| Monday, January 22, 2018 |
| Mississippi State English professor lauded for major publishing achievement | |
 | "One of the most anticipated books of the fall." So proclaimed a recent review in New York-based Publishers Weekly about a two-volume set edited over recent years by Robert M. West, an associate professor of English at Mississippi State University. "The Complete Poems of A.R. Ammons" was released Dec. 19, 2017, by W.W Norton & Co. The first volume includes works of the internationally acclaimed poet from 1955-77; volume two, from 1978-2005. Helen Vendler, a literary critic known for her writings on Ammons and other poets, provides the introduction. From 2009-14, West said he assembled a preliminary manuscript before spending three additional years collaborating with the publisher, finalizing details and preparing the edition for publication. Collectively, his two hardcover volumes include more than 2,100 pages. West gave special credit to the "immense help" of four former English department graduate students. Serving as research assistants, they included Tyler Trimm, Christie Collins, Jessica Burton and Carol Hogan-Downey. |
| Mississippi State announces R.L. Qualls as 2018 National Alumnus | |
 | Mississippi State University has named Burnsville native and alumnus R.L. Qualls as the university's 2018 national alumnus of the year. A Little Rock, Ark., resident, Qualls is the retired president and CEO of Baldor Electric Company. He presently serves as co-chairman of Taylor Companies of Washington, D.C., and he recently retired as presiding independent director of Bank of the Ozarks Inc. Qualls also was a cabinet member during Bill Clinton's first gubernatorial administration in Arkansas. In addition to a career in both the public and private business sectors, Qualls served as a faculty member of the Stonier School of Banking at Rutgers University, course coordinator of the Graduate School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University, and he was a faculty member of Southwestern School of Banking at Southern Methodist University. Additionally, Qualls has been a Ford Foundation Faculty Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University. |
| Music Maker Productions to present A$AP Ferg concert at Horse Park | |
| Mississippi State University's Music Maker Productions is hosting a concert by American rapper A$AP Ferg on Friday, Feb. 23 at the Mississippi Horse Park in Starkville. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 8 p.m. event. On Wednesday 500 presale tickets went on sale exclusively to MSU students for $20 each. Purchases can be made with a valid MSU student identification card in the Center for Student Activities office in Colvard Student Union's Suite 314. Starting Tuesday, Jan. 23, $25 general admission tickets will be available for purchase online at msuconcerts.com or in-person at the Center for Student Activities. Part of the Division of Student Affairs, Music Maker Productions works to provide contemporary entertainment for the MSU and Starkville communities. |
| For creatures great and small: When disasters strike, volunteers stand ready to deploy | |
| Carla Huston was hands-on for eight weeks after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, working alongside others to blunt the devastation to hundreds, if not thousands, of pets and livestock on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As difficult as the experience was, there were uplifting moments. They remind Dr. Huston and other members of MART -- the Mississippi Animal Response Team -- why they volunteer. Hurricanes, tornadoes, oil spills, mudslides -- when disasters hit, the focus is first on human toll. But animals are caught on the front lines as well. Huston, a Clay County resident and associate professor at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, is one of several area volunteers with MART. It's the official coordination and response team for disasters involving animals and agriculture. |
| Dr. Ernie Flint, Extension specialist, has died | |
 | A memorial service will be held Tuesday, Jan. 23, for Dr. Ernie Flint, Mississippi State University regional Extension specialist, who died Saturday, Jan. 20. The service will be at 10:30 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Kosciusko, Miss. In an e-mail to associates and friends, his son, Greg Flint, Mississippi State University Extension Service soybean specialist, wrote: "My father found his true calling when he came to the MSU Extension Service in 1991. He loved Extension and what it means to the people of the state of Mississippi. He also loved working in the field of agriculture day to day, and being in contact with great people ... He died at his home, surrounded by his family." Dr. Flint's writings on agricultural topics were carried in a number of newspapers in his service area, including Delta Farm Press. |
| Eddie Myles named to Cadence Bank Starkville Advisory Board | |
 | Cadence Bank announced earlier this month that Eddie Myles has been named to the bank's advisory board for Starkville. The Clarksdale native has worked for the OCH Regional Medical Center Wellness Connection for the last 26 years, where he currently serves as the director of Wellness. Myles is a member of the IDEA Health and Fitness Association and is a certified instructor for Adaptive Fitness, Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, CPR, Promise kickboxing and spin classes. Myles received his bachelor's degree in Exercise Physiology from Mississippi State University. Myles joins current advisory board members: Jeff Adkerson, Nelle Cohen, Jennifer Cougle, Dr. Wesley Ferguson, Jack Forbus, Dr. John Forde, William Hilbun, Pat Lane, Dr. Andrew Martin, Markeeta Outlaw, Dr. Mimmo Parisi, Dr. Allison Pearson, Jeff Read, Dr. Roy Ruby and Dr. David Shaw. The bank's advisory board is led by Mississippi bank President Jerry Toney and Jimmy Abraham, vice chairman of client and business relations. |
| Starkville works to improve cash monitoring after Parks & Rec embezzlement | |
