Those of you who think getting rid

[Todd4State]

of Merideth is the solution, my question is this- why do you think that they won't just replace him with some other Ole Miss homer?

This is a vicious cycle. I don't see how the people in charge of the IHL won't have Ole Miss connections, and they'll be just as bad or worse than what we have now. We just have to hope that we can get good people who are willing to put up with being shortchanged and make the most of it. And because of that, we as alumni have to step it up. MSU is a great University and a major asset for the state. We do great things and will continue to do so whether the IHL tries to prevent it or not. I think the future for MSU is bright because right now, more than any other time in my life, we have alumni and people that are young who care about MSU and want MSU to be great, and aren't listening to the old guard who were willing to let MSU be a pushover. Look around at Starkville. It actually looks like a college town, and is as good or better than some of those "quaint" college towns like Auburn. Think about it- when was the last time you saw one of those "Starkville is the end of the Earth" articles. I haven't seen one in a while. Look at the campus- it was very nice when I was in school, and it's even nicer now. Look at our athletics- instead of "Oh well, we're MSU, now we're going to bowls, going to the Big Dance, and the CWS all within the span of a year. Heck, a lot of people were pissed off when we went to the NIT last year, and a lot of people in the past would have been thrilled with just going to the NIT. Football remains to be seen, but the future seems positive, baseball needs to step it up a little bit, but it's still early, and they might put something together, but if they don't at least there will be pressure on the staff to win and they'll be held accountable, and heck, there was even a Sharon Fanning should leave thread on here yesterday. The fact that we have tabbed Greg Byrne to be our AD really shows that we want to go in a younger more progressive direction. Our enrollment is increasing, and I would say that most students that go to MSU get a degree that is worth something, and that they tend to be productive in whatever profession that they choose. I'm happy with my degree from there, and while I have another degree from UMC, MSU helped to prepare me for that environment, and the professors at UMC had very high praise for MSU students.

My point is, with the politics involved with the colleges, it's very obvious to me that the alumni are going to have to make a statement, and the best way to do that is to give to MSU. Even 50 bucks a year would help, or whatever you can give.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Organization is the key. There is no way Meredith didn`t know that Foglesong wouldn`t clash with the MSU family at some time if for no other reason than his extreme liberal political leanings. How many people would have been supportive of the beloved Doc from the start if they had known he was closely alligned with Madeline Albright et al. The secrecy surronding the search and hiring of Foglesong should be thoroughly investigated and answers brought forward. I don`t know if we need a PAC that we (alumni) fund specifically for advancing politician`s careers whom we know will be supportive of our school or at least a more proactive way of keeping us informed on who our friends and enemies are running for office. Given the profile of this little military egomaniac that seems to be emerging anyone would question his ability to lead a university anywhere but that he would at some point crash and burn at a bible belt university was a slam dunk. The short story is we got screwed now how do we stop it from happening again !

 

[seingeyedog]

I don't think so. He's quirky and arrogant, but out here in east Texas, we have a new alumni chapter that seemed quite pleased with Doc's leadership. Not giving the guy a pass on his abrasive style, but without a doubt the man was LEADING Mississippi State University forward. If the IHL's plan was to bring in a screw up who would keep MSU down, then it obviously made a mistake. Complain about daffodils, brown paint, and your precious academic freedom if you want to, but don't deny the fact that MSU was/is moving forward by leaps and bounds. Once upon a time, one Donald Zacharias also provided positive leadership for Mississippi State and was the preeminent university president in the state of Mississippi. Now, fortunately Dr Z was able to lead without antagonizing. Then we had that screw up Portera, one of our own, who seemed to not only set MSU back severely in terms of enrollment and prestige, but also used the job just to build his resume and get a higher position back in the state of Alabama. Then we had the interim and later official university president in Charles Lee who accomplished nothing to my memory. He was a nice fellow, but he never, ever showed leadership. He was a mere figurehead. Not sure who the man behind the curtain was, but it wasn't Lee. I think the university as a whole wasn't accustomed to being led by anyone. That was part of the problem with Doc. The rest of the problem was Doc's ego and failure to pick his battles wisely. I still think it hurts MSU a lot more than it helps any individual faculty group to have Doc resign so early. I would have liked to see him stay on the job for 2 more years. I'm afraid this experiment in leadership will result in the powers that be choosing another cream puff, spineless administrator as president. If that happens, expect less forward thinking plans for growth and more status quo. Go State, go State.

 

[thatsbaseball]

to allow him to be a EFFECTIVE leader. I`ve asked this question of others. In what ways was he leading the university forward ? Now before you tell me increasing enrollment please include a description / profile of the students making up this increase. Were they national merit finalists,high ACT scorers, leaders at their highschools or just people we were able to somehow get in school ? I will never fall into the category that feels that the larger the enrollment the better the school but I do place a lot of value on the quality of the student body. But anyway enlighten me on things that Doc initiated that had us moving forward.

 

[MaverickAG]

Seriously, why all the venom directed towards this guy? When I was on campus as a student I had the chance to meet and talk with him a few times, once on an extended recruiting trip. He even flew us back on the jet then gave us rides home from the airport. While he did seemed a bit self-absorbed with all the talk of his fighter pilot days and the infamous Doc shrine in the library, all-in-all he seemed dead-set on making MSU the best it could possibly be.

Even if you disagree with his leadership style, the man got things done. Increased enrollment, fired LT (hallelujah), turned around the budget deficit, incorporated several new scholarship programs, and set a new level of importance on recruitment and marketing. Of course there are things that he did that weren't as popular but I really don't see any of them as being that big of a damn deal (Daffodils... seriously, daffodils?). Some people will ***** just because they have to I guess.

That being said, if he isn't leaving for reasons other than the original three he stated when hired then I think it is really chicken **** of him but that fact will still remain, he got stuff done.

 

[HighPointDawg]

Seriously? I can't figure out who ALL these people are that make up the majority.. I don't know a single alumni (personally) that didn't like him and think he was the best thing we have had going for us since Z.

He clashed with some random groups that honestly enjoy controversy and making public "scenes" ... that's going to happen to anybody who is actively involved in the improvement process.. You think the architecture school hasn't clashed with past demands of them? Of course they have it just was with some nobody that the president had delegated something to instead of the president himself so it didn't cause a dreaded "facebook" outing..

If this was an election ..... and alumni, faculty and current students made up the voting population.. My guess is that DOC would be elected by a WIDE margin over most candidates .