| Friday, October 18, 2019 |
| Mississippi State and Belhaven University partner for dual degree program | |
 | Top officials from Mississippi State University's Bagley College of Engineering and Belhaven University's School of Science and Arts signed an agreement on Thursday to create a new dual degree program for undergraduate students. The partnership offers students an opportunity to simultaneously earn a degree in mathematics, biology, business, chemistry or computer science from Belhaven and an engineering degree from Mississippi State University. "This partnership with Belhaven University will bring excellent students to MSU and expose them to world-class engineering faculty that are leaders in their field," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "I'm proud to partner with Belhaven to create more educational opportunities in Mississippi, and I look forward to seeing these students thrive in our Bagley College of Engineering and then begin an impactful career." |
| International aid pays domestic dividends | |
 | MSU President Mark E. Keenum writes in The Clarion-Ledger: Working to find solutions to the many problems posed by hunger and poverty have defined much of my professional life. As a former USDA under secretary and now as president of one of our nation's leading land-grant universities, I have seen first-hand the powerful difference American investment can make in addressing these significant global challenges. This past week during World Food Prize Week in Des Moines, Iowa, the presidentially appointed advisory board to USAID -- the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) -- released the results of a study that show the strong benefits to the United States of international aid investments. ... As BIFAD's report makes clear, international development programs are raising living standards and improving quality of life -- creating economic opportunity, new consumers, and opening markets to trade for American commodities -- as a result of USAID and U.S. higher education collaboration and the investments of federal funding. |
| Helping Others Helps Us: Study finds international aid investments pay domestic dividends | |
 | MSU President Mark E. Keenum writes in the DeSoto Times-Tribune: In just a few days during World Food Prize Week in Des Moines, Iowa, the presidentially appointed advisory board to USAID -- the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) -- will release the results of a study that show the strong benefits to the United States of international aid investments. The report, "How the United States Benefits from Agricultural and Food Security Investments in Developing Countries," illustrates in great detail how American aid helps the people of the developing world, as well as American farmers, ranchers, consumers and taxpayers. This aid also plays a central role in enhancing both U.S. national security and global security and stability. Given the projections of a world population of about 10 billion in 2050 and the impact of climate change on agriculture, investment in research through our U.S. universities is critical to meeting global food production demand. |
| BIFAD releases report on value of U.S. foreign aid | |
| The Board for International Food and Agriculture Development (BIFAD), a presidentially appointed advisory board to the U.S. Agency for International Development that advises USAID on issues concerning agriculture, higher education in developing countries, and food insecurity, released a report Oct. 16 that said the United States receives broad-based economic, national security, and diplomatic benefits from its agricultural assistance in the developing world. "As an agricultural economist, I have long recognized the threat facing our planet with both a growing population and serious challenges to future food supplies," said Mark Keenum, president of Mississippi State University and chair of BIFAD. "Finding ways to enhance food security is literally a matter of life and death. It is important to preventing conflict among nations and is in our own national security interests. It is also simply the right thing to do." |
| Report: Ag investments in developing countries yield economic benefits at home | |
| The U.S. receives broad-based economic, national security, and diplomatic benefits from its agricultural assistance investments in the developing world, according to a new report commissioned by the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development (BIFAD). U.S. agricultural exports to developing countries total $90 billion (of a total of $140 billion) annually and help generate an increase in total U.S. economic activity of $259 billion. By increasing agriculture capacity and production, agricultural aid lifts incomes in the developing world and fuels demand for goods and services abroad. The report was unveiled at the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa. "As an agricultural economist, I have long recognized the threat facing our planet with both a growing population and serious challenges to future food supplies," said Mark E. Keenum, president of Mississippi State University and chair of BIFAD. |
| Foreign ag aid boosts domestic farmers | |
| The U.S. receives broad-based economic, national security and diplomatic benefits from its agricultural assistance investments in the developing world, according to a new report commissioned by the Board for International Food & Agriculture Development (BIFAD). U.S. agricultural exports to developing countries total $90 billion (of a total of $140 billion) annually and help generate an increase in total U.S. economic activity of $259 billion. By increasing agriculture capacity and production, agricultural aid lifts incomes in the developing world and fuels demand for goods and services abroad. U.S.-based public research and land-grant universities play a key role in boosting agricultural production through the development of improved crop varieties and efficient agricultural practices as well as educating experts who return home after completing studies in the U.S. |
