| Thursday, June 3, 2021 |
| Abstract submissions, volunteer judges sought for Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium | |
 | Mississippi State's Undergraduate Research Symposium is returning to an in-person format for summer 2021. Taking place Aug. 4 in Colvard Student Union, the event is open to all MSU undergraduate students engaged in faculty-mentored research. Students can submit poster presentations in one of four categories -- Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Physical Science and Engineering, and Biological Sciences and Engineering. Those entering the Arts and Humanities category are welcome to submit oral presentations or performances. The abstract submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. on July 7. Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges, and prizes will be awarded to top research projects. Faculty or advanced graduate students who are interested in serving as volunteer judges are encouraged to email Dr. Anastasia Elder at ace24@msstate.edu. |
| Role of amino acid levels on laying hen performance | |
 | USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation have announced the completion of a funded research project at Mississippi State University in which researchers examined the role of protease, crude protein and amino acid levels on laying hen performance and egg quality. The research was made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Cal-Maine Foods and is part of the Association's comprehensive research programme encompassing all phases of poultry and egg production and processing. Dr Pratima Adhikari and colleagues at Mississippi State University have completed a layer nutrition research project with objectives that included determining the role of protease and varying levels of crude protein and amino acids (AA) on performance as well as egg quality. The effect of the protease was beneficial in understanding the AA digestibility in both early and late-lay phases. No interaction of protease and crude protein/amino acid on economic return was observed during the post-peak trial. There were significant AA levels and protease interactions for egg production, per cent yolk and other factors during the late-lay trial. |
| Aldermen still mulling juvenile curfew after second hearing | |
 | Aldermen plan to wait two to four more weeks before a final vote on a citywide juvenile curfew, following a second public hearing on the matter Tuesday at City Hall. Police Chief Mark Ballard, who fielded aldermen's questions at the hearing, has asked for an ordinance establishing a juvenile curfew and truancy law to decrease auto burglaries and, in turn, mitigate juvenile crime. If passed, the curfew would apply to ages 17 and under. It would run from midnight to 5 a.m. As mentioned in the first public hearing in May, many variables contribute to juvenile crime, Ballard said, but auto burglaries are often the key component in Starkville. Minors steal firearms out of vehicles and then use those weapons to commit violence, he said. Just this year, 36 firearms have been stolen out of vehicles as of Tuesday, he said. Ballard said he believes the city could see a possible reduction in juvenile crime from this curfew because there was a drop off during the citywide curfew during the peak of COVID-19. He said a 15-percent decrease in stolen weapons would be ideal. Mayor Lynn Spruill said she believes the aldermen will vote on the ordinance at the next board meeting June 15 as long as SPD knows what course of action to take if they find a minor out past curfew hours. |
| City leaders look to partner with Starkville schools to provide employment | |
 | The Oktibbeha County School District is looking to partner with city leaders to provide jobs from folks in the community. On Tuesday, the Board of Aldermen approved collaborating with the school district to provide local government jobs for people getting started or re-entering the workforce. "It gives people an opportunity to enhance their work skills and hopefully they can be able to get a job after the program," said Nav Ashford, the chief operating officer in human resources for the city. The project, Project PEACE, will provide opportunities working in the court system filing paperwork or in the clerks office doing administration. Starkville mayor, Lynn Spruill, believes the program will provide strong opportunities for those in need of experience. "To have a job in the city is such an enlightening experience even if it is just for a short period of time," she explained. "I think it opens doors that will serve them well in the future." The program is a 16-hour work week for 12 weeks. |
| Solar Farms to create millions in tax revenue for Mississippi's Golden Triangle | |
| Three 2,000-acre sites in the Golden Triangle in east-central Mississippi are under contract for solar power production facilities. "They represent about $550-million in capital investment. Two are in Lowndes County, one is in Clay County right now. We've got two more, one working in Oktibbeha and another working in Clay and another one working in Lowndes," Golden Triangle Development Link CEO Joe Max Higgins told SuperTalk Mississippi in an interview on The Gallo Radio Show. The solar farms are being built by Origis Energy, and will come online starting in the fall of 2022. They'll mean millions of dollars in tax revenue, though they aren't big job creators. But Higgins believes they'll help draw other industries and manufacturing. "That's the Amazon's of the world, the Google of the world. Even some of the manufacturers that we're working are wanting to use green power. We've identified sites that we don't think we'll use in the future for industrial development, and have worked with solar companies to develop those," Higgins explained. In his view, the arrival of solar facilities are complements to manufacturing and industry rather than competition. |
| CREATE Foundation to host State of the Region meeting June 10 | |
 | Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley will headline this year's State of the Region event, hosted by the CREATE Foundation's Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi. Hosemann will focus his talk on his vision for Mississippi and the role this region plays in it, while Presley will speak about the ongoing expansion of broadband access and its importance to the state's future. The Northeast Mississippi Regional Profile and CREATE Foundation's 2020 Annual Report will be distributed, and CREATE President Mike Clayborne will discuss the current state of the foundation. The Jack Reed Sr. Community Leadership Award will also be presented. This award is supported by an endowment at CREATE, which was funded by a special dividend from Journal Inc., the parent company of the Daily Journal. The Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi has been CREATE's major program component since 1995. The purpose of the commission is to build cooperation and unity through regional community development. It comprises 54 volunteer leaders from 17 counties. |
| Indian immigrants in Mississippi 'frustrated' as loved ones suffer in COVID-19 surge abroad | |
 | At her home in Madison, Miss., Amrit Sood opens up Facebook and scrolls through a flood of posts from people desperately searching for ways to help family and friends in India who are suffering during a surge in COVID-19 cases. "Are there any leads to find a ventilator in Delhi or a nearby hospital? Please let me know for my aunt," one post from her friend in Mississippi reads. While the rate of coronavirus infections has slowed down in the United States, many other countries, like India, are struggling with high hospitalizations and low vaccine supply. Meanwhile, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama have the lowest vaccination rates in the country. For some Indian immigrants, it is especially hard to watch their families abroad die due to a lack of hospital equipment and little vaccine supply, while health officials in the U.S. try to convince people to get vaccinated. "It is frustrating," Sood, who got vaccinated in February, said. "I feel sad that in the Third World, they wanted those shots and cannot get them." As they wait for vaccine supply abroad to increase, some Indians in the Mississippi are taking matters into their own hands to the oxygen shortage. Dr. Udaya Shivangi, a sleep medicine specialist in Ridgeland, Miss., is involved in the American Association of the Physicians of Indian Origin. The group has been part of the effort to send pulse monitoring devices and oxygen-producing machines to India. |
| Mississippi governor's chief of staff to lead MDOT | |
 | Gov. Tate Reeves' chief of staff has been appointed to lead the Mississippi Department of Transportation. The Mississippi Transportation Commission unanimously voted Wednesday to appoint Brad White as the executive director of the agency, effective July 1. "Brad has a proven track record in managing government affairs on the federal level as well as the state level," the commission's chairman, Tom King, said in a news release. "He brings a wealth of knowledge of the legislative process and staff management. He will certainly be an asset to MDOT and we look forward to working with him to move Mississippi's transportation infrastructure forward." White previously served as assistant to former MDOT Central District Commissioner Dick Hall from 1999 to 2005. "I feel in some ways like I'm coming home. MDOT has always been a special place for me," White said. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves' chief of staff, former GOP chair Brad White hired as MDOT director | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves' Chief of Staff Brad White, a former chairman of the state Republican Party, has been chosen to run the Mississippi Department of Transportation. "Brad has a proven track record in managing governmental affairs on the federal level as well as the state level," Transportation Commission Chairman Tom King said. "He brings a wealth of knowledge of the legislative process and staff management. He will certainly be an asset to MDOT and we look forward to working with him to move Mississippi's transportation infrastructure forward." White formerly served as chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and the late Sen. Thad Cochran. He was formerly a chief of staff for the state auditor's office and served as chairman of the state Republican Party from 2008 to 2011. He served as an assistant to former Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall from 1999-2005. In a recent interview with Mississippi Today, White said both his prior experience with MDOT and in dealing with transportation issues and funding on a federal level in U.S. Senate offices have prepared him for the job. |
| Brad White, chief of staff to Gov. Tate Reeves, appointed as MDOT director | |
| Brad White, the current chief of staff to Gov. Tate Reeves, has been tapped to lead the Mississippi Department of Transportation. MDOT on Wednesday announced through a press release that the Mississippi Transportation Commission unanimously appointed White as executive director of the state agency effective July 1. "Brad has a proven track record in managing governmental affairs on the federal level as well as the state level," Transportation Commission Chairman Tom King said. "He brings a wealth of knowledge of the legislative process and staff management." Gov. Tate Reeves in a Facebook post said that he "couldn't be more proud" of White for accepting the appointment to MDOT. "He has a lot of hard work ahead of him, but if anyone is prepared to meet -- and exceed -- expectations, I'll bet on Brad any day," Reeves said. Even though the commission has appointed him, White must still be confirmed as the executive director by the Mississippi Senate. Reeves did not say who will replace White as his chief of staff, but said that he has a transition plan in place and that he will make further announcements at a later date. |
