Monday, March 19, 2018   
 
NSPARC to open new facility
A Mississippi State University center will soon have more space and capacity with the opening of a new facility next month. The National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center announced its new facility in the Thad Cochran Research Technology and Economic Development Park will hold its grand opening April 20. The facility has been in the works since 2016, and will drastically increase NSPARC's capacity. "We use data science to help drive human progress," said NSPARC Communication Manager Laura McPhail. That's our mission statement. This new data center is going to help us in ways that we didn't have the capacity to before, and it's going to open up a lot of opportunity for expanding our mission and working with new clients and new entities and new state agencies, and really harnessing the power of data to help improve quality of life for people."
 
US state funding in flux: universities' strategies for survival
The latest survey of US state higher education funding from Illinois State University's Center for the Study of Education Policy and the State Higher Education Executive Officers group reveals that, on average, support for public universities increased by 1.6 per cent between 2016-17 and 2017-18 -- the lowest annual growth in five years. However, there is significant variation in how states are funding their university sectors, with some enjoying significant increases and others facing large cuts. Don Zant, Mississippi State University's vice-president for finance and chief financial officer, said that the institution has addressed the shortfalls through enrolment growth and increases in tuition fees, rather than by cutting jobs or course offerings. However, Mr Zant said that these strategies are "not sustainable indefinitely, as most institutions are trying to grow enrolment and there is a limit to which tuition can be increased".
 
MSU Libraries hosts annual Ragtime and Jazz Festival, Gatsby Gala
For the 12th consecutive year, the Charles H. Templeton Ragtime and Jazz Festival is bringing the spirit and sounds of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to Mississippi State University's Mitchell Memorial Library Thursday through Saturday, March 22-24. The 2018 festival kicks off at 6 p.m. Thursday in the library's main lobby with the 5th annual Gatsby Gala fashion show featuring 1920s apparel designed by MSU School of Human Sciences fashion design and merchandising students and modeled by MSU Fashion Board members. Internationally-renowned pianist and fifth-year festival artistic director Jeff Barnhart of Mystic, Connecticut, will provide music for the Gala. In addition to MSU Libraries and the School of Human Sciences, this year's sponsors include MaxxSouth Broadband, City of Starkville, Mississippi Arts Commission, Art Works and National Endowment for the Arts.
 
Longtime Mississippi State photographer to give exhibit before retirement
A Mississippi State photographer who has chronicled university life for three decades will showcase his work during an exhibit this month. Russ Houston, who joined MSU in 1988 and plans to retire as photographic services coordinator June 1, will display a selection of his photographs March 19 through April 6 in the Colvard Student Union Art Gallery. A reception will be held in his honor from 2-4 p.m. on April 3 in the Old Main Lounge on the second floor of the Union. Sid Salter, director of the Office of Public Affairs and MSU chief communications officer, said Houston has been a true ambassador for Mississippi State University.
 
Mississippi State expert weighs in on Dodd-Frank rollback
On Wednesday, the United States Senate voted to make drastic rollbacks to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Public Reform Act, changing banking regulations set in the aftermath of the mid 2000s financial crisis. The Senate approved the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Bill by a 67-31 vote. The bill loosens many of the regulations set by Dodd- Frank when it was passed in 2010,and cuts back on the amount of Dodd-Frank regulations applying to smaller community banks. Both Republican Mississippi Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker voted in favor of the rollback. Mississippi State University College of Business Associate Dean Kevin Rogers offered his take on the vote "Dodd-Frank was passed after the financial crisis, and it added additional oversight, regulation on banks after that crisis," Rogers said. "It also tried to address some of the 'too big to fail,' which was impacting the larger banks. In trying to address those, they did a lot of across-the–board regulations that were more focused on the large banks, but were applied to all banks."
 
MSU engineering student receives public policy, international affairs fellowship
Senior Khalil N. Markham of Biloxi, a computer engineering student in Mississippi State University's Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College, has been selected for a fellowship at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs' Junior Summer Institute in Public Policy and International Affairs. The seven-week academic and experiential learning program is designed to equip undergraduate students with the knowledge and skills to thrive in graduate programs and public service careers. Markham transferred last fall to MSU from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
 
Living sensor may detect gas pipelines leaks in real time
Scientists, including one of Indian origin, are developing live sensors using bacteria that can detect leaks in gas pipelines in real time, and potentially prevent environmental disasters and fuel distribution disruptions. The Colonial Pipeline, which carries fuel from Texas to New York, had ruptured last year, dumping a quarter-million gallons of gas in rural Alabama. By the time the leak was detected during routine inspection, vapours from released gasoline were so strong they prevented pipeline repair for days. "The advantage with our sensor is that it can detect very small leaks, and operators can take quick action to repair them," said Veera Gnaneswar Gude, from the Mississippi State University in the US.
 
Harvard Business School publishes case study on Golden Triangle
Almost half a year after visiting the Golden Triangle, Harvard Business School is lauding the region's work and lessons faculty have taken from an excursion to the area. Harvard Business School published a report on Tuesday highlighting the late October trip 16 faculty members took to the Golden Triangle. The report, titled "Manufacturing a Renaissance in the Deep South," walks through the decision of HBS faculty to visit the region, summarizes the trip and touches on how the school has implemented lessons learned in the Golden Triangle into a course for students. The report recounts the local visit, including meetings with Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins and tours of area industries like Steel Dynamics and PACCAR. The faculty also visited East Mississippi Community College and the National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center at Mississippi State.
 
