Sept. 7, 1954

In compliance with the recent Brown v. Board of Education decision, schools in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., were desegregated. Baltimore was one of the first school systems to desegregate below the Mason-Dixon line. 

A month after a dozen Black students began attending what had been an all-white school, demonstrations took place, one of them turning violent when 800 whites attacked four Black students. White parents began pulling their children out of the schools, and by 1960, the district was majority Black.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The University of Southern Mississippi will look at cutting under-enrolled programs even though administrators say it is not facing a financial crisis.

The budget is balanced, despite a four-year period of decreasing revenue and increasing costs, and USM has adequate cash reserves.

The move is necessary, top leaders said at last month’s convocation, so the research institution in Hattiesburg can survive the increasingly competitive future facing higher education in Mississippi by becoming a “unicorn” among its peers, offering programs students want and the state needs.

“Colleagues, this is plain and simply the reality of where we are in higher education today, and progressive institutions all across the landscape are doing the same,” President Joe Paul told faculty on Aug. 19, according to a video the university has since taken off YouTube after faculty and staff had a chance to watch it. “We can no longer simply kick the can down the road and hope things can get better. We will instead take charge of our future and crease a uniquely positioned, distinctive public research universty of which we can all be proud and feel ownership.”

Paul added that cuts are also one of the few ways the university can afford more pay raises for its faculty and staff, some of whom will receive merit raises this fall for the first time in eight years. (After protesting, minimum wage workers at USM won a pay raise two years ago.)

“My goal for us is not to go another eight years before offering raises again, that accomplishes little,” Paul said. “If we are to develop a true salary increase plan that is competitive and sustainable, we simply must continue to do two things with discipline and consistency. One, we must all continue to grow the enrollment through recruitment and retention … while also continuing to find efficiencies and decrease spending as an institution.”

USM was able to afford the raises, which total about $4.4 million, through what Paul described as two years of systematic reductions in administrative spending. The university cut 22 unfilled and six filled positions at its Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses.

An increase in state appropriations also helped support the raise, but USM isn’t able to say how much because “the raises come from the university’s operating budget and the amount is not broken down by revenue source,” Nicole Ruhnke, a spokesperson, wrote in an email.

The raises addressed a significant concern for faculty at USM who held a protest for fair pay earlier this year.

Low salaries are an issue across Mississippi’s higher education system, which has struggled to attract and retain talented faculty. In recent years, the governing board of Mississippi’s eight universities has repeatedly heard how Mississippi’s faculty and staff are paid well below the average salary of other Southern states.

In an effort to fix that, the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees asked the Legislature to provide $53 million in funding this year so that each university could afford a 6.4% raise.

IHL’s spokesperson John Sewell wrote in an email that the system ultimately received $27 million in unrestricted new funding, not enough for 6.4% increase.

That funding also needed to cover other inflationary costs facing the institutions, like PERS and health insurance, Sewell wrote.

Therefore, IHL left the final decision on raises up to the institutions, so Sewell could not say how much each university spent. Plus, the system’s final appropriation bill, which IHL negotiates on behalf of the eight institutions, did not include specific language regarding raises.

“IHL did not prescribe a fixed amount of new funding to be dedicated to raises as the individual institutions needed the flexibility to balance the increased costs for PERS and health insurance along with other inflationary costs before considering the amount for possible raises,” Sewell wrote.

Those costs are also driving USM administrators’ review of under-enrolled programs, which comprise a minority of USM’s programs.

Lance Nail, the provost, is leading that effort. In response to questions from Mississippi Today, Nail and Paul did not participate in an interview but provided statements.

Nail wrote that details about the program review will be worked out in the coming weeks in consultation with faculty, staff and administration.

“We will look at each under-enrolled academic program individually in collaboration with the deans, school directors and faculty, and determine what has led to low enrollment, student and market demand, as well as other contributions the program provides within the academy.” Nail noted. “These include the program’s contributions to the general education core, pre-major requirements, research and service.”

Last fall, USM deleted three degrees after IHL’s academic productivity review, which is triggered when a program is deemed to have too few graduates in a three-year period. Those degrees were a bachelors in international studies, and doctoral degrees in music education and criminal justice.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi Today is pleased to announce that Richard Lake has joined the Mississippi Today team as Audience Engagement Specialist. 

In this role, Lake will work directly with journalists, editors and readers to ensure Mississippi Today’s Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism reaches every corner of the state and beyond.

“Richard has developed into a respected member of the journalism community here in Mississippi,” said managing editor Michael Guidry. “He brings such an invaluable variety of skills to our newsroom that will help us further enhance how we engage with our members and growing audience.”

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Lake graduated from Mississippi State University in 2022, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in political science. Richard comes to Mississippi Today after over two years as WJTV Channel 12 News’ Senior Political Correspondent. A former Mississippi Today intern, Lake previously worked on the audience team. He also completed an internship with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports, working as a production assistant.

While at WJTV, Lake was named a finalist for TV Rookie of the Year at the 2023 Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Awards. Lake was also a part of WJTV’s award winning reporting on Mississippi’s 2023 gubernatorial election.

“Finding creative ways to provide our audience with the journalism they expect and deserve is more important now than ever,” said Lake. “I’m excited to apply innovative strategies and work alongside this incredible team in furthering the impact of our reporting.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.