| CARES Act money was supposed to help Mississippi businesses. Did it? | |
| When Mississippi received $1.25 billion in federal CARES Act pandemic relief, one of the first things lawmakers did, besides fight with Gov. Tate Reeves over who had authority to spend it, was to earmark $300 million for emergency relief to small businesses. But only about half the money was spent, according to a Mississippi Today analysis of public records. The rest was redirected to other pandemic programs, such as rental assistance grants, help for hospitals and veterans, with the bulk swept into the state's unemployment insurance fund. House Appropriations Chairman John Read, R-Gautier, said he was disappointed more businesses didn't receive grants. "I had assumed that money would be sucked up like a vacuum cleaner," Read said. In late summer 2020, as business owners were complaining about problems getting grants, a Hope Policy Institute analysis found Mississippi was lagging behind most other Southern states in deploying CARES Act funds to small businesses. Lawmakers reconvened, and made changes to the program in effort to speed up the process and allow more businesses to qualify. "First of all, there is not a playbook for something like this," said Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, who helped pass changes to the program to speed it up and help more people. |
| House Agriculture chairman objects to President Biden's inheritance tax plan | |
 | House Agriculture Chairman David Scott objected Wednesday to President Joe Biden's proposal to change the capital gains taxation on inherited property, signaling growing opposition among farm-state Democrats to a change Biden hoped would help to fund sweeping domestic spending proposals. Scott, D-Ga., in a statement called the proposal to tax capital gains at the time of a person's death "untenable" and said exemptions that would allow farmers and ranchers to delay tax payments on intergenerational land transfers are inadequate. "Any increase in inheritance tax for those taking over farm land is untenable and will further strain a farm economy that is just now beginning to recover from the strain of the pandemic," Scott said. In a letter to Biden Wednesday, Scott said he supported the president's goals, but said the tax proposal could impose significant tax increases on farmers, ranchers and small businesses in rural America. "The potential for capital gains to be imposed on heirs at death of the landowner would impose a significant financial burden on these operations," Scott wrote. |
| Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies | |
| Donald Trump was calling into yet another friendly radio show when he was asked, as he often is, whether he's planning a comeback bid for the White House. "We need you," conservative commentator Dan Bongino told the former president. "Well, I'll tell you what," Trump responded. "We are going to make you very happy, and we're going to do what's right." It was a noncommittal answer typical of a former president who spent decades toying with presidential runs. But multiple people who have spoken with Trump and his team in recent weeks say such remarks shouldn't be viewed as idle chatter. Instead, they sense a shift, with Trump increasingly acting and talking like he plans to mount a run as he embarks on a more public phase of his post-presidency, beginning with a speech on Saturday in North Carolina. The interest in another run, at least for now, comes as Trump has been consumed by efforts to undo last year's election, advancing baseless falsehoods that it was stolen and obsessing over recounts and audits that he is convinced could overturn the results, even though numerous recounts have validated his loss. He's also facing the most serious legal threat of his career. Trump would face daunting headwinds in addition to his legal vulnerabilities. |
| Lara Trump rebuts idea that her father-in-law plans to be reinstalled in the White House soon | |
 | Lara Trump on Thursday appeared to deny reports that former President Donald Trump has been telling allies he expects to be reinstalled in the White House in a matter of months, as her father-in-law continues to promote his false election fraud claims and former administration officials have mused publicly about a coup attempt. "As far as I know, there are no plans for Donald Trump to be in the White House in August. Maybe there's something I don't know," Lara Trump told "Fox & Friends" in an interview. "But no, I think that that is a lot of folks getting a little worked up about something just because maybe there wasn't enough pushback, you know, from the Republican side," she said. "So no, I have not heard any plans for Donald Trump to be installed in the White House in August." The New York Times' Maggie Haberman first reported Tuesday that Donald Trump "has been telling a number of people he's in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August." Lara Trump -- who is married to Donald Trump's second-eldest son, Eric -- is perhaps the most high-profile member of the former president's orbit to weigh in on the Times' report. Her remarks on Thursday come amid growing anxiety among Democrats and some Republicans about Trump supporters' ongoing efforts to relitigate and ultimately reverse the 2020 White House race, including a partisan audit of the Arizona election results that has attracted national attention. |
| Experts Call It A 'Clown Show' But Arizona 'Audit' Is A Disinformation Blueprint | |
