Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Globe: Speck problems unlikely to affect medical school bid

The continuing controversy surrounding Missouri Southern State University President Bruce Speck is unlikely to derail attempts to start a medical school here, according to an article in today's Joplin Globe:

Speck, who obtained a contract extension to 2011 following a three-hour meeting with MSSU’s Board of Governors on Friday, said this week he believes the board’s decision provides him with a “mandate” to make the medical school a reality.

“I think there has been some reassurance of that stable environment through the renewal of my contract,” he said. “I don’t think that is a hurdle now that we have a two-year contract signed by the board, and now that the board has made clearly an endorsement of the medical school. Now that the board has given me a clear mandate to raise funds for this medical school, my sense in all this is the board is absolutely behind this and they are willing to move forward.”

11 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:10 AM

    What! No hateful comments from the blog master?

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  2. Anonymous5:18 AM

    So, obviously, from reading the article in the Globe, Speck now feels he has a "Mandate." May I suggest it sounds more like a clusterf###? And, the "mandate" sounds like a three-way between Douglas, Nodler, and Speck.
    Perhaps I'm being crude, but even more disgusting is the idea that this moron is being paid $180,000 and has a $3,333.33 per month housing allowance. Who, in Joplin, needs that kind of money? How in the heck is this guy worth this much money? It sounds suspicious and it is very hard to understand how the board of governors could renew his contract to 2011, given that he is probably (hopefully) out of there soon.

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  3. No, but it appears I have one from a reader.

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  4. Anonymous6:53 AM

    Adding to A 5:18:

    I wonder if the many people who produced droves of negative anti-faculty comments on articles at the Globe (focusing on how faculty are spoiled and make too much money already, when compared with Joplinites), are also angry about this $3,333 a month housing allowance. Are there other Joplinites who get such a thing?

    I'm going to guess there will be no such outrage, because the anti-faculty comments never had anything to do with money in the first place - they had to do with rampant anti-faculty bias and anti-intellectualism, all a required part of the right wing Kool Aid since god knows when.

    Ol' Dr. Speck deserves every penny of dat allowance, cause he's gunna put dem' librul brainwashin' faculty back in deir' rightful place.

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  5. Sorry, my last comment was intended for the 5:10 Anonymous.

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  6. Fraud8:41 AM

    I'll repeat a comment sent to the Globe:

    "The medical school will be nice, but it will not be our medical school. We are just going to rent the space to the KC school. Still, it is probably worthwhile for Southern and Joplin. What is not needed for the deal to take place is Bruce Speck. KC will deal with any new person in charge (he or she). After all, they are getting a good deal. If it weren't for the mess his protege has created, Douglas would be bragging all over town how he (Douglas) got the medical school for Freeman Hospital, his place of employment. Now he is forced to give the credit to Bruce to salvage Bruce's job, his ego (Douglas') and reputation (what reputation, one might ask). Freeman should kick in at least a million... Will Leggett and Platt kick in anything? Perhaps they should contribute the whole 4 million since the Leggett CEO was on the Search Committee that so brilliantly brought us Bruce Speck. THEY OWE US!!

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  7. Anonymous10:56 AM

    Shouldn't someone put the pieces together, a medical school that really is not one from the community but is controlled from K.C. using local monies? Isn't it strange that Dwight Douglas, Past president of the Board MSSU is also on Freeman Hospital's payroll. The hospital has everything to gain and nothing to lose, it already recieves federal training funds for a very weak training program. Just another example going back many years of Freeman Hospital trying to get the community and taxpayers to pay for the hospital and its administrators, ie ambulance service, helicopters.

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  8. Anonymous4:27 PM

    I keep hearing rumors from Jefferson City that Governor Nixon is going to clean up the mess at MSSU in one way or another. The latest rumor is that he is going to replace the entire Board of Governors.

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  9. Anonymous9:24 AM

    Not sure the gov has the power to replace all the board members. Governors appoint regents, but they must have the concurrence and support of the local state senator.

    And that's where the danger is because you can be sure Nodler and Douglas must be scheming right now on how to redo the board in support of Douglas and their puppet Bruce.

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  10. Anonymous8:35 PM

    College regents and governors are appointed by the governor with the
    consent of the state senators. Doubtful Jay Nixon can replace the whole board. May not have the authority. But you can be sure Nodler and his buddy and partner in crime Dwight Douglas are scheming to somehow get DD back in the chairmanship of BoG.

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  11. Anonymous9:34 AM

    Governor Nixon appoints the Board of Governors. There are presently a majority of the seats either open or coming up for renewal or replacement.
    There is some sentiment that, if the Board fails to act on the faculty's vote of no confidence, the faculty should continue the effort at a higher level, petitioning the Governor to replace the board.

    Such a course of action would be ill-advised. Better the devil we know and all that. If the faculty, students, and community come together to oppose the ego-defensive martinet practices of the current administration, the board will have to find that the president has ignored their instructions to find a conciliatory path, and be forced to remove him. If, on the other hand, he does take overt, effective steps to mend his relationship with the faculty, then he should be allowed to serve out the remaining years-and-a-half quietly.

    So far, no one has seen any indication that he intended to do that, however.

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