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USM Forum -- Message Board -> AAUP-USM MESSAGE BOARD -> Faculty body count from SFT's mismanagement
Post Info TOPIC: Faculty body count from SFT's mismanagement
First Ant at the Picnic

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RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Faculty body count from SFT's mismanagement
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quote:
Originally posted by: ram
"The appointment of Cecil Burge and the reinstatement of Russ Willis are encouraging."
Yes, ram, perhaps Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again. These two appointments are a good start!

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Invictus

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RE: RE: RE: Faculty body count from SFT's mismanag
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quote:
Originally posted by: Pretzel Logic
"
USM is going to outlast us all.  What are the options but to leave or keep trying to make it a better place?"


This was a moving post, Pretzel Logic. Your story about the older lady at your church isn't just a specific story -- I guarantee everyone that sort of reaction is happening all over South Mississippi. Even folks I consider to be die-hard State & Ole Miss people are beginning to ask what SFT is trying to do to USM.

You are correct, too, that USM will outlast us all. My fear is that what SFT is doing is going to fundamentally alter USM is bad ways. I'm increasingly seeing his "vision" of USM as an institution midway between an industrial park & an upper-division community college.

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Murphy

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RE: Faculty body count from SFT's mismanagement
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Pretzel Logic reminds us that:


"USM is going to outlast us all. What are the options but to leave or keep trying to make it a better place?"


In this spirit, let's all raise our glasses (of hemlock?) from


http://www.despair.com/pessimistmug.html .


Bottoms Up!!!

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Counting the days

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Interestingly, I think Invictus has captured SFT's "strategic vision" perfectly.  In most businesses, you can choose your strategy from a number of options.  You could choose to be a low-volume, high (per unit) profit company (like Saks 5th Ave.), or perhaps you choose the high volume, low (per unit) profit company (Wal-mart).  We are clearly going the Wal-mart route (Thames-mart?? Shelb-mart??).


Now, we all know how profitable Wal-mart is - basically through it's ability to squeeze suppliers and employees, while being an extreme cost-cutter. It has grown to be the largest retailer in the world in this fashion. 


And remember, Wal-mart lets you return anything, for any reason.  You don't expect high quality, just the ability to find many everyday things, day or night 24/7.  That's SFT vision for faculty and staff - we don't want high quality (research/teaching), we want you to "service" our customers (just like Univ. of Phoenix) 24/7.  Finally, SFT (like Wal-mart) views us all as Walmart-style employees, who are inter-changable and require little concern or loyalty.


Following this model does mean there is an increased likelihood of becoming the largest retailer of university education in MS (maybe the world - world-class remember?) And - an increased likelihood that the degree from such an institution has the same value. So.... I now understand the administration's approach to faculty and staff - I guess I work at Wal-mart now.  I better clock-in, and get to my "20-items or less" register.  Or maybe greeter???


"Welcome to Wal-mart - Here is your sticker for the returns"


Count


 



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Thales

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RE: RE: Faculty body count from SFT's mismanagemen
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The thing to remember is: Shelboo may talk about "loving" USM, wanting the best for it, having devoted his life to developing it, etc. But this is all b*** s***. He does not know what "loving" the insttution would entail. Does reducing its abilility to serve the varied needs of the South Mississippi constituency amount to loving the institution? Does translating it into a technological institution from an aspirant full-fledged university amount to loving it?
Does setting in place programs that he says are designed to make 8 or 10 faculty members millionaires amount to loving it? Does imposing a vision on the univerisity that reduces everything to dollars and sense amount to loving it?

We have to understand that this is all nothing but a fantastic ego trip for Shelby Freeland Thames. He has already, during his lifetime, gotten a building named after himself. All he wants is more of the same kind of "fame." I realize that ambition is a prominent feature in the psychic makeup of most "great" people, but there has to be more than that. And that "more" is absent from the personality of Shelboo. What we have here is an Edi Amin in South Mississippi. He ain't going to be remembered in history as the saviour or even an important servant of USM. He's going to be remembered as a self-indulgent, crass, materialistic bully who, by a bizarre fluke, got ensconsed in a position far above his abilities or vision and who tragically screwed it up beyond redemption.

Noel is absolutely right.






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Googler

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RE: RE: Faculty body count from SFT's mismanagement
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quote:
Originally posted by: Counting the days
"We are clearly going the Wal-mart route (Thames-mart?? Shelb-mart??). Now, we all know how profitable Wal-mart is - basically through it's ability to squeeze suppliers and employees, while being an extreme cost-cutter. It has grown to be the largest retailer in the world in this fashion. "
An essay titled "God and Satan in Bentonville," which appeared in an issue of Playboy last year, described Bentonville, Arkansas as "the epicenter of retail's evil empire." If we go the Wal-Mart route, will Southern Miss become the epicenter of another evil empire???

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Mediatracker

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Interesting article about purported gender discrimination in today's NYTimes.


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/27/business/yourmoney/27walm.html?th


"In the biggest employment discrimination lawsuit ever filed, women are contending that Wal-Mart, the world's biggest company, discriminated against them."


And given the report about the highly qualified female candidate for a department chair position in CBED (who didn't get the position because "she wouldn't fit in") maybe there's another Wal-Mart connection!



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Babbit

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The Corporate University's Principles of Governance:


1) The student consumer is always right.
2) Contract faculty will maintain a cheerful and friendly demeanor at all times.
3) Contract faculty will avoid challenging, threatening, or upsetting student consumers.
4) All courses will be graded on the basis of clear, universally achievable goals. Divisive notions of excellence and quality will play no role in evaluating consumer performance.
5) All products of faculty labor are the property of the corporation.
6) Termination without notice is available for noncompliance or insubordination.
7) All faculty are provided with course syllabi and textbooks without charge. Management is responsible for course content.
8) All faculty possess presumptive redundancy. The need for their services will be reassesssed each term.
9) All faculty must submit an annual report detailing how they can better serve the corporation's mission.
10) Faculty members have full academic freedom to accept these principles or to resign.


from Nelson, Cary & Watt, Steven Academic Keywords: A Devil's Dictionary for Higher Education, New York: Routledge, 1999, 6.



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Malapropism

Date:
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quote:
Originally posted by: Babbit
"The Corporate University's Principles of Governance: 1) The student consumer is always right.2) Contract faculty will maintain a cheerful and friendly demeanor at all times.3) Contract faculty will avoid challenging, threatening, or upsetting student consumers.4) All courses will be graded on the basis of clear, universally achievable goals. Divisive notions of excellence and quality will play no role in evaluating consumer performance.5) All products of faculty labor are the property of the corporation.6) Termination without notice is available for noncompliance or insubordination.7) All faculty are provided with course syllabi and textbooks without charge. Management is responsible for course content.8) All faculty possess presumptive redundancy. The need for their services will be reassesssed each term.9) All faculty must submit an annual report detailing how they can better serve the corporation's mission.10) Faculty members have full academic freedom to accept these principles or to resign. from Nelson, Cary & Watt, Steven Academic Keywords: A Devil's Dictionary for Higher Education, New York: Routledge, 1999, 6."

Babbit, thanks for providing the reference.  Until I saw that, I had just assumed it was written by the Kenbot!



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