October 2009 Archives

Tailgaters started early.

Gerald MacRath broke away from his Tennessee Titan duties to hang out with the Eagles and one of his biggest fans.

Final score:  Golden Eagles 43 -- Tulane 6

My Executive Cabinet and I recently discussed the status of several of our University Standing Committees.  As a result of this discussion, we decided that it is time to conduct a full audit of all of our Standing Committees.  I have asked Mary Dayne Gregg to take the lead on that project.  No doubt, a few of the standing committees and/or their purposes may need to be restructured and some current ad hoc committees may need to be upgraded to standing committees.   I expect this audit to improve both our system of committees and the opportunity for faculty, staff and students to serve the University in a more effective manner.

Do any of you remember eating lunch and visiting with your University colleagues in the Charcoal Room? What about ending a busy day by having a time of fellowship with some friends at the University Club that was located in the old Southernaire or in the Peck House? 

In the past, our faculty and staff have enjoyed some of these opportunities, and such occasions provided the foundation for that Southern Miss family feeling.   About nine months ago, I named two committees to investigate the re-establishment of a University Club on both of our campuses.  The Gulf Coast committee has made recommendations, and they are under serious consideration at this time.  The Hattiesburg committee has presented recommendations to my Executive Cabinet as well, and those recommendations included our using a temporary site at Conestoga Steak House II until a permanent site can be identified.  Invitations to upcoming open houses have been sent out via campus emails and flyers. 

First, let me reassure you that this venture is not coming from University funds.  Instead these open houses are financed completely by the reserves left by the original University Club organization.  Conestoga is allowing us to use their facility on certain Tuesday evenings at no charge. 

Second, let me encourage you to take these opportunities to get to know your colleagues across campus and to see what a University Club has to offer to our faculty and staff.  In these difficult economic times, we need each other more than ever as we unite to make our University even stronger.  An open house with complimentary hors d'oeuvres sounds pretty good to me!

Not sure you heard that our men's athletic program won the Mississippi Halbrook Award for the highest graduation rate in the Public University Division for the seventh consecutive year. The overall rate for our men's program was 73 percent-- that's about 20 percent higher than national averages.

Congratulations to Athletic Director, Richard Giannini, and his talented staff for setting high goals for success for our student athletes and sticking to their values.  

I thought I would write about replacing Cecil Burge when he retires this year, but that is a hopeless task.  Replacing Cecil Burge will be next to impossible.  He is leaving an amazing legacy as our VP for Research and the bar is set very high for his successor. 

The Provost will chair the committee overseeing a national search.  I expect many good candidates will be attracted to Southern Miss, not only for our established research enterprise, but also for our great potential.