Monday, April 6, 2015

Sam Hall: IHL Board "cowered behind closed doors" in firing Jones.

Clarion-Ledger Executive Editor Sam Hall revealed a few more details about the firing of the Iron Chancellor in a column published in yesterday's edition.  Words such as micromanagement and yelled were used.  Interesting stuff.  Mr. Hall wrote:


The sordid political affair surrounding University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones came to an end this week. Usually there are two sides to every story with the truth lying somewhere in the middle; however, this story seems to be as lopsided as it appears on its face. It boils down to a few powerful folks wanting more control over the University of Mississippi Medical Center and a strong-willed chancellor who refused to back down....

  As state superintendent of education, Bounds was accustomed to being more hands on with policy and institutional decisions. When he took over as IHL commissioner, he brought that same mindset to the college board.

His leadership style was described as that of a micro-manager who liked to drill down into the details of how certain institutions were running, with a particularly keen interest in UMMC. And while no one would question Bounds' intelligence, he had a limited knowledge of how a hospital ran, much less a teaching and research facility like UMMC. This led to severe frustrations on Jones' part, who would clash with Bounds and members of the college board when they started pushing policies that Jones felt were unwise.

While it might seem like the College Board had every right to dig into UMMC policies, the truth is that their role should be limited to financial oversight. It's up to each university to set their own policies and make leadership decisions. Bounds and the College Board, however, sought more influence over UMMC, which makes up 40 percent of the IHL budget.....

 These clashes hit a boiling point last fall during an executive session of a College Board meeting when Jones reportedly yelled at Bounds and members of the board. Jones would later apologize to Bounds and each of the board members for losing his temper....
 
It definitely was not about the September audit that has been cited by board Vice President Alan Perry. That audit had already been discussed multiple times, and changes were already being made — many in place — at UMMC to address the board's concerns. In fact, by February, Perry was boasting on Vice Chancellor and UMMC Dean of Medicine James Keeton for addressing these matters.

What seems most likely is that the board was both hoping Jones would voluntarily retire and also using his contract renewal as leverage to influence the choice for Keeton's replacement. Jones wanted Dr. LouAnn Woodward, an internal candidate. He took his choice to the board, who said they wanted at least two choices. Their pick was Dr. Stephen Spann, a family medicine educator and chief medical officer at a John Hopkins Medicine International teaching hospital in the United Arab Emirates.

Jones never flinched, and the College Board had no choice but to approve his choice because she was well qualified. Refusing to do so would have most likely cost Ole Miss its accreditation because the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredits universities, does not look favorably upon college boards meddling in the affairs of individual universities....

 And the board stayed true to its character. They made decisions cowering behind closed doors and failed to fully and consistently outline their reasoning.  Rest of column.

45 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is interesting (and cowardly) is the deafening silence from our state elected officials. The IHL did not do this on their own accord without some prodding from somebody. Like I said....record enrollment, record giving and record test scores. Can't wait to see what Phil, Tate and Phillip have to say when accreditation time comes.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, it seems the IHL board is a board of one with the others following like sheep.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure any of us will know the whole story, but if I understand right the two OM board members voted to remove Jones along with a majority of the other members. If he had deserved to stay and was doing such a fine job, I can't help but wonder why these two board members do not support him with their vote. They didn't. Jones is gone. Time to write about something else, Sam.

Anonymous said...

curious---if all these wonderful things are happening at Ole Miss (as well as MOST schools --if u believe in ANY of these statistics) WHY wud the NON-RENEWAL (NOT FIRING) have doodly squat to do w accreditation?---jus sayin

Anonymous said...

The silent majority of people approved of the Board's decision. There won't be any political fallout for non-renewing a malcontent. Move on.

Anonymous said...

What exactly is Sam Hall's expertise?

... the truth is that their role should be limited to financial oversight.

... he had a limited knowledge of how a hospital ran, much less a teaching and research facility like UMMC.

With UMMC being 40% of the entire IHL budget you are damn right this taxpayer wants an excrutiating level of oversight far beyond mere 'limited financial oversight' into its operation.

It is way past time to move UMMC out from underneath the UM reporting chain to direct IHL Board oversight.

Sam Hall doesn't know what he doesn't know and can't fathom that he doesn't know it.

Anonymous said...

the wringing of the hands by the bad breakfast group that moved in from other another state is getting shriller. Keep calm and read JFP plus a stiff drink and you will be ok.

Anonymous said...

10:57 "Like I said....record enrollment, record giving and record test scores


Just saying.....Many if not all of the SEC schools in recent years have experienced exactly the same thing.

Anonymous said...

11:13 political meddling in the operation of a university is considered in the accreditation process. this may, or may not, be considered "political meddling". if this is a fight for control of UMMC, it will be.

the legislature is the only body with the real power to convert UMMC to an independent body. however, if the legislature injected itself into the management and educational operations, that would be political meddling as well.

Anonymous said...

