| Friday, June 4, 2021 |
| Visitation announced for Dr. Krishnaprasad G. (Krish) Bhansali | |
 | Distinguished former Mississippi State University Political Science Professor Dr. Krishnaprasad G. (Krish) Bhansali, 93, died at his Starkville home May 27, 2021 while in hospice care following an extended illness. A visitation will be held at Welch Funeral Home Friday, June 4, 2021 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. "Dr. Bhansali was a gentle but transformative figure in the lives of so many MSU students and a mentor to those pursuing advanced degrees in Political Science," said MSU Director of Public Affairs Sid Salter, one of Bhansali's former students. "He and the late Dr. "Tip" Allen were close friends and they really embraced the success of their students through service and sincere interest. Dr. Bhansali certainly had a great impact on my world view." A native of Mahudha, India, Dr. Bhansali was born on Feb. 27, 1928. He was a highly respected professor of Political Science at MSU from 1967 until 2011. He came to MSU after teaching Political Science at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas from 1962-1967. In lieu of flowers, and should friends choose to make memorial gifts, the family suggests these be directed to the MSU Krish Bhansali Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences at Mississippi State University c/o the MSU Foundation, P.O. Box 6149, Mississippi State, MS 39762. |
| MSU Professor Receives DOE Award, JSU Alum Building Youth Golf Course and USM Eagle Direct Textbooks | |
 | Kun Wang, an assistant professor with joint Mississippi State University appointments in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Chemistry, recently became one of 51 university-employed scientists nationwide to receive $750,000 in funding from the United States Department of Energy Office of Science Early Career Research Program as part of DOE's early career awards. The early career awards are part of a DOE effort to support critical research at the nation's universities and national labs, grow a skilled STEM workforce and cement America as a global leader in science and innovation, a release from MSU says. The program supports scientists as they begin formative work in the agency's priority research areas. DOE will fund Wang's project, "Probing and Understanding the Spatial and Energy Distributions of Plasmonic Hot Carriers via Single-Molecule Quantum Transport," over the course of five years. Wang's focus is on nanoscience and technology and its potential uses in enhancing future technologies for smart devices and solar cells, making them more functional and energy efficient. Wang is a native of China and completed his postdoctoral research fellowship in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan before joining MSU’s faculty in 2020. |
| Students at Catholic colleges leave with less positive attitudes toward gay people than their peers -- but that's not the whole story | |
| Christa Winkler, an assistant professor in the College of Education at Mississippi State University, and colleagues write for The Conversation: Students at Catholic colleges and universities begin their studies with more positive attitudes toward gay, lesbian and bisexual people than their peers at evangelical colleges and universities, our survey found. But that's no longer the case by the time they graduate. Multidisciplinary research teams at Ohio State University, North Carolina State University and Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based nonprofit, surveyed 3,486 students attending 122 institutions of various types, sizes and affiliations. Our study, the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey, polled the students three times over their time in college -- in the fall of 2015, the spring of 2016 and the spring of 2019. We asked students whether they agree or disagree -- and how strongly -- with various statements about gay, lesbian and bisexual people. The statements related to, for example, whether students believe gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals are ethical people and make positive contributions to society. They also asked students if they believe they have things in common with this group, and positive attitudes toward them. ... We found that students at Christian schools – whether Protestant, evangelical or Catholic – entered college with less positive attitudes toward gay, lesbian and bisexual people compared with those at nonreligious schools. All students increased in their positive attitudes for this group by the time they graduated. However Catholic school students made the least gains. |
| Starkville library's daily summer activities for kids to include live animals, robotics, pottery making | |
 | One of the highlights of Westin and Rhett Cooper's summer is getting to spend time at the Starkville Public Library. Along with participating in storytime Wednesday morning, they met a live turkey named Travis, who paid a visit to the children at the library. "We looked at the turkey!" Rhett said. Westin, 5, and Rhett, 7, come to the library with their nanny, Anna Nobles, every Monday morning. Now, since the library has begun its summer program, Nobles said she plans to bring the boys to the library many times throughout the summer. The Starkville Public Library is hosting daily activities for children up to 12 years old every Monday through Thursday during June and July at Fire Station Park. The summer program kicked off Tuesday with children learning about robotics and coding. Children's Librarian Loraine Walker, affectionately known as "Miss Rainey" by the children, is spearheading the program. After a year of virtual storytime, Walker said she is thrilled library activities are back in person. Just like Travis the Turkey, the children will meet new animals every Wednesday, including chicken and pigs, Walker said. Other programming includes science STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) on Mondays, taught by multiple departments at Mississippi State University, robotics and coding on Tuesdays and art STEAM on Thursdays from various businesses across Starkville. |
| Corinth-based organization breaks ground on industrial spec building | |