Mississippi State announces summer camp registrations
All Mississippi State University summer camps for 2018 have been announced, and registration has been opened. Programs are available for children and teens of all ages and span a wide array of focuses ranging from beekeeping to coding. The programs are designed to expand personal knowledge and provide lasting memories of MSU and higher education in general. Parents can contact sponsoring departments or individual camp coordinators for complete details and camp offerings. A list of all MSU camps and their respective dates can be found on the MSU Extension Center For Continuing Education website. Camps specifically dealing with STEM subjects can be found on the Bagley College of Engineering website.
 
Acts on ground, in air lining up for air show
Of all the moving parts that go into hosting as many as 50,000 people for an air show and open house, one of the biggest headaches organizers at Columbus Air Force Base have struggled with are clear bags and security. Before the April 21-22 Wings Over Columbus show, that'll be one of dozens of things the base will be telling air show visitors. Except for a few exceptions, anyone bringing anything into the show grounds will have to have clear bag, much the way clear bags now are required at many Mississippi State and Ole Miss sporting events, concerts and a growing number of other functions. NASA is bringing rocket engines. The Mississippi State University drone research department and the university's championship rocket team will be on hand.
 
Second phase of Highway 12 project underway
Early work is getting underway for the second phase of the Mississippi Department of Transportation's Highway 12 safety improvement project. Work began earlier this week on the east side of Highway 12, as crews began putting up temporary traffic signals at the intersections of Blackjack Road, Jackson Street and Montgomery Street. In other places along the eastern stretch of the highway, crews have started to tear out existing entryways to parking lots or curbs to make improvements ahead of planned repaving. Work on Phase 2 is expected to last through late August. An MDOT press release said crews will perform minimal impact work during the day, and work that requires lane closures will happen at night--similarly to how work was conducted for Phase 1. Night work, according to the release, will begin on Sunday.
 
Miller raises concerns about board attorney applicants
As applications flooded the Oktibbeha County administrator's office, so did a few concerns from one Oktibbeha County supervisor. District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller told the Starkville Daily News she sent an email to each supervisor, voicing some of her concerns about four board attorney applicants concerning possible conflicts of interest. Friday marked the application deadline for the vacant board attorney position, following the death of longtime board attorney Jack Brown. Nine applications were submitted, including Haley M. Brown, Marty Haug, Jay Hurdle, Bennie Jones Jr., Benjamin D. Lang, Chad Montgomery, Johnny Moore, Lydia Quarles and Rob Roberson. The Board of Supervisors will meet Monday morning at 9 a.m. where it will begin reviewing each application for the board attorney position.

 
Starkville to consider joining opioid litigation
The Starkville Board of Aldermen will consider allowing the city to join as plaintiffs in litigation targeting opioid manufacturer and distribution companies when they meet on Tuesday. The litigation, which is an item under the mayor's business portion of Tuesday's meeting agenda, came up for discussion during a Friday work session at city hall after law firm Smith, Bobinger and Smith approached the city about joining as a plaintiff. Columbus attorney Corky Smith, speaking to The Dispatch, said the crux of the litigation is that opioid drug manufacturers didn't properly warn people about the dangers of their products. Those companies, he said were aware of the dangers -- especially in how addictive opioid medications can be. "They used deceptive business practices to get a highly addictive product on the market that they knew would get customers for life, but didn't tell them about the dangers of the product," Smith said.
 
Severe storms across Mississippi possible Monday
After dense fog lifts Monday morning, showers and thunderstorms will develop with a few severe storms possible in the east, the National Weather Service says. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said Saturday that the National Weather Service warns most of the state has a risk of seeing strong to severe storms that include high winds in excess of 60 mph, hail and tornadoes. MEMA Executive Director Lee Smithson says the conditions for severe storms is the "most ripe" they've seen this year. Smithson says residents, especially those living in mobile homes, should have a safe-place plan and they're urged to clear yards of debris, like tree limbs and outdoor furniture, which could cause damage if picked up by high winds.
 
What would happen if Bryant appointed Reeves to Senate post?
If Gov. Phil Bryant appoints Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Thad Cochran's retirement, a conflict could occur over who replaces Reeves as the presiding officer of the state Senate. Reeves is generally believed high on Bryant's list of possible replacements for the 80-year-old Cochran who announced he will retire on April 1. The second-term Republican lieutenant governor has not made many public statements on whether he is even interested in the interim appointment to the U.S. Senate. Members of his staff have, at times, tried to downplay his interest. Efforts to garner a comment from Reeves' office on his possible interest were unsuccessful. But if Reeves was appointed to the office, there are conflicting views on how the then-office of lieutenant governor would be filled. At least some state senators and others believe that Bryant also would be responsible for filling the then-vacant office of lieutenant governor.
 
McDaniel Decision Has State Republicans Scrambling
Tea Party Republican, Chris McDaniel changed his mind this week about challenging Republican Senator Roger Wicker. "It's going to be 36 months of just very intriguing politics all the way around," said former Director of the Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development, Dr. Marty Wiseman. Wiseman says McDaniel may have given himself more time to build his campaign between now and November, but his competition, former US Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, a name as notable as Roger Wicker's. "It's not going to be any picnic beating him with his name recognition," said Wiseman. "So he's going to have to take it very seriously." What's different about the November 6th election is it's a free-for-all.
 
Mississippi lawmakers seek to widen property tax break
Mississippi lawmakers want to open one of the state's richest tax incentive programs to smaller projects, in hopes of helping the state recruit more businesses. Senate Bill 2479, which passed the Senate on Thursday, awaits Gov. Phil Bryant's signature or veto. It would allow local governments to cut local and school property taxes by two-thirds on economic development projects worth $60 million or more. Right now, the project must be worth $100 million or more to qualify. Although any one piece of real estate or equipment can only get a break for 10 years, the bill says industries would get to use the abatement on expansions for 30 years, up from the current 20 years. "This is a very positive bill that will enhance our economic development efforts in Mississippi," said Chad Newell, president of the Hattiesburg-based Area Development Partnership.
 