 | To Matt Masterson, the review of 2020 ballots from Maricopa County, Ariz., that's currently underway is "performance art" or "a clown show," and definitely "a waste of taxpayer money." But it's not an audit. "It's an audit in name only," says Masterson, a former Department of Homeland Security official who helped lead the federal government's election security preparations leading up to November's election. "It's a threat to the overall confidence of democracy, all in pursuit of continuing a narrative that we know to be a lie." By lie, he means the assertion from former President Donald Trump and some of his allies that election fraud cost him a second term in the White House. And, Masterson says, the strategy chosen by the state's Republican state Senate leaders is working as intended to undermine confidence in the outcome of last year's vote. The process is a simple exercise in how disinformation spreads and takes hold in 2021. And experts fear it presents a blueprint for other states and lawmakers to follow, one that is already showing signs of being emulated around the country. At a basic level, it's a victory for those looking to sow doubt in the 2020 election results just to have them still being litigated six months after Election Day. To be clear, Maricopa County's election results have already been audited multiple times by companies with experience in the field, with no issues being uncovered. |
| Southern Miss professor receives $750K grant for research | |
 | University of Southern Mississippi professor Xiaodan Gu has been named one of the recipients of an Early Career Research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. This award includes $150,000 per year in funding distributed over five years to cover salary and research expenses. Gu is one of 83 selected scientists will receive a total of $100 million as part of the Early Career Research Program. "To say that I am thrilled to receive this award is an understatement," said Gu. "Historically, DOE's early career grant is quite competitive with perhaps five percent of the proposals receiving funding. I am very proud of our research team, my mentors and my collaborators. And I am grateful to the Department of Energy for providing this generous support to our research group." Gu's research project is titled: "Precise Chain Conformation and Dynamics Control for Conjugated Polymers in Organic Electronic Thin Film Devices." "The Early Career Research program is a long-term initiative that allows scientists to develop high-risk and high-reward scientific ideas and push the boundaries of scientific knowledge," explained Gu. |
| Delta State to offer 2 summer camps for children | |
| Delta State University's Department of Continuing Education will host two summer camps for children this summer -- Kid's College and LEGO Robotics. Kid's College is an interactive and educational camp that gives participants the opportunity to choose the classes they want to attend during the four day camp. Kid's College will be held July 12-15. Participants will use the university labs and classrooms on campus. Classes may include Space Explorers, Pottery, Junior Chefs, Find your Guitar Voice, Growing with Technology, Math Olympics, STEM Building, Kid's on the Move, and First Aid/Nursing Skills. Children that have completed grades K5-2nd will attend the camp from 8 a.m. to noon. Children that have completed 3rd-6th grade will attend from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The camp cost for K5-2nd grades is $125, and 3rd-6th grades is $225. Registration is open through Wednesday, June 9. LEGO Robotics allows participants to follow step-by-step guides to build multiple robots. Computer programs will be used to code the robots to complete certain tasks. Participants will use STEM building creativity throughout this course. |
| Mississippi College Is 'Lit' Over New National Chief Reader | |
| Dr. Steve Price will soon make history by joining an elite group of educators across the world. The College Board has named him as the new national chief reader for the Advanced Placement Literature exam, replacing Price's colleague Dr. David Miller. Both serve Mississippi College as English professors. The A.P. program offers high-performing students an opportunity to begin college with placement in higher-level courses. Students who take the A.P. English Literature and Composition course in high school typically sit for the national AP examination administered each May. As national chief reader of the A.P. Literature exam, Price will be responsible for managing and organizing the reading of the essays students who take the exam generate. Miller says that approximately 340,000 students take the exam each year. Each exam contains three essay prompts, meaning that the around 1,000 readers may potentially have to score more than 1 million essays. "The more I've done with the A.P. exam, (the more) I see some of the nuances that make that happen," Price says. "I see how teachers benefit, so I am excited to work more with teachers." |
| Itawamba Community College mourns loss of longtime educator and administrator W.E. Boggs | |
| Itawamba Community College is remembering the tremendous legacy of W.E. Boggs who died on May 30 at the age of 84. He joined the staff at ICC in 1971 and served in several positions throughout his career, including professor, administrator, dean, vice president and interim president. He retired in 2001. In 2005 the college named the Boggs Humanities Building on the Fulton campus in recognition of the longtime educator and his wife, Gwen, who spent many years as an instructor in the Social Science Department. During his career, he also spent time at public schools in New Site, Shaw, Belmont, Okolona and Amory. "We mourn the loss of Mr. Boggs, a dedicated leader who made many positive impacts personally and professionally throughout his life," ICC President Dr. Jay Allen said. "ICC is a better place for the compassion, intelligence and vision he contributed throughout his career. We remain grateful for his devoted career to being an adviser and friend to all he met along his journey. His legacy will live on at ICC, and his investment in the College he loved so dearly will continue to produce the best in his honor." |
| 'Not based on the race of the kids': West Point valedictorian dispute sparks allegations of racism | |
