| Friday, February 9, 2024 |
| Mississippi State building $100M residence hall complex | |
 | Construction is underway on a $100 million residence hall complex at Mississippi State University that is designed to serve students and the community. Scheduled opening on Azalea Hall is ahead of the fall 2025 semester. The new five-story, 159,000-square-foot facility will have more than 400 bedspaces. The private, single-room living areas will house students in pod-like groupings. It is being built on the north side of campus, near the intersection of George Perry Boulevard and Barr Avenue, between Ruby Hall and Old Main Academic Center. "It's going to be a beautiful building and certainly a great addition to our campus," said Regina Hyatt, vice president for student affairs. Dei Allard, MSU Housing and Residence Life executive director, said the facility's design "provides optimal opportunities for student engagement and collaboration with one another as well as the MSU community." Another feature, funded by a $4 million donation from the Luckyday Foundation of Jackson, will be a living and learning community for MSU's Luckyday Scholars. The Luckyday Foundation's Scholars Program, which helps young Mississippians pursue higher education and develop leadership skills, will move its administrative offices from Cresswell Hall to Azalea Hall. About 80 first-year Luckyday scholars will be housed in the new dorm when it opens. The new Luckyday Tower "will enhance the student experience for scholars within this program," said Jamie Houston, Luckyday Foundation board chair. |
| Exclusive: Glo Gears Up for Growth with New Executive Hires | |
 | The company behind Glo Pals and Glo Cubes is looking to scale its business in 2024 and beyond. Glo, based in the historic Rex Theater in Starkville, Mississippi, is elevating a pair of mentors from advisors to leaders as Eric Hill and Jeffrey Rupp officially join the team as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Business Development, respectively. A decade ago, the duo helped two Mississippi State University students launch Glo through the MSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach (E Center). "This is a monumental development for Glo," says Anna Barker, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of Glo. "Both Eric and Jeffrey have been an invaluable source of support and a constant sounding board for advice since we were students. The knowledge and insight they bring to the table are vital for sustaining our long-term growth, and we're more excited than ever about the future." Two years ago, Glo raised more than $1.7 million in funding, boosting the company's valuation to nearly $20 million. Glo used the funds to expand operations and spark job creation in graphic design, animation, media, supply chain, and engineering. |
| Once company's mentors, Hill, Rupp join Glo team | |
 | Glo, the Starkville-based startup that is maturing into a $20 million company, had plenty of assistance from Eric Hill and Jeffrey Rupp since the time it was only a kernel of an idea at Mississippi State University. Now, both men are joining the company as executives. Glo announced in a Thursday press release that Hill and Rupp, both of whom lead MSU's Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach (E-Center), will soon join Glo's team. Hill will become Glo's chief operating officer April 15. Rupp will join as the company's director of business development July 1. Glo was founded in 2016 by MSU students Hagan Walker, the company's chief executive officer, and Kaylie Mitchell, through the E-Center. It manages two brands, Glo Cubes drink cubes and Glo Pals children's sensory toys. Glo Pals now accounts for 90% of the company's sales, the release said. Glo Pals has produced toys based on "Sesame Street" and "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood." Rupp said Glo has expanded to the point that it is now a global company, and it needs more people to take on responsibility. He confirmed that both he and Hill will be leaving their positions at the E-Center and the two are working with College of Business Dean Scott Grawe to put together a succession plan. Hill told The Dispatch leaving the E-Center is bittersweet. Rupp, who also serves as Starkville's Ward 3 Alderman, said his duties in that role will not be affected. |
| 2024 Governor's Arts Award winners honored at the State Capitol | |
| Mississippians excelling in their work and influencing the nation are honored with Senate Resolutions. They entertain, educate, and include institutions dating back to the early 1900s. Mississippi Native and country music legend Marty Stuart was on hand as the Mississippi Senate honored the 2024 Governor's Arts Award Winners. Mississippi State University professor Brent Funderburk is awarded for visual arts and education. "There's so much art, music, dance, theater so much in the state it blows our mind," said Funderburk. "When I came in 1982 I could not leave." Senator John Horhn has spearheaded the efforts to recognize Governors Arts Award winners for 20 years. "Our people have produced some of the greatest art known to man," said Horhn. "We have impacted the world with our arts here in Mississippi." This is the 36th annual Governor's Arts Awards. |
| 'Can' they collect a lot of food? Area mayors say yes | |
| Seven North Mississippi mayors are leading the charge for their cities in collecting food donations that will benefit local food pantries in the fourth annual March of the Mayors. The event, created by Hattiesburg nonprofit Extra Table, started in South Mississippi during the pandemic as a way to give back to the community while maintaining social distancing. Last year, 34 cities participated in the drive, packing more than 7,000 boxes that were distributed to pantries on the coast, the Pine Belt and in the Jackson Metro area. This is the first year cities in North Mississippi will also be collecting donations. The mayors of Columbus, Starkville, West Point, Caledonia, Baldwyn, Oxford and Tupelo are heading the drive for each of their cities. Each city will collect a different canned food item to be dropped off at designated locations any time before March 1. Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill is happy with her city's designation, saying peanut butter is more fun than beans or soup. Even so, the food drive will be a fun way to boost community engagement. "I think it's a nice opportunity for us to participate and a good way to do it," she said. "We want whatever participation we can manage and are looking forward to seeing what we can get." Starkville donations of peanut butter jars can be dropped off at the Starkville Police Department, City Hall, Fire Station One or at The Partnership on East Main Street. Donations from the drive will benefit Bully's Pantry on the MSU campus. |
| Navistar Defense hoping prototypes will lead to contracts | |
| Navistar Defense is building prototype vehicles that will be tested by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps, with hopes that securing one or both contracts valued at millions of dollars and potentially more jobs at the company's West Point facility. Last week, Navistar announced an award from the Marine Corps Systems Command for the Medium Tactical Truck (MTT) prototype program. Navistar will be building a prototype based on its ATLAS vehicle, which it calls a "highly common, scalable and modular platform that can handle the full spectrum of mission roles." Mack Trucks also was tapped to submit a prototype. According to Inside Defense, the Marine Corps hopes the MTT will replace the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) fleet made by Oshkosh Defense. Also last month, Navistar Defense delivered three prototype vehicles for the Army's Common Tactical Truck program for tests and evaluation. Last year, Navistar, along with Mack Defense, Oshkosh Defense and AMV/GMD were selected to provide three prototypes each in a contract tabbed at $24.25 million. Navistar also is using its ATLAS platform for the CTT program. The West Point plant currently employs about 200 and that figure is expected to grow to 350 by the end of May due to several new contracts including the JLTV A2 trailer program announced last summer. |
| Dixie National Rodeo underway at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson | |
