...For a university that has no medical or engineering school, the University of Southern
Mississippi has managed to carve a niche for itself and earn a national reputation for its cutting-
edge research.
...“They’re proud of it,” Dr. Martha Dunagin Saunders, university president, said about people
from the area. Granted, they may be hard-pressed to explain the polymer research – she herself
would have some trouble – but they know what it’s impressive.
...For Saunders, a Mississippi native, her new post in Hattiesburg is a homecoming. This is
where she received a bachelor’s degree in French before going to the University of Georgia for a
master’s in journalism and Florida State University for a doctorate in communication theory and
research.
...Saunders later became dean of the college of arts and sciences at the University of West
Florida in Pensacola, then vice president of academic affairs at Columbus State University in
Columbus, Ga. She was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the first woman
to hold that post, before returning to Southern Miss in May 2007.
...Saunders said Southern Miss is not the same place she left.
A marvelous change
...Southern Miss is ranked 175th in the nation in R&D expenditures in FY 2006, third among
Mississippi’s research universities. But it’s 56th for R&D in chemistry – ahead of Mississippi’s
other research universities.
...“It has grown in some pretty marvelous ways. Our focus on faculty research, innovation, is
new and we’ve progressed,” she said. “We’re not out trying to throw the net for whatever you
can catch. The idea is a hub of knowledge in a particular area.”
...The university’s research in advanced materials is clearly a plus. Notable is that advanced
materials is a field that is so crucial to advancements in other fields, including aerospace,
shipbuilding and others.
...“I think that with advanced materials we can replicate the success that happened at other
places,” Saunders said, referring to research-based industry clusters that have grown in other
parts of the country, like electronics in California.
...She said the university has found a niche and is mining it by providing a location where
advanced materials firms can find a home close to an institute dedicated to research.
...Saunders expects Southern Miss to continue to leverage its ability to treat new companies in a
very special way. A company that may be lost in the pack in a place like California can be a
special jewel in Mississippi.
...“We make them family,” she said.
...Saunders said one of the newest companies in Hattiesburg, Hybrid Plastics, “is on my mind
frequently, to make sure we’re providing them with what they need – an educated work force
and a place to thrive.”
...While it’s best known for its work in polymers, the university is also proud of its research in
marine science, and particularly coastal science. She’s especially excited about Southern Miss’
work in aquaculture – “fish in a box,” she jokes.
...She did some work in aquaculture herself years ago, but it really wasn’t viable then. Today the
thinking is that marine aquaculture is at about the point the poultry industry was in the 1950s,
and aquaculture could well become just as successful.
...That could mean a new, research-based industry for South Mississippi.
The new campus
...Saunders is sitting at the Southern Miss helm at a time when the university is involved in
creating a new campus near the intersection of Interstate 10 and U.S. 49 in Gulfport. It will
continue to operate the campus on U.S. 90 in Long Beach.
...Her counterpart at the University of Mississippi, Robert Khayat, has said the new campus
might be a great opportunity to set up a research center involving all the state’s research
universities (Alliance Insight, Q2 2007).
...“We routinely collaborate with the other research universities. I think I would stop short of a
blanket statement that we could put all this brainpower together and something wonderful would
happen,” she said, but added, “I think we should certainly put some thought into that.” – Tcp
January 2008
Mississippi has managed to carve a niche for itself and earn a national reputation for its cutting-
edge research.
...“They’re proud of it,” Dr. Martha Dunagin Saunders, university president, said about people
from the area. Granted, they may be hard-pressed to explain the polymer research – she herself
would have some trouble – but they know what it’s impressive.
...For Saunders, a Mississippi native, her new post in Hattiesburg is a homecoming. This is
where she received a bachelor’s degree in French before going to the University of Georgia for a
master’s in journalism and Florida State University for a doctorate in communication theory and
research.
...Saunders later became dean of the college of arts and sciences at the University of West
Florida in Pensacola, then vice president of academic affairs at Columbus State University in
Columbus, Ga. She was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the first woman
to hold that post, before returning to Southern Miss in May 2007.
...Saunders said Southern Miss is not the same place she left.
A marvelous change
...Southern Miss is ranked 175th in the nation in R&D expenditures in FY 2006, third among
Mississippi’s research universities. But it’s 56th for R&D in chemistry – ahead of Mississippi’s
other research universities.
...“It has grown in some pretty marvelous ways. Our focus on faculty research, innovation, is
new and we’ve progressed,” she said. “We’re not out trying to throw the net for whatever you
can catch. The idea is a hub of knowledge in a particular area.”
...The university’s research in advanced materials is clearly a plus. Notable is that advanced
materials is a field that is so crucial to advancements in other fields, including aerospace,
shipbuilding and others.
...“I think that with advanced materials we can replicate the success that happened at other
places,” Saunders said, referring to research-based industry clusters that have grown in other
parts of the country, like electronics in California.
...She said the university has found a niche and is mining it by providing a location where
advanced materials firms can find a home close to an institute dedicated to research.
...Saunders expects Southern Miss to continue to leverage its ability to treat new companies in a
very special way. A company that may be lost in the pack in a place like California can be a
special jewel in Mississippi.
...“We make them family,” she said.
...Saunders said one of the newest companies in Hattiesburg, Hybrid Plastics, “is on my mind
frequently, to make sure we’re providing them with what they need – an educated work force
and a place to thrive.”
...While it’s best known for its work in polymers, the university is also proud of its research in
marine science, and particularly coastal science. She’s especially excited about Southern Miss’
work in aquaculture – “fish in a box,” she jokes.
...She did some work in aquaculture herself years ago, but it really wasn’t viable then. Today the
thinking is that marine aquaculture is at about the point the poultry industry was in the 1950s,
and aquaculture could well become just as successful.
...That could mean a new, research-based industry for South Mississippi.
The new campus
...Saunders is sitting at the Southern Miss helm at a time when the university is involved in
creating a new campus near the intersection of Interstate 10 and U.S. 49 in Gulfport. It will
continue to operate the campus on U.S. 90 in Long Beach.
...Her counterpart at the University of Mississippi, Robert Khayat, has said the new campus
might be a great opportunity to set up a research center involving all the state’s research
universities (Alliance Insight, Q2 2007).
...“We routinely collaborate with the other research universities. I think I would stop short of a
blanket statement that we could put all this brainpower together and something wonderful would
happen,” she said, but added, “I think we should certainly put some thought into that.” – Tcp
January 2008
Research
USM's Saunders plans to build on success
USM's Saunders plans to build on success
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