| Starkville is striving to improve the controls it has in place to monitor for cash irregularities after an embezzlement investigation rocked its Parks and Recreation department. A fifth suspect in an alleged Parks embezzlement conspiracy, 38-year-old Schronda Eddins of Columbus, turned herself in to Starkville police Friday morning. On Thursday, three others, including former department director Herman Peters, 51, of Starkville; and former Parks contractors Anthony Stevenson, 33, of Starkville, and Marion Watson, 46, of Eupora, turned themselves in on the same charge. Mayor Lynn Spruill the city is strengthening its receipt-tracking process to better trace transactions. She said an effort is underway to make sure employees who take in cash give receipts and that a duplicate of that receipt is produced when the money is stored or otherwise collected. A third copy of the receipt is also to be sent to the city clerk's office. |
| US flu season gets worse, has 'lot more steam' than expected | |
 | The flu season in the U.S. is getting worse. Health officials last week said flu was blanketing the country but they thought there was a good chance the season was already peaking. But the newest numbers out Friday show it grew even more intense. "This is a season that has a lot more steam than we thought," said Dr. Dan Jernigan of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This year's flu season got off to an early start, and it's been driven by a nasty type of flu that tends to put more people in the hospital and cause more deaths than other common flu bugs. In Mississippi, flu outbreaks have hit more than 100 nursing homes and other long-term care places, resulting in some restricting visitors. |
| Public health officials encourage flu measures | |
 | Because flu activity is unusually high, the Mississippi State Department of Health is encouraging the public to protect themselves and practice basic prevention measures. Some hospitals, nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities may be restricting visitors and limiting access to public waiting areas. The public can assist hospitals and other facilities in their efforts to reduce the spread of flu: If you are ill do not visit family or friends -- ill visitors should wait at least 48 hours after symptoms resolve before considering a visit. |
| Columbus Air Force Base receives best-ever inspection rating in 2017 | |
| Columbus Air Force Base Commander Col. Doug Gosney said 2017 was particularly productive for the base, and he hopes that trend continues in 2018. Gosney, who commands the 14th Flying Training Wing at CAFB, reviewed the last year's achievements at the base and spoke about the year ahead during a Saturday afternoon New Year reception for its community partners in the Columbus Club on base. In 2017, CAFB produced 327 pilots, Gosney said, which is up from the 309 produced in 2016. Pilots at CAFB flew 57,770 sorties and 76,508 hours last year. Gosney hopes the base will push that further in 2018. At the reception, he said CAFB aims to produce 382 pilots this year, in part to combat a national pilot shortage. |
| School choice expansion to be attempted during 2018 session | |
| Legislation to expand a special needs scholarship/voucher program to all students has been filed in both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature. The Senate version of the Education Scholarship Accounts expansion was filed by Education Chairman Gray Tollison, R-Oxford. The original intent of the legislation, passed in the 2015 session and authored by former state Sen. Nancy Collins, R-Tupelo, was to provide vouchers to allow special needs children to pursue private education options. The program was later expanded to allow special needs children already in private school to receive the state subsidies. |
| Analysis: Lawmakers must make decisions on oil spill money | |
| Nearly eight years after an explosion unleashed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi's elective representatives still must decide how to spend part of the compensation for the spill. Contrasting approaches to that $750 million from oil company BP PLC for lost tax revenue are on display in the state Senate and House. The Senate, led by Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves has a simple program. Move all the money into a special account and let the Legislature decide how to spend it later. "Setting aside funds for the Mississippi Gulf Coast means the settlement will benefit the region most impacted by the 2010 disaster," Reeves tweeted last week after the Senate approved Senate Bill 2176 by a vote of 48-3, sending it to the House for more debate. "I'm convinced this is the right thing to do for all of Mississippi." The situation in the House is more complicated. |
| Medicaid draft bill cuts provider reimbursement by 5 percent | |
 | The leading bill in the Senate to reauthorize the Mississippi Division of Medicaid would cut most provider reimbursement rates by 5 percent. In drafting versions of the tech bill, lawmakers are faced with provider reimbursement concerns, the need to improve patient outcomes and the leadership's ultimate goal of controlling costs. Senate Medicaid Committee Chairman Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, has drafted a bill he says addresses all three, including the reimbursement rate decrease. Wiggins' Medicaid bill does not include new cost containment language, but eliminates several exemptions to a provision added years ago that says "the division shall reduce the rate of reimbursement to providers for any service provided under this section by 5 percent of the allowed amount for that service." |
| State probe questions officials' spending, travel | |
| Harrison County officials improperly charged alcohol to taxpayers, spent money dedicated to roads on splash pads and ball fields and violated state law with travel spending, a legislative watchdog report says. Harrison County supervisors also have questionable spending in the name of advertising the county and "often fail to meet the requirements of the Open Meetings Law," a report by the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee, or PEER, said. The report was released Monday morning. Supervisor Marlin Ladner, contacted by phone, said he has questioned some of the issues PEER raised. The county's attorney was dismissive of the report. "I would hope this report would bring the board's attention to maybe looking at things a little better," Ladner said. |