 | Cowboys and cowgirls from throughout Mississippi and the mid-south will gather at the Mississippi Coliseum this weekend for opening performances of the 59th annual Dixie National Rodeo. Described by Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson as "The Greatest Show on Dirt," the Dixie National is the largest annual rodeo east of the Mississippi River and is part of a larger series of events including livestock shows, the annual Miss Dixie National Rodeo Pageant, and the Dixie National Sale of Junior Champions (where Mississippi 4-H and FFA youth exhibit and offer for auction livestock including cattle, goats, sheep and swine). Kelly M. Tucker, chair of the sales event, welcomed hundreds of the youth participants to the Mississippi Trade Mart Wednesday morning. In addition to more than $8.9 million raised by the sales since 1970. "We also support Mississippi's youth through scholarships," she said. The scholarship program began in 1993 and has to date awarded over $1.1 million to 4-H and FFA youth. The first of nine rodeo performances over the next two weekends gets underway at 7 p.m. Friday in the Coliseum. Then on Saturday morning, Feb. 10 the annual Dixie National Parade will begin at the corner of Mississippi and Jefferson Street featuring the famous Dixie National Wagon Train. |
| Mississippi momentum: Cork moving full speed ahead at Development Authority | |
| Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Bill Cork didn't plan to work in economic development, but his career path took a turn that led to this field, and he hasn't looked back. In his leadership position at MDA, Cork says the organization has the ability to react to fast-changing circumstances, but the challenges are productivity in the face of government cutbacks and the sheer volume of work. Economic development is changing with the volume and speed at which capital is moving -- like nothing Cork has seen in 30 years. "The projects are data-driven and huge in scale, and rapidly changing market dynamics force us to be disciplined in our approach," he said. However, he believes the state's workforce is able to keep up. He's visited 81 of the 82 counties and reports seeing optimism, hard work and communities ready to propel themselves into the future everywhere he goes. "The people of Mississippi are subject to the demands to adapt to rapidly changing technology and processes that would challenge anyone who wants to advance in their careers," he said. "Fortunately, our state has solutions, and we are eager to continue to deploy them for the benefit of our friends and neighbors who work hard every day or who want to enter the workforce." While working to bring all kinds of business to the state, MDA looks keenly at automotive, defense, aerospace, the blue economy and forestry products. |
| Optimism about the U.S. economy sends stocks to a new record | |
 | Stocks are on a record-setting run. For the first time in history, the S&P 500, the broad-based U.S. index of the largest and best-known companies in the world, is above 5,000. The S&P 500 opened over the milestone mark at the opening bell on Friday. This comes a day after it touched the level for a brief moment before settling lower. "Investors are feeling optimistic that we have sidestepped a recession," says Sam Stovall, the chief investment strategist at the financial research firm CFRA. The latest economic data seem to indicate the Federal Reserve is getting close to executing a so-called "soft landing" for the U.S. economy. That's despite widespread fears of a recession last year, when the Fed raised interest rates aggressively to fight high inflation. The S&P 500 is up more than 5% so far this year, on the heels of a strong year when the index gained 24%. Even then, some professional investors downplay the significance of milestones. "I think it's a psychological threshold," says Stovall, noting that Wall Street has a fondness for round numbers, and investors see these "millennial levels" as key milestones. Investors believe policymakers are comfortable enough with the progress they've made and will soon start cutting interest rates. That would juice the economy because it would make it less expensive for everyone -- companies included -- to borrow money, and investors would also feel more comfortable making riskier bets. |
| Prior authorization reform amended in Mississippi House, bill heads back to Senate | |
| Lawmakers continue to work towards reforming the prior authorization process between doctors and insurance companies. On Thursday, the Mississippi House of Representatives amended the Senate's original bill with a strike all and passed their bill unanimously. "Prior authorization" mandates that doctors seek insurance provider approval for non-emergency procedures. These approvals are divided into urgent and non-urgent categories. Insurers claim that this process is vital in ensuring the necessity of treatments as well as looking for the most cost-effective way to provide medical care. Physicians have complained about the lag in the process as well as the inadequacy of the staff they are often referred to during an appeal process if a request is denied. Upon arriving in the House, three changes were made to the bill. The House approved a second strike-all amendment that changed the 24-hour requirement for emergent requests to 48-hours and extended the time frame for non-emergent requests from five working days to seven. The chamber also removed the physician requirement for initial approval. "One reason for that is to keep down the costs for the insurance company so we don't pass on those costs to the consumer and make it more efficient for them to get a response back," said Representative Sam Creekmore (R) who presented the bill. Due to the changes made in the House, the bill will return to the Senate for additional work. |
| Mississippi counties, cities could receive authority over state building permit codes | |
 | The Mississippi House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that could remove state regulations for counties and cities on building permit processes and laws, which licensed contractors and property owners use for approval on construction projects. House Bill 331, while met with several Democratic and Republican challenges, passed 81 to 29 through the House. If the bill passes through both legislative chambers, it would give counties and cities the right to pick and choose their own building permit regulations and processes. The bill would also allow those local governments to remove licensing requirements from contractors also seeking to obtain those permits, as well as remove certain permits from being necessary. "This allows counties to adopt or not to adopt or not to impose any building restrictions, any building codes, deregulation that the state law and the federal law courts will allow," County Affairs Committee chair Larry Byrd, R, said. Byrd told his fellow House members the bill's main purpose is to give those county and city governments more legislative independence on construction laws and building codes. He said that counties and cities would have to adopt their own resolutions to part from state set regulations after the July 1 if the bill passes. |
| Division of Medicaid requesting nearly $1 billion in state funding for next fiscal year | |
| The Mississippi Division of Medicaid (DOM) is requesting nearly $1 billion in state support moving into Fiscal Year 2025. The ask to lawmakers comes after nearly six years of no state support deficit since FY 2019. Drew Snyder, Director of the Division of Medicaid, told members of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday that the decline in federal match for medical expenses was the primary driver of the requested increase. he exact increased amount requested comes to $83 million, or an over 9% increase in state support. This surplus would help DOM avoid a deficit during the next fiscal year. The FY 2024 request was approved at $909 million. The requested increase would put that number at $992 million, nearly $1 billion in state support. DOM is also hoping to cover that amount with a portion of special funds from the Medical Care Fund in order to compensate for the non-federal share that does not have a state support impact. Medicaid typically presents three request numbers to lawmakers within a fiscal year. There is an initial amount put forward in August, then again in January, and a final amount is presented in March when updated numbers from the beginning of the year can be calculated. Snyder said the current number could change slightly by the third recommendation. |
