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Higher Ed in MS: Faculty vote No Confidence in Tougaloo President, Provost and Registrar

615dawg

615dawg

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I believe that at least two of Mississippi's small privates are in serious trouble - Tougaloo and Blue Mountain Christian.

There are some serious SACS concerns at Tougaloo. They haven't published a catalogue since 2023, and it had 2020-22 information. Their enrollment in the Fall of 2023 was 608 and they apparently had a major dropoff this academic year and have not published enrollment numbers. The concerns from the faculty is that they are relying too heavily on adjuncts. Tougaloo had an endowment of about $26 million. Reportedly down to $10 million.
 
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dorndawg

dorndawg

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615dawg said:


I believe that at least two of Mississippi's small privates are in serious trouble - Tougaloo and Blue Mountain Christian.

There are some serious SACS concerns at Tougaloo. They haven't published a catalogue since 2023, and it had 2020-22 information. Their enrollment in the Fall of 2023 was 608 and they apparently had a major dropoff this academic year and have not published enrollment numbers. The concerns from the faculty is that they are relying too heavily on adjuncts. Tougaloo had an endowment of about $26 million. Reportedly down to $10 million.
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Yikes. And yes, many small private colleges are on the precipice.
 
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L4Dawg

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615dawg said:


I believe that at least two of Mississippi's small privates are in serious trouble - Tougaloo and Blue Mountain Christian.

There are some serious SACS concerns at Tougaloo. They haven't published a catalogue since 2023, and it had 2020-22 information. Their enrollment in the Fall of 2023 was 608 and they apparently had a major dropoff this academic year and have not published enrollment numbers. The concerns from the faculty is that they are relying too heavily on adjuncts. Tougaloo had an endowment of about $26 million. Reportedly down to $10 million.
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That sounds a lot like the final days of Birmingham Southern.
 
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SanfordRJones

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615dawg said:


I believe that at least two of Mississippi's small privates are in serious trouble - Tougaloo and Blue Mountain Christian.

There are some serious SACS concerns at Tougaloo. They haven't published a catalogue since 2023, and it had 2020-22 information. Their enrollment in the Fall of 2023 was 608 and they apparently had a major dropoff this academic year and have not published enrollment numbers. The concerns from the faculty is that they are relying too heavily on adjuncts. Tougaloo had an endowment of about $26 million. Reportedly down to $10 million
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How does one go about procuring one of these votes of no confidence for a university president?

...Asking for a friend
 
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615dawg

615dawg

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AttalaDawg72 said:
Blue Mountain? What’s going on there?
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They have about 450 students. They are built to be small, but its tough to recruit students there and the enrollment cliff is going to be detrimental to schools of this size. Blue Mountain operated like a monarchy for its first 80 years (one family generated all of its presidents), so when higher ed took off after WW2, they were left behind. They have some support from the Mississippi Baptist Convention, but with MC treading water as well, decisions will have to be made.

Fun fact: George Humphrey of Humphrey Coliseum fame is a Blue Mountain alum.
 
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horshack.sixpack

horshack.sixpack

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615dawg said:
They have about 450 students. They are built to be small, but its tough to recruit students there and the enrollment cliff is going to be detrimental to schools of this size. Blue Mountain operated like a monarchy for its first 80 years (one family generated all of its presidents), so when higher ed took off after WW2, they were left behind. They have some support from the Mississippi Baptist Convention, but with MC treading water as well, decisions will have to be made.

Fun fact: George Humphrey of Humphrey Coliseum fame is a Blue Mountain alum.
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They recruit s lot of international students. That may help.
 
The Cooterpoot

The Cooterpoot

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Blue mountain invested in athletics (baseball/softball) a few years ago and built nice little facilities, but I don't see how that place stays open
 
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615dawg

615dawg

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horshack.sixpack said:
They recruit s lot of international students. That may help.
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The NAIA allows schools to recruit semi-pro internationals. BMCU and William Carey have a lot of international students playing sports.

Example: Take a look at BMCU's men's soccer roster: https://bmcusports.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster

1 kid from Caledonia
1 kid from New Albany
1 kid from Southaven
1 kid from Alabama
21 internationals

These international athletes rarely graduate, and they head back home after their athletic careers are over.
 
