A former professor’s provost predictions

When USF President Judy Genshaft assumed her post, she named then Dean S. David Stamps as acting provost. After a search, he became the permanent provost. I was certain she would do this and said so to many, including Stamps. Last year, he left the provost position for personal reasons.

President Genshaft then named the Arts and Sciences dean, Renu Khator, as the acting provost. Before becoming permanent dean, Khator was acting dean and after a search was performed her position became permanent. I predicted it.

Now a search is being held for provost and Khator, as acting provost, is a candidate. This time I am 99.5 percent sure she will become provost. Why? It is obvious the president wants her in that position and she is quite popular with the faculty for good reasons.

We are told that there are legal requirements to have a search. These searches where the outcome is pretty certain (formerly called “wired”) are a waste of money, time (I used to and still refuse to go to interviews for this reason) and phony encouragements to the finalists whose travel expenses are paid by USF.

There are loopholes to these mandated searches. Years ago the president of FSU named a provost without a search. There were some complaints. He prevailed and the matter was soon forgotten. Are there now or in the past strong objections to the appointment of Khator or Stamps by the faculty, students and staff? Not to my knowledge. Were equal opportunities bypassed? Certainly not! Look at the gender, race or ethnic origins of these appointees. We waste funds that are badly needed.

Finally, if Khator becomes provost, she will — I believe — see to it that the acting Arts and Science Dean, Kathleen Heide, will have that position after a wasteful search. She should. Will I be right?

Charles Arnade is a former USF professor.

Cap prevents rich from stealing NFL
Re: “Parity may prove to be the NFL’s downfall” Jan. 22, 2004

I don’t think everyone knows the difference between professional football and college football. Adam Becker discussed how unfortunate it is for football fans and star football players to watch the New England Patriots go against the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

First of all, just because we here in Tampa were so happy that the Buccaneers made it to the Super Bowl XXXVII does not mean everyone in the nation was looking forward to watching them. This era of professional football requires more than super-talented players. Teams could still have advantages even with the salary cap to show their winning ability. Discipline, eagerness, motivation, teamwork, smart managers and head coaches are all different opportunities that teams could use to win championships.

The Bucs are statistically still one of the best teams in the league. The reason they could not make it to the playoffs is because in every single close game, the Bucs were always the first to give up. Some Bucs players are content with one ring.

Last week we all saw the 5-foot-8 Carolina defensive back Ricky Manning more eager to get the ball than the taller Philadelphia receivers who were playing in their third consecutive NFC championship game. On the other hand, we saw some all-star quarterbacks like Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb and Steve McNair throwing the easy interceptions when they had to make a big play for their teams in the 2003-04 playoffs.

The NFL, by enforcing the salary cap, makes sure that a team sport such as football cannot be won by having a couple of superstar players. Rather, teams that have the most chances at winning the Super Bowl have the best combination of players, for example the Patriots, or a team that has a very energetic quarterback with two dependable receivers, two good substituting running backs and an outstanding defense like the Panthers.

If teams can spend unlimited amounts of money on players, we might end up with a monopoly where a very rich team will buy every single good player in the league. Teams could buy superstar players from competing teams and sit them on the bench until they make sure they can’t contribute to the game of football anymore. If for no other reason, a salary cap is important to prevent inflating the salaries of players.

Yaser Al-Dahoud is a senior majoring in business.

McCullum playing favorites with recruits

Please do not place all of the blame for their 0-3 record on the men’s basketball team. Although they are fully equipped on both offense and defense, a team is not a team without a coach.

Where does Robert McCullum fall into play? So far, he’s let three of Greenberg’s recruits fall through the cracks without any explanation. Three talented recruits — who would have contributed to our upcoming move into the Big East — racked up numbers on offense and contributed heavily to the defense. Just what exactly is McCullum’s vision for a team that possesses serious potential to do big things? While the current players (all of six) have enough talent to score, it seems as though “Coach Mac” is afraid to let them do so. He’s playing guys out of position, focusing too heavily on the zone and not allowing his players to play the game of basketball. With walk-ons being dressed to play, it’s obvious that we are short on players. Understandably, we have to improvise. However, I am not sure McCullum knows how to play our team. Out of all of the dressed players, McCullum recruited one. Logically, he doesn’t carry any hands-on knowledge about what each of the previous players possess on the court. His lack of knowledge about where and how to play our guys is damaging to the team. His open displays of favoritism toward his own recruits show his lack of recognition for Greenberg’s recruits. To those who are not aware, personality has little to do with how well someone plays the game of basketball. Benching one due to your own lack of not knowing only hurts the team. It is obvious we have shooters on the team who are not getting the chance to utilize their ability. They are being held back when they could be contributing to our offense. When it comes to the zone, it kills us at times.

I am aware that man-to-man is seemingly impossible for a team lacking players, however, dedicating the entire game to the zone leaves opportunity for other teams to score easy baskets.

I believe we have a team that could compete with larger schools, yet there is no way any player is going to give it their all when their coach refuses to let them do so. Hey Coach Mac, let the guys play basketball!

Candreia Glenn is a sophomore majoring in mass communications.