| Why a famous senator's granddaughter abandoned the magnolia flag and made her own | |
 | Laurin Stennis reaches up to the top shelf next to her desk for a decades-old memento from her late grandfather's career. "Look ahead," says the inscription on the sign he kept on his desk. It's her answer to people who say Sen. John Stennis would be rolling in his grave if he knew what his granddaughter was up to: Trying to convince the Mississippi Legislature to adopt a flag she designed as its official flag. Although Sen. Stennis voted to support segregation, she said, his stand softened later in life. Her flag, which has come to be known as the Stennis Flag, would put Mississippi first, she reasons. She sees it as a modern logo for the state. "My focus is primarily grassroots," she said. "Let the people of Mississippi take this on themselves and come to it on their own." |
| Sen. Sally Doty plans to run for U.S. Congress | |
 | Sally Doty is throwing her hat into the ring. The Republican state senator from Brookhaven plans to file Monday to run for the 3rd District U.S. Congress seat held by Gregg Harper. Harper announced his intent to retire from the representative job earlier this month. Doty will hold a press conference at 10:15 a.m. Monday at the state Republican Party headquarters to officially announce her candidacy. She's planning a rally in Brookhaven Jan. 26 at Railroad Park. Doty has chosen Hunter Foster, a Loyd Star and Mississippi College graduate, to head up her campaign. "He has been very involved in numerous campaigns. When I started looking for someone to assist me, it was pretty easy to choose Hunter," she said. |
| State senator has qualified to run for Congress | |
| Second- term state Sen. Sally Doty has made it official that she is a candidate for the 3rd Congressional District seat. Doty, a Republican from Brookhaven, qualified Monday for the race at the Mississippi Republican Party headquarters in downtown Jackson. Doty, who chairs the Senate Elections Committee, was a leading proponent of the divorce reform bill that passed during the last session. She played a key role in passing campaign finance reform last year, too, but killed House efforts to include early voting and online voter registration. Doty is the fourth candidate in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, who announced he isn't seeking reelection. |
| Whit Hughes touts experience in candidacy for Congress, visits Meridian | |
 | Republican Whit Hughes of Madison has thrown his hat in the ring as a candidate for Mississippi's Third Congressional District, the post held by U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.). Hughes and two other candidates -- fellow Republicans Michael Guest and Perry Parker -- have filed following Harper's announcement he wouldn't seek re-election. The filing deadline is March 1, followed by the June 5 primary. The general election is scheduled Nov. 6. Hughes, who visited The Meridian Star on Friday, has been the foundation president and chief development officer for Baptist Health Systems since 2013. As a graduate of Mississippi State University, where he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees, Hughes was recognized as a member of the Academic All-Southeastern Conference basketball team and is known for being the "Sixth Man" on the celebrated 1996 Final Four team," the release stated. |
| Trent Kelly promoted to rank of brigadier general | |
| The Mississippi National Guard on Saturday promoted U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly to the rank of brigadier general. Kelly, a Republican from Saltillo who represents Mississippi's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and formerly served as a district attorney, has more than 30 years of military experience and most recently held the rank of colonel. "I'm so very proud of my friend, John Trent Kelly," said Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, highlighting Kelly's service in the armed forces, as well as Congress. "He has served with distinction and honor and dignity." Kelly becomes the first sitting congressman from Mississippi to simultaneously serve as a general-level officer in the National Guard since G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery, who retired from military service with the National Guard in 1980 with the rank of major general and represented Mississippi in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1997. |
| Ole Miss university police chief resigns | |
 | This will be Tim Potts' last week serving as the chief of police for the University Police Department. Potts has accepted a position as police chief for Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, he told The Daily Mississippian in an email. "I don't look at it as leaving Ole Miss," Potts said. "I love this place. The department is fantastic. I couldn't work with a better group of people or have a better support system." He said there is no reason for him leaving other than the chance to be near his family. He is from Indiana, and his daughter still lives there. "This is simply about the opportunity about getting closer to family, nothing more and nothing less," Potts said. "There are no issues or complaints I had, and it wasn't a financial decision, simply the chance to be with family. You never get time back, and that is something that Ole Miss just could not overcome." |
| Nobel Prize winner to discuss early childhood education at Jackson event | |
| Nobel Prize-winning economist James J. Heckman will present his research on how investments in quality early childhood education can yield exceptionally high returns at a free and public event at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum this week. The event, which will be at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, is open to anyone who registers online. This is the second event in a three-part series hosted by the University of Mississippi's Graduate Center for the Study of Early Learning. The speaker series is designed to bring leading experts from across the nation to meet with Mississippi business leaders, educators and policy makers and discuss the economic benefits of quality education programs for children during early childhood, which spans from birth to age 5. |