| MSU's Bearden Dairy Research Center hosts events for children | |
 | Fewer children grow up on farms these days. That's why Breakfast on the Farm introduces school-age children to life on a dairy farm. The Mississippi State Extension Service and the MSU Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences hosted this opportunity for students to learn more about dairy products -- and see exactly where these food items come from. Dairy cow specialist Dr. Amanda Stone said agriculture is at the heart of our daily lives. "Agriculture is important. We wouldn't be able to eat. We wouldn't be able to have clothes. We wouldn't be able to do much of anything we do every day without agriculture and the people who devote their lives to it," said Dr. Stone. |
| National Chemistry Week at Mississippi State University | |
| The Student Members of the American Chemical Society, an organization at Mississippi State University that promotes majors in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, is planning a series of activities at MSU in honor of National Chemistry Week, which begins on Saturday, Oct. 19. The theme of the event is "Marvelous Metals." MSU will host the NCW Tailgate Extravaganza in front of the Lloyd-Ricks-Watson Building, across from the WMSV radio station, on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 10 a.m. The event takes place before the MSU football game against Louisiana State University and will include chemistry demonstrations starting at 10:45 a.m., hands-on activities, music, food, a photo booth and more. |
| Italy Borrows From Mississippi With a Program to Help the Poor Find Work | |
| Luigi Di Maio's anti-establishment Five Star Movement won a surprising electoral victory in March 2018 after promising to give poor Italians a "citizens' income" and a path into the workforce in a country with perennially high unemployment. Di Maio recruited Domenico Parisi, a 53-year-old Italian data scientist who teaches sociology at Mississippi State University in the U.S., to head Italy's National Agency for Active Labor Policies (Anpal), which oversees the job centers and navigator program. "What this is really about is linking people left out of the workforce and putting them in touch with the labor market," says Parisi, speaking with an accent from his native Puglia region mixed with a distinct Southern U.S. drawl, in an interview in his Rome office. "In Mississippi, we were able to convince employers we had a valid workforce," Parisi says. "We can do the same thing in Italy." |
| Alumnus recognized with southern history dissertation award | |
| A university alumnus was awarded for his contribution in the field of history. On Sept. 10, Owen Hyman was awarded the 2019 C. Vann Woodward Dissertation Prize. The award recognizes the best dissertation in southern history. Hyman also received a $3,000 stipend from the Southern Historical Association. The award is named after Historian C. Vann Woodward. Hyman expressed his happiness for receiving the award. "This award is meaningful to me because it affirms the outstanding education and mentorship received at both of my alma mater, Southeastern Louisiana University and Mississippi State University," commented Hyman. "Dr. James C. Giesen, my dissertation advisor at Mississippi State University, is a leading scholar of Southern Environmental History and is shaping the field through his editorship of the 'Environmental History and the American South' book series," explained Hyman. "He is also an outstanding educator who has won every teaching award that Mississippi State University offers. My research interests, my methodology, and my teaching all draw from their expert guidance." |
| Tupelo prepares for Donald Trump campaign event | |
 | City officials are in the early stages of preparing for President Donald Trump to visit Tupelo in order to campaign for Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves ahead of the state's election for governor. Multiple city officials confirmed to the Daily Journal that the Trump campaign and the U.S. Secret Service have been in communication with the Tupelo Police Department, the Tupelo Fire Department and the Tupelo Regional Airport to prepare for Trump's visit on Nov. 1. Mayor Jason Shelton wrote to Trump on Oct. 8 saying he has been made aware of Trump's possible visit to Tupelo to campaign for Reeves. "On behalf of our great city, I would respectfully request the opportunity to officially greet you when you arrive at or depart from the Tupelo Regional Airport or when you arrive at or depart from the BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo." Shelton said his administration and the city departments will assist the Trump campaign in order to make the president's visit run smoothly, even though Shelton is supporting Reeves' opponent, Attorney General Jim Hood. "I don't support Lt. Gov. Reeves or the president politically, but I'm certainly not going to be rude," Shelton told the Daily Journal. |
| Opposing political strategists tackle governor race at UM Forum | |
 | Political consultants Austin Barbour and Brandon Jones speculated on the upcoming Mississippi gubernatorial election and made their cases for each candidate at the Overby Center on Wednesday night. Barbour, a Republican Ole Miss alumnus and nephew of former governor Haley Barbour, supports Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves. Jones, a Democrat and former member of the state House of Representatives, prefers Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood. Barbour highlighted Reeves' recent struggles in the Republican primary against Bill Waller, especially in the Jackson area, where he fared poorly in Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties. He argued that this was due in no small part to Reeves' inclination to reject political favors. "Like him or not, the guy is not afraid to tell people no, and a lot of those people live in and around Jackson," Barbour said. "Those counties will be tougher for him than for most Republicans." Jones retorted that it is Reeves' unwillingness to play ball with these people that makes him unfavorable. |
