A special committee will meet Monday to discuss campus issues given as reasons for a Feb. 27 no-confidence vote in university President Lester C. Newman.
The group includes 10 Mississippi Valley State University faculty members; Dr. Cassie Osborne, provost; and Dr. Curtis Baham, interim vice president for academic affairs.
"The administration certainly looks forward to the meetings getting under way," said Debbie Montgomery, university director of public relations. "There are many events and activities going on on campus that require the full support of everyone. Resolving these issues will help us move Valley forward."
Baham, a retiree of Jackson State University, will be leaving the university March 30. He was hired as interim vice president for academic affairs in November when the previous vice president retired.
If the committee does not finish its work before Baham's departure, it will continue meetings with Dr. Tazinski Lee, interim associate vice president for academic affairs and chair of the social sciences department.
Changing leadership could slow the committee down.
"I think the Valley family will truly miss Dr. Baham," said Dr. Abigail Newsome, director of the bioinformatics program. "He's done a lot for the university in the small amount of time he's been here. I truly hate that he's leaving,"
Baham has done a lot to support the faculty and has implemented new academic programs, such as recruiting students from Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale, Newsome said.
Higher Education Commissioner Thomas C. Meredith is still assessing the Faculty Senate's letter regarding the no-confidence vote, said Annie Mitchell, director of media relations for the College Board.
Meredith was in meetings Thursday for final interviews for a new president of the University of Southern Mississippi, Mitchell said.
USM President Shelby Thames' contract expires in May.
Thames received a no-confidence vote from the USM faculty in March 2004.
