Due to recent events, you can now leave online condolences with each obituary posted on the Kutis Funeral Home website. COVID-19 Funeral Assistance – FEMA is now helping those that have lost a loved one from COVID-19. Click HERE to review the information on eligibility and requirements on the COVID-19 Funeral Weisenburg (nee Moore) for over 31 years; loving father of Mitchell Thomas Weisenburg Teresa (Craig) Warfel and Sean Gill; cherished grandpa of David Matthew Jacob Lee and Lillian Michelle; dearest brother of Penlope (late Paul) Bridgette (Charles) and the late Jennifer  Weisenburg; our dear brother-in-law I’m so sorry for your loss Teresa and Craig I know how difficult this is for your family strength and peace to you and your families Spent my bus rides with wise was always full of life and strong will be missed I had him on my heart over the last year hadn’t heard from him Many great times with Mike after work when we were young Mike was the first person to befriend me when my parents moved into the neighborhood in 1971 Many happy and fun memories of Mike and the family Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" For personalized and affordable funeral arrangements choose Kutis Funeral Home - a family-owned establishment serving St 2906 Gravois Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118314-772-3000 10151 Gravois Road, St. Louis, MO 63123314-842-4458 5255 Lemay Ferry Road, Mehlville, MO 63129314-894-4500 .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Joanne AndersonTwo authors one researching Pascagoula's Helen Baird who was at one time a love interest of William Faulkner a distinguished attorney who displayed dauntless courage during Mississippi's Civil Rights era Hoping to make our state aware of Faulkner's strong ties to Pascagoula by his love of a local belle the Jackson County Genealogical and Historical Society first prepared a historical marker that will be placed on Beach Boulevard near an oak tree under which Faulkner often sat pecking away on his manual typewriter As the JCHGS began preparing for its first annual William Faulkner Festival on Jan Sherry Owens and Renee Hague of Pascagoula Public Library's Local Genealogy and History Department were contacted by Jonny Harwell of Nashville is writing a book on the relationship between Helen Baird and Faulkner Harwell is also one of several sponsors of the Faulkner Fest the signal event that promises to be a sellout at the Magnolia Ballroom in Pascagoula when the famous actor John Maxwell presents his one-man play depicting Faulkner the night of Jan Faulkner wrote and dedicated a book of poems to Laird They had met during his visits to friends in Pascagoula a retired history professor from the Atlanta area He is working on a book about the Civil Rights era and wants to include Wiesenburg's role Singing River City," said of the trial lawyer and state legislator: "Wiesenburg had come to Pascagoula in 1929 he had passed the bar exam at 21 and over the years had gained fame in a number of sensational cases Wiesenburg's essays written during the Ole Miss-Meredith crisis called for reason and justice They were courageous and noted by then U.S Attorney General Robert Kennedy in one of his books The essays were first published in Ira Harkey's newspaper "The Chronicle-Star." They later were published in booklet form and are out of print though copies can be found for purchase on the Internet Less remembered perhaps were Wiesenburg's contributions to economic development in Jackson County He drafted two pieces of legislation that positioned Jackson County as a key player in the state's economy a bill established the Jackson County Port Authority and authorized the issuance of bonds for port improvement a new bill became law providing for funds from the state The port subsequently grew and became a magnet for the major industries we see today Jackson County's role in the history of literature and Civil Rights are becoming more and more studied Correspondent Joanne Anderson may be reached at joandy42@cableone.net Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Four presidents have left Mississippi’s eight public institutions since last June Critics say the system board’s hiring practices are largely to blame You have /5 articles left.Sign up for a free account or log in The University of Southern Mississippi is one of four public institutions in the state whose president left unexpectedly.  The presidents of four of Mississippi’s eight public universities have departed since last June raising questions about the rapid pace of executive turnover in the state system three were abrupt: the presidents of Alcorn State University Delta State University and Jackson State University stepped down suddenly Two of those—Alcorn State and Jackson State—are historically Black universities where the president also announced his resignation is the only one of the four that saw an orderly transition—though the off-ramp provided for the president was unexpectedly shortened when he left months earlier than planned While Southern Miss has since hired a new president Delta and Jackson are operating with interim executives at the helm Delta State's new president will start June 1 while a search is underway for permanent replacements at Alcorn and Jackson But given the rate of executive turnover at the state’s public universities critics suggest that something is amiss in how the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees finds The first of the four departures came at Delta State last June, when the IHL trustees removed Bill LaForge from the university he had led since 2013. The board has said little about the decision LaForge suggested it was related to enrollment and financial issues Next came Rodney Bennett, president of the University of Southern Mississippi. Bennett, who took the helm at USM in 2013, announced in 2022 that he intended to serve through June 2023. But that timeline was cut short when Bennett left a year early in June 2022, for reasons the IHL Board of Trustees has not publicly explained Thomas Hudson resigned the presidency of Jackson State in March after two and a half years on the job.  Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images News/Getty Images North America so it remains unclear whether she resigned under pressure or was ultimately removed by the board Alcorn State has had seven presidents at the helm of the university since 2010 Turnover at the highest ranks of Mississippi’s public institutions has created a range of challenges according to constituents at various campuses who have been affected by the presidential departures “How do we recruit and retain quality faculty at an institution when you have this turnover at the presidential level Who wants to move to Mississippi when they see presidents keep turning over?” asked Dawn McLin president of the Faculty Senate at Jackson State University Others noted that universities may be stuck in limbo without stable “It’s dramatic when you lose a president or chancellor because a lot of things get put on hold until there’s new leadership And so the effort to move forward can be stymied by that,” said Denis Wiesenburg past president of the Faculty Senate at the University of Southern Mississippi a professor of higher education and chair of the Department of Education Policy and Leadership at Southern Methodist University said that losing a president can be inherently challenging even under the best circumstances but it becomes much harder without an orderly transition “It leads to mass disruption throughout the institution because if you don’t have that stable leadership at the top then it definitely flows down all the way through the organization,” he said which is appointed by Mississippi’s governor has offered few insights into individual presidential transitions and has not publicly acknowledged concerns about the high rate of turnover IHL commissioner Al Rankins defended the board’s processes “The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning certainly understands the disruption and uncertainty caused by presidential transitions,” Rankins wrote “The Board has implemented strategies to attract and retain institutional executive officers like a refined presidential search process that encourages applying without fear of reprisal from current employers and a more competitive compensation structure The Board will continue to make adjustments to foster sustained successful presidential tenures.” Asked to clarify how IHL has refined search processes In the IHL statement, Rankins also pointed to a recent study from the American Council on Education that “shows presidential tenures have declined nationally over the past two decades and currently the average presidential tenure is less than six years so presidential turnover is not unique to public universities in Mississippi Although our newest permanent president is in his first year of office our longest serving sitting president is in his fourteenth year on the job.” A spokesperson for Mississippi governor Tate Reeves said by email that “high turnover rates in higher ed across the country are unfortunately more the norm than the exception,” adding that the resignations “reflect individual situations” and unique circumstances “Governor Reeves has complete confidence in the IHL Board of Trustees to do what’s best for our state’s students,” the statement continued “He remains committed to appointing individuals who will help ensure Mississippi’s institutions of higher learning maintain the highest standards.” Representatives on the 12-member IHL board serve nine-year terms The ongoing searches for new presidents at Alcorn Delta and Jackson State all have something in common: not a single campus constituent is part of the search committees A subset of IHL trustees makes up the committees that will find the future presidents of all these institutions breaking from the fairly common practice of including faculty members in executive searches Instead of serving on the search committees faculty members and other employees are part of campus constituency groups that offer input but do not meet with candidates Such advisory groups are allowed but not required, according to IHL bylaws IHL hires presidential candidates with faculty input only from the advisory groups IHL also deploys campus listening sessions to gather feedback from students and employees on what they want from the next president Some faculty members suggested that IHL listens to their feedback Wiesenburg noted that the search at USM—where Bennett’s off-ramp was shortened without explanation—was unusual came out of retirement to accept the position as interim president Then the search was suddenly halted and Paul was appointed president—a decision Wiesenburg said he believed was best for Southern Miss given Paul’s experience familiarity with the university and belief in shared governance It looked like the search committee actually listened to what people said in the listening sessions,” Wiesenburg said Another USM professor, speaking anonymously, raised concerns about the ongoing search for a chancellor, worried that IHL is allowing undue influence from donors in considering candidates with checkered pasts for the job Delta State has also