| Jim Hood Claims Tate Reeves Cut Public Ed Money to Give Favors to Campaign Donors | |
| "It's time to get the money changers out of the temple," Democratic nominee for governor Jim Hood said on Wednesday, standing inside the Italian-white marble walls of the Mississippi Capitol Building rotunda. "I'm talking about Tate Reeves." Hood, the current attorney general, was not only making a case against Republican opponent Reeves, the current lieutenant governor, but also for his own policy proposals aimed at bringing more transparency to the Legislature. He wants to get rid of the body's self-written exemption from Mississippi's public-records law, which would allow the public to access currently secret legislative documents, such as lawmakers' work-related emails and text messages. The Democrat charged that Reeves, who as lieutenant governor for the past eight years also served as president of the Mississippi Senate, pursued a legislative agenda that aligned with that of his high-dollar campaign donors. It was the second day in a row that the candidate had called a press conference to discuss the ways Reeves allegedly rewards his donors. |
| Abortion at Center as Women's Groups Offer Jennifer Riley Collins, Lynn Fitch Endorsements | |
| A Washington, D.C.-based group dedicated to helping elect more women to offices nationwide on Tuesday endorsed Democrat Jennifer Riley Collins in the Mississippi attorney general's race. That group, EMILY's List, endorsed Collins after a top anti-abortion Republican women's group endorsed her opponent, Republican Lynn Fitch. Mississippi has never elected a woman to the attorney general's office. This year, though, both major parties nominated women, with Republicans nominating current Mississippi Treasurer Lynn Fitch. The GOP nominee, though, is a conservative who opposes abortion rights; EMILY's list endorses women who, among other things, supports abortion rights. Collins was the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union-Mississippi until stepping down earlier this year to focus on her campaign. The endorsement comes at a time when current Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat, is running for governor on an anti-abortion platform. |
| Mississippi senator pushes for E-verify upgrade following ICE raids | |
 | This summer's immigration raids that resulted in the arrests of 680 people working at chicken plants exposed a flaw in the state's E-verify program, experts say. Now the lawmaker who proposed the decade-old law says he wants to give it some teeth. "Drafting the legislation, we knew that we would like to come back later on and make it better," said Mississippi state Senator Michael Watson, who is running for Mississippi secretary of state. Mississippi was among the first states to requires employers to use E-verify when it passed the Mississippi Employment Protection Act in 2008. Issues with E-verify became evident last summer when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided seven chicken processing plants in Mississippi. Agents arrested about 680 alleged unauthorized workers who may have been in the country illegally. That has put a spotlight on the E-verify mandate in Mississippi, which requires employers to run all new hires through the federal database to ensure workers have the proper documentation to work in the state. |
| Educating K Street: Colleges and universities seek influence in Congress, executive branch | |
 | Lobbyist Stu Van Scoyoc began working for the University of Alabama system three decades ago, helping the school smooth over a problem the 1986 tax overhaul created for its pension program. It's still a client. Lobbying on behalf of colleges and universities has been a mainstay of K Street work for years for firms like Van Scoyoc Associates. And many of the biggest spending university systems maintain their own lobbying outposts in Washington with in-house employees who monitor Capitol Hill and executive branch debates and look for federal funding opportunities, relying often on home-state and alumni connections. Though colleges and universities sought, and routinely won, earmarks until Congress put the lid on those controversial pots of lawmaker-directed spending a decade ago, the policy agenda of higher education institutions has become no less contentious. Schools are in the midst of heated immigration, health care and technology debates, spanning such matters as visas for foreign students, regulations for emerging technologies and student loan debt, among others. |
| Scientific integrity bill advances in U.S. House with bipartisan support | |
| Despite their failure to attract a single Republican co-sponsor, Democrats in Congress have long insisted that a bill to strengthen scientific integrity across U.S. government agencies takes a bipartisan stance and is not a veiled attack on the Trump administration's attitude toward science. That claim of bipartisanship took a big step forward today as the science committee of the U.S. House of Representatives tweaked the bill to satisfy key Republicans on the panel. By a vote of 25 to six, the committee voted to advance the legislation (H.R. 1709), which would require some two dozen federal research agencies to develop and follow clear principles designed to protect scientists and the research they carry out from political influence. |
| Senators Press CFPB To Examine Student Loan Forgiveness For Public Service | |