Too bad someone didn't do a little digging in the Department of Corrections sooner.

Anonymous said...

Sam Hall is just parroting what he is hearing from Dan Jones (or his PR machine) who, apparently, are still trying to control the story line on this and Sam Hall is the willing puppet, er, parrot. With that said, the IHL could do a MUCH BETTER job of clearly setting out the its position including most, if not all, the reasons for the non-renewal. And, if there are not any "good reasons" and they just decided it was within their rights to non-renew despite Saint Dan's work, then they need to say that too.

Anonymous said...

Obviously, what Dan Jones failed to recognize is that political connections put him in the position of Chancellor and political connections could also remove him from that same position. Political positions are just that, political. It wasn't a lifetime commitment! He needs to be thankful for the time served that added to his retirement dollars, pack his office and move on. A gentlemen would have handled this as a smooth transition, not as a spoiled brat kicking and screaming all the way out of the door that "these people are being mean to me!" However, Jones has shown his true colors and they are not those of a Southern Gentleman!

Anonymous said...

Sam-
Go bark in the face of your Gannett masters and see how long you remain on board--

Anonymous said...

I don't give a rip if the guy was a gentleman or not. What I do know is what the numbers tell me. And read this slowly, 11:47, try to discern the difference:

Most of the SEC schools may have experienced record enrollment and rising test scores. However, there was only one SEC school in Mississippi doing that: Ole Miss. State's enrollment numbers are stagnant, not growing.

Y'all have a nice a day.

Anonymous said...

...if the legislature injected itself into the management and educational operations, that would be political meddling as well.

Don't need no hissing possums near the school houses.....

Anonymous said...

12:36 Exactly. When Jones knew some time back he was not going to have the support of the majority of the IHL trustees and had very little to no chance of remaining on HIS terms, he should have stepped away gracefully.

Anonymous said...

KF's title says it all. Damn right they did. The silent last week Moo U crowd now has something to bark about. The one leading the flagstaff university to unprecedented heights is now gone and some of the unenlightened over there are happy. It will never happen to the dull, yes man Keenum.

Anonymous said...

So who is the next vice chancellor?
Go look at her credentials vs Spann.
Spann is a MD, MBA manga cum laude guy affiliated with the number 1 medical school in the world...
Lou Ann Woodward?
Why did he choose her over everyone one else and over the boards objections? Hmmmmmmm

Anonymous said...

Hey Sam..the next time your boss at Gannett tells you to do something, tell him to stick it. And then complain when you lose your job!

Anonymous said...

Jones showed himself to be an ass. A few damn fools were made to believe that this was about Ole Miss. Good old Robert pulling the strings of blind sheep while he protects his personal power. I thought Ole Miss folks were smarter.

Anonymous said...

Bryant wants total control of UMMC and rest assured the next chancellor will have to be amenable to the first steps in that process. We are too busy arguing over characters in costumes to recognize whats at stake.

Anonymous said...

Sam Hall is a lightweight who doesn't have enough sense to analyze a complex issue

Anonymous said...

@1:08 From a simple google search it showed Ole Miss enrollment dropped from 2013 to 2014. You have a nice day too.

Anonymous said...

1:36- No one from Miss. State gives a tinker's damn about Ole Miss losing an administrator. The spectacle is created when those like you keep stomping your feet screaming "it's not fair!" Sam Hall is in the same petulant group. If you heard other schools' alumni get pleasure from your rancor, it was likely caused by your embarrassing yourselves over the loss of Dr. Jones rather than the loss itself. Besides, more board members associated with your university voted to non-renew than any other.

Anonymous said...

"flagstaff university"

Who cares what is happening in Arizona? This is about OM/UMMC.

Oh, unless you meant to say "flagship university". In which case the deficiencies of your education are showing.

Anonymous said...

Members of the dr.Jones press corps need to look at the composition of IHL board. No one governor can appoint a majority of its members. Jones made an ass of trying to do things his way and not according to state policy. When he saw the hand writing on the wall it was time for him to decide to retire not bring out his PR squad. DAN BE GONE. Ole Miss did well before him and will do so after he is long gone.

-w said...

Same issue came up when Alabama big wigs tried to mess with Auburn's administration. The faculty with SACS help popped Auburn's accreditation then Auburn sued SACS and won. Amazing how accrediting agencies have zero power and zero reliability yet people keep buying into the regional accreditation nonsense. Auburn has sued SACS twice and won. SACS has zero power. (ex. JSU and USM)

Article:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=20010804&id=JmofAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GNUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3282,365697&hl=en


For more AUBURN burns read the blog entry "As the Plains Burn"

-w said...

More articles:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=20031219&id=n3koAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QMgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1087,2495843&hl=en

-w said...

more articles:
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/06/seeking_to_avoid_sanctions_fro.html

Anonymous said...