filled its open presidential slot; Daniel J. Ennis was hired in March Both Alcorn State and Jackson State are currently led by interim presidents While the IHL search process may be unusual some critics have suggested it is also ineffective “Given the evidence of the problems they’ve had I would suggest they need to seriously reconsider how to get better involvement the board is not able to identify candidates who are going to be successful,” Harris said “The board should be talking to people involved in campuses to get their input so they can get better candidates If you’ve had this many presidencies that haven’t gone well it seems like a real no-brainer to be more open.” who had served as a paid search consultant and as IHL commissioner from 2015 to 2018 and the University of Mississippi Faculty Senate voted no confidence in the IHL Board of Trustees the IHL board voted to make campus search advisory groups anonymous—even to one another But some faculty members saw IHL efforts to clamp down on executive search procedures as an overreaction to the leak of chancellor candidates in 2019 “I think they reacted by throwing the baby out with the bathwater on that,” Daniel Durkin chair of the Faculty Senate at the University of Mississippi said about the changes in search procedures The IHL board has also given itself the authority to expedite or extend searches to include “anyone it chooses to interview,” even those who have not applied for the job It has also struggled with high school graduation rates Observers point to a mix of factors driving the turnover at Mississippi’s public universities While Harris suggested that the hiring process itself is flawed and that the board “needs to take a hard look in the mirror,” he also questioned whether presidents are receiving the appropriate support from IHL “If you have multiple presidents that are not being successful for whatever reason at some point you have to look at the board and those doing the hiring Because either they’re not setting the conditions for those presidents to be successful or they’re identifying bad individuals to assume those roles,” Harris said “There’s something wrong at a greater level than individual presidents.” A pre-orientation initiative helps pre-nursing students prepare for college and their overall persistence at the Univ The Trump administration has thrown federal research funding into a state of flux The abrupt end of the private South Carolina institution follows a last-minute fundraising effort by the board that c When Republicans revealed the legislation last week new provisions requiring faculty to post syllabi and face “produ Learn high-impact ways to re-engage students drive enrollment and support your team’s well-being Subscribe for free to Inside Higher Ed’s newsletters opinion and great new careers in higher education — delivered to your inbox View Newsletters Copyright © 2025 Inside Higher Ed All rights reserved. | Website designed by nclud Mississippi (AP) — Administrator say a hiring slowdown larger classes and reducing travel are among the methods the University of Southern Mississippi may use to cut 4½ percent from its annual budget The Hattiesburg American reports the cost-cutting measures — though not instituted yet — are a response to an enrollment decline over the past few years the university experienced a 2.6 percent decrease with 14,845 students enrolled “Our goal is to reduce the budget without impacting the students’ experience,” Southern Miss Provost Denis Wiesenburg said “… The cost-cutting measures will have consequences but we’re looking at cuts that will cause the least harm to students or the programs.” Wiesenburg said the university’s headcount enrollment figures can be misleading — adding that FTE (full-time equivalent) figures more accurately show the drop “We are down 366 students who are FTE but we are down 2.6 percent in student credit hours,” he said explaining state funding is based on student credit hours and the university receives about $6,000 per FTE student “We have fewer students taking classes.” the university’s vice president of Finance and Administration said the budget cuts are not mandated by the Institutions of Higher Learning or the state Legislature He said faculty and staff have been instructed to come up with ways they would reduce spending in their respective departments He said nothing has been finalized at this point but reports should be back from the departments in 30 to 45 days Vinzant said the university is not considering a hiring freeze — but more of a hiring slowdown where administrators would look closely at open positions to determine if they need to be filled The university has about 50 administrative Winston County optimistic 6 months after tornado; see April 28 storm damage by the numbers 7 Ole Miss looks for solutions to its sputtering offense vs HATTIESBURG, Mississippi (AP) — Hattiesburg police are investigating an incident in which several shots were fired into the Islamic Center. Police Department spokesman Lt. Jon Traxler says police initially received a report about 11:45 p.m. […] Former ‘railroad’ man steps into political fray After attending a local Democratic caucus meeting earlier this year at Provine High School in Jackson and at the urging of some in attendance There James Reed left with the understanding that it was his time to offer himself as a public servant “I really didn’t have this on my radar,” Reed said praying about it and discussing it with my wife Reed is seeking the office of Election Commissioner for District 1 in Hinds County. […] Tweets by MississippiLink Recent attempts to unify the