July 2007 Archives

Only 25 more days until classes start.  Faculty and staff at all of our six teaching/research sites are moving into high gear.  I was glad to be invited to the Provost's Council Retreat on Thursday where outgoing Provost, Jay Grimes, and incoming Interim Provost, Bobby Middlebrooks, led the deans through a discussion of important issues and priorities for the coming year.  As we face lean budgets and more demands on our resources, we know we need to be entrepreneurial.  Fortunately, we have folks in leadership roles who have the ingenuity to do a lot with a little.

It has been a good weekend.  Joe and I picked up fresh produce from a garden stand and I made pesto from the "bumper crop" of basil in my herb garden.  With so much bounty, meat has definitely moved to side dish status for us this summer.

I've been hanging out quite a bit in area restaurants and fast food places, meeting and getting to know folks in the community.  To date, I'd say Shoney's serves the best sweet tea.  Of course, I haven't tried them all.

I'll be speaking to the Hattiesburg Lions Club today.  That group has sponsored the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Kamper Park since 1948.  It was the highlight of my year growing up.  I don't like to brag, but I was a champion egg finder.  I passed the skill along to my sons who turned it into an x-treme sport.  Their annual "Saunders Brothers No-Holds-Barred, Take-No-Prisoners, Free-for-All Egg Hunts" live in legend in our old neighborhood.

Thursday night's alumni event in Jackson really kicked off the back to school season for me.  Fans, supporters, players and friends came together to celebrate and speculate on this year's athletic season, renew acquaintances, and gear up for the coming academic year. Some people -- mostly me -- were making big, bold, brash promises to the tv reporters.

 Three things to look forward to this weekend:  (1) Reading the new Harry Potter book , (2) taking our grandchildren to the Blue Angels Show on Pensacola Beach, AND (3) a "Welcome Home" reception for me at Main Street Baptist Church Sunday afternoon.  Lots of kinfolk coming for that one. 

I attended the transfer student orientation this morning and met with a full house from a variety of our fine community colleges.  The nice thing about that group is they have already survived the hardest part about college -- getting started.  FYI:  Our transfer students graduate at high rate and do well while they are here. 

I'll be working from the coast today at our Student Services Center.  Driving along the water to the office and enjoying a nice patch of scenery is not a bad way to start one's day.  Lots of folks to meet before I'm done.

I spoke to the McComb Lions Club today along with Richard Giannini.  We shared lots of good news with the group.  USM currently hosts approximately 213 students from Pike County.  That's greater than the size of the McComb HS graduating class so our presence in that part of the state is real.  I enjoyed meeting some steadfast alumni who live there.

I've started reserving Mondays for working with my immediate staff.  By the end of a busy day yesterday, I was curiously energized.  Enthusiasm is contagious I guess.  Interim Provost-Elect, Bobby Middlebrooks, is ramping up quickly as Provost Grimes prepares to return to his research lab.  With just six weeks remaining until classes start in the fall, the folks in Student Affairs, are scampering to make sure we all get off to a good start. 

The best part about unpacking hundreds of books is re-reading parts of them, especially the pages with little turned-down corners where I marked some important passage.

Of course, that can really slow down the re-shelving process. 

It's the 4th of July AND my niece's birthday.  ( I begged my sister to name her Liberty.) I'm looking forward to using my day off unpacking MORE boxes, then feasting on hamburgers, baked beans and homemade ice cream.  We'll wrap up our day watching the fireworks.

 Speaking of fireworks, lightning struck the Student Services Center at our Gulf Coast campus yesterday, putting a hole in the roof of one of the buildings.  Pat Joachim and her staff know how to handle emergencies but it would be nice if they didn't have to use their skills for a while. 

 

I spent some time this weekend with members of the alumni board.  They are a dynamic group of proud Southern Miss alumni who are organized and energized under the leadership of Bob Pierce.  They took the occasion to present me with my new presidential regalia and I am counting the days until I can proudly wear it at the December Commencement.

 It's a good thing when busy, accomplished people take time to give back to our university.