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President's Message
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A Message from the President

November 1, 2006

To the Southern Miss Community:

It’s always a pleasure to share good news about our university. Several rankings have come out recently and we wanted to share this information and with you along with other current news of the university.

Southern Miss and Hattiesburg #2 in Nation

The Coldwell Banker College Home Price Comparison Index looked at the home towns of the 119 Division 1-A college football programs to see how much the same type of house costs in each market. Southern Miss and Hattiesburg are ranked #2 in the country after our Conference USA-rival Tulsa. Just another reason why Southern Miss is a great place to go to college!
______________________________________________________________________
Most affordable college football towns
Here's the best bargains for big-time college sports and affordable housing.
School Town Avg. Price
Tulsa Tulsa, OK $148,575
Southern Miss. Hattiesburg, MS $151,225
Ball State Muncie, IN $151,238
TCU Ft. Worth, TX $151,250
Louisiana-Monroe Monroe, LA $153,271
Houston Houston, TX $155,304
Rice Houston, TX $155,304
Texas Tech Lubbock, TX $158,225
Utah State Logan, UT $168,612
Arkansas State Jonesboro, AR $170,575



Read the complete article here: CNN Top 10 Most Affordable

Miliken Institute Ranks Southern Miss 86th in the World

The prestigious Miliken Institute ranks The University of Southern Mississippi #86 in the world for biotech patents, the only Mississippi university to make the top 100. Southern Miss ranked ahead of other national and regional universities including Northwestern, Louisiana State University, the University of Tennessee and Auburn University.

The Miliken release of information stated: “Research and innovation are increasingly shifting away from the corporate lab and back to where they began: the university campus. And as the global economy grows increasingly dependent on the generation and dissemination of knowledge, universities are seen as natural partners for both business and government. The Miliken Institute examines the biotechnology transfer process taking place at universities, from knowledge creation to technology transfer and early-stage commercialization.”

The Miliken Institute is an independent economic think tank with a mission to improve the lives and economic conditions of diverse populations in the United States and around the world by helping business and public policy leaders identify and implement innovative ideas for creating broad-based prosperity.

Southern Miss will continue its drive to foster knowledge creation and technology transfer as we impact the state of Mississippi and the world.

Washington Monthly: Southern Miss ranks in top 100 National Universities

The University of Southern Mississippi ranks high in the college rankings developed by Washington Monthly. In these rankings, which attempt to make a more holistic assessment of an institution's value, Southern Miss ranks 98th out of 245 doctoral institutions. This is the highest ranking of any school in Mississippi.

News from around campus:

* Lambeau Halftime -- The University of Southern MIssissippi's Pride of Mississippi marching band performs a halftime show Sunday, Oct. 8, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., during the Packers' game against the St. Louis Rams. As guests of the Packers, the university's 245-member marching band and Dixie Darlings gave several performances throughout the day at the stadium. Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre, and his wife, Deanna, both attended Southern Miss. The Pride of Mississippi Perform at Lambeau Field
“Awesome” was the buzzword of the day for band members and directors from the University of Southern Mississippi who traveled to Green Bay, Wis., Sunday to perform for fans attending the Green Bay Packers game against the St. Louis Rams.

The 245-member Pride of Mississippi Marching Band, including the renowned Dixie Darlings dance team, was invited by the Green Bay Packers organization to perfrom the game. The band is directed by Mr. Jamie Standland and Dr. Reginald Houze.
Lambeau Performance – The University of Southern Mississippi’s Pride of Mississippi marching band entertains fans Sunday, Oct. 8, during the pre-game show at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., prior to the Packers’ game against the St. Louis Rams. As guests of the Packers, the university’s 245-member Pride of Mississippi marching band and Dixie Darlings gave several performances throughout the day at the stadium. Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre, and his wife Deanna, both attended Southern Miss.
See the pictures online. If you would like a 30-minute CD with video chronicling the day in Green Bay to show at your next alumni function, please contact angela.kilcrease@usm.edu for more information.

We salute the Pride for representing our university so well in Wisconsin as well as before a national TV audience!

* Robert Kennedy Jr. Speaks About Environmental Destiny
A member of the iconic American political family that has produced a president, senators and congressmen, Kennedy spoke at the University Forum at Bennett Auditorium about the work of saving the environment as a non-partisan undertaking that is “not the province of any one political party.” He focused his speech on preserving our quality of life for generations to come. We were proud to welcome such a prestigious speaker to our campus. Read more and see the photos from this event.


* Sir Galway returned to the Southern Miss Stage
Flutist Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, internationally-regarded artists, performed on campus with the University Symphony Orchestra. Sir James Galway has appeared with every major symphony orchestra in the world and we are the only university orchestra in the country with whom he will perform. Please see the pictures and read more here. Bravo!

* Southern Miss Researchers Test Alternative Energy Production
Researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi are assessing the potential of a commercial market for alternative energy products in Mississippi. Dr. David L. Wertz, professor emeritus of chemistry and biochemistry, said the goal of the project is to evaluate a process of converting scrap automobile tires to hybrid fuels. Read more here.