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johnson86-1

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615dawg said:
They have about 450 students. They are built to be small, but its tough to recruit students there and the enrollment cliff is going to be detrimental to schools of this size. Blue Mountain operated like a monarchy for its first 80 years (one family generated all of its presidents), so when higher ed took off after WW2, they were left behind. They have some support from the Mississippi Baptist Convention, but with MC treading water as well, decisions will have to be made.

Fun fact: George Humphrey of Humphrey Coliseum fame is a Blue Mountain alum.
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It just doesn't seem possible to have a functioning college with only 450 students. Too much overhead to spread over too few students and then how can you afford enough faculty for more than one or two majors. And I just don't know what niche they fill other than somebody wanting a tiny school.

MC I think is going to be fine? I think there is a market for a religious college in Mississippi and I think MC is going to be the winner there. I dont' know if Milsaps even claims to be methodist anymore. Belhaven I think still is religious? But I think MC has a critical mass of students and better location and is better positioned for the long term.
 
Villagedawg

Villagedawg

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SanfordRJones said:
How does one go about procuring one of these votes of no confidence for a university president?

...Asking for a friend
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It's not difficult. The MSU faculty had one on Zacharias at least once I believe. Just have the president do something faculty doesn't like. It only matters if the IHL agrees.
 
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FormerBully

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How Blue Mountain keeps its doors open is a mystery to me. I have worked with them a few times on projects, but they never have the money to get the project done. If you want an example of a great private school look at William Carey in Hattiesburg. They had a president (Dr. King, I believe) that knew what he was doing. His goal was to focus on programs that would create donors that would have money to later invest. They have a pharmacy, nursing, and medical school. The place might be the best university in the State.
 
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StillTbonewannabe

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MC has some Masters degrees that are pretty good for people who barely miss getting into medical school. I got my Masters in Accounting from there.

They did have a great set up for getting your MBA after work, all the classes were after 5:30 pm. Not sure with online classes if it is as popular.
 
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RocketDawg

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johnson86-1 said:
It just doesn't seem possible to have a functioning college with only 450 students. Too much overhead to spread over too few students and then how can you afford enough faculty for more than one or two majors. And I just don't know what niche they fill other than somebody wanting a tiny school.

MC I think is going to be fine? I think there is a market for a religious college in Mississippi and I think MC is going to be the winner there. I dont' know if Milsaps even claims to be methodist anymore. Belhaven I think still is religious? But I think MC has a critical mass of students and better location and is better positioned for the long term.
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That's about the size of the average US elementary school. Like you, I don't seem how that could possibly be a functioning college.
 
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RocketDawg

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Villagedawg said:
It's not difficult. The MSU faculty had one on Zacharias at least once I believe. Just have the president do something faculty doesn't like. It only matters if the IHL agrees.
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Wasn't Zacharias the best president the school has ever had, at least in modern times?
 
AttalaDawg72

AttalaDawg72

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johnson86-1 said:
It just doesn't seem possible to have a functioning college with only 450 students. Too much overhead to spread over too few students and then how can you afford enough faculty for more than one or two majors. And I just don't know what niche they fill other than somebody wanting a tiny school.

MC I think is going to be fine? I think there is a market for a religious college in Mississippi and I think MC is going to be the winner there. I dont' know if Milsaps even claims to be methodist anymore. Belhaven I think still is religious? But I think MC has a critical mass of students and better location and is better positioned for the long term.
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Blue Mountain is Baptist.
 
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johnson86-1

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AttalaDawg72 said:
Blue Mountain is Baptist.
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I know. Wasn’t clear but was trying to say I think there is a market for one religious college in Mississippi and I think MC is going to be the winner there. I think blue mountain is just too small and Belhave’s location will hurt it competing with MC.
FormerBully said:
How Blue Mountain keeps its doors open is a mystery to me. I have worked with them a few times on projects, but they never have the money to get the project done. If you want an example of a great private school look at William Carey in Hattiesburg. They had a president (Dr. King, I believe) that knew what he was doing. His goal was to focus on programs that would create donors that would have money to later invest. They have a pharmacy, nursing, and medical school. The place might be the best university in the State.
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I think it’d be hard to argue it’s not the best run. They could easily be closing their doors right now if they hadn’t had goood leadership over the last decade.
 
Mr. Cook

Mr. Cook

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Villagedawg said:
It's not difficult. The MSU faculty had one on Zacharias at least once I believe. Just have the president do something faculty doesn't like. It only matters if the IHL agrees.
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The MSU Faculty Senate was prepared to do the same to Foglesong the very day he “resigned”
 
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