| Delta State students collect books for prisoners | |
 | An AmeriCorps program called Jumpstart has partnered with Big House Books, a non-profit volunteer organization, to send free paperback books to prisoners in Mississippi correctional facilities. The purpose of Big House is to promote literacy and be a vehicle of change for prison reform. Jumpstart started a book drive for Big House Books on Delta State University's campus Monday and it will continue though Jan. 29. AmeriCorps advisor Kristan McCullum said, "The AmeriCorps members had to do a national service project for Martin Luther King Day. "We choose to volunteer for Big House Books to collect gently used books to take to them for their cause." McCullum added, "I chose Big House Books because I believe strongly in its mission of protecting the right to read for everyone." The books collected at DSU will be sent to Big House headquarters in Jackson and from there, they will be packed and sent to inmates in prison. |
| William Carey U. one year after tornado: 'recovery has been really miraculous' | |
 | Tommy King was imagining the worst after the Jan. 21, 2017, tornado devastated William Carey University. Carey's president saw nearly every building on campus had been damaged and, to him, the future looked bleak. "I thought we would be closed down (permanently) and no longer exist," he said. "But those thoughts didn't last long. "I saw the faces of our students and saw none had life-threatening injuries. There was widespread support from the community and all over the world. It didn't take me long to understand if other people had faith in us, we had to have faith in ourselves and do what we needed to carry on." Six months into the recovery, things were already looking up. One year after the tornado, William Carey is carrying on splendidly. Hard to believe, considering the latest damage estimate tops $106 million. |
| Meridian Community College President Scott Elliott builds college, academics, workforce | |
| Meridian Community College President Scott Elliott keeps a construction hardhat with the school's logo hanging in his office. As he wraps up two decades as the school's top leader, many people credit him as a visionary who helped build a college that many area residents used to help build their careers. Elliott, 64, plans to retire as MCC president this summer, leaving a legacy of tremendous growth at the college and an impact felt throughout the area. The school's budget has more than doubled to $52.8 million and added 23 of the schools 52 certificate and degree-granting programs. "Scott has carried on the tradition of building the college," said Meridian businessman Tommy Dulaney, owner of Structural Steel Services. "It puts people to work and gives them skills." "He's really been a champion of career technology education and workforce education," said Richie McAlister, MCC associate vice president of career and technical education. |
| Campus Kitchen at Auburn fights hunger throughout the community | |
 | Three days a week, in the basement of the Toomer residence hall at Auburn University, a group of students suits up in hair nets and protective booties to combat food insecurity. These students serve in the Campus Kitchen at Auburn, part of the national, Washington, D.C.-based organization Campus Kitchen Project. About 200 students volunteer with Auburn's affiliate each month, packaging and delivering meals to local organizations and homebound individuals in Lee County. "It started here about five years ago, by a group of students who realized that there was a lot of food going to waste that could go to people in need in the community," said Ginny Lampkin, president of the Campus Kitchen at Auburn University. "Eighteen percent of people in Lee County are food insecure, and 31 percent of students on Auburn's campus are food insecure." |
| U. of Tennessee plans new engineering building in place of historic Estabrook Hall | |
 | The University of Tennessee is planning to break ground this fall on a new $129 million engineering facility that will take the place of one of the campus' oldest and most historic academic buildings. Estabrook Hall, built in 1898, has been listed since 2014 as one of the most endangered historic structures in Knoxville by the preservation group Knox Heritage. The university originally planned in 2015 to raise funds for renovations of Estabrook and neighboring Pasqua Hall, but officials said this week it no longer looks like plans to save the buildings are feasible. "We looked very, very hard at that whole question, particularly in regards to Estabrook," said Dave Irvin, associate vice chancellor for facilities services at UT. "But at this point it has a lot of challenges as a building and it doesn't function well for any of the things engineering really needs." |
| Former U. of Arkansas chancellor leads study of college leaders | |
| A University of Arkansas, Fayetteville research effort to study the role of college presidents is being led by the school's former top administrator, G. David Gearhart. Gearhart serves as director of the National Lab for the Study of the College President, a unit within UA's College of Education and Health Professions. "My interest is to continue to contribute in a meaningful way to the professional development of the college presidency, even if only academically," Gearhart said in an email. Gearhart, 65, stepped down as UA's chancellor in 2015 after leading the Fayetteville campus for seven years. Before becoming the university's top administrator, the Fayetteville native -- who earned both a law degree and a doctorate from UA -- worked for nearly 10 years as UA's main fundraising leader. |
| Lecture, more planned for UGA Founders Week | |
