Proposal to appeal USM firings under review

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) – Appeals begin Oct. 18 for University of Southern Mississippi faculty members who were terminated because of budget cuts, according to a proposal under review by campus groups.

USM Provost Bob Lyman said he sent out the proposal for an appeals committee with faculty representation to various campus constituencies this week.

“Short of a glaring error of some sort that needs to be corrected, I think it’s pretty safe to say we are embarking on this one,” Lyman told the Hattiesburg American.

Campus faculty groups have so far expressed modest support for the proposal. Tammy Greer, the chapter president of the American Association of University Professors, said the proposal doesn’t go far enough in terms of faculty representation.

The appeals committee will be a nine-member body with four deans and five regular faculty members. In the case of each program, the dean from that college will not serve on the committee.

Individual faculty appeals will follow program appeals.

Recommendations on whether to restore programs or the 28 faculty members will be made on a majority vote basis. USM President Martha Saunders will make the final decision on whether to follow the committee’s recommendations.