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The President's Council met this past Wednesday and discussed several issues brought up at our last meeting, including classroom conditions.

[What a drag this is becoming]

It was reported that four vendors have, to date, presented their inventory to faculty, staff and students for consideration. Dr. Cynthia Moore is compiling the comments made by those who tested the equipment to determine which vendor's equipment was most popular. Rusty Postelwate [my new favorite boy], director of the Physical Plant, attended the meeting and addressed issues such as heating, air conditioning, and campus debris. At the beginning of the fall semester, he will visit with faculty in each college to better understand their particular needs and concerns.

Dr. Mitch Berman [I like this kid] reported on the first two meetings of the drug and alcohol committee. I appreciate the work of this group and look forward to receiving their final recommendations. [We should have a campus kegger to celebrate their work on this one] 

Russ Willis [we've got to get this cat back off campus] made a presentation regarding the turnover of faculty and staff for the years 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004. To review this information, please click here. Council members responded by asking for information dating back as many as 10 years. Russ will determine if data is available for that period and noted that data for this long of a period may not be available given the computer system changeover in 1999. He will give another report at our next meeting [Not so fast Russ, I've got other "projects" for you].

Parking was an issue also discussed. Rusty Postlewate [my new favorite boy] will consider comments made and questions asked, and he will provide the information requested at our next meeting.

Dr. Joan Exline has met with several of the presidents of our surrounding community and junior colleges and has had productive meetings. She is also busy at work to make certain that we meet the objectives of the SACS accreditation process. She provided the council with a timeline for required actions and dispelled any notion that we were behind in this process. Dr. Exline will continue to work with [direct] faculty, staff and students to gather input on various issues of the accreditation plan and implementation procedures.

Dr. Cecil Burge [I really miss that lady so much] happily reported to the Cabinet that The University of Southern Mississippi has once again had an increase in external funding. As a result, we have experienced increases in funding levels for six consecutive years - very impressive! Thank you, faculty, for your fine work and your commitment to Southern Miss. This year our faculty submitted 75 more proposals than last year, and as a result 59 more projects were funded this year than last. Program/research dollars secured from outside the university and/or state helps everyone [polymer scientists] at Southern Miss. For instance, indirect funds generated by research monies are used for faculty startup packages, cash matches, faculty and student travel, equipment purchases, maintenance, [Persian rugs] compliance activities and other teaching and research needs. I extend my congratulations and thanks to our faculty and staff for their good work.