$8 million was available earlier for education, will it still be in final budget deal?
Earlier this session, the Mississippi House passed legislation to provide an additional $8.2 million for the basic operation of local school districts for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1. At the time, House leaders were counting on the local school districts being provided funds through a new school funding formula -- not through the Mississippi Adequate Education Program that was adopted in 1997. But with efforts to rewrite the MAEP thwarted earlier this session, the question is whether legislators will still provide that $8.2 million to the local school districts or will they be funded at the same level they were in the 2017 session. They were funded in the 2017 session at a lesser level than they were in the 2016 session. "It (the additional $8.2 million) is going to stay in education," said House Appropriations Chairman John Read, R-Gautier. "We are working on some stuff right now. But it will not be pulled out of education."
 
Would schools need more insurance to arm teachers?
Should schools decide to arm their employees, it's unclear whether those districts would need to take out more insurance in case of an accident or if they're protected by tort-reform laws. The killing of 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Fla., on Valentine's Day has prompted handwringing among policymakers about how to better protect schools, including in Mississippi. Last week, the state Senate approved HB 1083, which would allow school districts to let teachers and other employees undergo specialized concealed carry training. Supporters of the measure say that having armed employees could help mitigate casualties in an active shooter situation. Critics, including the majority of Democratic legislators, say that teachers shouldn't have to wear the hats of educators and law enforcement. Debate on similar proposals in statehouses around the country has also raised questions of whether the legislation would cause school districts to incur additional costs for training, safety equipment or, possibly, insurance. The answers to those questions depend on who you ask.
 
Foster care agency seeks money to meet mandates
Mississippi legislators are approaching the final phase of patching holes in the current year's state budget and writing a $6 billion spending plan for fiscal 2019, which begins July 1. Budget writers face deadlines in late March, and the Department of Child Protection Services is among the agencies requesting more money for this year and next. The agency is trying to fulfill a federal court order to improve Mississippi's long-troubled foster care system, and Jess Dickinson inherited financial problems when he became its director in mid-September. Like his predecessor, David Chandler, Dickinson served as a Mississippi Supreme Court justice before Gov. Phil Bryant moved him over to lead the child welfare agency. Dickinson told The Associated Press last week that he's not assigning blame for the budget deficit that existed when he started the job.
 
Gulf Coast state representative kicks off congressional campaign in Hattiesburg
The Democratic candidate for Congress in the 4th District officially kicked off his campaign in Hattiesburg Saturday morning. State representative Jeramey Anderson of Moss point hosted a rally downtown at the Historic Train Depot. "Onward" is his campaign theme. "No more of doing the old ways, no more of thinking this regressive thought," said Anderson. "We're moving onward towards a new Mississippi, towards a new, innovative and progressive way of thinking." Anderson said his campaign will focus on issues like job creation and public education, along with homeland and economic security. He represents the 110th House District and was first elected in 2013, at the age of 21.
 
Trump rails against Mueller investigation, dismisses McCabe's notes as 'Fake Memos'
President Trump fired off angry tweets Sunday morning railing against the Justice Department special counsel's Russia investigation and attacking the integrity of former FBI director James B. Comey and his former deputy, Andrew McCabe, charging that their notes from conversations with him were "Fake Memos." For the second straight day, Trump was unrestrained in his commentary about Robert S. Mueller III's expanding investigation, which is probing not only Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible links to the Trump campaign, but also whether the president has sought to obstruct justice. After Trump's personal attorney, John Dowd, called Saturday for an end to the Mueller probe, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Sunday urged the president and his legal team to cooperate fully with the investigation and warned of serious ramifications if they did not.
 
Data Leak Puts Facebook Under Intensifying Scrutiny on Two Continents
Lawmakers in the United States and Britain demanded on Sunday that Facebook explain how a political data firm with links to President Trump's 2016 campaign was able to harvest private data from more than 50 million Facebook profiles without the social network alerting those whose information was taken. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, went so far as to demand that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, appear before her panel to explain "what Facebook knew about misusing data from 50 million Americans in order to target political advertising and manipulate voters." The calls followed reports on Saturday in The New York Times and The Observer of London that Cambridge Analytica, a political data firm founded by Stephen K. Bannon and Robert Mercer, the wealthy Republican donor, had used the Facebook data to develop methods that it claimed could identify the personalities of individual American voters and influence their behavior.
 
The Long Blue Line returns: MUW's Homecoming starts Thursday
Mississippi University for Women invites alumni, friends and guests to a weekend filled with entertainment and activities for Homecoming festivities Thursday through Saturday, March 22-25. Homecoming starts Thursday at 4:30 p.m. with the Homecoming Court Dinner Party at Hogarth Student Center. Student performances will follow at the Bryan Green Gazebo. From 6 to 7:30 p.m., the Nell Peel Wolfe Lecture Series, presented by the Ina E. Gordy Honors College, hosts Southern Foodways Alliance Director John T. Edge. Edge is author of "The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South" and a contributor to Garden & Gun and Southern Living magazines. Barnes & Noble will offer his book for sale in the Hogarth Student Center. Edge will sign books following his lecture in Parkinson Hall. The event is free and open to the public. Thursday's events will conclude with a free 8 p.m. performance by students from the Department of Music in the Kossen Auditorium.
 
Ole Miss professor enjoys teaching the art of film
Harrison Witt owes a lot of his life to film. A professor at the University of Mississippi, Witt teaches the craft to others eager to learn, but also found his career and met his wife from working on films. "It's been my life," Witt, 52, said of the profession. Originally from Paris, Kentucky, Witt now serves as assistant professor of film production at Ole Miss. "I grew up on a farm in the day of three channels on television," he said. "It was so exotic to go see a movie. You could travel to Europe or you could be in a fantasy world of 'Sinbad the Sailor.' For two hours, you were transported to some other place. I think that's what originally attracted me to movies."
 