The CL needs to look forward. Start discussing the search for a new chancellor. Time for Ole Miss to find a chancellor who loves her and takes pride in her and her future.
Y'all I'm still cracking up at Dan calling himself a proud rebel and using the name Ole Miss when he knew they were about to oust him.
Black bear is his legacy... Own it dude.

Anonymous said...

I bet 4:24 is still ticked about Colonel Reb, the bear and that stupid ass flag.

Anonymous said...

Following a full-scale search of major metropolitan newsrooms coast-to-coast to find the absolute best and brightest editors in the print/digital news/media business the Clarion-Ledger hired Sam R. Hall as its next Executive Editor. When asked for comment Clarion-Ledger President and Publisher Andy Jackson Taylor said "Sam's years heading up the wildly successful Scott County Times, then Marengo County, Alabama's jewel the Demopolis Times coupled with the wisdom he acquired from years of heart-to-heart conversations up on Billy's worm farm clearly put Sam head, shoulders and ears above the other candidates we interviewed. It was a tiring nationwide pursuit for only the best and a real challenge to match all the other offers Sam had pouring from around the country but I'm happy that we left no stone unturned and bagged our Democrat."

Anonymous said...

7;11 4;24 here

I could care less about the flag,Colonel Rebel or the Louisiana Black Bear. I care about our state and our universities. Most of us who love the state cannot see an ego try to impose his will after the decision has been made. We had enough with Chris McDaniel and now Dan is doing the same cry baby tactics.

Anonymous said...

Dan needed to go.

Anonymous said...

9:06 has also just described the search that led to our newest Vice-Chancellor at UMMC.

Anonymous said...

Haley Barbour is the next Chancellor, cretins

Anonymous said...


Hey 3:33....like any Ole Miss man, I'm deadset on winning the argument. Rather than make up facts, how about lets quote the UM website....."Enrollment for Fall 2014 is at an all-time high, with a total of 23,096 students -- an increase of 805 students or 3.6% over last fall.
Enrollment has grown by an astounding 59.3% over the past decade, growing from 14,497 in 2004.
Minority enrollment grew by 2.7% from Fall 2013 to Fall 2014 to a University high of 5,488.
A record 2,984 students are enrolled at the UM Medical Center in Jackson, up by 250 students (9.1%) over last fall.
For this year’s freshmen class, the average ACT score is 24.3 and Overall High School GPA is 3.49—both of which are the highest in UM history. Source http://www.olemiss.edu/aboutum/facts.html

You Won't See This Post said...

Kingfish has obviously culled fifty relevant and timely posts. But, he has accomplished what he set out to do and that is to make Sam Hall look like a fool. That was the only interest The Fish had in this little exercise.

Anonymous said...

But, he has accomplished what he set out to do and that is to make Sam Hall look like a fool.

Pardon me but Sam R. Hall doesn't need any help from Kingfish to look like a fool. He is perfectly capable of doing so without anyone else's help.

Anonymous said...

3:00pm
If Sam Hall thinks a. MD, MBA with impeccable degrees and experience is less qualified as a doc who trained in ER in Mississippi only then maybe he should have keep his mouth shut on this one and not prove that his clueless or a fool on this subject.

Anonymous said...

Can't help but wonder if this is some smoke and mirrors and the real story will come out.

Edith said...

Carrol O'conner (Archie Bunker), well known liberal goob, did a good job of assimilating himself into Southern folk life in 'In The Heat Of The Night'. That doesn't mean Jones, who sometimes resembled Arch, could do the same. Wrong man, wrong time, wrong job.

Charley Rich said...

With his 'behind closed doors' comment, is Hall suggesting either (1) He advocates open-door meetings at this management level, or (2) that he advocates a 'period for public comment' regarding decisions made by this Board (in violation of it's description and purpose)?

I Don't Stand With Dan said...

So, just so I understand, Jones is responsible for an increase in enrollment one year over another? Is he also responsible for pothole repair and new tile in the student union? You're grasping at straws to justify keeping a man whose termination was in order.

Anonymous said...

4/6 @ 1057: "....interesting (and cowardly) is the deafening silence from our state elected officials...."

Our state officials or agencies are not going to govern, audit, or investigate with enforcement this 1.6 billion dollar enterprise - "U M M C" - it is evident with more than half million dollar salaries paid to execs, the overstaffed administration cats, amd the "buddyism" that exists - this is a melting pot to hire our families, friends, consultants, contractors.... shall I go on? And Mississippi was #1 in corruption last year? NO! Just IHL governs this pet - this is their baby. YOU FOLKS need to wake up and contact your representatives, write letters, and demand transparency through transparency.gov (NOT IHL) - demand to see ALL the salaries of all execs! It will blow your mind! Now, remember you and I pay more than 15% of their retirement contribution to PERS. Are you earning this with your current portfolio? Calculate 15% of $658,000 ! You do the rest of the work - contact your "politician" - ha see how far this gets ya! The media sure won't report it. And, wonder why???? hhhmmm



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