The university must hire two new economics professors

Southern Miss has yet to find professors for seven of the 13 economics classes scheduled for the fall, according to the office of the registrar's course schedule.


The university originally proposed to terminate the economics department, but now the plan is to move economics teachers to the College of Arts and Letters rather than keep them in the College of Business.


"In the budget-cutting that was done last summer, a deal was worked out where a bachelor of arts degree in economics would be spared and four faculty who had been working in the College of Business would stay and come to work in the College of Arts and Letters," explained Dean of the College of Arts and Letters Denise von Herrmann.


"It's not a new program; it's the same one," she said. "But since then, two of the economics faculty who were supposed to stay have told us that they've found other jobs. So we're looking to temporarily find two faculty to teach the classes that those two who left us would have taught. It's nothing unusual at all. People leave and we hire temporary people all the time."   

USM has decided to keep the economics program at the request of the political science department.


"We wrote a letter in support of keeping economics and were then contacted sometime later by the provost," said Allan McBride, associate professor and chair of the political science department.


     McBride said the provost asked if the political science department would allow the remaining economics faculty to join their ranks. Originally, the plan was for five economics professors to retire, and four to stay.
"So we are down to two faculty members, and we are probably going to hire one replacement for up here and one replacement for on the coast," McBride said.


Von Herrman said every year multiple professors decide to leave or retire, therefore spring and summer months are typically spent finding professors to teach those classes.


 Last year we had a mass communications professor who died, and we hired someone to teach his classes. Yes, we're looking to replace those two. They'll be temporary hires. And we're just going through the normal process of looking for qualified people. You talk to people who know people, and you find folks out there who have the qualifications."