Cunningham appointed to Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning board
A Hattiesburg radiologist is among four appointments made by Gov. Phil Bryant to the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. Steven Cunningham will join Jeanne Luckey, Bruce Martin and Powell "Gee" Ogletree Jr. on the board. They replace trustees Alan Perry, Christy Pickering, Doug Rouse and C.D. Smith. "As the governing authority for our public institutions of higher learning, the College Board serves a critical role in Mississippi," Bryant said in a news release. "I am grateful these four highly qualified individuals have agreed to take on that responsibility by accepting these appointments." Cunningham will represent the Second Supreme Court District, currently represented by Rouse. Cunningham practices radiology in Hattiesburg, where he serves as president of Comprehensive Radiology Services.
 
LSU approves three new scholarships to enroll historic number of applicants
LSU has the largest applicant pool in its history and the university's board of supervisors approved three new scholarships to entice those students to enroll for the fall semester. About 23,000 students have applied for entry at LSU for the new school year that begins in August. That's up from 17,000 last year, Jose Aviles, the newly installed enrollment chief, reported Friday to the board that oversees policy for the colleges in the LSU System. More Louisiana students have applied than ever before as well as dramatic increases in African-American applicants and students from other states. "Our applications have never been higher," LSU President F. King Alexander said. Now comes the task of actually signing them up. LSU hopes about 5,800 will enroll. "Nothing is set until they put the deposit and say 'Yes, I am attending LSU," Aviles said.
 
U. of Florida balances fewer international students with stronger programs
Dean Leonardo Villalon of the University of Florida's International Center is expecting a drop in international student applications to continue a steady decline this fall. The university saw 4.7 percent more international applications for fall 2016 from fall 2015, continuing a 15-year-long steady annual increase. But 3.1 percent fewer international students enrolled in the university in fall 2017, part of a nationwide trend in response to a political climate becoming hostile to immigrants and restrictions on visas. "That's not us," Villalon said. "That's national." Fewer international students mean fewer incoming resources (international students pay out-of-state tuition) and fewer perspectives and less talent coming to the university. Villalon and his team are trying to be proactive in recruiting students and allowing domestic students global opportunities. According to NAFSA, an international educators association, their efforts are working. It gave UF a Sen. Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization this year, one of five such awarded.
 
Who are the U. of Tennessee's top donors?
At the University of Alabama, the 10 largest donors to the university contributed more than $20 million in 2017. The gifts included scholarships for pre-med and business students, funding for a new data analytics and cybersecurity lab and more than a half-million dollars in artwork to the College of Education. At the University of Kentucky, the top 10 donations in 2017 added up to more than $11 million. They included a large donation for an academic center from a former trustee, funding for a student success center and a cancer center, and faculty jobs in business and medicine. The details of these donations and instructions on how the money is to be spent are part of gift agreements that are public information, but not every state or university -- including Tennessee and the University of Tennessee --- discloses such information. Private donations are an important part of university funding, and as many states face ever-tightening budget constraints, the pressure has increased for universities to raise more and rely on donors.
 
U. of Arkansas library to put bulk of books into storage
Renovations to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville main campus library will result in up to three-quarters of books and other printed materials moving to a new off-campus storage facility. The move comes as campuses nationally have seen declines in the number of items being checked out, with UA also seeking to add more group study space within Mullins Library to keep up with growing numbers of students. An estimated 300,000 to 350,000 books and bound serials will remain after items are transferred into storage, said Joel Thornton, head of instruction and liaison services for UA libraries. "Many libraries in the U.S. are going through this exact same process, or have been through it recently in the last five years," said Carolyn Henderson Allen, dean of UA libraries.
 
UGA's future doctors meet their 'match'
Resident applicants at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership gathered on Friday in George Hall on the UGA Health Sciences Campus for Match Day, an event celebrating the next step in their medical careers. Sealed envelopes addressed to each member of the class of 2018 were opened at noon, and inside each envelope was a personal letter revealing where the student will pursue his or her postgraduate medical education. An annual event, Match Day takes place after students participate in interviews and visits to residency programs in Georgia and across the country. To determine the post-graduation assignments, the students ranked residency programs where they would like to complete their training, and the residency programs ranked the student applicants. The lists are then submitted to the nonprofit organization National Resident Matching Program in Washington, D.C., which uses an algorithm that aligns the choices of the applicants with those of the residency programs.
 
Vanderbilt researcher using virtual reality to fight addiction, opioids
Video games were once Noah Robinson's only way to cope. When he couldn't bear the challenges of growing up as an outsider, he fell into immersive worlds that eased his tensions and helped him feel less alone. Now, as a graduate student at Vanderbilt University, Robinson is applying the same premise to an unconventional, high-tech therapy that might help addicts get a firmer grip on recovery. By immersing them in a virtual world of swirling colors and abstract shapes, and then layering psychological principles over that experience, Robinson hopes to help patients separate themselves from the negative emotions and cravings that fuel addiction. If he is successful, his mentors believe he could be at the forefront of a groundbreaking new treatment for addicts, one that could prove to be especially significant as the nation battles the deadly opioid crisis.
 
