How does it work? - USM Forum -- Message Board

donedoneit · Status: Offline

How does it work?

Bookie · Status: Offline

As far as I have ever heard, the IHL board has final approval over ANY hire by state universities. Much of that is "rubber stamped" it seems, but they do seem to have that power.

info · Status: Offline

Board of Trustees
Institutions of Higher Learning
State of Mississippi
POLICIES AND BYLAWS

SECTION 400 - FACULTY AND STAFF

401 TENURED AND NON-TENURED EMPLOYEES OF INSTITUTIONS OF
HIGHER LEARNING IN MISSISSIPPI

401.01 AUTHORIZATION FOR EMPLOYMENT
By statute, the Board has the power and authority to
contract with all deans, professors, and other members of
the teaching staff and all administrative employees of
said institutions for a term not exceeding four years.
Although the law does not empower the Board to contract
for indefinite periods, its bylaws provide that "It shall
be the policy of the Board to elect all officials for a
definite tenure of service and to re-elect during the
period of satisfactory service." The Board also empowers
the executive heads of the institutions to "adopt
policies of continuing employment for the purpose of
making nominations for the teaching positions." All
amendments, revisions, additions and reductions to
employee contracts are subject to approval by the Board.

(BT Minutes, 3/91; 2/98)

401.0101 STATUTE APPLICABLE
The Board shall have the power and authority to elect
heads of the various institutions of higher learning and
to contract with all deans, professors, and other members
of the teaching staff and all administrative employees of
said institutions for a term of not exceeding four years.
The Board shall have the power and authority to terminate
any such contract at any time for malfeasance,
inefficiency, or contumacious conduct, but never for
political reasons. It shall be the policy of the Board
to permit the executive head of each institution to
nominate for election by the Board all subordinate
employees of the institution over which he presides. It
shall be the policy of the Board to elect all officials
for a definite tenure of service and to reelect during
the period of satisfactory service. The Board shall have
the power to make any adjustments it thinks necessary
between the various departments and schools of any
institution or between the different institutions.

Miss. Code Ann., Section 37-101-15(F), as amended.
(See Section 201.0605 and Section 301.04, D.)
(BT Minutes, 3/91; 2/98)

401.0102 DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY
Acting under appropriate statutory authority, the Board
of Trustees hereby empowers the Commissioner and the
Institutional Executive Officers of the several
institutions to make all appointments and promotions of
faculty and staff except as otherwise noted below:

a. Board approval shall be required for creation,
appointment, elimination, or significant
modification of the position of Vice Chancellor,
Provost, Vice President, Dean, or
Associate/Assistant Provost, Vice President or Vice
Chancellor who supervises Deans. Board approval
shall also be required for the appointment of any
employee making a salary of $75,000 or more.

b. Board approval shall be required for the award of
tenure, the final, involuntary separation of an
employee to be effective during the term of an
employment contract, and where applicable creation,
elimination, or modification of categories of
appointments as approved by the Board.

c. Acceptance of the resignation of an employee with a
written contract on behalf of the Board may be made
by the Commissioner for the System Office and the
Institutional Executive Officers of the several
institutions.

d. In accordance with Miss. Code. Ann., § 37-101-7, as
amended, the Board delegates to the Commissioner
the authority to approve the quarterly reports of
employment from the several institutions.

(BT Minutes, 3/91; 7/98; 6/2005, 8/2005)

LVN · Status: Offline

So, did the Board know in advance that the nine deans were being fired? And did they know in advance of the attempt to fire G & S? Perhaps I'm reading this incorrectly or not remembering something we've discussed before, but I don't see how these sections give Dr. Thames the authority to do what he did, at least not without Board approval.

info · Status: Offline

LVN wrote:

And did they know in advance of the attempt to fire G & S?

HA, 3/11/04

Shelby Thames' Hattiesburg American interview

...Q: Was the College Board fully briefed on this?
A: I had a discussion with each member of the College Board and with Dr. David Potter (Institutes of Higher Learning commissioner) before taking this action, simply to say this is what will be done and so forth, we have evidence and didn’t go into any detail, just as I can’t go into any detail about it now....

info · Status: Offline

LVN wrote:

So, did the Board know in advance that the nine deans were being fired?

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF
STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING
January 16, 2003

EXECUTIVE SESSION

On motion by Ms. Newton, seconded by Mr. Crawford, and unanimously passed by those present, the Board voted
to close the meeting to determine whether or not it should declare an Executive Session. On motion by Mr. Nicholson,
seconded by Mr. Colbert, and unanimously passed by those present, the Board voted to go into Executive Session
for the reason later reported by the President in Open Session and stated in these minutes, as follows:

Discussion of system personnel matters.
Discussion of personnel matters at The University of Southern Mississippi.

On motion by Mr. Crawford, seconded by Ms. Whitten, and unanimously passed by those present, the Board
voted to return to Open Session.

The Board discussed the presidential evaluations that were held in December 2002. On motion by Mr.
Crawford, seconded by Ms. Whitten, and unanimously passed by those present, the Board approved the
Institutional Executive Officer four-year contracts for the period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2007 for Dr.
Clinton Bristow, President of Alcorn State University; Dr. Ronald Mason, President of Jackson State
University; and Dr. Robert Khayat, Chancellor of The University of Mississippi.

On motion by Mr. Nicholson, seconded by Mr. Griffis, and unanimously passed by those present, the Board authorized The University of Southern Mississippi to take the actions necessary to achieve a reorganization and reallocation of funds.

Interested onlooker · Status: Offline

Thanks, info. I'd never seen this before. Do you think the board knew the "how" of this in advance? Must have, because Nicholson was present at the firing and Garrett was there later in the day. It's a reminder of how little that particular board (Potter included) really understood about higher education.

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF
STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING
January 16, 2003

EXECUTIVE SESSION

On motion by Ms. Newton, seconded by Mr. Crawford, and unanimously passed by those present, the Board voted
to close the meeting to determine whether or not it should declare an Executive Session. On motion by Mr. Nicholson,
seconded by Mr. Colbert, and unanimously passed by those present, the Board voted to go into Executive Session
for the reason later reported by the President in Open Session and stated in these minutes, as follows:

Discussion of system personnel matters.
Discussion of personnel matters at The University of Southern Mississippi.

On motion by Mr. Crawford, seconded by Ms. Whitten, and unanimously passed by those present, the Board
voted to return to Open Session.

The Board discussed the presidential evaluations that were held in December 2002. On motion by Mr.
Crawford, seconded by Ms. Whitten, and unanimously passed by those present, the Board approved the
Institutional Executive Officer four-year contracts for the period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2007 for Dr.
Clinton Bristow, President of Alcorn State University; Dr. Ronald Mason, President of Jackson State
University; and Dr. Robert Khayat, Chancellor of The University of Mississippi.

On motion by Mr. Nicholson, seconded by Mr. Griffis, and unanimously passed by those present, the Board authorized The University of Southern Mississippi to take the actions necessary to achieve a reorganization and reallocation of funds.