| A dispute over grade calculations at West Point High School has ignited intense community debate and allegations of racism after two Black students were initially named top of their class and later made to share the honors with white classmates. Ikeria Washington and Layla Temple, two Black students at the high school, were named valedictorian and salutatorian of their class at a senior awards ceremony last Thursday, several days before graduation. But after a white parent questioned school officials about whether they were following guidelines in the school handbook in determining the top students, Superintendent Burnell McDonald named two other students -- who are white -- as co-valedictorian and co-salutatorian on Thursday morning, the day of graduation. McDonald told Mississippi Today the high school guidance counselor was new to the school and was given incorrect information about how to determine the designations. The counselor selected the two students based on quality point average (QPA), which is measured on a 4.0 scale, instead of a strict numerical average of the students' semester grades over their high school career, which the district defines as its grade point average (GPA), he said. |
| Camp War Eagle returns to Auburn in late June, helping new students feel 'comfortable' | |
 | Camp War Eagle is back in the flesh this summer, after being forced online last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. "COVID really forced us to think creatively about the transition students encounter when first enrolling as a student at Auburn," said Mark Armstrong, executive director of Academic Partnerships. "We had traditionally ... addressed orientation, academic advising and class registration at the Camp War Eagle sessions held on campus." Students are streaming onto the Auburn University campus now, with two one-day sessions per week running through late June. Newbies will read up on basic university information online before they come in. Registration for fall classes will run June 29-July 15. "Now, we offer students the choice of virtual or on-campus sessions, and all of the academic advising is done virtually. The virtual advising allows the colleges to be more creative in how they present their information and also gives them the potential to have more one-on-one time with students than they would have in-person." The camp format has been reduced to one day per student, but that hasn't stopped local hotels from reporting strong booking numbers for those three weeks the camp will be in session, as they normally do in years not affected by worldwide pandemics. |
| Bills to prevent Louisiana colleges mishandling sexual abuse complaints advance | |
| A group of bills designed to close loopholes of reporting and handling sexual violence and abuse claims on Louisiana's college campuses moved one step from final passage Tuesday. The legislation was prompted by a USA Today investigation that revealed systemic mishandling of sexual violence cases at LSU, which was followed by a Husch Blackwell investigation commissioned by LSU confirming the school's failure. More USA Today reporting has since uncovered other potential improper handling and reporting of sexual assault claims at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Louisiana Tech University. Most measures are being led by women lawmakers in the Louisiana Legislature and were crafted following pre-session hearings by the Senate Select Committee on Women and Children on the LSU scandal. "We wanted to make it clear that this will no longer be business as usual," said committee Chair Regina Barrow, a Baton Rouge Democrat. Senate Bill 232 by Barrow to set up a review board to oversee universities' handling of abuse claims was approved by the House 99-0 Tuesday but will be returned to the Senate for concurrence on changes made in the House. Senate Bill 230 by Senate Pro-tem Beth Mizell, a Republican from Franklinton, would close loopholes in reporting claims and require universities to fire officials who fail to report abuse moving forward. |
| UGA gets $37 million from state to fund 5 projects, including poultry science facility | |
 | The 2022 state budget signed last month by Gov. Brian Kemp includes more than $37 million for five University of Georgia projects. The largest of those projects is construction of a Poultry Science Complex at $21.7 million, which will feature labs and instructional spaces. Part of that project was also funded through last year's budget. The university tracks its projects online, and currently, the website shows the Poultry Science Complex is still in the design stage. Construction is expected to start March 14, 2022, and be open for classes by spring semester 2024. UGA also received $5.7 million to fund equipment for the Interdisciplinary STEM Research Building Phase II, $5 million for infrastructure on Science Hill, $1.7 million for planning and design for the Science Hill Modernization Phase I, and $5 million to build a greenhouse complex on campus. The Science Hill modernization project is expected to start in January 2023, with completion in fall 2024. "I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to Gov. Brian Kemp and his team, the Georgia General Assembly and the University System of Georgia Board of Regents ...," said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. |
| The new Silicon Valley? UT, ORNL and TVA join together to launch tech startup accelerator | |