Texas A&M touts outreach at South by Southwest
Texas A&M officials said the university's second year at the South by Southwest festival in Austin succeeded in improving upon its inaugural outing while also providing a fun, interactive way for people to experience what Aggies have to offer. Amy Smith, senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer for A&M, said as a "powerful channel to reach millions in our backyard," she believe's A&M's participation in the festival is a "no-brainer" and that there is "more to come in demonstrating at how Texas A&M leads by example." "The world is hungry for best-class, smart employees and citizens of substance," she said in an emailed statement. "That was true 141 years ago when we began and will be the case in another 141 years from now. What's different is making sure we're constantly leveraging technology and innovation for delivering the story of who we are in new and impactful ways."
 
U. of Missouri frats still studying Dyad report
Since the University of Missouri received a consultant's report in late October warning that it needed to act to change the culture of fraternity life on campus, two fraternities have been shut down by their national governing organizations and two have been put on disciplinary probation for hazing. One of the shuttered fraternities, Sigma Phi Epsilon, is being sued over an alleged assault by two members who are also facing felony charges for breaking one student's jaw and knocking out another one's tooth. Members at the other, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, have until Thursday to move out of their chapter house at 24 E. Stewart Road, president Ben Widger said. Meanwhile, the recommendations from Dyad Strategies -- to change recruitment, ban freshmen from living in chapter houses and require residents' rooms to be open for inspection during parties -- are still being studied, MU Dean of Students Jeff Zeilenga said Friday. One of the objections to banning freshmen, Zeilenga said, is that many fraternity operating corporations are in debt for large new houses and need revenue to meet mortgage payments.
 
U. of Missouri's Marshall Stewart: 'Our campus is the 114 counties of Missouri'
Marshall Stewart believes most strategic plans are doomed to fail without the right culture in place. In January, as the University of Missouri's vice chancellor for Extension and Engagement, he started a statewide book club for Extension faculty and staff. The book is Roger Connors' "Change the Culture, Change the Game," a New York Times bestseller that teaches the extreme importance of support within an organization preceding any strategic goal. Stewart expected few people to be interested, but over 250 signed up. That's Stewart's brand. By starting something as easy to join and potentially enriching as a book club, he's doing his job: simultaneously teaching, learning from and connecting with people around Missouri. He's showing them how to build successful cultures in their communities and workplaces, and he's building a statewide culture of its own.
 
Colleges revise their travel risk policies in response to new State Department advisories
The U.S. Department of State recently unveiled a revamped system of travel advisories, a move that is prompting many colleges to revise their international travel risk assessment policies and that could result in shifts in some of the countries to which colleges commonly send students. Advocates for study abroad in Russia, for example, worry that the comparatively high risk rating for the country under the new system will result in a reduction in student travel there. At the same time, some institutions are loosening restrictions on student travel to other countries, such as Israel and Mexico, which were subject to State Department travel warnings under the old system but are now rated as being relatively less risky overall. Many colleges used the State Department's old system of travel warnings and alerts as a main metric for determining where they'll allow university-sanctioned student -- and, in some cases, faculty -- travel, and so changes to the State Department's methodology mean changes to many universities' policies.
 
MLA data on enrollments show foreign language study is on the decline
Even as institutions report accelerated, comprehensive internationalization efforts, graduate and undergraduate foreign language enrollments are on the decline, according to a recent report from the Modern Language Association. What's driving that trend? The MLA isn't sure yet -- a forthcoming report seeks to offer more analysis. In the interim, MLA executive director Paula Krebs said that students continue to be interested in languages, "and when institutions support language instruction, students take language courses." Looking beyond the trend line, Krebs said, "Many institutions have had increases in enrollments." And when MLA releases its full report, she said, it will highlight what's "going right at the institutions with increased enrollments, so other colleges can see how to make strategic investments that will produce stronger enrollments."
 
Stanford History Event Was 'Too White and Too Male,' Organizer Admits
The faces of 30 white men, all speakers at an applied history conference this month at Stanford University, certainly grabbed attention as the images circulated widely this week. And that's how the main organizer, the conservative British historian Niall Ferguson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, found himself on the defensive two weeks after the conference had ended. Propelling the blowup was a tweet about the "all-male history conference" posted on Wednesday by Ana Lucia Araujo, a history professor at Howard University in Washington. Mr. Ferguson is no stranger to controversy. But on Thursday he acknowledged that the conference needed more diversity. "Everybody was keenly aware that it was too white and too male," he said. The problem was "explicitly discussed" ahead of the event, Mr. Ferguson said. He also said that women had been invited, but all, except one, were unable to attend.
 
Defining FAPE critical to highlighting strengths, supporting needs
Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: "Many things have changed since the creation of laws deeming all students in the United States eligible for Free and Appropriate Public Education or FAPE. This pivotal acronym establishes that all eligible students with disabilities 'will' be educated at public expense. It details how a child with a disability is entitled to a quality education that is appropriate for his or her learning capacity, tailored to the specific needs outlined in the child's IEP or Individual Education Plan."
 
Alyce Clarke: The grande dame of the Mississippi Legislature
The Clarion-Ledger's Jimmie Gates writes: "She is currently the longest-serving woman in the Mississippi Legislature. Alyce Clarke, D-Jackson, was elected in 1984 and began serving in 1985, becoming the first African-American woman in the Legislature in modern time. There are few lawmakers who have the support of colleagues that Clarke does. Ms. Alyce is the lady of the House,' said longtime Rep. Gary Staples, R-Laurel. 'I support her persistence to get a lottery ... I respect her. She's always got a question to make things clearer.'"
 
