone embraces those of us with a liberal arts education (at Southern Miss, to boot). I think it's a dumb idea NOT to proof them. Some of the stuff that crossed my desk made me scared to say where I worked. Luckily, it's much better now, all because of this "crackbrain" idea.

Image is everything, and if students go to a Web site or receive a brochure that has misspellings or just plain looks crappy, what does that say about the university? Not that we are world-class, that's for sure. That's just the way I see it.

Sincerely,

Angie Cutrer (no longer proofreader and probably misspelling words here, but still half of the duo responsible for Web site content, so e-mail us personally if you find problems anywhere - we'll get right to it)

Date: Jun 8, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: not.home.sick.anymore
" More like a couple of years - a year and a half, to be exact. I am taking comps at the end of this week (God help me), but I will check on this Web site on Monday. I know that the CBED depends on its PR person to handle its stories and Web site development, so Dr. Doty doesn't have a whole bunch to do with that. One person can't do it all. And I know the PR person had to deal with other issues when she first got there, so she must just now be getting to the Web site, hence the changes you are seeing. I'll talk to the PR person to see when they will be sending me the hard copies of the updated Web site. We usually take an entire site down until all is completed so that there are no dead links or misspellings and so on. Jenny and I will talk about it and decide next week. Sorry to burst yet another bubble, but it's not "Mader & Co." (Eek! An ampersand!) It's just me and Jenny - again - you need to criticize. We read and approved all Web sites in the last year and a half, but when changes are made to them, we have to do a lot of Web viewing to see when there are problems because not everyone wants things to be proofed. (I still can't figure this out. Shouldn't everyone want his or her documents to be as perfect as possible? Dunno.) Usually I just send an e-mail to get things fixed and poof, they are. But with comps, and my surgery before that, I've been slackin'. Sorry some think that it's a dumb idea to proofread Web sites and other things. It goes to show that not everyone embraces those of us with a liberal arts education (at Southern Miss, to boot). I think it's a dumb idea NOT to proof them. Some of the stuff that crossed my desk made me scared to say where I worked. Luckily, it's much better now, all because of this "crackbrain" idea. Image is everything, and if students go to a Web site or receive a brochure that has misspellings or just plain looks crappy, what does that say about the university? Not that we are world-class, that's for sure. That's just the way I see it. Sincerely, Angie Cutrer (no longer proofreader and probably misspelling words here, but still half of the duo responsible for Web site content, so e-mail us personally if you find problems anywhere - we'll get right to it) "

I still find it utterly amazing that 2 people are responsible for the entire web presence of USM. Kudos to you both for even attempting such a feat. SFT should be ashamed of this, and should put more people on it ASAP.

Date: Jun 9, 2004

From Angie C:"I am taking comps at the end of this week (God help me), but I will check on this Web site on Monday. I know that the CBED depends on its PR person to handle its stories and Web site development, so Dr. Doty doesn't have a whole bunch to do with that. One person can't do it all. And I know the PR person had to deal with other issues when she first got there, so she must just now be getting to the Web site, hence the changes you are seeing."

I agree. Further, I wouldn't be surprised to see things continue to appear, disappear, and reappear in better form over the summer. My guess is the college is getting in gear for the fall just like the rest of us. The PR person in CBED is great...a pro! I believe this person only started updating the CBED website last week and there have been multiple changes every day - not just the ones pointed out here. Perhaps there should have been a big "under construction" disclaimer or it should have been shut down until completed. Good luck on your comps!

Date: Jun 9, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: truth4usm/AH
"I still find it utterly amazing that 2 people are responsible for the entire web presence of USM. "

That is the crackbrain part of the idea. Surely not just two, though. I understand that the library alone has roughly 3000 web pages.

Date: Jun 9, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: ram
" That is the crackbrain part of the idea. Surely not just two, though. I understand that the library alone has roughly 3000 web pages. "

No, no, no, no! The library pages are sacred and wonderful ... Ok, Ok... and also too large for us to proof! We didn't go there at all.

And thanks Eve about the comps. This is hell week for me.

Date: Jun 9, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: not.home.sick.anymore
"Image is everything, and if students go to a Web site or receive a brochure that has misspellings or just plain looks crappy, what does that say about the university? Not that we are world-class, that's for sure. That's just the way I see it. Sincerely, Angie Cutrer (no longer proofreader and probably misspelling words here, but still half of the duo responsible for Web site content, so e-mail us personally if you find problems anywhere - we'll get right to it) "

I don't think the proofreaders are responsible for testing the CBED website and making sure all links are active. I don't think the proofreaders are responsible for the underlying content. After a year at the helm, the website looks worse than amateurish. It looks inept. The buck stops at the Dean's door. If Dean Doty doesn't care enough to check things like the webpage to insure make sure that it is at least technically competent, what does that say about CBED and him? I fear it says nothing good.

I think the excuse that one person can only do so much would not convert a failure to acceptable performance. Teachers insist that students take personal responsibility. Can we ask less of Dean Doty?

Date: Jun 9, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Lost cause
" I don't think the proofreaders are responsible for testing the CBED website and making sure all links are active. I don't think the proofreaders are responsible for the underlying content. After a year at the helm, the website looks worse than amateurish. It looks inept. The buck stops at the Dean's door. If Dean Doty doesn't care enough to check things like the webpage to insure make sure that it is at least technically competent, what does that say about CBED and him? I fear it says nothing good. I think the excuse that one person can only do so much would not convert a failure to acceptable performance. Teachers insist that students take personal responsibility. Can we ask less of Dean Doty? "

No, we aren't responsible to testing the site and so on, just making sure once it's done that it's up to specs. That's all. I have only met Dr. Doty once, so I can't say anything to his competency, just that we ensure the final project is correct. I just wanted to explain the process.

Date: Jun 9, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: not.home.sick.anymore
"No, we aren't responsible to testing the site and so on, just making sure once it's done that it's up to specs. That's all. I have only met Dr. Doty once, so I can't say anything to his competency, just that we ensure the final project is correct. I just wanted to explain the process."

Thanks for letting us know how the process works. However, it appears that the one thing Dr. Doty made sure got on the website, almost as soon as he arrived was his picture and, until people on ths website started taking a look, his vita.