 | Three of East Tennessee's major institutions are launching a collaboration aimed at making the Knoxville-Oak Ridge corridor a national innovation hub. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the University of Tennessee System are partnering with worldwide firm Techstars to launch a startup accelerator that will foster the growth of 30 technology companies over three years. "We believe this is a start of a future collaboration," UT System President Randy Boyd told Knox News. "Working together, we can make a profound impact in the community. I think Techstars is a great project by itself, but maybe the bigger story is this new degree of collaboration between these three organizations." Techstars' Industries of the Future Accelerator will specialize in startups using clean energy, artificial intelligence, cyber security, digital currency, 5G and big data to solve problems. Techstars was founded in 2006 and has invested in more than 2,500 companies valued at more than $209 billion. The leaders of UT, TVA and ORNL say partnering with a firm that has helped launch startups into billion-dollar ventures is the beginning of a larger vision to make the corridor a national destination for entrepreneurs, investors and a skilled workforce. |
| When to expect a new U. of Memphis president | |
| The University of Memphis plans to select its new president by the end of the year. The board of trustees approved a timeline for the president Wednesday. Board member Carol Roberts, who chairs the university's presidential search committee, called upon representatives from Parker Executive Search, a national firm retained for the search, to present the timeline update. Outgoing U of M President M. David Rudd announced his departure last March. He said he planned to stay on through May 2022, staying on "to allow for a successful national search and provide for an orderly transition in 2022." After an international sabbatical, Rudd plans to return to the university in 2023 as a distinguished professor of psychology. "This is a fast process and it's fast on purpose because that's what candidates are looking for as they consider opportunities," said Laurie Wilder, president of the search firm, describing the search as a "proactive" one that will aim to reach hundreds of potential candidates. The board also approved a motion allowing trustees to set the compensation package and discuss it with the search firm. An updated assessment of the university's presidential salary package, initially completed two years ago by a consulting firm, found that the median base pay among U of M's peer institutions is about $516,000, with presidents earning a median $635,000 annually when accounting for total compensation, which include bonuses and other retirement benefits. |
| At These Colleges, Professors Are Being Told Not to Ask Students if They're Vaccinated | |
 | More than 400 colleges now require Covid vaccinations, a total that's nearly doubled over the last month. Some require only that students get inoculated; others insist that employees do as well. Many of the rest "strongly encourage" vaccination and, in some cases, offer hefty incentives (Purdue is giving away 10 one-year scholarships). Mandate or no, the message is clear: Get the jab. At the same time, a number of colleges are also discouraging discussion of vaccination status. For instance, at the University of Iowa, which doesn't require the shot, a recent memo sent to faculty and staff members in the liberal-arts college spells out formal "guidance" -- rules, really -- regarding vaccination conversations. After reading it, you might conclude that any mention of the vaccine at all is verboten. Other universities have issued similar, if some what less proscriptive, edicts. At the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, for example, an email from the provost's office says that faculty members can't ask about a student's vaccination status and refers to a law passed by the state legislature that forbids state agencies, including public universities, from requiring vaccination. (That law doesn't actually say whether it's OK to ask about vaccination status.) At some institutions it's not obvious what is and isn't permitted. |
| Chairs say faculty influence declined during COVID-19 | |
 | Nearly a quarter of faculty senate chairs say faculty influence at their institutions declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey of these faculty leaders by the American Association of University Professors. The finding supports the conclusions of a recent investigation by the AAUP into alleged violations of shared governance and faculty rights at multiple institutions over the course of the pandemic. At the same time, the new survey of faculty chairs found what the earlier investigation, given its parameters, couldn't: that some faculty chairs -- 15 percent, in this case -- reported an increase in faculty influence over the last year. That is, while some institutions responded to the challenges of COVID-19 by cutting off the faculty voice, others leaned in to it. The AAUP survey also provides a clearer picture of how common particular administrative actions were during COVID-19, beyond the isolated cases the association recently investigated. Ten percent of faculty leaders at institutions that have tenure said their administrations laid off tenure-track or tenured professors, for instance. With serious implications for academic freedom, 24 percent of respondents said they felt that faculty members could not voice dissenting views without this fear. This sentiment was especially common at institutions that voided faculty handbooks, contracts or other regulations during COVID-19. |
| How to Get More Women Into Technology | |
 | During her decadeslong career in technology, Judith Spitz watched as the "dismal number" of women in the industry failed to budge. In 2016, she decided to do something about it. That year, Dr. Spitz founded Break Through Tech at Cornell Tech in New York City, an initiative aimed at increasing the number of women in computer science and tech careers. By using a mix of methods -- including setting up internship arrangements that better suited the students' strengths -- the program saw strong results: Today, about 50% of its participants win summer internships, up from 5% at the start. Break Through Tech is one of several recent efforts that are making headway against a longstanding problem: boosting the small number of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. These programs attack the problem in a number of different ways. They are giving students enrichment programs, setting them up with female mentors as role models, grounding their course work in real-world problems to keep it relevant -- and sometimes, like Break Through Tech, mediating with potential employers. Beyond that, many of the programs are looking to change something even more fundamental -- how girls are taught science and even how they view themselves. |