 | Four U.S. senators told the head of the nation's top consumer protection agency Thursday that they want her to launch examinations into serious problems with a program designed to offer loan forgiveness to public service workers. An NPR story this week revealed that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau attempted such examinations but was thwarted by the Trump administration's Department of Education. At issue is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which aims to help police, military service members, teachers, people who work at nonprofits and others. If they make qualifying payments for 10 years, the program promises to forgive the remainder of their student loan debt. But the program is rejecting 99% of people who think they have done that when they apply to get their loans forgiven. |
| Mick Mulvaney acknowledges Ukraine aid was withheld to boost political probe | |
 | Donald Trump's top aide on Thursday acknowledged that the administration held up military funds to Ukraine over the president's desire for a political probe, undermining past denials of any quid pro quo and blowing up weeks of White House messaging amid an escalating impeachment inquiry. In a whirlwind 40-minute news conference, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said the U.S. aid was withheld at least in part because of a request to have Ukraine investigate unfounded allegations that foreign countries assisted Democrats in the 2016 election. More than five hours after the briefing, the White House issued a statement attributed to Mulvaney in which he sought to walk back his earlier comments. The explosive remarks from the West Wing's senior staffer before reporters seemed to provoke alarm among congressional lawmakers and Trump's allies in equal measure. |
| 'All roads lead to Putin': Pelosi questions Trump's loyalty in White House clash | |
 | The now-famous photo captured House Speaker Nancy Pelosi standing up in the Cabinet Room, pointing her finger at a visibly angry President Trump, and, in her telling, questioning his loyalty to the country he leads. Why, she asked, did he withdraw U.S. troops from Syria -- a geopolitical calculation that allowed a toehold in northern Syria for Russian President Vladimir Putin? Why, she asked with lawmakers and aides watching and a White House photographer snapping away, do "all roads lead to Putin"? With that, Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters Thursday, she left the White House meeting Wednesday. It was a staggering accusation from one constitutional officer to another, and it marked the moment that a relationship once marked by elements of mutual esteem finally shattered, after multiple heated confrontations, into absolute mutual disdain. Trump called it an "unhinged meltdown." For Pelosi, it was a grave but considered rebuke. |
| Trump's Doral resort to host G-7 summit next year | |
 | The United States will host the 2020 Group of Seven (G-7) summit at Trump National Doral, a resort property near Miami owned by President Trump's family. The summit will take place June 10-12, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters Thursday at the White House. The decision is certain to spark challenges from Democrats and ethics watchdog groups who will argue that the president is seeking to enrich his family's brand by bringing world leaders to a Trump property. Critics argued earlier this year that the selection would be a clear violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits presidents from accepting payments from foreign countries, U.S. states or the federal government. Mulvaney rejected those arguments on Thursday, insisting that Trump would not profit from the gathering. The summit itself and its eventual schedule are likely to draw significant interest in the coming months. |
| NASA makes history with all-female spacewalk | |
 | Men have floated out the hatch on all 420 spacewalks conducted over the past half-century. That changed Friday with spacewalk No. 421. NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir ventured outside the International Space Station before 8 a.m. ET Friday and will spend over five hours replacing a broken battery charger, or BCDU. NASA's livestream of the historic spacewalk features astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson as one of the female narrators. The units have previously been replaced using a robotic arm, but the newly failed unit is too far away for it to reach. The units regulate how much energy flows from the station's massive solar panels to battery units, which are used to provide power during nighttime passes around Earth. Three previous spacewalks had been planned to replace lithium-ion batteries, but those will be rescheduled until the latest BCDU issue is resolved. |
| Met by protest, Ole Miss leader says he respects free speech | |
 | The University of Mississippi's new leader said Thursday that he respects the "free expression" of students and faculty who continue protesting the way a state board shortened its own search process in hiring him. Chancellor Glenn Boyce began working Monday on the main Ole Miss campus in Oxford, and protesters marched to demand his resignation. The student senate voted this week to condemn a lack of transparency in the search process. Boyce spoke briefly to The Associated Press after he left an Institutions of Higher Learning board meeting Thursday in Jackson. Asked about his first days on the job, Boyce said: "We're a campus of free expression, and I respect that. Obviously, this is not the way I would have liked to have come in." |
| Glenn Boyce issues first official statement since becoming chancellor | |
