OK, so you feel the mission should be to move down a notch or two.  Any other thoughts?

I am surprised to learn that the real mission of USM is “to cultivate intellectual development and creativity through the generation, dissemination, application, and preservation of knowledge.” All of my casual empiricism led me to believe that the mission was to enrich SFT and his family at the expense of the taxpayers and students-parents. If one were to model the decision making at USM over the past few years, it would closely resemble that of a Mafia family.

Eagle wrote:

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Our primary mission is to cultivate intellectual development and creativity through the generation, dissemination, application, and preservation of knowledge. OK, how do we do this in a Post-SFT world?

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How do we do this??  Who is "we"?  I am under no illusion that faculty, staff, or students will "do" anything when it comes to the mission of this university.

The mission will be decided for us.

Count 

Here is my idea of a mission and it is something each of us can do regardless of Shelby or other limitations.  The mission should be to open the world to the students.  That is it, that is all, that simple, that complex.

I get that from my own experience as a student.  I grew up in Hattiesburg and USM has been a part of my life almost as long as I can remember.  Until I became a student I didn't really understand what it was.  I knew it was a place to go to school but I thought school there would be just like school at Grace Christian, Woodley, Camp, Davis, Thames, or any other in town.  I was very wrong.

One of my great opportunities was the Honors College; it opened the world even more.  It let me see different ideas in different perspectives, ideas that had been discussed since the dawn of time and questions I thought only I had.  Other classes opened up the physical world in ways that baffled and intrigued me, but always kept me wanting more.  My stay at USM also gave me a chance to meet and work with people I would never have known.  There were some I had known since Kindergarten, but there were others I met that have remained my close friends over time and distance.

Decades later the world is still opening up for me, there is not a day that goes by I do not use my education from USM.  It may be a nuance of understanding gleaned from one of the great works of literature or a physical principle, but it is always there.

I am a proud alumni of USM.  Though I have earned degrees from two other Universities I always mention USM first and I always give USM credit for my educational foundation.  I take the football slogan seriously - Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime - because that is what USM means.   One thing about being a USM graduate there is not the name recognition associated with Harvard or Michigan or others so we have to prove ourselves every time.  We have proven ourselves over and over again whether it is outer space, Iraq, academics, industry, or the store down the street.

The students today deserve what I got, they deserve to have their world opened as wide as it can be.  It is our (Alumni, Faculty, Staff, Students, and Administrators) responsibility to see this happens.   The problems of the last few years are just a bump in the road.

 

Thanks for asking.

I continued to contribute to specific scholarships, I contributed to the Glamser-Stringer fund, I voiced my opposition of the Administration in several forums both public and private, and I let people know that what was being done to our University was wrong.

I welcome any suggestions you have.

 

Curmudgeon wrote:

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Eagle wrote: Thanks for asking. I continued to contribute to specific scholarships, I contributed to the Glamser-Stringer fund, I voiced my opposition of the Administration in several forums both public and private, and I let people know that what was being done to our University was wrong. I welcome any suggestions you have.   Thank you. The university needs more alumni like you over the next few years if we are to ever recover.

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Eagle and others,

If you think the previous three years were difficult, observe the things that occur during these last 332 days. I beg alumni to become active in voicing your opposition to the bloodletting that is occurring now and will surely get worse in the coming last days. Trust me, or rather don't trust me, ask what departments are under attack as we speak. If you don't help us survive these coming days, only ash will remain, and grass will never grow on the grounds of USM again. Listen to what I say; it is happening as I speak.

Little old lady wrote:

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Darker days, dearie Can you give any specifics?

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Let me begin with Nursing, History, English, and more recently Psychology; followed by the graduate assistant issue that will surely have adverse impact on many departments. This does not even include personnel decisions.