| What's next for Brandon Presley? Former Democratic governor nominee has new job | |
| Former gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley has found a new job in the solar industry. In a press release issued Thursday, Presley, who most recently served as Mississippi's Public Service Commissioner, announced he will become the vice president of strategic initiatives for Edelen Renewables, a solar plant development company based in Kentucky. The company will open a Mississippi office, which Presley will run. "Getting this country to energy independence, while creating good jobs for good people in hard luck communities has been my focus as a public service commissioner in Mississippi," Presley wrote in the release. "The opportunity to build upon my service as President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and take that mission across America is too good to pass up. I believe in the mission and the people of Edelen Renewables and am excited to join them in their important work." In his role, Presley will head up the company's Farmers Powering Community Initiative, which aims to preserve agricultural land and increase solar power usage, and he will also manage the day-to-day operations of Edelen's Mississippi branch. |
| Exonerated but not unscathed: Biden faces political nightmare with special counsel investigation | |
 | President Joe Biden will not face criminal charges for his handling of classified documents. But he is not coming away from Robert Hur's special counsel investigation unscathed. Hur's report Thursday portrayed Biden as an elderly man with "diminished capacities," including memory loss, handing his critics fresh evidence to argue the 81-year-old president isn't up to serving a second term. Details in the Department of Justice special counsel report pose such enormous problems politically for Biden that he delivered a previously unannounced primetime address, rejecting concerns about his mental fitness and insisting his memory is fine. "How in the hell dare he raise that?" a visibly angry Biden said, singling out claims that he could not remember "even within several years" when his son Beau Biden died of brain cancer. "I don't need anybody to remind me when he passed away," Biden said as he clenched his teeth. Biden's age was already a concern for many Americans ahead of the 2024 election, but the special counsel's report thrust perhaps his biggest liability to the center of the campaign. Biden's allies jumped on the assertions about memory loss as politically-motivated and inappropriate observations. Hur served as the principal associate deputy attorney general at Justice at the beginning of former President Donald Trump's term in office. Trump later appointed him U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland. Jim Messina, former President Barack Obama's campaign manager, said on social media that Hur "isn't a dummy" and encouraged Democrats not to "take the bait" by making hay of the report. |
| Biden angrily pushes back at special counsel's report that questioned his memory, handling of docs | |
 | A special counsel report released Thursday found evidence that President Joe Biden willfully retained and shared highly classified information when he was a private citizen, including about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, but concluded that criminal charges were not warranted. The report from special counsel Robert Hur resolves a criminal investigation that had shadowed Biden's presidency for the last year. But its bitingly critical assessment of his handling of sensitive government records and unflattering characterizations of his memory will spark fresh questions about his competency and age that cut at voters' most deep-seated concerns about his candidacy for re-election. In remarks at the White House Thursday evening, Biden denied that he improperly shared classified information and angrily lashed out at Hur for questioning his mental acuity, particularly his recollection of the timing of his late son Beau's death from cancer. "Given Mr. Biden's limited precision and recall during his interviews with his ghostwriter and with our office, jurors may hesitate to place too much evidentiary weight on a single eight-word utterance to his ghostwriter about finding classified documents in Virginia, in the absence of other, more direct evidence," the report says "We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," investigators wrote. |
| GOP leaders suggest Biden 'unfit' after 'disturbing' special counsel description | |
 | Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other top GOP leaders in the House suggested that President Biden is "unfit" for the office after a Thursday report from special counsel Robert Hur detailed limitations of the president's memory. In a joint statement, Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) charged that the special counsel's decision to not charge the president for his handling of classified materials "exposes a two-tiered system of justice with politically motivated charges while carrying water for another amid similar allegations" -- a reference to former President Trump, who has been charged by the Department of Justice for his handling of classified documents. But the leaders went further than their typical complaints of differing treatment for Republicans. "Among the most disturbing parts of this report is the Special Counsel's justification for not recommending charges: namely that the President's memory had such 'significant limitations' that he could not convince a jury that the President held a 'mental state of willfulness' that a serious felony requires," the House Republican leadership team said. The House GOP leaders' blatant questioning of Biden's ability to serve as president shows how the report could be a gift to Republicans, even though it does not recommend charges, as the 81-year-old Biden battles voter discontent regarding his age while facing reelection this year. |
| 'It's devastating': Trump seizes unmatched control over GOP | |
 | Donald Trump long ago bent the Republican Party to his will. But seldom has the sheer sweep of the former president's dominance been laid bare more clearly than this week. In one 72-hour span, Trump led the charge to crush a painstakingly negotiated border-security deal in Congress, pushed the Republican National Committee chair to the exits and, in Nevada, embarrassed his last remaining rival in the presidential primary. The heaviness of Trump's hand was felt across the country -- as was the conspiratorial, "Stop the Steal" tenor of the party lining up behind him. On Thursday -- the same day Trump romped in the Nevada caucuses orchestrated by a state party whose chair was indicted after falsely claiming to be an elector for Trump in 2020 -- the Supreme Court appeared to veer sharply in Trump's favor in a case challenging his eligibility to run for president. Scott Reed, a veteran Republican strategist, characterized the developments, including the disorderly Tuesday and ensuing humiliation, as "terrible" for the party. "Ronna getting kicked out, the Senate meltdown -- how you had the seventh senator come out and say there needs to be leadership change -- the whole Mayorkas thing and Nikki Haley being the cherry on top, losing 2-to-1 to 'none of the above,'" he said. "It's devastating." "It's the Trump mystique," he said. "It's his grip on everything." |
| Nikki Haley Doesn't Care if Extended GOP Race Damages Trump | |
