Posted April 30, 2004 1:59 PM.

USM settlement released

Details of the settlement between the University of Southern Mississippi and professors Gary Stringer and Frank Glamser include:

- The university will recommend Angie Dvorak, vice president of research and economic development, will not pursue litigation against the professors.

Angie Dvorak was "not a party to the proceedings" and as to her personal rights cannot be bound by the settlement agreement. This provision simply recognizes that fact. Nevertheless, she would be a fool indeed if she pursued litigation against Professors Stringer and Glamser. Her chances of prevailing would be miniscule (that fact is reflected in the collapse of the "prosecution") and the actual effect would be to keep her own professional conduct under the microscope for years, something it would seem inadvisable to do, especially if there is more potential controversy which remains beneath the surface.

- The university will withdraw its termination proceedings against the professors.

A settlement is a settlement, not a continuation of combat. It binds, of course, only the parties, not the rest of the concerned faculty and students.

- The professors will be allowed to remove their personal material from their campus offices.

- The professors will be compensated at their current nine-month salaries. At the end of the 2005-2006 school year, any obligations of employment will have been satisfied.

President Thames' purpose in the discharge proceedings was immediate and definitive termination of the contractual relationship. No spin can obscure the fact that these proceedings were a failure for President Thames. The contractual relationship continues but in a form freely negotiated by the parties. In two years the parties have no further obligations to each other, but this does not mean that new relationships could not be forged at that time if circumstances on campus are by then changed and the parties are so inclined.  A wiser administration would, of course, eagerly invite these two professors to continue contributing to the restoration of peace, harmony, and integrity at USM.

In effect the two years of salary awarded to the men who were supposed to be being fired is indistinguishable from an award of damages for what they have been gratuitously put through. It is inconceivable that this can be seen as a victory for the administration.

I see here on this board a small tendency to think that Drs. Stringer and Glamser should on principle have refused to settle their differences with the University President. No one, however, can expect any individuals and their families to bear such crushing stress and personal sacrifice indefinitely.The issues involved are campus-wide and affect every student and faculty member. It is obvious that it is not over and that the students and faculty need to move on in the effort to salvage the reputation and well-being of USM. It is even more obvious that nearly everyone owes a debt of gratitude to Gary Stringer and Frank Glamser for their guts and determination to do the right thing in the first place and in standing up so courageously to such awful pressure. Would that we were all that strong.