McDaniel switcheroo shifts hot seat from Wicker to Bryant
Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "Call it what you will, state Senator Chris McDaniel blinked. Despite his earlier caustic rhetoric, he will not challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Roger Wicker in the Republican Primary. Instead, he will compete in what he hopes will be an easier pathway to the Senate, the special election to fill retiring Sen. Thad Cochran's seat. Assuming his billionaire funders stick with him, McDaniel may be right about the pathway, but he displayed some cavalier opportunism in ducking Wicker. ...Commenting on McDaniel's switcheroo, Bryant said, 'This opportunistic behavior is a sad commentary for a young man who once had great potential.' This came after a rally by Tea Party leaders at the Capitol pushing on Bryant to appoint McDaniel. ...McDaniel, who regularly bashes the GOP establishment, then announced his pending switch and unabashedly called for all Mississippi Republicans to 'unite around my candidacy and avoid another contentious contest.' Not likely.
 
Why are Bryant, McDaniel splitsville?
The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "They were once staunch conservative tea party Republican political allies -- Gov. Phil Bryant and state Sen. Chris McDaniel -- but last week appeared to mark the end of any political relationship they still had. Bryant deemed McDaniel 'opportunistic' and unfit to be a U.S. senator. This was after McDaniel announced he was dropping out of the Senate race he had already entered against Republican Roger Wicker to run against a Republican as-yet-to-be-named by Bryant to replace the retiring Thad Cochran. ...So what happened? Bryant, Trump and McDaniel would appear to be political birds of a feather. But trouble has been brewing for a while."


SPORTS
 
Closing act in front of home crowd: MSU women look for third-straight Sweet 16 spot
At this point in the basketball season, there is not much for certain. On Monday night at Humphrey Coliseum, Mississippi State will either advance to its third-straight Sweet 16 or it will leave the home arena ending an era. A couple of things that are for certain however, is that the Humphrey Coliseum will be packed and loud, and the people in the crowd will be watching four historic players take the court in Starkville for the final time. When 1-seeded MSU (33-1) hosts No. 9-seeded Oklahoma State (21-10) at 8 p.m. on ESPN2, it will be the last home game for Victoria Vivians, Blair Schaefer, Roshunda Johnson and Morgan William. The group of four have gone 62-3 at home over the years, including a perfect 17-0 mark this season.
 
Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma State in rematch tonight
Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer proclaimed after his team survived a 79-76 game against Oklahoma State in Starkville on Dec. 3 that it had the feel of an NCAA Tournament game. "Lo and behold, we're going to get to really have one here three months later," Schaefer said on Sunday. The top-seeded Bulldogs and No. 9 seed Cowgirls will meet once again at Humphrey Coliseum tonight in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a trip to the Sweet 16 in Kansas City on the line. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
 
How much of a challenge will Oklahoma State be for Mississippi State?
Before Mississippi State played Oklahoma State on Dec. 3, Vic Schaefer told his team during a pre-game meeting that the matchup would feel like an SEC game. His take rang truer than he probably wanted it to. Afterward, before taking a sip of water during the postgame press conference he said, "That felt like a NCAA Tournament game." Well, what do you know... Top-seeded Mississippi State hosts ninth-seeded Oklahoma State Monday (8 p.m., ESPN2) in the second round of the tournament. The winner advances to Kansas City for a Sweet 16 game against either Maryland or NC State. Analysts have described MSU's road to the Final Four as the easiest path of any of the four No. 1 seeds, and while there were less top-25 teams in the Kansas City region than any other, the Bulldogs' second-round opponent isn't a sure out.
 
Mississippi State dominates Nicholls, advances to second round of NCAA tournament
Teaira McCowan grabbed the rebound from her knees and found Jazz Holmes with an outlet pass. Holmes then dished to Victoria Vivians, who used a pretty spin move in the paint for a layup. McCowan celebrated on the other end of the court by raising her arms with her index fingers pointed upward. Despite it being late in the third quarter with Mississippi State beating Nicholls by 42 points, the majority of the 10,211 in attendance left their seats and applauded after the flashy sequence. Vic Schaefer? He sat on the bench with a straight face and his arms folded in his chest. Schaefer is usually animated regardless of the score and situation in a game. Perhaps his lack of expression had something to do with top-seeded MSU cruising to a 95-50 win in the first round of the NCAA tournament. But maybe he was simply not in the mood because the game had featured another slow start for the Bulldogs with an uncharacteristic number of turnovers (16).
 
Schaefer wants more despite 45-point win
Vic Schaefer was worried his top-seeded Mississippi State team might struggle some in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament after a 13-day layoff. He was right, for about a minute. The Bulldogs turned the ball over on their first two possessions and fell behind No. 16 seed Nicholls, 2-0. That lead lasted all of 45 seconds before MSU overpowered the Colonels for a 95-50 victory in front of a sold out crowd of 10,211 at Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday. "We are really rusty in a lot of areas," Schaefer said. The Bulldogs move on to the second round on Monday at 8 p.m. against No. 9 seed Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls defeated eighth-seeded Syracuse 84-57 earlier on Saturday. To Schaefer's point, the Bulldogs did turn the ball over an uncharacteristic 16 times. But State also shot 50 percent from the floor for the game, including 9 of 19 from the perimeter.
 
Mississippi State opens postseason play with rout of Nicholls
The tapping will reverberate in Humphrey Coliseum until Monday night. For much of the first half Saturday, Mississippi State women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer was content to sit on the bench with his arms folded across his chest. The pose is one Schaefer usually takes when he isn't pleased. On this day, Schaefer tapped his feet as if to burn off some of the frustration that appeared to be seizing up inside him. The tapping both feet that was so urgent in the first half continued throughout the second half of No. 1 seed MSU's 95-50 victory against No. 16 seed Nicholls before a crowd of 10,211 in the first round of the NCAA tournament's Kansas City Regional at Humphrey Coliseum. "We had a lot of rust to knock off. I think everybody sees that," Schaefer said.
 