 | Nikki Haley makes no apologies for hurting Donald Trump. "I'm weakening Trump because of who Trump is," she said in an interview here earlier this week. "Telling the truth in a primary is very important, so that's what I'm doing." Haley has stayed in the GOP nomination race despite the former president's commanding position and intensifying intraparty pressure for her to get out. The longer Haley highlights Trump's faults -- as she is increasingly doing -- and refuses to concede, the greater the potential she might tarnish him among general election swing voters who, polls show, are more drawn to her than him. The former South Carolina governor, who was also the first United Nations ambassador in Trump's administration, cites another reason she isn't worried about collateral damage: "I'm going to win," she said without hesitation when pressed on whether she is harming the party's prospects in November. "I'm strengthening the party because I bring more people into the Republican Party, instead of pushing people away like Trump." While Haley's quest for the nomination appears quixotic to some, she is getting enough donor money to keep her in the game as her campaign increasingly embraces an insurgent mentality. "It was venture capital. High probability of waste, small probability of saving the country. I don't think it was a zero probability," hedge-fund billionaire Cliff Asness, a Trump critic, said of his financial support for Haley in a post on X. If Trump becomes the GOP nominee, Haley argues that he won't be able to win enough independent voters and suburban women for a victory in November. "By nature, I think women look for authenticity. They look for someone who is genuine, and they look for someone who is honest, and they don't feel like he represents someone they want their kids to look at," she said. "I think parents in general are not comfortable with his behavior." |
| Putin, in rambling interview, barely lets Tucker Carlson get a word in | |
 | Russian President Vladimir Putin spent the first 30 minutes of his two-hour interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson giving a revisionist historical tirade on the founding myths of Russia and Ukraine, the breakup of the Soviet Union and NATO expansionism. From there, admonishing Carlson when he interrupted, Putin pontificated on matters ranging from the war in Ukraine and relations with the United States to the case of imprisoned American reporter Evan Gershkovich, and even to artificial intelligence. By the end of the conversation, it was clear that Putin had no intention of ending his brutal war against Ukraine. But Carlson, who was sacked from Fox last year, seemed ready to surrender. Putin offered to keep talking. Carlson, evidently exhausted by the Russian leader's long-winded conspiracy theories and grievances against the West, thanked him and called it quits -- far short of the media coup that he had been touting. Analysts said Putin's choice to talk to Carlson was based partly on his perceived sympathy -- the former Fox host has repeatedly dismissed criticism of Putin over the years -- and the opportunity to appeal to the more MAGA reaches of the Republican Party during an election year. That could boost Donald Trump's chances of reelection and persuade Republicans to continue to block U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Carlson spent most of the interview in silence, or looking confounded. |
| Universities: Graduate success dependent on 'broad curriculum,' institutional adaptability | |
| There's been much written and spoken in recent years about the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education. Schools and universities promote degrees in these fields of study for future careers. But what about non-STEM majors? Are they still valuable, and what is their role in the workplace? "At the University of Mississippi, non-STEM degree enrollment is healthy and accounts for nearly four in five undergraduates on campus," said Holly Reynolds, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts. "Academic counselors listen to students about their career interests as well as their academic strengths and interests when discussing their selection of majors and minors." Lance Nail, provost of the University of Southern Mississippi, sees the same dynamic at his university: "At the undergraduate level, we are seeing very healthy enrollments in our professional school programs, education and in the liberal arts. In fact, we currently have more non-STEM undergraduate majors. It's interesting to note that our fastest enrollment growth is being seen in the computer science and cybersecurity space." John Sewell, director of communications with the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, said, "Non-STEM disciplines, such as business and education, significantly contribute to the number of degrees earned at Mississippi public universities. For academic years 2019 through 2023, a total of 3,482 bachelor's degrees were awarded for STEM majors -- 25.6% -- and a total of 13,592 bachelor's degrees were awarded for non-STEM majors." Sewell says employers are looking for individuals who can think critically. |
| JSU president reveals plans and goals to grow and improve the HBCU | |
| With a clear vision and determination, Jackson State University President Marcus Thompson said in an exclusive interview Thursday with the Clarion Ledger that he is ready to lead Jackson State University toward a brighter future. Since 2000, JSU has had seven presidents including those who served in an interim role. They all came forward with their plans they felt would push JSU forward. So, what will make Thompson's presidency different? He said his approach is to focus on "customer care, infrastructure and bridge-building" in the coming months, while building off the "success" of his predecessors. "As the 13th president, I stand on the shoulders of every president that has come before me. With leadership, I think we take something from where it is and continue to move forward. Great things happened under each administration," Thompson said. "For me, my leadership will be focused on doing what's best for Jackson State University. And I believe every president would say that." Thompson said since he has assumed the role as president on Nov. 27, he has hit the ground running. He said he is keeping initiatives in mind that will give students -- the "North Stars" of his administration -- a "quality" educational experience. He said he wants JSU students to receive that educational experience while prioritizing campus safety. "Jackson State is a very family-oriented environment, very close-knit. And we are an institution that's able to meet so many needs. Wherever you are in your life, Jackson State is able to grab hold of you and meet your needs," Thompson said. "We are a jewel right here in the heart of Mississippi in Jackson." |
| Delta State seeks new dean but won't say if no-confidence vote was factor | |
| Delta State University in Cleveland is seeking a new dean to lead the college of arts and sciences nearly three months after the faculty senate called for the current dean's resignation. The administration revealed the search for a new dean, along with five other executive-level positions, near the end of a town hall last week that was largely dedicated to the financial position of the regional college in the Mississippi Delta. But it is unclear what, if any, connection the search has to the faculty senate's unusual no-confidence vote in November that called on the current dean, Ellen Green, to resign, citing a failure to advocate for faculty and an ineffectiveness in handling tenure and promotion cases. Many faculty can't remember the last time the faculty senate writ-large took such a vote. When the president, Daniel Ennis, was asked during the town hall for an update on the administration's response to the no-confidence vote, he refused to answer the question. "I'm not going to make any response to that at this forum," Ennis said. "As to when -- I don't have a good answer for that. Just gonna step aside on that question." A few minutes later, a different question led Ennis to share that a search for a new dean would be underway. It was also shared that the university had selected a headhunting firm, Coleman Lew Canny Bowen, after seeking requests-for-proposals last fall. |
| Finis St. John moving from U. of Alabama System chancellor to executive director of Shelby Institute | |
 | Finis "Fess" St. John IV will move from his role as chancellor of the University of Alabama System to a new post, as inaugural executive director of the Shelby Institute for Policy and Leadership at the University of Alabama, starting April 1. UA System Board of Trustees President pro tempore Scott Phelps has appointed a search committee to find the new chancellor. Sid J. Trant, current general counsel and senior vice chancellor of the UA System, will step in as interim chancellor when St. John moves to the Shelby Institute. A year ago this week, former U.S. Senator Richard Shelby pushed through a $100 million endowment, largest in UA history, in the closing days of his political career. That's going toward extending the university's research capabilities, and hiring 20 or more extra professors each year. The UA board of trustees approved initiatives honoring Shelby and his wife Annette Shelby, a long-time educator, and voted to establish the Shelby Institute for Policy and Leadership, built on a $20 million endowment. About 20 undergrads will participate each year, receiving scholarship support, working with local, state and federal government and completing a minor in public policy. Students will work both in and out of the classrooms, serving internships and in professional development roles, attending national conferences, producing a speakers' series, and interacting with prominent political leaders and analysts. |