| With Glenn Boyce's first official week as the University of Mississippi's 18th chancellor concluding on Friday, Boyce gave his first comments since taking over as the University's leader. "In the last two weeks, it hasn't escaped me that there are passionate feelings about who leads the University of Mississippi. And rightly so," Boyce's letter sent to the University community on Thursday read. "I'm passionate about that as well. I just hope that the people who care about this university will judge my tenure as chancellor based on the results that we deliver." On Wednesday and Thursday, Boyce was in Jackson attending the IHL's monthly Board of Trustees meeting, which requires every University's chancellor or president to attend. Boyce states he has already met with a "number of student leaders, administrators and others in our university community," which also includes the University's Medical Center in Jackson. Boyce said he plans to continue to meet with students, faculty and staff whom he has not been able to speak with yet. |
| Itawamba Community College's new four-day week schedule increases flexibility, benefits students | |
| Itawamba Community College transitioned to a four-day instructional schedule for the majority of its classes this semester. The option allows students to have more compact class schedules that better fit with work hours and personal time. ICC President Dr. Jay Allen said adding the flexible scheduling option was discussed for more than a year. The college conducted "intensive research" and consulted counterparts across the state. The college joins Northeast Mississippi Community College, Meridian, East Mississippi, Holmes and Mississippi Delta, which have adopted some form of a four-day schedule in previous years. Allen said faculty and staff still maintain their five-day work schedules. All services, including office hours, residence hall operation hours and cafeteria services, are still offered Monday through Friday during normal operating hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. |
| New AU logo is not scrapped; it's 'temporarily postponed,' according to university | |
| To change the logo or not to change the logo. That seems to be the question of the week at Auburn, with the Student Government Association saying the logo won't be changed and a spokesperson for the University saying that hasn't yet been decided. "We have temporarily postponed implementation of the AU logo within the new system to allow opportunity for continued dialogue with stakeholders," Preston Sparks, director of university communications services, said in an email statement Tuesday to The Auburn Plainsman. "The recommendations are not yet mandated." That statement followed a Monday meeting of the SGA, in which SGA president Mary Margaret Turton announced that Ronald Burgess, Auburn University's chief operating officer, told her that the University will not be changing its classic logo. |
| U. of South Carolina Faculty Open Up About the Controversial Hiring of New President | |
 | This spring and summer, the University of South Carolina's faculty, students, alumni and several local elected officials got a rude awakening -- and a quick lesson in power politics. This sudden shock came at the end of a routine matter: finding a new president after the retirement of Harris Pastides. The USC Board of Trustees set about finding candidates and soon came up with a short list of four men (three white, one black) who visited, were interviewed, and met with students. None made an especially strong impression, but one -- retired Army Gen. Robert Caslen, 65, former superintendent of the military academy at West Point -- quickly got on just about everyone's bad side. The university's Board of Trustees, who had already been widely criticized because there were no female applicants, rejected the whole slate of candidates, named an interim president, and planned a do-over. That is, until July, when Republican Gov. Henry McMaster weighed in, and called every single board member to rethink the decision on Caslen. He called, he wrote, he lobbied -- so did his chief of staff, Trey Walker, who sang Caslen's praises in texts to political leaders. The lobbying by the governor, as ex-officio chairman, worked. |
| Scooter study at U. of Florida to look at danger, pollution | |
 | While pitched as an environment-friendly transportation alternative, University of Florida researchers say scooters' fuel emissions are a problem. Scooters are often portrayed as sustainable and inexpensive by students who use them to traverse campus and around the University of Florida. However, an ongoing UF study suggests that while the inexpensive part may be true, the motorized scooters' reputation as sustainable is a bit off-target. Claudia Romero, an assistant professor in the UF department of biology, and Alyssa Guariniello, a third-year environmental engineering student, are conducting a study to both collect data about and raise awareness of pollution produced by powered two-wheel vehicles, commonly known as "PTWs" or "scooters." |
| UGA College of Education to be named for Mary Frances Early | |
 | The University of Georgia's College of Education will be named to honor one of the state's pioneering educators -- Mary Frances Early, UGA's first African American graduate and longtime leader of music education in Atlanta's public school system. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia gave final approval on Wednesday for UGA to name the College of Education in honor of Early, who was a central figure in the desegregation of UGA. "Through her courage and determination, Ms. Early has made an indelible mark on UGA, and we are pleased to honor her legacy and lifetime of accomplishments as a music educator and civil rights icon," said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. "I would like to thank the Chancellor and Board of Regents and applaud them for their support of this fitting tribute to Ms. Early's life and legacy." The university plans to hold the naming ceremony in February as part of UGA's celebration of Black History Month, Morehead said. |
