check out this vita - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Apr 24, 2006

check out this vita

Date: Apr 25, 2006

Holy crap! Talk about few publications. No academic achievements needed here apparently. How in the world was she promoted to associate professor, much less full? I've been alerted to a somewhat similar promotion record and hefty raises for another faculty member with little academic achievement in a CoAL department. For some favored few Raises R Us.

Date: Apr 25, 2006

She also has bad Latin. It's "vita," friends, not "vitae," which is a genitive. "Curriculum vitae" but "vita." O tempora, o mores!

Date: Apr 25, 2006

I'm more concerned about how little teaching she's done, yet she is in charge of teaching the teachers! It's clear that she would not be a chair anywhere else.

Date: Apr 25, 2006

Interesting to note that none of D.T.'s articles are single authored. In some colleges (at least in the past), one would have to have at least some single authored articles to get promoted and tenured. Note, I have no problem with mutli-authored research but am pointing out that it is unusual not to see a full professor have at least one single authored pub. Where are the the books that are usually expected of a full professor?
I guess her big grant has served her well.

Date: Apr 25, 2006

How about being an assistant professor for 2 years (SLU 1986-88) and then DEAN in 1988-89. Wow. You gotta really be good to move from Assistant Profesor to Dean!

Date: Apr 25, 2006

Huh? wrote:

How about being an assistant professor for 2 years (SLU 1986-88) and then DEAN in 1988-89. Wow. You gotta really be good to move from Assistant Profesor to Dean!

"Dean" of the "Early Childhood Program"? Sounds like a sub department function or was the ECP the SLU daycare?

Sounds like another case of resume liberty.

Dana G Thames · Date: Apr 25, 2006

this one didn't make the resume

Date: Apr 25, 2006

RE: check out this vita

Date: Apr 25, 2006

asdf wrote:

Looking at the other profs, it appears that the standard form that they used only wanted publications for the past several years.

That is true, but I went through ERIC to see what else she might have out there and it's still pretty thin...somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 which includes the non-refereed stuff that is included in the liberal ERIC database.

Date: Apr 25, 2006

New Wurl Orderer wrote:

My adventure with Seymour at the University of Southern Mississippi (Unknown Binding) by Dana G Thames (Author) A tantalizing title indeed, made all the more intriguing by the concept of binding. Wonder who was bound, Dana or Seymour?

This may be the wittiest thing I've read on this board. The layers to this are too juicy. Beautifully captured, NWO

Respectfully,

Count

Date: Apr 26, 2006

New Wurl Orderer wrote:

My adventure with Seymour at the University of Southern Mississippi (Unknown Binding) by Dana G Thames (Author)
A tantalizing title indeed, made all the more intriguing by the concept of binding. Wonder who was bound, Dana or Seymour?

Okay, guys. I thought it was a put-on, but when I go directly to Amazon, it comes up. What on earth is this? And why is the IHL putting it out?

I'm astounded. I'm amused. I'm horrified. If anyone knows anything, please come forward.

Date: Apr 26, 2006

First let me say that I am not a Dana fan or friend. But I did go out to Amazon and check it out. Since it is only 12 pages long, possibly it is a children's book which would make the title not so horrifying. Just a possiblity.

Far Away Alum wrote:

New Wurl Orderer wrote:

My adventure with Seymour at the University of Southern Mississippi (Unknown Binding) by Dana G Thames (Author)
A tantalizing title indeed, made all the more intriguing by the concept of binding. Wonder who was bound, Dana or Seymour?

Okay, guys. I thought it was a put-on, but when I go directly to Amazon, it comes up. What on earth is this? And why is the IHL putting it out?

I'm astounded. I'm amused. I'm horrified. If anyone knows anything, please come forward.

Date: Apr 26, 2006

Sounds reasonable, what if.

But why did the IHL publich it.

Date: Apr 26, 2006

Sorry, "publish."

Date: Apr 26, 2006

FAA wrote:

Sorry, "publish."

Who knows why the IHL does anything?

Date: Apr 26, 2006

FFA states,

But why did the IHL publish it.

I think it was because it reads at a level that all of the IHL Board members could understand. It may even have pictures which would be an added benefit.

Date: Apr 26, 2006

FAA wrote:

Sounds reasonable, what if.

But why did the IHL publich it.

The Seymour book is a children's book aimed at intorducing children to USM. It is/was available at the B&N store in the Hub.

Date: Apr 26, 2006

My most meaningful introduction to USM was when I first read Exit 13.

Date: Apr 27, 2006

too little and too late wrote:

My most meaningful introduction to USM was when I first read Exit 13.

Just wait - Monte Piliawsky has kept conversant with "recent events" in Hattiesburg, and I understand that he's been busy writing a sequel ("Exit 65").