| U. of Alabama nursing school awarded $3.5M grant to address nursing shortage | |
| The University of Alabama's Capstone College of Nursing will use $3.5 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Labor to support UA's goal of growing and diversifying Alabama's nursing workforce. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell helped secure the money through the department's Employment and Training Administration's Nursing Expansion Grant Program. The grant will be used to increase the number of nursing instructors and educators throughout Alabama. Sewell on announced the grant in a Thursday news conference held at the Capstone College of Nursing. Sewell said the grant will address the nursing faculty shortage. With the money, UA expects to make progress on its goal to increase Alabama's nursing workforce by hiring more instructors and educators, she said. "This funding comes at a critical time. During the (COVID-19) pandemic, we witnessed the immense strain on our health-care profession," said Sewell, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011. "The staffing shortage had an impact, not just in Alabama, but nationwide," she said. Sewell also discussed the importance of diversifying Alabama's nursing workforce. Sewell credited the BAMA Distance project for its role in helping to diversify Alabama's nursing workforce. The project aims to increase the number of nurse educators in Alabama through sustained partnerships between UA's nursing school, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and academic institutions with nursing student populations from underrepresented groups. |
| Mississippi Freedom Project trip discussed at UF event in Gainesville on Wednesday | |
 | University of Florida students from the 2023 cohort of the Mississippi Freedom Project gathered Wednesday to discuss their experiences of collecting interviews throughout the South. The gathering was held in Pugh Hall on UF's campus and hosted by the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. The discussion featured UF students who were taken through Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi to conduct interviews, visit civil rights sites and engage in research activities. For 16 years, SPOHP's Mississippi Freedom Project (MFP) has taken UF students on a week-long fieldwork trip in July. The trip last year included Tallahassee; Pensacola; Elaine, Arkansas; Glendora, Mississippi; Money, Mississippi; Montgomery, Alabama; and Tuskegee, Alabama. Each year the research team records new interviews for the Mississippi Freedom Project Archive, which has archived more than 700 interviews. The discussion Wednesday feature six panelists -- two in-person and four via Zoom. The panelists were JoAnn Almonte, Rey Audrel Zeth Tamayo Arcenas, Vanessa Obando, Ashley Sanguino, Asha Clark and Krystin Anderson. "In academia, it's hard to see the scope of injustice," Obando said. "The trip was a way to speak to them head on. I love to listen to people's lives and take lessons from them." |
| Anti-DEI bill clears Kentucky Senate committee. Official testifies lawmakers misunderstand DEI | |
 | A bill prohibiting certain diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Kentucky's public colleges and universities that promote "discriminatory concepts" having to do with racism, sexism and white privilege won approval from a legislative committee Thursday. Senate Bill 6 from Senate Majority Whip Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, would limit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices and programs at public colleges and universities. That includes "non-credit classes, seminars, workshops, trainings and orientations" that promote or espouse such discriminatory concepts as: "race or race scapegoating," a belief that some individuals are "inherently privileged, racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously;" any teaching that "promotes division between, or resentment of, a race, sex, religion, creed, nonviolent political affiliation, social class, or class of people;" and any teaching that suggests all "Americans are not created equal." Rebekah Keith, a student at the University of Kentucky who spoke in favor the bill alongside Wilson at Thursday's public committee meeting, said she was "screened" in an interview to be a resident adviser her freshman year when she was asked what her pronouns were and where on campus she'd seen "injustice and mistreatment." Keith, who described herself as conservative, said she was eventually denied the position because she was told, as a white woman, she couldn't relate to the experiences of other non-white students. |
| Randy Boyd, U. of Tennessee chancellors deliver State of the University Address | |
| On Feb. 8, UT System President Randy Boyd delivered the school's sixth annual State of the University Address at the historic Woolworth Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee. The event featured a panel of guest speakers from around the university. Alongside Boyd and additional moderator David Plazas, the director of opinion and engagement for the USA Today Network-Tennessee, sat a panel of five guests from around the UT system. Chancellors from UT Knoxville, UT Chattanooga, UT Southern, UT Martin and the UT Science and Health Center were all in attendance. The State of the University Address was designed to cover topics and issues within the UT System as a whole, not just the campus in Knoxville. The presentation acts as less of a roundtable discussion and more of a way for all five chancellors to speak and showcase the work being done in their respective areas of the state, as well as give a glimpse into what the future may hold for the system as a whole. For all five chancellors and their respective campuses, innovation and a new way forward seemed to be where the priority of academia lay. One of the most visible instances of this is the inception of the quantum network in Chattanooga. Plazas admitted that quantum mechanics was one of the more difficult courses in his collegiate career, but now students can dive into the subject as early as middle school. For a state that has access to an abundance of resources, leveraging them for education to forward the economy and prosperity of Tennesseans seems obvious. |
| How U. of Tennessee plans to entice more graduates to work in the Volunteer State | |
 | University of Tennessee System leaders are finding ways to quickly adapt academic programs to build a workforce of graduates who meet Volunteer State companies' changing needs. UT System President Randy Boyd and university chancellors have discussed creating more hands-on learning opportunities for students, working as a team to find a place for all students, and meeting the needs of Tennessee businesses that want qualified workers. "That's one of the real beauties of the One UT spirit, is that somewhere in the UT System, we can meet the needs of everyone," UT Southern Interim Chancellor Linda C. Martin said. The administrators explained their plan at a Feb. 8 panel discussion moderated by the USA TODAY Network. UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman said university leaders are good at listening to what business leaders need, but it can be hard to act as swiftly as they'd like. It shouldn't take three years to implement a new degree, she said, and they're working to speed up that process. Tennessee industry leaders have said they'd have the capacity to employ at least double the output of engineering graduates each year, Plowman said. UT Knoxville is expanding programs in the Tickle College of Engineering with a specialized applied engineering department. It also created the College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies specifically to meet changing industry needs. |