| Tulsa Race Massacre Is Now an M.B.A. Case Study at Harvard | |
| After George Floyd's killing last year, Harvard Business School Professor Mihir Desai says he channeled his thoughts and emotions the best way he knew how -- by writing a case study. His aim was to design a classroom exercise that would give M.B.A. students a deeper understanding of the country's racial scars and what role businesses might have in processing them, he says. He soon seized on a historical event he felt deserved more attention: the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, in which armed white mobs attacked Greenwood, a prosperous, albeit segregated Black neighborhood in the Oklahoma city that later came to be known as Black Wall Street. Over 24 hours, as many as 300 people were killed and more than 190 of the community's businesses burned to the ground. Prof. Desai's case study, "The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations," asks students to explore ways to reckon with the attack's financial fallout for its victims and their descendants. He uses the Tulsa case as a launchpad to discuss the use of reparations to respond to the effects of slavery in the U.S. and its aftermath. Students are also asked to consider the role of business in addressing racial-justice issues more broadly. Unlike conventional business case studies, the exercise doesn't require students to assume the hypothetical position of a CEO making a management decision. Instead, Prof. Desai says the goal is to become more fluent in public debate over government reparations and to consider all the angles. |
| Senate adds short-term Pell expansion to Innovation and Competition Act | |
| Lawmakers on several occasions have drafted bills to make programs shorter than 15 weeks eligible for Pell Grants, arguing that doing so would help students pay for training in high-demand fields. The most recent proposal is an amendment to the Senate's U.S. Innovation and Competition Act and is similar to the bipartisan JOBS Act, spearheaded by Sens. Tim Kaine and Rob Portman, a Democrat and Republican, respectively. The two senators also put forth the new amendment. The proposal contains safeguards to ensure Pell Grants wouldn't be used for programs with poor student outcomes. Institutions have to show, for instance, that graduates of short-term programs receive a median 20% increase in earnings after finishing them. Colleges also have to disclose such information as completion rates and earnings to prospective students prior to them enrolling in the programs, and publish the data "prominently" on their websites. Only programs offered by nonprofit and public colleges would be eligible. The amendment specifically excludes for-profit institutions, some of which have come under fire for having programs with poor student outcomes. The education secretary must approve the programs and has 120 days to do so. |
| Applied research gets starring role in President Biden's 2022 budget | |
| Last week, President Joe Biden unveiled a proposed 2022 budget for the U.S. government that would boost federal spending on R&D by 9%, or $13.5 billion, including what he calls "the biggest increase in non-defense [R&D] spending on record." The plan puts an unprecedented emphasis on translating scientific discoveries into practical tools for fighting climate change and disease, bolstering the economy, and tackling other issues. Although Congress is certain to reject or revise parts of the proposal, its support for even a portion of Biden's ambitious vision might lead to numerous new funding entities and alter how the government invests in academic research. The $6 trillion spending blueprint released on 28 May adds greater detail to a skeletal plan Biden presented in early April. It asks Congress to boost spending on a wide swath of nondefense science, with increases of 20% or more for research programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other agencies. Research advocates, including those representing academic institutions, welcomed Biden's backing of research. "The proposed historic increases ... will foster innovation and fuel long-term economic growth," says M. Peter McPherson of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. |
| U.S. Plows Cash Into R&D as China Triggers a 'Sputnik Moment' | |
| Faced with a high-tech challenge from a rival superpower, the U.S. government reaches for its wallet. That's what happened some 60 years ago, after the Soviet Union edged ahead in the space race by launching the Sputnik satellite -- spurring a wave of U.S. spending on science and innovation. Something similar may be under way now, when the challenge comes from China. Federal money for research and development, as a share of the economy, has been at historically low levels. But President Joe Biden has made support for innovation a key part of his program, calling for increased funding to key industries like semiconductor manufacturing, cybersecurity and electric vehicles. And Congress is moving toward a wide-ranging plan, with backing in both parties, that could inject about $190 billion into new and existing programs, though some of that replaces current funding. It targets areas like artificial intelligence where China is committed to becoming a world leader -- through the kind of focused, government-led program that the U.S. is now moving to emulate. "We are at a Sputnik moment now," said Walter Copan, former director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. "China has demonstrated the benefits of having an innovation policy, an industrialization policy and a science and technology policy." China has risen up the rankings of the Bloomberg Innovation Index in recent years while the U.S. lost ground, and the gap between their research budgets has narrowed. |
