August 10, 2001

U. of Southern Mississippi Head Quits After Board Offers Only One-Year Contract; Former Berkeley Provost Is New Smith College President

By JULIANNE BASINGER

NO THANKS: A one-year offer to continue as a college president amounts to being left twisting in the wind. That's how Horace W. Fleming saw it when Mississippi's higher-education board offered last month to extend his contract as president of the University of Southern Mississippi for only one year.

The board's action stunned Mr. Fleming, 57, who, after four years on the job, had the support of faculty and staff members, students, and many alumni, as well as the university's