Prediction - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: May 20, 2006

Prediction

Date: May 21, 2006

Left:

It is alums like you that will help the COB move forward. To provide assistance: contact those professors you know, send your thoughts about the good things the college provided, what was not there that you would have found valuable, offer to do a video conference with a class, ask for data about the curriculum changes that have occurred in the last year or so (our accreditation requires that we assess outcomes and make appropriate changes). The Web site can provide email and phone information.

Don't be discouraged if your messages are not immediately returned, remember that the COB building is undergoing HVAC repair, and most are not in their offices for the next few weeks.

There are a number of other ways you can be a factor in improvement, just get in contact and start a dialogue.

Date: May 21, 2006

Unless you have enough money to affect a change in the administrative structure of the COB, there is little you can do to make things better.

The COB is losing its young scholars at an alarming rate because the political power structure withing the COB will not allow advancement or reward based solely on merit. To get decent raises or to achieve promotion and tenure, young researchers must sell out their principles to the old guard, none of whom have respected national reputations in their respective fields. Doty, though he talks a good game about research, continues to reward those who are loyal (but unproductive in research) over those dissenters who are productive in research.

Without quality young researchers, the COB will be relegated to simply a teaching school, and there are no pure teaching schools among the top two tiers in Business Week's rankings or in USN&WR's rankings.

USM COB alumni should take a hard look at the future of their business school and how that future has been damaged by the current college administration. Quality teaching has been replaced by technology-driven sideshows. Quality of research is being replaced by quantity in lower quality outlets. Service has shifted from serving the institution to serving the dean.

Unfortunately, it seems as if those in the COB will be stuck with the current administration, given Doty's inability to find suitable employment elsewhere. The sub-dean level administrators are members of the old boy network who have precious little potential for getting positions elsewhere, so they must perpetuate the system that rewards loyalty over merit.

Date: May 21, 2006

Josephus - I throughly agree with you on the "quantity vs. quality" comment. It is time that we encouraged those capable of quality scholarly investigations with both time and money resources. This includes some of the "old guard" who haven't been productive recently because there was no reward.

Most (not all) of those in sub-level administration wouldn't know quality if it bit them. They got where they are by x-number of any kind of publications (note - not necessary "research"). The problem is not all with Doty, but he is culpable in that he allows his underlings to continue doing a really bad job of nurturing and rewarding their faculty.

Date: May 22, 2006

How are things in the COB now?

Date: May 22, 2006

How are things in the COB now?

To put the issue in perspective, for a brief period about 6 years ago, USM's COB had a research record that exceeded State and Ole Miss. Ole Miss has consistently improved with their new hires, (one a former USM faculty member) and they now are doing well and improving. Much of that stems from having a competent administration from the President down through to the dean. State’s COB is standing still. USM is rapidly regressing. Based on their reputation from the past, USM COB has continued to hire some productive young faculty. However, they are leaving faster than they can be replaced and the market level salaries are going up. The USM COB will continue to drift downward in research productivity, especially in the area of quality publications. As often happens when a destructive president comes on the scene, the quality of faculty erode rapidly. I know that it is going on in other departments. Without knowing the exact numbers, I get the impression that PSY is slipping in spite of their efforts to stop the bleeding.

There is a predictable pattern to these downturns in a university because quality researchers can move quickly even in job markets that are tight. In the COB faculty market, salaries are increasing and good young faculty can and do leave as was demonstrated this past year. I hope that I am proven wrong, but I do not see things changing for a long time. The quality of administrators from the President on down to department chairs is much worse that any time since I came to USM. They have less experience and are of lesser character than those of previous administrations.

Date: May 22, 2006

Cossack wrote:

Without knowing the exact numbers, I get the impression that PSY is slipping in spite of their efforts to stop the bleeding.

USM Psychology is probably the strongest it's ever been--and it's definitely better than Ole Miss (sorry guys). However, we could easily be better, and we worked hard to position ourselves to go to the next level. We lost a few good folks to poachers and retirements, but have also hired and retained a whole bunch of excellent folks. The problem for us is that the rug has been pulled out from under us by the GA skim, pulling of hires, and so on--making it very difficult to move our department forward (we wanted to get better, not tread water). But times are hard around USM, and many of us are in the same boat. We're not bleeding, but we are black and blue from the beating.

Date: May 22, 2006

good point mitch

Date: May 22, 2006

It's long been an unwritten rule on this board that we don't try to "out" one another even when we think we know who someone is. It isn't sporting.

Date: May 22, 2006

lvn--i agree but mitch admitted that he had been using multiple noms for a while. a few weeks ago he said he was going to cloak. but he tries to "out" people interpersonally on campus. if it's not mitch, so be it.

Date: May 22, 2006

and a multiple "nom'd" person has no fear. is it me or stagger lee?

Date: May 24, 2006

it's the junk yard dog dressed as stagger lee.