SPORTS
| Samford headed to Starkville for NCAA baseball regional | |
 | Samford will begin the baseball postseason in the Starkville Regional at Dudy Noble Field on the campus of Mississippi State. The Bulldogs (34-22) are the No. 4 seed, and face No. 1 Mississippi State (40-15) in a first-round game at 2 p.m. on Friday. The regional also includes VCU (35-16) and Campbell (37-14), who play in Friday's other first-round game at 7 p.m. "Obviously, we're excited just to have the opportunity," Samford coach Casey Dunn said. "Regardless of where you get to go, just to have the chance to play in a regional atmosphere, to see 35 guys get fired up about getting a chance at the postseason, that just makes all of this year worthwhile. To get a chance to go to Starkville, arguably the best venue in college baseball and to get to see that on a regional level with a packed house is going to be something truly special for our guys." Samford won the Southern Conference tournament this season, beating Western Carolina 8-6 in the championship game on a walk-off homer by Max Pinto. The Bulldogs finished first in the SoCon Blue Division during the regular season with a 20-10 league record, just one game behind overall conference champion Wofford. |
| Samford baseball leaves for NCAA Tournament | |
| The Samford baseball team left Wednesday afternoon for the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Starkville, Mississippi. The Samford baseball team will play at No. 7 national seed Mississippi State in the first round Friday at 2 p.m. (CT). "Obviously, we're excited just to have the opportunity," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "Regardless of where you get to go, just to have the chance to play in a regional atmosphere, to see 35 guys get fired up about getting a chance at the postseason, that just makes all of this year worthwhile." Samford (35-22) advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling, 8-6 walk-off win over Western Carolina in the championship game of the Southern Conference Tournament Sunday. The Bulldogs took on Mississippi State (40-15) in a midweek game earlier this season, but Dunn said this will be a different experience playing there in a regional atmosphere. |
| Abbey Daniel, Ally Ewing Set For 2021 U.S. Women's Open | |
| Mississippi State sophomore Abbey Daniel and former All-American Ally Ewing each punched their ticket to the 2021 U.S. Women's Open on June 3-6, taking place at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. "This is really special to have one current and one former Mississippi State golfer in the field at the U.S. Women's Open this week," MSU head coach Charlie Ewing said. "As a program, we are so grateful to be so well represented on such a big stage. We are so proud of Ally and Abbey for their journeys that have led them here this week and I can assure the Bulldog family will be pulling hard for them to each have fantastic weeks!" A first-place medalist finish at Kishwaukee Country Club in Dekalb, Illinois, qualified Daniel for the prestigious event. She fired off a 7-under par score behind back-to-back bogey-free rounds. Ewing enters the event fresh off the second LPGA Tour title of her career, winning the inaugural Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play at Shadow Creek this past weekend. She became the first MSU golfer to win an event on the LPGA Tour in October 2020, when she won the Drive On Championship. She's currently ranked No. 15 in the world and is in position to make the prestigious Solheim Cup squad for the second-straight year. |
| Mississippi State's DJ Jónsson named SEC freshman field athlete of the year | |
| Mississippi State track and field's freshman javelin thrower, DJ Jónsson, has been named the Southeastern Conference men's freshman field athlete of the year, the league announced Wednesday. Jónsson, a native of Reykjavík, Iceland, has taken the SEC by storm since he set foot on the Mississippi State campus. He threw himself into the top three javelin throwers of the SEC and the collegiate field in the first week of outdoor competition at MSU's own Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays. He remained there until he took over as NCAA leader in the eighth week of competition at the SEC championships with a mark at 78.66m to become the SEC Champion. He earned first team all-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team honors to boot after earning SEC freshman field athlete of the week twice during the regular season. Heading into the NCAA Championships, Jónsson has not placed outside the top-three finishers at any meet this season. He was third at the Bulldog Relays, first at the Florida Relays, War Eagle Invitational, and the SEC Outdoor Championships, and second at the NCAA East Prelims. He looks to continue that streak in Eugene, Oregon. Jónsson and the Bulldogs will compete at the NCAA Championships from June 9-12 at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. |
| Mississippi State coaches Mike Leach, Ben Howland coming to Meridian | |
 | Cowbells will be ringing loud and proud in the Queen City next week. Mississippi State's 2021 Road Dawgs Tour will be making its way through Meridian on Tuesday with two head coaches coming to meet fans in the Queen City. MSU football coach Mike Leach and men's basketball coach Ben Howland will headline the tour's stop in Meridian that will be held Tuesday, June 8 at the MSU Riley Center. The event will feature a lunch catered by Squealer's BBQ at 11:30 a.m. with the program featuring both head coaches beginning at noon. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children. If you are interested in attending the event, tickets can be reserved by contacting Fred Monsour at contact@emlaw-ms.com. |
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