 | The University of Georgia this week will observe its anniversary as the birthplace of public higher education in America. The UGA Alumni Association will celebrate the occasion by hosting a week-long series of events, including the 16th annual Founders Day Lecture at 1:30 p.m. Monday in the Chapel. Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences, will present the lecture, "Partly Sunny or Partly Cloudy? The Challenges of Communicating Science to Non-Scientists." Shepherd is the director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program and full professor in the department of geography, where he is associate department head. The Founders Day Lecture is traditionally held on or near the date the university was established: Jan. 27. On this day in 1785, the Georgia General Assembly adopted a charter establishing UGA as the first institution of public higher education in America. |
| Cold weather leaves behind lingering problems for LSU and Southern U. | |
 | Low water pressure at LSU and flooding in the main library at Southern University, both prompted by recent cold weather, continued to bedevil the Baton Rouge college campuses Friday. LSU issued a public alert Thursday that its water pressure had dropped to levels too low to safely reopen school Friday, leading the university to decide to stay closed for a third straight day. At 5 p.m. Friday, school officials announced that matters had improved enough to reopen Saturday and they are anticipating being open Monday as well. LSU spokesman Ernie Ballard said Friday night that the university normally enjoys water pressure of about 60 pounds-per-square inch, or PSI. But when school staff on Thursday measured the PSI at the water intake point -- where the Baton Rouge Water Company water comes into the university system -- it was only 31 PSI, he said. The minimum threshold for safe operations at LSU is 45 PSI, he said. When the PSI climbed above 45 on Friday, that was the trigger for the decision to reopen Saturday. |
| Recent cold not enough to kill Louisiana crawfish ahead of season, but... | |
| Like other Louisiana denizens, crawfish rode out the recent cold by bundling up and lazing around. Except, when the crustaceans burrow into the mud to ward off the chill, they enter a special dormant state. So, the frigid weather that's kept the mudbugs immobile also means they haven't been feeding and growing. That means fewer to harvest and prices remaining high for crawfish lovers for the time being. Experts are predicting a delayed season this year due to cold weather and low water levels. However, they're hoping for a jumbo haul once the water warms up. At the same time, some worry about an insidious and little-understood disease that could cull crawfish numbers. "This cold isn't going to kill our crawfish, but it may knock back our harvest ...in indirect ways. These crawfish can sit under the ice for two or three weeks with no problem," said Greg Lutz, a professor at the LSU Agriculture Center's Aquaculture Research Station in Baton Rouge. |
| Vanderbilt's $600 million capital project to change the face of West End Avenue | |
 | The view of Vanderbilt University from West End Avenue will soon receive a facelift --- at a cost of an estimated $600 million. The brown brick Carmichael Towers will be demolished. In their place, new living space will be built that university officials believe will better reflect the school's character. "The towers are so ugly. There are many jokes that they were built by the Soviet Union," said Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos. "When people drive down West End, they say 'wow, there is Vanderbilt.' But it is troubling." The towers will be replaced with three "residential colleges" and a planned 20-story gothic tower. The colleges will be hubs that mirror the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons where all freshmen students live. The Commons combines residential space, classrooms and a student center in a consolidated cluster. |
| Texas A&M names new vice president for research | |
 | Mark A. Barteau has been appointed Texas A&M University's vice president for research, ending a seven-month search for the position and giving the university's Division of Research a new leader who will collaborate with administrators and faculty from across A&M's 16 colleges and schools, as well as its branch campuses, health science center and university libraries. As head of A&M's Division of Research, Barteau will be in charge of furthering the university's research mission by working with faculty and administrators in an effort to grow federal funding, strengthen research infrastructure, promote the value of research, encourage commercialization partnerships and ensure research compliance. He also will hold academic appointments in A&M's Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and the Department of Chemistry, College of Science. He assumes his new role on Feb. 15. He is currently the director of the University of Michigan Energy Institute and the inaugural DTE Energy Professor of Advanced Energy Research. |
| Supporters of U. of Missouri fraternity embezzler plead for leniency | |
 | Supporters of a man who pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding a University of Missouri fraternity of at least $380,500 hope he gets a light sentence because of his record of community service. Burt Beard, a decorating business owner in Kirksville, will be sentenced at 11:30 a.m. Monday after he pleaded guilty Sept. 7 to a bank fraud charge stemming from a six-year embezzlement scheme. A former Sigma Alpha Epsilon member, Beard volunteered to handle the fraternity's finances and defrauded the organization of at least $380,500 while its chapter at the University of Missouri was inactive. Prosecutors recommended 33 to 41 months in prison, according to a presentence report. But Beard's attorney, with support from people such as Beard's wife, friend, minister and an executive director with United Way, argued for a sentence of 12 months and one day. |
| Impact of government shutdown on higher education | |