| Bush School panelists: Russia still threatens US | |
 | Leaders from Texas A&M's Bush School of Government and Public Service gathered experts on relations between the United States and Russia this week for a summit that explored Russia's economy and political history. The potential worldwide impacts of the relationship between the two global powers also was addressed during the forum at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. Keynote speaker Evelyn Farkas described Russia on Tuesday evening as being "in the grill" of the United States through cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns and other means. Farkas served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia under President Barack Obama from 2012 to 2015. "We all must fully grasp, in a clear-eyed fashion, that Russia is a geopolitical threat to the United States, its allies and partners, to democracy and to the post-World War II international order," Farkas said. "They are in our face, if you will, trying to disrupt democracy and trying to disrupt the international order." |
| Demolition derby: U. of Missouri's building plan will prioritize removing inefficient space | |
 | The University of Missouri campus will look very different by 2023. MU's Strategic Space Reduction and Relocation Plan aims to reduce deficient campus building space and maximize investment in other key buildings and facilities. The plan will result in 750,000 square feet of building space being either demolished or divested from the university. Under the plan, several construction projects on campus are being carried out in the coming year, including the demolition of the School of Journalism's Neff Annex, according to Gerald Morgan, MU director of space planning and management, who spoke to the MU Faculty Council for University Policy on Thursday. The ambitious five-year plan is borne out of a necessity to work within MU's current annual operations budget. The current value of all necessary maintenance and renovations for MU sits at about $808 million, according to the plan's website -- far more than the university is able to handle with a $15.7 million operations budget for fiscal year 2019. That doesn't take into account an additional yearly $35 million in deferred maintenance. |
| Why colleges are prioritizing privacy | |
 | For attendees at the 2019 Educause conference this week, privacy was top of mind. Scandals such as Cambridge Analytica, data breaches at ed-tech companies such as Chegg and an increasingly complex regulatory landscape have raised difficult questions about what data colleges collect, how they use them and with whom they are shared. While many colleges have added chief information security officers to their IT teams in the past decade, relatively few have added chief privacy officers. Things appear to be changing. "I think most colleges will have privacy officers in the next five to seven years," Celeste Schwartz, vice president for information technology and chief digital officer at Montgomery County Community College in Pennsylvania, said in a session on privacy at the conference. "I think laws will almost dictate that." |
| Racial inequality, at college and in the workplace | |
| A new study released by Georgetown University in part refutes the notion that African American and Latinx minorities can improve their socioeconomic standing just by going to college. According to the study, between 1991 and 2016, black and Latino Americans increased their likelihood of obtaining and maintaining a good job, but their white peers still disproportionately hold better jobs compared to their overall employment. Regardless of education levels obtained, these racial disparities continue to exist. Diversity in higher education has made improvements over the years but is still not accessible to all, primarily due to cost. The National Center for Education Statistics found that in 2017, 41 percent of white young adults were enrolled in college, compared to 36 percent of black and Hispanic young adults. Additionally, for Americans over 25, 33 percent of whites have a bachelor's degree, compared to 19 percent of blacks and 16 percent of Hispanics. |
| Swastikas and 'sexually degrading' comments left on doors in dorm, Furman University says | |
 | Swastikas and "sexually degrading" messages scrawled inside a student dorm prompted a police investigation, a South Carolina university says. Furman University received reports of Nazi symbols left on room doors at Blackwell Hall this month, according to an email sent Wednesday to the campus community and obtained by McClatchy news group. The dorm was also marked with "sexually degrading and sexist messages and drawings," school officials wrote in the email. It was likely an "isolated incident," and vandalism wasn't found anywhere else on campus, spokesman Clinton Colmenares wrote Thursday in an email. After the incident, the school says officials in its Office of Spiritual Life met with Jewish students and faculty. "Symbols such as swastikas are deeply hurtful to all, but especially to our Jewish students and colleagues," school officials wrote. |
| Why Companies Like Starbucks, Taco Bell, Disney And Cigna Are Paying For College: A Better Bottom Line | |
| Major companies that pay for employees to attend college are discovering multiple benefits from those investments, and many are now expanding their tuition assistance plans to increase the gains. Employers have offered education assistance benefits for decades, but recent results about the impact of such plans are stimulating greater interest. It's estimated more than 60% of U.S. companies offer financial assistance to employees to further their education, a trend that's picked up steam the past five years following a lull during the financial crisis of 2008-09. Paying for employees to attend college is popular largely because of its favorable treatment under IRS section 127, which allows employers to deduct tuition payments as a business expense and permits employees to exclude from taxable income up to $5,250 annually in eligible education reimbursement. A great win-win to be sure, but here are five other documented impacts of employer-provided college. |