| Texas A&M to close its Qatar campus by 2028 | |
 | Texas A&M University will phase out its Qatar campus and close the doors to the branch campus by 2028. Day-to-day operations and campus services will not immediately change. The A&M System Board of Regents voted in favor Thursday to authorize A&M President Mark Welsh to terminate the contract between A&M and the Qatar Foundation, which will be a four-year process. The vote was 7-1 with Michael Plank the lone board member to vote against closing the campus. Regent Robert Albritton was not present for the vote. System officials said A&M's Board of Regents decided to reassess the Qatar campus last fall due to increased instability in the Middle East. Welsh has said A&M officials have been monitoring the situation in the region around Qatar since early October. Hamas attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, which resulted in more than 1,200 deaths. Over 200 were taken hostage during the attack. According to the Associated Press, Qatar has played a key mediating role throughout the war. "The Board has decided that the core mission of Texas A&M should be advanced primarily within Texas and the United States," Bill Mahomes, chairman of A&M's Board of Regents, said in a statement. "By the middle of the 21st century, the university will not necessarily need a campus infrastructure 8,000 miles away to support education and research collaborations." |
| U. of Missouri curators extend test-optional applications | |
 | Students applying to University of Missouri schools won't have to submit an ACT or SAT score through the fall of 2025, based on a unanimous vote Thursday by the UM System Board of Curators. Curators voted to extend the pandemic-era policy for MU, the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri University of Science and Technology. University of Missouri-Kansas City shifted in 2020 to a permanent test-optional policy for all programs except dentistry, medicine, nursing and health studies and the honors program. The decision to extend the policy keeps the universities in line with most competitors. Flagship universities in surrounding states, as well as all universities in Missouri, are test-optional. Of the institutions in the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten that have announced plans for fall 2024, only Purdue, the University of Florida, the University of Georgia and the University of Tennessee are requiring test scores, according to MU officials. Despite the option, two-thirds of students who apply to MU, UMSL and Missouri S&T still takesubmit a test score when they apply. "The market indicates that there are so many universities that don't require (standardized tests) that going the test mandatory route right now would put us at a disadvantage," said Mun Choi, president of the UM System and chancellor of MU. |
| New Study Challenges Conventional Wisdom on Shortage of STEM Graduates | |
 | As headlines screaming about acute shortages of scientists, technicians or engineers arise on a near-monthly basis, the finger of blame for the so-called STEM skills gap is often pointed at universities -- which, in some eyes, are too keen to churn out unworldly arts graduates lacking technological proficiency. In turn, government support for humanities is wound down; generous subsidies are plowed into science, technology, engineering and mathematics education; and students are urged to earn a scientific degree offering a well-paid and secure career. But a new book-length study of the actual destinations of U.S. STEM graduates has sought to challenge what has become a hardened political consensus in the U.S., the U.K. and more widely. Arguably the most startling statistic in Wasted Education: How We Fail Our Graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math is that anywhere from 30 percent to 60 percent of STEM graduates, depending on the sector, do not work in a STEM job. The figure could be as high as 72 percent, according to a 2021 U.S. Census Bureau study. "There is huge pressure on children to take STEM majors, which are portrayed as tickets to the middle class. If you take a degree in a 'softer' subject, teachers will ask what you're doing," author John Skrentny, professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego, told Times Higher Education. "So it blew my mind when I heard that a minority of Americans with STEM degrees -- maybe as low as a third -- were doing STEM jobs," he said. |
| States bet big on career education, but struggle to show it works | |
| When Kim Rider and her team contact a former student, they aren't just checking in -- they're also gathering data. Rider oversees career and technical education in Allen Parish, a region of rural Louisiana known for pine forests and the state's largest casino. The 4,000-student school district offers classes in agriculture and health sciences, courses in coding and welding, and internships at the hospital and the district offices. Yet Rider can't be sure that her program steers students toward successful careers. That's because Louisiana, like many states, lacks a system for tracking students once they enter the workforce. To follow students' career paths, Rider and her colleagues must ask the graduates themselves for updates. "That's about what we can do right now because we don't have the tracking system," she said. Without one, "How accurately can we see if these programs are truly leading to viable careers?" As college costs soar and demand for skilled labor rises, programs that prepare students for well-paid work are gaining popularity. About 85 percent of high school graduates in 2019 had taken at least one course in career and technical education, or CTE. In 2018, Congress increased annual funding for CTE, which now exceeds $1.4 billion. And in 2022, 36 states enacted policies promoting career training for high-schoolers, college students and adults, according to Advance CTE, a professional organization for state CTE leaders. Yet many states struggle to answer a basic question: Is career education working? |
| Professors Cautious of Tools to Detect AI-Generated Writing | |
| As AI-driven fakery spreads -- from election-related robocalls and celebrity deepfake videos to doctored images and students abusing the powers of ChatGPT -- a tech arms race is ramping up to detect these falsehoods. But in higher ed, many are choosing to stand back and wait, worried that new tools for detecting AI-generated plagiarism may do more harm than good. "Twenty-five years ago, you were grabbing at your student's text saying, 'I know this isn't theirs,'" said Emily Isaacs, director of Montclair State University's Office for Faculty Excellence. "You couldn't find it [online], but you knew in your heart it wasn't theirs." Montclair announced in November -- a year after the launch of ChatGPT -- that academics should not use the AI-detector feature in a tool from Turnitin. That followed similar moves from institutions including Vanderbilt University, the University of Texas at Austin and Northwestern University. A big question driving these decisions is: Do AI-detection tools even work? "It's really an issue of, we don't want to say you cheated when you didn't cheat," Isaacs said. Instead, she said, "Our emphasis has been raising awareness, mitigation strategies." Awareness of AI-driven falsehoods and the perils of plagiarism has skyrocketed. This week, Meta -- parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- announced it would label AI-generated images. That followed an uproar caused by fake, AI-generated pornographic images of singer Taylor Swift circulating online and AI-powered robocalls impersonating President Joe Biden that sought to suppress votes in the New Hampshire primary. The Federal Communications Commission outlawed such AI robocalls on Thursday. |
| Is Institutional Neutrality Catching On? | |