Shaking off the rust: Even with slow start, Bulldogs blow out Colonels
For 13 days, the fourth-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs had to sit with the sour feeling of the first loss of the season. It took two weeks before MSU could shake that loss from the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and the length between games worried coach Vic Schaefer. While one quarter showed there was rust still on the No. 1 seeded Bulldogs, that rust was shaken off pretty quickly after that. The Bulldogs (33-1) put 11 players in the scoring column and had double-doubles from Victoria Vivians and Teaira McCowan against Nicholls (19-14) in front of 10,211 fans on their way to the second round of the tournament with a 95-50 win. "We've got to get back in attack mode," Schaefer said. "I'd like to see us get back attacking. I'm complaining about our offense and we scored 95 points. We've set a standard here at Mississippi State."
 
Mississippi State Cruises Past Nicholls 95-50 in Opening Round
The numbers in the postgame box score show that top-seeded Mississippi State was dominant in just about every facet during its 95-50 victory over Nicholls in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night. Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer isn't buying it. He knows tougher games are coming quickly. "We're not very sharp," Schaefer said. "We've got basically 48 hours to figure it out." Mississippi State will face No. 9 seed Oklahoma State on Monday in the second round.
 
Danberry gives Bulldogs big lift
Vic Schaefer needed a jolt Saturday night. The Mississippi State women's basketball coach didn't turn to a beverage or a snack to provide the energy he and his team needed. Fifty-six seconds into his team's first-round NCAA tournament game against Nicholls, Schaefer turned to Jordan Danberry. "I needed Jordan to come in and give us some juice," Schaefer said. "She is my energy player, and she has been practicing well, and I needed her to come in and provide that, and she did. She did exactly what I needed her to do." Danberry had six points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 12 minutes Saturday night in No. 1 seed MSU's 95-50 victory against No. 16 Nicholls before a crowd of 10,211 in the Kansas City Regional at Humphrey Coliseum.
 
NOTEBOOK: Bulldogs boast nation's only sellout
The Starkville Regional can lay claim to something that no other regional venue currently can in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament -- a sellout. A total of 10,211 crammed into Humphrey Coliseum, many of which came to witness top-seeded Mississippi State take care of business with a decisive 95-50 win over Nicholls State. "This something that we've been doing now for a while," said MSU coach Vic Schaefer. "It just gets bigger, bigger and bigger. When you sold out your regional a week and a half in advance, that's pretty special. That is not going on across the country. It is going on in Starkville, Mississippi." The Bulldogs broke the single-season school attendance record for the third consecutive season drawing 113,814 at home this year. MSU ranked sixth in all of Division I averaging 7,113 per game which rose to 8,502 during conference play.
 
NIT: Mississippi State stuns Baylor at buzzer
Quinndary Weatherspoon got a friendly bounce off the rim on a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Mississippi State over Baylor 78-77 on Sunday afternoon in the second round of the NIT. Aric Holman's blocked shot led to a fast break and Weatherspoon sank a 3-pointer to pull to 71-70. Terry Maston answered with a baseline jumper and banked in a shot on Baylor's next possession to make it 75-72. After a timeout, Lamar Peters found Tyson Carter open in the corner for a 3-pointer to tie it at 75-all at 34.8. Manu Lecomte worked the clock down, drove the lane and made a contested floater off the glass with 5.1 remaining. Weatherspoon inbounded it and Peters found him trailing the play for a 3.
 
Q THE MADNESS: Weatherspoon hits winning shot for MSU men
After hitting a couple of game-winning shots earlier in his career, Quinndary Weatherspoon added a postseason game-winner to his resume Sunday afternoon. Despite leading by as many as 20 points in the first half, MSU had to erase a nine-point deficit in the final 4:40 to put away Baylor 78-77 in a second-round game of the National Invitation Tournament at the Ferrell Center. After Baylor grabbed a lead with 5 seconds remaining, Lamar Peters fed Weatherspoon, who hit an a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired. The shot hit off the front end of the rim but bounced in to keep the Bulldogs' season alive. MSU will face Louisville on the road in the third round on Tuesday. The Bulldogs stand one win shy of Madison Square Garden and the tournament's semifinal round for the first time since 2007.
 
Commodores complete sweep
Mississippi State started its 2017 Southeastern Conference season by being swept. A year later and the Diamond Dogs are in the same situation. No. 13 Vanderbilt completed a weekend sweep of the 19th-ranked Diamond Dogs with a 4-3 comeback victory on Sunday. "Unfortunately we're right back where we were last year after three league games," said MSU interim head coach Gary Henderson. "We went to Arkansas last year and ended up 0-3 and now we're in the same spot. It's certainly nothing that you're hoping for that's the reality of it." The Bulldogs will return to action Tuesday, hosting Alcorn State at 6:30 p.m.
 
Will Mississippi State bounce back after getting swept by Vanderbilt?
From the inside of Mississippi State's dugout Sunday, Bulldogs interim coach Gary Henderson said he overheard Jake Mangum say something along the lines of, "Well, unfortunately, we're right where we were last year after three league games." It's an optimistic perspective from a team leader after the Bulldogs lost 4-3 to Vanderbilt at Dudy Noble Field Sunday and were swept in their first SEC series of this season. Reminder: Arkansas swept the Bulldogs last year in their first SEC series, but Mississippi State finished the year appearing in a super regional. The makeup of this year's team is different, though -- and not just from a production standpoint. This year's lineup features four freshmen, who are mostly producing, so in regards to a mentality, Mangum's insight is the kind of wisdom from a veteran that MSU needs to lean on if it has any aspirations of bouncing back.
 