| Time change has good, bad points | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant clinical professor in Mississippi State University's Shackouls Honors College, writes: Daylight Savings Time is set to end at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019. This means thousands of clocks will need to be adjusted by moving the time back one hour. This "extra" hour of sleep is often a welcomed segue into fall. However, it also has some ramifications that require students to adjust to this new sense of time and limited daylight hours. The new time shouldn't be interpreted as an opportunity for elementary students to stay up later or alter their overall routines. To be clear, implementing the Daylight Savings Time dynamic does not just impact a day in the spring when the clocks move up and a day in the fall when those same clocks fall back. DST was designed to expand citizens' access to daylight outside the traditional workday, allowing them to have additional time outdoors enjoying the light of day, as it were. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State's Maroon Madness tips off tonight | |
| Mississippi State will hold its annual Maroon Madness event inside Humphrey Coliseum tonight starting at 8. Both the men's and women's basketball teams will be in action with the men participating in a slam dunk contest and a scrimmage by the women. Both teams will also conduct a 3-point shooting competition. The MSU spirit squad will also be on hand along with three performances by rePercussion. Admission is free and doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the first 1,000 fans receiving a free t-shirt. |
| Mississippi State's Chloe Bibby ready to return for Bulldogs | |
| A sold-out crowd filed into Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 17 to watch Mississippi State take on rival South Carolina in a pivotal Southeastern Conference showdown. However, the 10,000-plus on-hand watched in horror as Chloe Bibby fell to the floor writhing and screaming in agony as she grabbed her left knee on the game's opening possession. An MRI the following day confirmed that Bibby would have to undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season, which turned into an Elite Eight run for the Bulldogs. "It's horrible, I wouldn't wish that upon anyone," Bibby said. "It's not fun at all." At the time of her injury, the 6-foot-1 forward from Australia had started all 18 contests and was averaging 11.9 points per game. She was also shooting 45-percent from 3-point range, which ranked third in the SEC. Months of rehab soon followed for Bibby, but she was finally fully cleared before the Bulldogs held their first official practice late last month. "I was just so excited," Bibby said. |
| 'An awesome dad': How two Bulldogs balance fatherhood and college football | |
| Jaquarius Landrews sat inside his home one night this past summer. He was about to fall asleep when his phone rang. "Come to the Palmeiro Center and get some extra reps in," Mississippi State senior safety Brian Cole told him on the other end of the line. It used to be easy for Landrews, a senior safety himself, to say yes to such requests. He'd just get up and go. That changed when his daughter, Nevaeh Renee Landrews, was born on Jan. 27, 2019. Landrews was taking care of Nevaeh by himself when Cole called him. His fiancé, Quianna Harrington, was out of town visiting her family in Yazoo City. Landrews thought about saying he couldn't go. Then he took a longer look at Nevaeh. "I'm coming," Landrews told Cole. Landrews showed up at the Palmeiro Center with his cleats in one hand and a baby carrier in the other. When Harrington heard the story, she wasn't mad. She didn't think it was funny, either. She viewed it as a sign of maturity. In the months after Nevaeh's birth, Landrews has learned to balance the two most important things in his life: family and football. |
| LSU's Ed Orgeron hasn't forgotten previous trip to Mississippi State | |
| Ed Orgeron hasn't forgotten his last trip to Davis Wade Stadium in 2017 -- and he's going to make sure this LSU team remembers, too. That was Orgeron's first full year as the Tigers' head coach and they came to Starkville as the No. 11 team in the nation. That evening, however, LSU was held to only 270 yards as Mississippi State trampled the Tigers 37-7. "I will remind them that we walked into a hornet's nest two years ago and I didn't have them ready," Orgeron said. "That was one of the loudest stadiums we played in all year. Not only the cowbells, but the music and the fans were into it. Obviously they played lights-out." LSU was limited to one touchdown by the Bulldogs last year as well. The Tigers scored on a three-play, 3-yard drive after a Nick Fitzgerald interception on the game's opening possession in Baton Rouge. LSU tacked on four field goals by Cole Tracy to win, 19-3. |
| No. 2 LSU not looking past slumping Mississippi State | |
| No. 2 LSU and Mississippi State are heading in opposite directions this season. The Tigers own the nation's highest-scoring offense this season and has wins at No. 15 Texas and over No. 9 Florida on its resume. Slumping Mississippi State ranks 12th in the SEC in total offense and has dropped two straight games. But the potential for a trap exists with LSU (6-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) making the trek to Starkville one week after beating the Gators and a showdown against No. 11 Auburn looming on the horizon. LSU coach Ed Orgeron wants to make sure his team doesn't get caught looking ahead. The coach pointed out that LSU lost 37-7 the last time it played at Mississippi State.. |
