Cockrell: Board ignores Ole Miss’ best interest
By Mike Cockrell
The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS)
Mississippians who care about quality higher education have sadly accepted Chancellor Dan Jones’ decision to reject the IHL Board’s disingenuous offer of a lame duck term of two years. His first duty is to Ole Miss, and once that is seen, all other points fall into place. Chancellor Jones was right that Ole Miss would suffer if he were hampered by such an arrangement.
That the IHL Board would even offer a two-year lame duck term to the head of a university when it knows such an administrator would be less than effective is further evidence, where none was needed, that the board is not acting in the best interest of the university. Any IHL Board member who does not understand that has no business being on the board, and that they act on their own self-interest is apparent.
It is ironic the group that over the past month has engaged in such sophomoric behavior goes by the name Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning. It should concern every Mississippian that the body responsible for overseeing our state’s institutions of higher learning could demonstrate this remarkable level of ineptness.
The IHL Board members cannot be unaware that the overwhelming majority of the Ole Miss community not only disagrees but is offended by what the Board has done. It will be interesting to see how many board members will have enough class to decline their accustomed free tickets, VIP parking and preferred (and free) lodging at Ole Miss football games this Fall.
What has happened at Ole Miss should be the last straw for those who love our state and our public universities. We should devote every ounce of energy we have and use whatever influence we can muster to demand an overhaul of our outdated, ineffective, inefficient and costly system. This should be the last harmful decision the board is allowed to make.
At: http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/2015/04/16/cockrell-board-ignores-ole-miss-best-interest/25882005/
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This has to do with the recent firing of Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones for having voiced support for 'Obummercare'. I should have posted news of the incident on the Breaking News thread when it happened on March 26. It would have probably been an interesting read for many here on DU.
Jones is a Republican, with impeccable good-ole-boy credentials and enormously popular among both students and staff. But he ruffled a lot of high-perched feathers for starters by having the two brats that placed a noose around the James Meredith monument prosecuted (as opposed to playing possum, like his predecessor did in the black frat arson case some years back), and then committed the carnal sin of supporting anything with Obama's name on it. And that just isn't done!
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