 | Amid a polarized political climate and debates about the war in Gaza and hot-button social issues like abortion rights, university leaders' statements about current events have attracted attention and scrutiny. A small but growing number of institutions are responding to the pressure by swearing off such statements altogether. Columbia University's University Senate last week approved a resolution stating that "the University and its leaders should refrain from taking political positions in their institutional capacity, either as explicit statements or as the basis of policy, except in the rare case when the University has a compelling institutional interest, such as a legal obligation, that requires it to do so." Supporters of "institutional neutrality" are hailing the senate's resolution as a victory, and Columbia is just the latest institution where leaders have adopted the principle or discussed exercising caution in issuing public statements. For instance, Vanderbilt University's website depicts "institutional neutrality" as one pillar upholding "free expression." The University of Virginia formed a committee this week to consider whether and when the institution should make statements about current events. And last year, North Carolina enacted a law requiring public universities to "remain neutral ... on the political controversies of the day." The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and two other groups this week penned an open letter calling on university trustees to adopt institutional neutrality. "In recent years, colleges and universities have increasingly weighed in on social and political issues," the letter reads, in part. "This has led our institutions of higher education to become politicized and has created an untenable situation whereby they are expected to weigh in on all social and political issues." |
| Brown University Students Continue Hunger Strike Over Treatment of Palestinians | |
| Pro-Palestinian protesters have ratcheted up their activism at Brown University, where the school's board is in a standoff with 18 students who began a hunger strike last week. The students say they won't eat until trustees vote to reconsider investments "which profit from human rights abuses in Palestine." The hunger strike at the Providence, R.I., school is the latest confrontation between pro-Palestinian protesters and the Brown administration, coming after at least 60 students were arrested in two separate demonstrations last semester. Brown, which has a reputation for embracing social activism, has angered some faculty and alumni with its treatment of pro-Palestinian activists since the current Israel-Hamas conflict began in October. The university was a hotbed of student protests against apartheid in the 1980s including hunger strikes. Brown eventually divested its endowment from companies doing business in South Africa. Tensions have been particularly high at Brown following the November shooting of Palestinian-American student Hisham Awartani, who had been involved in campus activism. Awartani was shot along with two friends in an unprovoked attack in Vermont. Two days after the shooting, students shouted down Brown President Christina Paxson during a vigil with calls to divest. In a letter to students, Paxson said the school doesn't want to use the endowment as a political football. "Our campus is a place where difficult issues should be freely discussed and debated," she wrote. "It is not appropriate for the University to use its financial assets -- which are there to support our entire community -- to 'take a side' on issues on which thoughtful people vehemently disagree." |
SPORTS
| Women's Basketball: Mississippi State dominates in the paint, cruises past Georgia | |
| Sam Purcell said earlier this week that he did not expect the score of Thursday night's game to be in the 70s, citing Georgia's prowess on the defensive end. As it turned out, Purcell was half right. He just underestimated his own Mississippi State team. MSU made more than half its shots, outscored UGA by 30 points in the paint and had 27 assists on 33 made field goals in a dominant 76-57 victory at Humphrey Coliseum, pulling into a tie for second place in the Southeastern Conference standings with its fifth consecutive win. "It was beautiful," Purcell said. "It starts with Lauren Park-Lane. She just has a way that everybody feels comfortable. She creates easy shots. And then Jessika Carter just taking up space. It's like, 'How do you want to guard us?' Do you want to send two at Jess? Okay, then everybody else is open. If you want to press on the outside, well, Jess gets one-on-one coverage. When you have that many options as a team, I'm the luckiest coach in the world." State's offense flowed freely all night long, starting with a 9-0 run late in the first quarter that gave MSU (20-5, 7-3 SEC) the lead for good. "I keep saying I've got a special group," Purcell said. "From the freshmen to the fifth-years, they all came here for this vision, and this vision is real. We have to stay hungry. Have we arrived? No, we haven't. But it's real, and they believe. You start stacking wins, and the next thing you know, you've got chemistry." |
| Mississippi State women's basketball beats Georgia, extends SEC streak | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball walked off the court inside Humphrey Coliseum stunned after a 13-point lead turned into a loss against Tennessee on Jan. 18. Since then, coach Sam Purcell's squad has yet to lose. Mississippi State extended its winning streak to five on Thursday with a 76-57 win against Georgia. As has become the norm during this stretch, MSU (20-5, 7-3 SEC) was fueled by a balanced scoring attack. Guard Jerkaila Jordan did what she usually does, collecting 19 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and four steals. She was helped by Jessika Carter's 18 points and 12 boards along with Erynn Barnum's 18 points and six rebounds. The victory against Georgia (11-12, 2-8) marks the first time since the 2019-20 season, Vic Schaefer's last as coach, MSU has won at least five straight SEC games. Purcell is the first coach in program history to have at least 20 wins in each of their first two seasons. Mississippi State will look to extend its winning streak Sunday (2 p.m., SEC Network+) at home against Florida (12-9, 3-6). It's the second meeting between the programs this season after MSU won at Florida on Jan. 22. In the victory, MSU was paced by its stars with Jordan collecting 21 points and 12 boards while Carter had 20 points and 16 rebounds. The Bulldogs have won 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Gators. |
| What to watch, keys to victory for Mississippi State at Missouri | |
| Following a much-needed home win over Georgia on Wednesday night, Mississippi State is in must-win territory again as the Bulldogs make a Saturday night trip to face a Missouri team that is still in search of its first Southeastern Conference victory. The Tigers (8-15, 0-10 SEC) won 25 games last year, finished 11-7 in conference play and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but Dennis Gates' second year in Columbia has not gone nearly as well. Missouri took a bad loss to Jackson State in non-conference play and has not been able to break through for an SEC win. The closest call came on Jan. 13 against South Carolina, but the Tigers fell by two in overtime. Four Missouri players average double-figure scoring, led by Shawn East II at 15.6 points per game. Fellow guard Tamar Bates, a transfer from Indiana, averages 14.2 points per contest, and two other former transfers -- Noah Carter from Northern Iowa and Nick Honor from Clemson -- are also offensive threats. Depth has been an issue for the Tigers, though, who have struggled to find scoring outside of that quartet. Missouri is in the bottom half of the SEC in most statistical categories, but rebounding is the Tigers' greatest weakness -- they pull down 31.6 boards per game, the fewest in the conference. Gates' team has the second-highest free throw percentage in the SEC, behind only Alabama, but Missouri gets to the foul line less frequently than any other team in the conference, with 16.3 free throw attempts per game. |
| Six additional deer test positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in Mississippi | |