| 'I still have my cowbell': LSU's Joe Burrow returns to the state his family calls home | |
 | James Wilkerson could feel the grease coating his hands. Perched behind the grill at Bill's Hamburgers on North Main St. in Amory, he reaches out to shake a hand. Apologizing for his slick palms, Wilkerson explains his father, Reid, owns the famed establishment. Just before 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, Wilkerson and another employee press burgers on the sizzling stovetop an arms-length away from the bar. As smoke begins to rise and the crackling of the grill envelops the room, the bell hanging from the front door chimes. Donning a purple shirt with the words "LSU Football" written in yellow block lettering at the center of his chest, Jimmy Burrow strides into the restaurant. Burrow's hair is silvery-grey, but his upper body remains built -- a reminder of his days as a defensive back at Nebraska in the early 1970s. An Amory native and the father of Louisiana State quarterback and Heisman Trophy hopeful Joe Burrow, Jimmy has been coming to Bill's since his youth. |
| How does LSU beat Mississippi State? Keys include withstand 'ambush' and stop the run | |
 | No. 2 LSU (6-0) continues its Southeastern Conference slate against Mississippi State (3-3) on Saturday inside Davis Wade Stadium. These are staff writer Wilson Alexander's keys to the game for LSU. 1. Withstand the ambush. The last time LSU played at Mississippi State, the Tigers lost, 37-7. Junior defensive end Glen Logan, at the time an unprepared freshman thrust into the fray, called the game an ambush. Coach Ed Orgeron referred to it as walking "into a hornet's nest." He admitted he didn't have the team ready. LSU has harped on that experience this week, pumping "Who Let the Dogs Out" and other noise into its practices so the Tigers feel prepared. 2. Hold that football. 3. Renew kicker Cade York. 4. Stop the run. |
| Mud, majesty, mayhem: Five unforgettable games from the long LSU-Mississippi State rivalry | |
| LSU fans may regard Alabama, Florida or Texas A&M as a bigger rival, but the Tigers have played no football foe more often than Mississippi State. Saturday's game (2:30 p.m., CBS) marks the 113th meeting between the Tigers and Bulldogs, with LSU holding a 74-35-3 lead in the series. They have played every year except four since 1918, when LSU did not field a team because of World War I while State did not play in 1943 because of World War II. LSU has dominated the series since SEC divisional play began in 1992, winning 24 of the past 27 meetings though State has won two of the last five. That includes a 37-7 rout of LSU in Starkville in 2017. |
| Beer Delivered to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Thursday | |
| For the first time, beer prepared for legal distribution was delivered to Vaught-Hemingway stadium on Thursday, ushering in a new era for Ole Miss football fans. Ole Miss will be the second Mississippi university to offer beer during football games come Saturday. The Rebels' home game against Texas A&M will be the first game in which beers will be served inside the stadium, and beer will continue to be sold the remaining home games against New Mexico State (Nov. 9) and LSU (Nov. 16). On Oct. 7, the list of beers and how much they will cost was released by the athletic department. There will be six beers, as well as Henry's Hard Sparkling Water, available for fans over age 21 to purchase. There will be one Mississippi-made beer available out of the six. Suzy B is an American blond ale made by Hattiesburg's Southern Prohibition Brewery. Ole Miss and Texas A&M will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT. |
| Iowa battlefield extends from politics to gridiron | |
| Iowa is a perennial political battleground, but Iowans know the most intense contest happens on the gridiron every year, when the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones try to demolish one another in one of college football's oldest rivalries. The reward? A move up in conference ranking, bragging rights and the coveted Cy-Hawk trophy. This year, ESPN's "College GameDay" broadcast from Iowa State territory in Ames for the first time in school history on Sept 14. Iowa won, 18-17. That can make things weird when rivals work in the same congressional office. "Everyone in the state is watching that game," says Katelyn Schultz, proud Hawkeye and staffer for Iowa Sen. Charles E. Grassley. Her colleague and fellow Iowan Stephanie Carlson agrees on the intensity of the rivalry. She might play nice at work but all bets are off come game days. Grassley, a University of Northern Iowa graduate, talked about September's game on the floor recently, diplomatically extolling the tailgating where he talked to his constituents about "ethanol, biodiesel & trade." |
| Parents Should Limit Sports Participation for Children, Trainers Say | |
 | Too many children are risking injuries, even lifelong health problems, because they practice too intensively in a single sport, and parents should set limits on their participation, according to a leading organization of athletic trainers. New recommendations issued by the National Athletic Trainers' Association urge parents to ensure that children and adolescents postpone specializing in one sport for as long as possible, that they take at least two days off each week for rest and that they not play a single sport for more than eight months a year. A proposed rule of thumb: A child's age equals the number of hours he or she should spend in sports training each week. The recommendations, more stringent than those issued by some physician groups, may pose a challenge to parents and youngsters who see intense year-round athletic training as the path to coveted college scholarships and professional stardom. |
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