Date: Apr 27, 2006

I sent out as many articles this year as she's published in her entire career. Where is my $13,000 raise?

Date: Apr 27, 2006

To say that she brought in "grant" money of that amount is absurd. It's pork barrel. Everyone knows that.

I find it interesting that she presented papers of the exact same name at different conferences. In fact, all those presentations look like poorly refurbished research that she helped "conduct" back in the early 90's.

Date: Apr 27, 2006

Whatever . . . .

Kazelskis, C., Thames, D., & Kazelskis, R. (2003, April). Effects of scientifically-based, sequential, systematic direct instruction on reading comprehension. Paper submitted for presentation at the 2003 American Educational Research Association Meeting, San Diego, California.

Kazelskis, C., Thames, D., & Kazelskis, R. (2003, April). Effects of scientifically-based, sequential, systematic direct instruction on reading comprehension. Paper presented at the 2003 American Educational Research Association Meeting, Chicago, Illinois.

Date: Apr 27, 2006

LitterISee wrote:

To say that she brought in "grant" money of that amount is absurd. It's pork barrel. Everyone knows that.
I find it interesting that she presented papers of the exact same name at different conferences. In fact, all those presentations look like poorly refurbished research that she helped "conduct" back in the early 90's.

There's nothing wrong with presenting the same paper at different conferences. In many disciplines, this is one way research is improved -- through an iterative presentation process prior to journal submission.

Date: Apr 27, 2006

Sure Sniper - I didn't realize that the AERA held two different conferences at the same time in different cities.

Date: Apr 27, 2006

LitterISee wrote:

Whatever . . . .

Kazelskis, C., Thames, D., & Kazelskis, R. (2003, April). Effects of scientifically-based, sequential, systematic direct instruction on reading comprehension. Paper submitted for presentation at the 2003 American Educational Research Association Meeting, San Diego, California.
Kazelskis, C., Thames, D., & Kazelskis, R. (2003, April). Effects of scientifically-based, sequential, systematic direct instruction on reading comprehension. Paper presented at the 2003 American Educational Research Association Meeting, Chicago, Illinois.

Date: Apr 27, 2006

Outside looking in wrote:

I'm more concerned about how little teaching she's done, yet she is in charge of teaching the teachers! It's clear that she would not be a chair anywhere else.

Has anyone heard about the phantom class that she supposedly taught last fall on the Coast? She was supposedly going down there twice a week to teach the CIS 313 Classroom Management in the Secondary Schools, but there were only a couple of students on her roster and she never appeared, but apparently received acknowledgement that she taught a class that she had no qualifications to teach. Her teaching experience is quite limited - some private school in Hammond LA where it looks like she attempted a semester or two as an early childhood teacher and then some type of Dean of students. What a joke.

Date: Apr 28, 2006

My wife had a "class" with her in 2002. Only problem was she only showed up twice
(the first day and a week before the final), and had a graduate assistant teach the entire time. The graduate assistant essentially read from overheads "prepared" by Dr. Thames, but was unable to elaborate on or explain anything they said.

So the braver students got together and planned to confront Dr. Thames in her office to ask the questions that no one could answer. First, they scheduled a meeting a week in advance, only to be called 20 minutes before by a secretary and told that DT was suddenly "out of town" and unable to meet with them. This happened twice. Finally, they just decided to "storm the office" and wait up there until she appeared.

They waited 15 minutes after being told DT was off campus. Then, DT walks out of her office, sees the students, and turns around and goes back inside and shuts the door. The secretaries, with faces turning the color of ripe tomatoes, make up some other excuse about why she is too busy to meet with them.

Hands down, worst experience for my wife at USM. So yeah, I'd say "phantom class" is pretty appropriate.

Date: Apr 28, 2006

Associate Professor

CISE

The University of Southern Mississippi

1990-1998

The above is not true. She was promoted to Associate Professor in either 1995 or 1996 (I was on the committee). I think Fall 1996 was her first year as Assoc. Professor. Why would she allow false information to be posted? Everything about this vita is sloppy and rife with mistruths.

Date: Apr 28, 2006

Alerted and amazed wrote:

Associate Professor CISE The University of Southern Mississippi 1990-1998 The above is not true. She was promoted to Associate Professor in either 1995 or 1996 (I was on the committee). I think Fall 1996 was her first year as Assoc. Professor. Why would she allow false information to be posted? Everything about this vita is sloppy and rife with mistruths.

Dana has been overwhelmed and unprepared to do the tasks required of her position for years. The central administration was alerted about this quite awhile ago, to no avail. As a father, I would not have allowed my daughter to be in this position--it was not in her interest or her department's interest. I wish SFT felt the same way. She should have stepped down years ago and been allowed to tackle tasks that would have let her prosper. Unfortunately, the bull headedness gene that DT and SFT share hurt CISE as well. Sad.