University of Southern Mississippi’s administrative operations have opened up deep-seated divisions between the Hattiesburg campus and the Gulf Coast a former legislator who represented Harrison County said she’s fed up after the resignation in May of Gulf Park Vice President Frances Lucas “It’s like a child abused by the parent,” said Peranich who pushed for Gulf Park to offer four-year university classes but you’re abused by your parent,” she explained you’re ready to be adopted by something else “I’m ready to be adopted by Mississippi State.” just two months after a massive reorganization of the Gulf Park campus that deprived her of her title of campus executive officer and bumped her out of the academic decision-making chain the daughter of longtime Southern Miss president Aubrey Lucas cited the loss of her administrative power as the predominant reason for joining the faculty ranks at the university The announcement sent ripples through the Gulf Coast community where business interests have pushed for years for a robust director of the Gulf Coast Business Council expressed his concerns about Lucas’ resignation adding he was unaware of the degree to which her powers had been stripped until she quit “Anytime you lose someone with that much leadership ability Peresich said he believes folks on the Coast want to cooperate with University of Southern Mississippi President Rodney Bennett but they also want answers about the new direction of the Coast campus “We’re pleased to be a part of USM,” Peresich said “But we want to be an integral part of the university He added there is no desire to see Gulf Park break off and become a separate “There’s a great opportunity for USM to expand and grow and become an even bigger university,” Peresich explained of the growth potential on the Coast “But it’s pretty hard if local folks don’t feel like they have a say in how it’s being run.” former Southern Miss Gulf Coast Faculty Council president Pat Smith called the reorganization an effort on the part of the Hattiesburg administration to control Gulf Park — to the detriment of its growth “They view any growth on the Coast campus as a threat to Hattiesburg and its student growth,” Smith said Southern Miss officials in Hattiesburg have pushed forward a different view of the reorganization that put Provost Denis Wiesenburg as the chief academic officer for Gulf Park operations it’s about how do we position the University of Southern Mississippi for success,” Bennett said Blocking this road to success was what officials call an atmosphere of confusion in the relationship between Gulf Park and Hattiesburg that extended to minute details such as funding faculty travel Wiesenburg cites one example of a Gulf Park faculty member who was not even aware of the identity of his supervisor (is) that eliminating the confusion would allow us to operate more effectively on the Gulf Coast,” Wiesenburg said to begin making recommendations on organizing the Coast operations back in the fall semester individual decision on my part,” said Bennett of the reorganization “That was the result of nearly 80 people who studied it for nearly a year That point somehow gets lost in the translation “This reorganization creates for us better alignment,” Bennett explained “If you really look at what the reorganization provides it provides for us alignment of academic programs Southern Miss will add three new positions of associate provost on the Gulf Coast and associate deans in the College of Health and College of Education and Psychology It will take several months for officials to find a replacement for Lucas “I’m hopeful that by the first of the year we’ll have someone hired and on the ground,” said Bennett adding that it may take longer to find “the right person.” Bennett said he will consult with the interim vice president for the Coast formerly an associate director with the university’s National Center for Spectator about what the new position will look like “I’m not opposed to being it called vice president of the Gulf Park campus,” Bennett said “But that’s the discussion that I will have with him.” Bennett added the new Coast leader will continue to have a position on his executive cabinet who was appointed by former president Martha Saunders in 2010 has been praised as student-friendly and dogged in her attempts to rebuild the campus after Hurricane Katrina ravaged it in 2005 “I spoke with her enough to know that she was willing to help out anybody when she can,” said Corey Eggers an undergraduate biology major and member of the student government association regarding Lucas’ “open-door policy” for students the 19-member Southern Miss Gulf Coast Faculty Council unanimously passed a resolution praising Lucas for her work in bringing the Gulf Park campus back from hurricane devastation Wiesenburg agrees with this assessment of Lucas’ leadership through the rebuilding “She was phenomenal in getting the campus rebuilt,” he said “She really developed a plan to force FEMA to deal with our issues.” The fall of Lucas has more to do with the wide gulf that exists between Hattiesburg and the concerns of the coastal community “What this reorganization feels like to me is that inside USM there is no concept of the enduring desire for a full-service university in this community,” Smith said of becoming the site of the University of Mississippi in 1841 and the Gulf Coast had to wait until 1971 to get a public four-year university when the state College Board turned over the Hurricane Camille-damaged Gulf Park College for Women to Southern Miss to run as a regional campus It has been a struggle ever since to get