Being a Mississippi State alum 'not at all' deterrent for Kermit Davis in taking Ole Miss basketball job
Ole Miss' new men's basketball coach has strong ties to Mississippi State. Kermit Davis was a guard for the Bulldogs from 1980-82 and got his start in coaching at his alma mater as a graduate assistant during the 1983-84 season. His father, Kermit Davis Sr., was the head coach at Mississippi State for seven seasons in the 1970s. So did the connections to Ole Miss' biggest rival ever make Davis, a Leakesville native, think twice about ending his 16-year run as the head coach at Middle Tennessee State to take over in Oxford? "Not at all," Davis told reporters during a media session in Murfreesboro shortly after Ole Miss officially announced the hire Thursday, according to Erik Bacharach of the Daily News Journal. "I love the state of Mississippi. I grew up there and have a ton of Ole Miss pals." A job that's expected to give him a significant bump in pay from the $575,000 base salary he made at MTSU didn't hurt either, though the specifics of Davis' contract at Ole Miss aren't yet known.
 
Kermit Davis Sr.: I'll still pull for MSU when they're not playing Kermit and Ole Miss
Kermit Davis Sr. played at Mississippi State in the late 1950s. He coached the Bulldogs for seven seasons (from 1970-77). His son Kermit Davis Jr. played at Mississippi State and served as a graduate assistant there. Davis Sr.'s two other children attended MSU as well. On Thursday, Ole Miss made its hire of Davis Jr. official, meaning the family will join the other side of the in-state rivalry for the first time. "I love Mississippi State, but I'm going to love Ole Miss, too, and I'm going to pull for them as hard as we possibly can," the 82-year-old Davis Sr. said over the phone Friday morning. "I'll still pull for Mississippi State when they're not playing Kermit and Ole Miss." Davis Jr.'s brother lives in Olive Branch. His sister lives in Tupelo, as does Davis Sr. and his wife, Nancy.
 
AD McGarity: 5-day UGA coaching search 'seemed like a year'
Georgia's rapid pace from parting ways with Mark Fox to hiring Tom Crean as men's basketball coach took just five days. It seemed a lot longer to Greg McGarity. The Bulldogs athletic director looked exhausted when he walked off a plane Thursday night having secured the guy for the job hours earlier back in Florida. "It seemed like a year," he said Friday afternoon. "Yeah, pretty tiring." By Friday, after Crean's introductory news conference, it was hard to remember which day was which for McGarity when he recounted how Crean became the Bulldogs coach. Georgia employed a North Carolina based-search firm run by former Vanderbilt athletic director Todd Turner during the process. "He knew who was in play and who wasn't in play," McGarity said.
 
Former Razaorbacks punter named to U. of Arkansas board
Steve Cox, a managing partner in a Jonesboro real estate firm and a former football player for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has been appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to the UA board of trustees. Cox, 59, replaces insurance company executive Ben Hyneman, 68, whose 10-year term expired this year. A former NFL player, Cox's term to the 10-person board expires March 1, 2028. At UA, Cox earned all-conference honors as a punter in 1979 and 1980, and in 2004 was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Cox is a native of Charleston, about 20 miles east of Fort Smith. He began his NFL career without completing degree requirements, but in 1982 earned a bachelor's degree in business administration. "I came back and graduated after my rookie year. I always promised myself and promised my parents that I would graduate and get a degree," Cox said.
 
South Carolina basketball coach Frank Martin says parents out of control during youth sports
Imagine, if you can, Frank Martin seated quietly in the stands, watching a basketball game. The University of South Carolina men's basketball coach was doing so in Charlotte recently, preparing to watch his 10-year-old son, Christian, play in his club basketball game. Before the game got going, a parent from an earlier game charged onto the court to berate an official -- in front of the 9-year-old players. Martin pulled out his phone and documented the madness in a tweet. "I've seen it multiple times now," Martin said later. "Parents walking on the court going after a ref, saying all kinds of obscenities just in threatening ways. I've seen parents start fights in the stands." Martin often employs an impassioned coaching style, sometimes exhibited while disagreeing with an official's call. But that's only when he's on the court coaching the South Carolina Gamecocks, Martin said, not when he's watching his children play sports. In those games, he cedes to their coach and doesn't bother referees who are making little money.
 
Cinderella Story? It's True for U.M.B.C. in Academics, Too
The stunning victory by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, over the University of Virginia on Friday night -- the biggest upset ever in the N.C.A.A. men's basketball tournament -- catapulted a school whose competitive claim to fame had long been chess into sports history. But the U.M.B.C. Cinderella story transcends athletics, and has been decades in the making. The university, founded in 1966, is better known for producing the most African-American students who go on to complete combined M.D.-Ph.D. programs than it is for turning out professional athletes. Before its 20-point win over the nation's top-ranked basketball team, it was the reigning National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition champion. A statue of the school's mascot, a Chesapeake Bay retriever named True Grit, has a shiny nose from the tradition of students' rubbing it for good luck before finals, rather than before big games.
 
How Much Can a University Make of a March Madness Cinderella Story?
At halftime, with players locked in a surprising tie with the top-ranked men's basketball team in the country, the Twitter feed of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County's athletic department seized the spotlight to make a sales pitch. It seemed at the time that UMBC was making use of a window that was about to close. But you've almost certainly heard what happened next: The Retrievers went on to make history. In the second half, UMBC outscored the University of Virginia by 20 points, becoming the first men's team with a 16-seed to beat a one-seeded squad. Meanwhile the man behind the punch-drunk UMBC Athletics Twitter account became a star. "I turned to someone at halftime and said, 'No matter what happens, people are going to pay attention to us,'" Zach Seidel, the man behind the account, said in an interview with Slam magazine, one of many he conducted after the game. But how much can a basketball tournament raise a university's profile? Can an upset win, for example, really be an admissions boon? There's evidence that it can.



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