11/8/2006


Southern Miss Alumni Association Backs IHL Search Process


Hattiesburg -- The Board of Directors of the University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association has affirmed its support of the process for the selection of the next president of Southern Miss outlined by the Board of Trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL Board).

In a written statement released today by the association, Board President Rosemary Aultman states, “The University of Southern Mississippi Board of Directors has endorsed the IHL process as it has been proposed.”

Next spring, the IHL Board will select the ninth president of the University of Southern Mississippi. The selection will replace Shelby Thames, who announced last year that he will step down in 2007.

The statement both expresses the Association’s support of the process “in its totality” and specifically addresses the issue of candidate confidentiality.

“This endorsement is based upon our belief that the confidentiality in the process will be limited to the identity of the candidates only and not to other areas of the search,” Aultman writes. “We concur that allowing presidential candidates to protect their identities at the outset of the process will enhance the quality of the overall list of applicants. The Alumni Association desires the best candidates for the presidency possible, and we believe the process currently outlined by the IHL Board is in the best interest of the University and all of its constituents.”

Comprising approximately 16,500 members and governed by a 34-member board of directors, the Southern Miss Alumni Association is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of the University of Southern Mississippi.

The full statement can be viewed at http://www.SouthernMissAlumni.com/pages/documents/statement.pdf .

View this article online at: http://www.usm.edu/pr/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=256&Itemid=2.