facilities built and class offerings expanded Day classes were not allowed by Southern Miss administrators until the 1980s and freshman and sophomore classes did not become a reality until the early 2000s The struggle to meet student needs has endured as evidenced by the meeting between Bennett and Gulf Park students in April Students aired their complaints about paying the same tuition as Hattiesburg students but not getting the same access to sporting events and an athletic center “I thought some of the concerns were legitimate and some were illegitimate,” said Eggers “It doesn’t make sense for us to have another Payne Center but if we have 3/18 of the population as Hattiesburg shouldn’t we get 3/18 of the funding to build our own fitness center?” But most galling was the battle to get a College Board-authorized study examining the academic program needs of the Gulf Coast region prepared by the College Board of New York in 1997 found education availability and access on the Coast were not sufficient to meet demand It projected a student population of nearly 4,000 students by 2010 and recommended a more autonomous and self-directed Gulf Park campus to meet those educational needs from the University of Southern Mississippi who pushed for the $750,000 needed to fund it in the Legislature “There was never one ounce of encouragement from Hattiesburg Smith said Southern Miss began moving in the direction of greater autonomy with Saunders’ appointment of Lucas as a campus executive officer Now it’s swung back in the opposite direction As for the student population that sits at 2,722 according to the College Board’s duplicated head count for fall 2013 the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina isn’t the only reason Gulf Park lags behind the 1997 study projections He cites restrictions placed on student recruiting and course offerings on the Coast that have also hindered growth But Wiesenburg said course offerings are on the rise stating there are now a record 55 degree programs that can be completed in their entirety on the Coast With the increase in degree options has come a projected increase in Gulf Park student enrollment for fall 2014 even as Hattiesburg’s projected numbers are slightly down student credit hour enrollment at Gulf Park is up 17 percent over last year at this time “The evidence that we have is that resources are being added to the Coast,” said Wiesenburg “The student numbers are growing on the Coast and we’re committed to making the Coast an important part of the success of the university.” When they went after one of their genetically own referring to her lineage at the university .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Joanne AndersonOne of the most powerful and influential citizens in the last half of Jackson County's 20th century was Chris Wiggins' "A Tale of Two Mississippi Cities Pascagoula and Moss Point," succinctly captures the essence of the man who helped shaped our history quietly and mostly behind the scenes "People who lived through that time when quizzed even those who claim acquaintance with the county's movers and shakers uniformly agree on two things about Dantzler: one he played an essential role in the development of the county's major industries particularly a seminal role in the Bayou Casotte industrial complex," writes Wiggins The Dantzler family fortune emanated from the lucrative lumber industry at the turn of the 19th century But Alf Dantzler had the wherewithal to survive the Great Depression and take his company into the World War II era when the county experienced a housing boom and major growth and began delivering the heating oil," Wiggins wrote "This evolved into a full-fledged petroleum distributorship Dantzler also realized that for every gallon of oil a house could burn an ocean-going ship burned a thousand." Dantzler's success in that era was unparalleled in Jackson County He had his own business jet and a vacation home on Cayman Brac He constructed offshore oil survey boats in the 1950's and by mid-20th century was considered one of the richest men in the state I recall when working as a reporter for "The Mississippi Press," in the 1960's that if a candidate wanted to be considered viable he first had to go see Alf Dantzler and get his approval and hopefully his support and legal giant Karl Wiesenburg worked together to make an industrial county second to none in the state Dantzler was a graduate of Biloxi High School Millsaps College and the University of Mississippi He began his working career in 1936 for the L.N Dantzler Lumber Company and in 1943 became an agent for Standard Oil of Kentucky His list of civic and commerce involvements is very long and includes service as a director for Mississippi Power Co. Dantzler was recognized for conservation achievement and was Mississippi Gulf Coast Citizens of the Year in 1986 He was a family man and member of First United Methodist Church of Pascagoula The list of his pallbearers in 2005 reads like a "Who's Who" of Jackson County: James B His obituary concluded with a simple statement: "He touched many lives and was a driving force in helping make Jackson County what it is today." "A Tale of Two Cities," has just been reprinted as a second edition in paperback by the Jackson County Historical and Genealogical Society It includes many stories of those who helped build our county Copies are $20 each and available in the Genealogy and Local History Department of Pascagoula Public Library For mail order add $4 for postage and handling and send check or money order to: JCHGS Columnist Joanne Anderson may be reached at joandy42@cableone.net