HA, 2/3/06

Committee yet to determine impact of USM outsourcing

A committee assembled to gauge the effects of outsourcing the University of Southern Mississippi's physical plant operation has yet to meet - and some say the stalled process is affecting worker morale.

But Gregg Lassen, Southern Miss' chief financial officer, said the group has not met because the university has yet to receive vendors' proposals.

"This is a group of people with broad representation of the university who will evaluate outsourcing proposals to make sure we understand how this could affect our employees," Lassen said,...

...Mathematics professor Myron Henry, who is president-elect of the Faculty Senate and a member of the committee evaluating plans for the physical plant's future, said it was his understanding that the group would examine the pros and cons of outsourcing in general - not criticize and choose among proposals.

"I had hoped we were going to discuss the prospects of outsourcing, and whether we should even consider making requests for proposals," Henry said. "This seems like it's moved to a second stage. Why hasn't the committee met to look for information and data that suggests we should go to that second stage at all?"

Henry said he has received no response to e-mails asking who was on the committee and when it would meet, which he sent to Lassen and Russ Willis, the director of Southern Miss human resources who will chair the committee....


HA, 6/2/06

Physical plant outsourcing to go before board


...After a months-long bidding process, an 11-person committee appointed to supervise the outsourcing initiative voted 6-5 last month to recommend to President Shelby Thames that Aramark take over physical plant services, which includes custodial work, groundskeeping and building maintenance.

Thames has approved the deal, and forwarded it to the state College Board, ...

qwerty wrote:

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We can safely mark this day as the effective end of the Thames presidency. Its clear that the IHL, and especially Meredith, isn't going to let SFT makes any significant decisions from now on. SFT wanted this outsourcing contract badly, and he didn't get it. 'bout all he can do now is settle little scores with all the people he's built grudges against. As far as his presidential authority is concerned, he's a "dead man walking."

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I think you are right about SFT, Qwerty.  But I also get the feeling that the IHL was "ordering" this outsourcing idea for all institutions.  It was only at USM that they heard negative feedback because of SFT's past management errors.  They are the source of the "top-down" management and USM has opened their eyes.

qwerty wrote:

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We can safely mark this day as the effective end of the Thames presidency.

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Qwerty, while I dearly would like to believe this, SFT has proven to be as recurrent as the Hydra in Greek mythology.  No sooner is one head lopped off, then another reappears.  I'm afraid we still haven't seen the last "next stupid thing" from the Dome.