 | Congress failed to reach a last-minute agreement Friday night to avoid a government shutdown. That won't mean immediate consequences for federal student aid recipients or institutional funding. But institutions and students depending on Education Department programs could see an impact if the shutdown drags on. For academics and institutions that receive grants from research agencies, funds already awarded are not affected, but peer review and other activities to select new grants may halt, and new funds will not be going out. The impact on academic science may be minimal if the shutdown lasts just a few days, but it would get significant in a longer shutdown. Other functions of the Department of Education will be immediately curtailed or frozen, however, from work awarding special grants to the enforcement of civil rights at campuses across the country. While the shutdown means no new federal dollars can be spent until lawmakers reach a funding deal, federal funding has already been disbursed for student aid in 2017-18. |
| State support for higher ed grows 1.6 percent in 2018 | |
| States' financial support for higher education grew only slightly between the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years, with more than a third of states decreasing their funding and another dozen increasing it only slightly, according to an annual survey released today. Across the country, state fiscal support for higher education grew by just 1.6 percent, according to the Grapevine survey, which provides an early look each year at states' funding for higher education. That was down sharply from a 4.2 percent increase last year and represents the lowest annual growth in the last five years. "We've seen only anemic growth nationwide, with the exception of a few states," said James Palmer, Grapevine editor and a professor of higher education at Illinois State University. The Grapevine survey is a project of the university's Center for the Study of Education Policy and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. "This probably suggests the struggle of many states to sustain the revenue needed to increase funding for colleges and universities," Palmer said of this year's slow growth in higher ed funding. |
| State Spending on Higher Education Has Inched Upward, But Most Public Colleges Can't Celebrate | |
 | State appropriations for higher education increased nominally over the last year, according to an annual survey. But the small rise and wide variations across the nation underscore why many public colleges still have reason to fret about their states' economies. Over all, state appropriations for colleges were 1.6 percent higher for the current fiscal year, which began on July 1 for most states, than in the previous one, according to the annual "Grapevine" survey, compiled by the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University and the State Higher Education Executive Officers, known as Sheeo. But several factors erase any notion that the national gains in higher-education spending amount to a significant step up. This year's increase is the smallest in five years, and it falls short of the 2.1-percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for the 2017 calendar year. |
| NSF report documents declines in international enrollments after years of growth | |
| The number of international students in the U.S. fell by 2.2 percent at the undergraduate level and 5.5 percent at the graduate level from fall 2016 to 2017, according to a new report from the National Science Foundation, "Science and Engineering Indicators," released last week. The analysis is based on government-held student visa data and excludes students who are participating in optional practical training, a program that allows international students to stay and work in the U.S. for up to three years after graduating while remaining on their university's sponsorship. The declines come on the heels of years of steady growth. The declines, if they were to continue, could have negative implications for U.S. competitiveness and the health of American graduate science and engineering programs, which are heavily populated by international students. |
| Weathering weather in schools | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: "School systems activities are dictated by an academic calendar, approved by its local board of education and shared with its stakeholders. Detailed on this calendar are semester dates such as final exams, mid-term exams, holidays from school, instructional breaks and graduation dates. Critical times to change classes and pay fees are also often woven within this artifact. Further, the calendar is usually linked to an activity schedule which shares specifics such as extra-curricular events like ballgame dates, locations and times, as they are available. When it becomes incumbent upon administrators to alter the academic schedule, especially in cases of weather disturbances, the ripple effects are often felt all the way through the calendar of events." |
| A history lesson on state lotteries | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: "As King Solomon proclaimed in Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun. Mississippi is thinking about a state lottery. This debate goes way back. Lotteries helped fund the American colonies, going all the way back to Jamestown. In early American history, legislators commonly authorized lotteries to fund schools, roads, bridges, and other public works. Then around 1830, evangelical reformers began denouncing lotteries on moral grounds. ...How ironic to live in a state where we need to smoke, drink and gamble so we can pay to educate our children. Something is wrong with that picture. ...The lottery, in essence, is a cop out, driven by politicians too afraid to raise taxes." |
| Funding plan eases problems for lawmakers, not schools | |
| Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: " A modified method of distributing state revenue to local public school districts will have little impact on school quality. Indeed, the Mississippi Uniform Per Student Funding Formula Act of 2018 seems designed to benefit the image of the Legislature. It has very little to do with student achievement. As the stampede toward the new plan continues in the Capitol, it's time, in fairness to lawmakers, to bang once again the gong that reminds us that money is one factor in education, not the do-all to end-all. People have every reason to believe an expensive steak will be better than a cheap steak, but that doesn't transfer to education. It is false equivalency. Exceptional students can and do come from low-spending districts. Results are abysmal in many metro districts across America where per-pupil spending doubles outlays in Mississippi. That said, the zeal is real to get rid of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program and replace it with another approach to distributing state cash. It begs the question, 'Why?'" |