* Worldwide Association Recognizes The University of Southern Mississippi in Support of Katrina Victim Assistance
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, thousands of insurance claims required mediation to reach settlement. William K. Slate II, president and chief executive officer of the American Arbitration Association® (AAA) today awarded the company’s Distinguished Public Service Award to The University of Southern Mississippi for their donation of meeting space for use in the Mississippi Hurricane Katrina Mediation Program over the past eight months. State Insurance Commissioner, George Dale, was on hand during the award presentation to note that more than 2,100 mediations have been resolved for an 83 percent program settlement rate. Read more about this unique award here.

* Cheerleaders in Waiting – Young Southern Miss fans dressed as cheerleaders, wait for the University of Southern Mississippi’s homecoming parade to enter the Hattiesburg, Miss., campus Saturday. Southern Miss won its homecoming game against Conference USA rival Houston, 31-27. Homecoming 2006
Thousands of alumni, students and friends filled the campus and enjoyed a spectacular day of parades, tailgating and a winning effort by our Golden Eagles as we defeated Conference USA foe, Houston, in an exciting game.

Homecoming Parade – Former Southern Miss football standout Clemon Terrell waves to the crowd Saturday during the University of Southern Mississippi’s homecoming parade. Terrell and fellow teammates from the 1981 football team had their own float in the parade. Southern Miss won its homecoming game against Conference USA rival Houston, 31-27.
We honored seven outstanding alumni with induction into the 2006 class of the Alumni Hall of Fame over the weekend.

Read more about these accomplished and dedicated alumni of whom we are so proud. “All Roads Lead To Gold” was the Homecoming theme that came true - Southern Miss To The Top!

See more Homecoming photos here.


Powering Academic Excellence

Each day we are fostering and inspiring personal excellence in the classroom. Quality teaching in the classroom is the heart and soul of our existence and our promise to students and parents alike. It is through this classroom experience that we create knowledge, thus fulfilling our mission.

Southern Miss is a vibrant, acclaimed university steeped in alumni, athletic and academic traditions. I invite you to continue to fuel our successes with donations to scholarships through The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation. Attracting the best and brightest freshman, transfer and graduate students will power our institution to new academic heights.

Thank you for being a part of the Southern Miss family.

Sincerely,

Dr. Shelby F. Thames
President

-- Edited by Reporter at 07:57, 2006-11-08

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If I asked someone to prepare a letter for me and they did nothing more than cut and paste press releases without bothering to change verb tenses, write any transition sentences, etc., I would be mad.  Now take someone like Shelby who is a micromanager to the nth degree, and he allows letter after letter look like this?  I just can't figure him out.  Nor can I figure out the PR department that creates these poor letters...he is a university president, even if he doesn't act like one, at least make it look like he can write a letter.



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You don't always get what you pay for.

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Reporter wrote:


A Message from the President

Southern Miss and Hattiesburg #2 in Nation

The Coldwell Banker College Home Price Comparison Index looked at the home towns of the 119 Division 1-A college football programs to see how much the same type of house costs in each market. Southern Miss and Hattiesburg are ranked #2 in the country after our Conference USA-rival Tulsa. Just another reason why Southern Miss is a great place to go to college!


Washington Monthly: Southern Miss ranks in top 100 National Universities

The University of Southern Mississippi ranks high in the college rankings developed by Washington Monthly. In these rankings, which attempt to make a more holistic assessment of an institution's value, Southern Miss ranks 98th out of 245 doctoral institutions. This is the highest ranking of any school in Mississippi.





Thanks for this update, Reporter!  I have to wonder if the "affordability" of housing is directly related to the exodus of faculty and staff in the past 3-4 years.  I know that my own house sale was prolonged due to the "sagging market" when I left Hattiesburg.


Wonder if the Dome Crew know with how little respect the "Washington Monthly" ratings are held, since the Chronicle of Higher Education's article last week.  Turns out that institutions with larger proportions of ROTC enrollment are automatically "bumped" to higher ratings than other measures of instutional effectiveness.  By the WM criteria, USM could have one doctoral program (Polymer Science) and two ROTC programs, and still be "wurl' class."  Caveat lector.


 



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86th in the World for Biotech Patents? Which world? Not this one.


Basically no biotech patents assigned to Southern Miss aside from the soy bean playings of SFT.


OM



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These letters have been an embarrassment for some time, but this may be the worst one yet.

Someone told me recently that President Thames does not look well, and does not seem to feel well. Any truth to that?

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Oh heck, I'm in a quibbling sort of mood -- it's not "Lady Jeanne Galway" -- she's only Lady Jeanne if she held a title in her own right. The wife of a knight is "Lady James Galway" like Churchill's wife was Lady Winston Churchill. So shouldn't it properly be "Sir James and Lady Galway"?
And as far as I know, there is no title at all for the husband of a Dame (female equivalent of a knight.) If this has changed in recent years, somebody can let me know.

Thus concludeth today's trivia exercise.

-- Edited by LVN at 13:23, 2006-11-08

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