University of Southern Mississippi

to the National Science Foundation, USM spent $61 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 183rd in the nation.
Thames's work to respond to the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina brought praise from the community. In October 2005, the Faculty Senate of the Gulf Park campus passed a resolution of appreciation. The Hattiesburg American reported that Thames's post-Katrina address to the faculty at Hattiesburg was well received. Thames did not lay off any university employees after the storm, although the Gulf Park campus alone sustained over $100 million in damage (By contrast, Tulane University in New Orleans released approximately 25% of its staff and dropped significant athletic and academic programs, including the computer science major and most engineering programs, in retrenchment after closure and damage to the campus.)
The Thames administration gained financing and supervised several campus construction projects, often in partnership with private-sector entities. An addition to the student …