| Mississippi's seniority clout looks to dwindle | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "Powerful seniority has given small, rural Mississippi significant clout in Congress. That clout looks to dwindle sooner than expected. Since 1940, the state has elected and re-elected U.S. Senators and Representatives for multiple decades to allow them to accrete seniority. For example, Rep. Jamie Whitten served 53 years, Bill Colmer 39 years, John Rankin 32 years, and Tom Abernethy and Sonny Montgomery 30 years in the House. John Stennis served 41 years and Jim Eastland 36 years in the Senate. All rose to chairmanships of powerful committees. Currently, Thad Cochran is in his 40th year, ranks third in seniority among 100 senators, and chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. ...Upcoming elections will show if seniority remains important to Mississippi voters." |
| Fear and loathing and education policy; lewd lobbyist comments | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "If you've listened very closely to the education funding formula debate the last year or so, barely audible under the din, nearly all parties have at one point or another said they agree in overall principle: Student-based funding, weighted for special needs, is a good way to fund public education. With that as a basis, and what appeared to be a reputable hired consultant giving advice, one might have thought a bipartisan measure, generally acceptable to education advocates, could be hashed out. But that's not how public education policy works in Mississippi." |
SPORTS
| No. 3 Mississippi State sends statement with road win at No. 6 Tennessee | |
| Home Sweet Home. The banner with Tennessee women's basketball coach Holly Warlick along Interstate I-40 in Knoxville alerts all travelers they are in Lady Vols country. For years, this neck of the woods was forsaken land for the Mississippi State women's basketball team. The first 16 visits to Knoxville all ended with losses. That streak stopped last season when MSU defeated Tennessee for its first road win in the series and just its second all-time victory in 39 meetings. If Sunday is any indication, MSU is feeling a lot better about playing in a place where "Rocky Top" is the most popular song. Victoria Vivians scored a game-high 24 points, while Roshunda Johnson added 16 and Teaira McCowan had her 15th double-double of the season to lead No. 3 MSU to a 71-52 victory against No. 6 Tennessee in a Southeastern Conference game before a crowd of 13,436 at Thompson-Boling Arena. |
| Mississippi State dominates Tennessee on road in latest sign of being elite | |
| It was so quiet in Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday when Victoria Vivians received a pass with three minutes left that one person chanting, "Let's Go Bulldogs" was louder than the Tennessee cheerleaders' attempts of a "de-fense" chant. That kind of scene doesn't happen here. The banners celebrating women's basketball Final Four appearances, the retired jersey numbers and the thousands in attendance wearing orange are meant to be reminders that it's not supposed to, at least. And that's especially true on the annual "We Back Pat" game, which is meant to bring awareness to the Pat Summitt Foundation. Yet from the start, Mississippi State was never rattled. The Bulldogs hit the floor for loose balls, outrebounded Tennessee and attacked the basket at will. The result was a convincing 71-52 win for No. 3 Mississippi State on the road against one of the sport's few blue-blood programs. |
| UT Lady Vols find comeback route blocked in losing to Mississippi State | |
| After being victimized by a comeback in its last game, Tennessee tried to stage its own rally on Sunday. It didn't work. Mississippi State wasn't allowing any such drama. The Lady Vols cut an 18-point deficit to seven early in the fourth quarter but still suffered a 71-52 SEC women's basketball loss before a season-high crowd of 13,426 at Thompson-Boling Arena. Victoria Vivians scored 24 points to lead No. 3 Mississippi State (20-0, 6-0 SEC), which led for more than 35 minutes. The Bulldogs converted a 44-33 rebounding advantage into a 20-11 edge in second-chance points. They also held Tennessee to eight fourth-quarter points and no field goals for the final 7 minutes, 54 seconds in pulling away. "Today for us, it was about toughness and competitive spirit," Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer said. |
| No. 3 Mississippi State Trounces No. 6 Lady Vols 71-52 | |
| In over three decades as a head coach or assistant, Mississippi State's Vic Schaefer says he's never worked with a better offense than the one he has now. But the Bulldogs showed Sunday they also can still play the championship-caliber defense that become so important in the program's recent emergence as a national contender. Victoria Vivians had 24 points and nine rebounds as No. 3 Mississippi State defeated No. 6 Tennessee 71-52 to remain unbeaten and match its best start in school history. Tennessee posted its lowest point total of the season, missed its last 10 shots and had no baskets in the game's final 7 minutes, 54 seconds "Tonight's a step," Schaefer said. "I hope like heck we're really making progress and we're going to carry these on now to the last 10 (games) because we've got some monsters in front of us, but boy, today, was really special defensively." |
| Blair Schaefer adds offensive punch in road win for No. 3 Mississippi State | |
| An extra second is an eternity to Blair Schaefer. At 5-foot-7, the Mississippi State senior guard knows she doesn't have the size to elevate over most guards when she comes off screens. That's why she has talked repeatedly in her career about recognizing she has a "small window" to shoot the basketball. On Sunday, Schaefer almost didn't know what to do with an extra second -- maybe even two -- after she moved from left to right to rub her defender off a baseline screen. Schaefer had so much time that she was able to move her right foot forward a little bit, re-set her base, and launch a 3-pointer from in front of the MSU bench. It's a good thing Schaefer had time to gather her feet because her 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 59 seconds was one dagger in game filled with them that helped No. 3 MSU beat No. 6 Tennessee 71-52. |