| Six new cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) are being reported in four counties across the state by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. The MWFP released that five CWD-positive cases had been discovered in DeSoto, Benton, and Marshall counties on Wednesday, with a sixth case being found in Claiborne County the next day. The Claiborne County case was the first positive detection for the county. The buck is considered "suspect positive" through initial testing and will be sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories for a confirmatory test. Samples from the additional cases, which were submitted by hunters throughout the state, are now expected to be tested at the Mississippi State University's Veterinary Research and Diagnostic Lab in Pearl. CWD is a highly contagious and fatal ailment among deer populations that damages portions of the wild animal's brain and typically causes progressive loss of body condition, behavioral changes, excessive salivation, and ultimately death. In all, there have been 315 CWD-positive samples recorded in 16 Mississippi counties since 2018, with Marshall and Benton counties totaling the highest number of tests over the past six years. "There's a lot to unpack around this and what has transpired since the first positive case in 2018. 315 positives have been found across the state as of last week. Experts agree this disease is the biggest threat to whitetail deer hunting in America. So, it's a clear and present danger in Mississippi," SuperTalk Outdoors host Ricky Mathews said. |
| SEC distributes $741 million to member schools; Here's how it breaks down | |
 | SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on Thursday announced revenue distribution of $741 million to the conference's 14 universities for the 2022-23 fiscal year. "SEC member universities are proud to support thousands of student-athletes who participate in broad-based athletics programs across the league," a statement from Sankey read. "SEC universities are committed to providing a high-level experience for all of our participants through an impactful and life-changing college experience that includes world-class support in coaching, training, academic counseling, medical care, mental health support, nutrition, life-skills development and post-eligibility healthcare coverage for student-athletes." Here's how the money breaks down: $718 million overall distributed from the SEC office. Additional $23 million retained by individual schools, which participated in 2022-23 football bowl games. $51.3 million distributed to each school, excluding bowl expenses retained by participants. The distribution amount is comprised of revenue generated from television agreements, post-season bowl games, the College Football Playoff, the SEC Football Championship Game, the SEC men's basketball tournament, and NCAA championships. In the release, it is noted that the distribution does not include an additional $8.1 million of NCAA and SEC grants divided among the 14 member universities. |
| Ole Miss announces baseball stadium project | |
| As part of the "Champions. Now." campaign, Ole Miss Athletics has officially announced expansion plans at Oxford-University Stadium that include a new club section, increased entrance to the venue and a plaza to honor the Rebels' first baseball national title team. he project, which will add approximately 450 premium seats, will begin at the conclusion of the upcoming season and will be in place for the 2026 campaign. Fans interested in the new premium opportunities should click here to receive more information. "This is an exciting project that achieves some of our core goals for Oxford-University Stadium -- increasing capacity, providing more premium opportunities, improving ingress/egress for the venue and celebrating our baseball legacy," said Keith Carter, vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics. "We look forward to once again partnering with ICM and CDFL/HOK on the expansion. The new club will be erected where the current concessions stand is located at the end of the third base line. Club ticket holders will enjoy covered, reserved seats outdoors and, within the club area, can take advantage of a spacious social area, personal lockers, TVs, private restrooms and complimentary food. In addition, the club features 38 feet of drink rails to compliment the chairback seats. Between the new club and the existing Diamond Club, private loge boxes will be installed above the current grandstands. The 11 boxes boast seating for four. |
| Walk-On's will move its corporate headquarters out of Louisiana | |
 | Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux, which has grown from a single location in the shadows of Tiger Stadium to a nationwide chain of sports bars, will move its corporate headquarters from Baton Rouge to Atlanta. The chain put its 27,000-square-foot headquarters up for sale last month and is asking for $4 million for the property. The headquarters is in the same Burbank Drive shopping center as the first Walk-On's. Brandon Landry, Walk-On's co-founder and board chairman, said the move is bittersweet. "We're a victim of our own success," he said. In order for Walk-On's to keep growing and become more of a national brand, the company needs to attract top restaurant talent. Atlanta is one of the biggest restaurant industry hubs in the country, he said. Walk-On's CEO Chris Dawson and other members of the leadership team are already based out of the city. It didn't make sense to keep a large headquarters building in Baton Rouge for about a dozen employees, Landry said. Walk-On's will keep its corporate office in Baton Rouge until the headquarters building sells. The company will keep a satellite office in the city, and some staffers will work remotely. "We're a Louisiana brand, none of that will change," Landry said. The move represents a continued period of change for Walk-On's, which was founded in 2003 by Landry and Jack Warner, who were teammates on LSU's basketball team. |
| Michigan's Warde Manuel named chair of CFP selection committee | |
| After a tumultuous but successful season that culminated with a national championship, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has been named the chair of the College Football Playoff selection committee for the first season of the 12-team playoff, the CFP announced Thursday. "We are delighted that Warde will serve as chair," CFP executive director Bill Hancock said in a statement. "He has been a valuable member of the committee the last two years and that experience will serve him well in leading the group. As a former student-athlete, he will also be a good spokesperson to let fans know how the committee reached its rankings." Other new committee members include Washington State athletic director Pat Chun; former Toledo and Missouri coach Gary Pinkel; Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades; Virginia athletic director Carla Williams; and Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek. The new members will begin their three-year terms this spring. As the committee chair, Manuel will be the sole voice in the group permitted to speak on the record about the committee's process during a season of enormous change. Unlike in the four-team playoff, which has existed for the past decade, the 12-team field will likely include the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams. The four highest-ranked conference champions will earn the top four seeds and a first-round bye. |
| New NIL clearinghouse aims to help athletes identify trustworthy business partners | |
| One month after the NCAA adopted a voluntary registration process for NIL service providers interested in working with student-athletes, an entirely separate comprehensive tool is launching that could enhance or even preempt the NCAA's efforts. Through its certification process, the Athlete National Sports Business Clearinghouse (ANSBC) aims to help athletes identify vetted and trustworthy business partners in the NIL space, everyone from businesses and agents to financial advisors and professional service providers. The ANSBC is part of Advance, which bills itself as an unbiased industry leader in NIL consulting and education and has more than 40 institutional clients. And to spur adoption and strive to protect as many student-athletes as possible, Student Athlete NIL, which operates more than 45 collectives and works with thousands of athletes, will require agents and other third parties to register in the clearinghouse before engaging with them on behalf of any school SANIL works with. "We all talk about how we want to protect these athletes," Courtney Altemus, Advance co-founder and managing partner, told On3. "But there's no functional and universal way to do it in the moment." ANSBC aims to change that with a service that it expects to provide athletes with business due diligence and risk mitigation and enable businesses and individuals to distinguish themselves from dishonest competitors. |
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