| MSU Notebook: Roshunda Johnson enters attack mode for Bulldogs | |
| Roshunda Johnson was in attack mode for 37 minutes Sunday. It didn't matter who tried to guard Johnson because the Mississippi State redshirt senior guard was focused on being aggressive and getting to the rim. That doesn't mean Johnson passed up 3-pointers when they were there. But Johnson scored half of her 16 points on drives as part of a balanced scoring effort that lifted the No. 3 MSU women's basketball team to a 71-52 victory against No. 6 Tennessee. Johnson's afternoon was best summed up on two plays that showed how much of a handful she was to contain. In the second quarter, Johnson, who is left handed, drove to her left and used her body to absorb contact and to shield the ball from the defender. The body blow she took didn't affect her as she finished at the rim. |
| Secret to Mississippi State's success? Blair Schaefer and Roshunda Johnson | |
| With Teaira McCowan averaging a double-double, Morgan William posting the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country and senior star Victoria Vivians enjoying a career year, No. 3 Mississippi State has three of the nation's best players. Even the casual MSU women's hoops fan who will tune in Sunday to watch MSU (19-0, 5-0 SEC) take on No. 7 Tennessee (16-2, 4-1) in Knoxville (2 p.m., ESPN 2) probably knows that. But here's something just as important to the long-term success of the team this season yet is less obvious: the play of Blair Schaefer and Roshunda Johnson, the Bulldogs' two other starters. "It's the secret to our success," Vic Schaefer said. To understand why, consider what Vic has asked of Blair and Johnson so far this season and how they've both responded. |
| Bulldogs' comeback falls short in Tuscaloosa | |
| As the final seconds of what could have been an upset road win ticked by, Lamar Peters, for the first time in the second half, was the spectator. It was Mississippi State's sophomore guard that, with the Bulldogs trailing by 19 at halftime, took three consecutive 3-pointers and made all three of them to bring MSU within seven. After it all, he was forced to watch as freshman guard Nick Weatherspoon picked up a loose ball and missed a 3-pointer, MSU's last genuine shot at completing the comeback. He was the only one near when Alabama's Herbert Jones put an exclamation point on the Crimson Tide victory with a final-seconds dunk. Peters' 17 points on four made 3-pointers got MSU within range of another quality conference win, yet it leaves with its focus elsewhere. MSU knows its first half was its downfall in Saturday night's 68-62 loss to Alabama. |
| New AD Allen Greene lays out vision for Auburn athletics | |
| Auburn's men's basketball game against Georgia tipped a little after 5 p.m. CT on Saturday. Allen Greene arrived a little before 4. He shook hands and posed for pictures with everyone who walked up to him and Auburn University president Steven Leath. About 30 minutes before the game began, he took the floor at Auburn Arena for an on-air interview with the in-house radio broadcast team. Before he sat down, the student section serenaded him with "Bodda Getta." He responded by leading a "War Eagle" chant. When Greene and his wife, Christy, were brought to center court during the game's first timeout, they received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 9,121 in attendance. When the Tigers came from behind to beat the Bulldogs 79-65, he went into the locker room with the team to celebrate. Greene was announced as Auburn's 15th athletics director on Thursday and officially introduced Friday morning. He won't take over day-to-day operations in the department until the middle of February, but he's already become a public figure on the Plains. |
| Foundation, U. of Arkansas weighed shifting $4M to nonprofit | |
| The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and its nonprofit athletics fundraising arm discussed a now-shelved pricing strategy for football club seating that would have redirected at least $4 million annually in university ticket revenue to the nonprofit. Officials confirmed the talks after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette recently obtained a document detailing the idea through the state's open-records law. The disclosure comes as the newspaper examines the relationship between the UA campus and the Razorback Foundation, which has maintained that it is an independent private agency that receives no public money and is not subject to open-records requests. The idea behind the pricing strategy was to keep the total per-seat cost unchanged for fans while raising the "donation" share of that cost, which meant lowering the face value of tickets, the document shows. |
| Children's hospital to reap $1.2 million from 2017 Sanderson Farms Championship | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: "Temperatures were much lower at last fall's Sanderson Farms Championship, but the PGA tournament's contribution to Batson Children's Hospital, announced at a press conference Friday, has reached an all-time high. Century Club Charities, the nonprofit host organization for the tournament, Friday presented a record, $1.2 million gift to Friends of Children's Hospital. This year's gift will go toward the nonprofit's $20 million pledge to the Campaign for Children's of Mississippi, a philanthropic effort of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The campaign will help fund construction of a seven-story, 340,000-square-foot pediatric tower adjacent to Batson Children's Hospital. ...'The growth of Children's of Mississippi will be transformational,' Dr. LouAnn Woodward, UMMC vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, said. ...The 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship will be played Oct. 22-28 at Country Club of Jackson." |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