 | The Alliance, a Corinth based economic development organization, has officially broken ground on a 50,000 square foot speculative building. The building, being constructed in partnership with Agracel, Inc., will be located at the former Wurlitzer Site in Alcorn County. According to information provide by The Alliance, the industrial shell building will have the capability of being expanded to 300,000 square feet and will be customizable to whatever tenant occupies it. Spec buildings are used by economic development organizations to attract attention from prospective industries and enhance speed to market. Construction on the Corinth Spec Building is set to kick off immediately and is expected to be completed late this year. The building will be strategically located in an industrial park on a 25-acre site with two US Highways one mile away, all utilities in place and immediate rail access. According to the presser, the project is a result of collaboration among local government officials, the state Legislature, local economic developers and community supporters. |
| Entergy awards site readiness grant for use at the Northwest Mississippi Mega Site | |
 | The DeSoto County Economic Development Council was awarded $7,000 from the Entergy Mississippi Excellerator Grant in May to go towards the upkeep of the Northwest Mississippi Mega Site in the west part of the county near Lake Cormorant. The DeSoto County Economic Development Council is the marketing organization for the county. They work to bring new investments and expansions of businesses and industry to the area. The Northwest Mississippi Mega Site is already a "qualified site" according to Mara Hartmann with Entergy Mississippi, meaning that the site is ready for a tenant to move in and develop it. Qualified sites get a lot of work done to them before anyone moves onto the land and are meant to make an area more enticing for companies to move to. "In other words," Hartmann said, "All [the tenant] has to do is put the building there." The grant will go towards wetland mitigation, Henley said. Some things, including wetland mitigation, have to be renewed or redone every few years. Entergy's Excellerator Grant will ensure that they can do that and keep the mega site ready to go. “This will highlight the strengths of the mega site in DeSoto County and create a more attractive site for business and industry to locate on, by removing risks and providing vital information for potential industrial users,” said Bryant Henley, DeSoto County EDC manager of business development. |
| US adds modest 559,000 jobs, a sign of more hiring struggles | |
 | U.S. employers added 559,000 jobs in May, an improvement from April's sluggish gain but still evidence that many companies are struggling to find enough workers as the economy rapidly recovers from the pandemic recession. Last month's job gain was above April's revised total of 278,000, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 5.8% from 6.1%. The speed of the rebound from the pandemic recession has caught employers off guard and touched off a scramble to hire. The reopening of the economy, fueled by substantial federal aid and rising vaccinations, has released pent-up demand among consumers to eat out, travel, shop, attend public events and visit with friends and relatives. Many large chains, including Amazon, Walmart, Costco, and Chipotle, have raised starting pay to better attract applicants. Yet so far, those efforts aren't bearing much fruit. The number of people working or looking for work last month slipped slightly in May after three months of gains. Job postings in late May were nearly 26% above pre-pandemic levels, according to the employment website Indeed. Government data shows that posted jobs are at the highest level on records dating back to 2000. And consumers are opening their wallets. |
| Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann refutes Secretary of State Michael Watson comments on Mississippi voter ID law | |
| Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, Mississippi's former secretary of state, says current Secretary of State Michael Watson is wrong about a provision of the state's voter ID law being missing from the state code books. The voter ID law, which requires Mississippians show a government-issued photo ID at their polling place in order to vote, was added to the state Constitution by voters through the ballot initiative process in 2011. Lawmakers then codified the language into state law in 2012. Hosemann, who was secretary of state at the time, has touted the law and regularly boasted how it has never been challenged in court. Following last month's Mississippi Supreme Court decision that deemed the ballot initiative process unconstitutional, attorneys have been looking into whether the state's voter ID law could be challenged. Watson, in a recent radio interview, said one key provision of the voter ID law that was enshrined into the Constitution is not in state law: that any Mississippian can be issued free identification cards so they can vote. He argued that because that provision didn't exist in state law, voter ID would be susceptible to a court challenge and that lawmakers should come back in a special session to add that "free ID" language to state law. But on Thursday, following a Mississippi Today article quoting Watson about the voter ID law, Hosemann released a statement to directly refute Watson's point. |
| Lawmakers discuss future of medical marijuana in Mississippi | |
| The leader of the organization that sponsored the voter-approved Mississippi medical marijuana initiative that was recently blocked in court says the program should be changed and improved by the state Legislature -- but not by too much. Medical marijuana advocates were outraged last month when the state Supreme Court ruled that Mississippi's initiative process is outdated and therefore the initiative is void. Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association executive director Ken Newburger said when Initiative 65 was written, he and others made some "short-sighted" missteps, such as tasking the state Department of Health with running the program on its own. "There are some major gaps that I think a lot of you have pointed out in the past and a lot of people in the state have pointed out that need to be remedied," Newburger said Thursday during a Senate Public Health Committee meeting at the state Capitol. However, Newburger said it's important that the basic tenets of what voters approved stay the same: Patients should be able to consume marijuana in any form -- in a joint, edibles or otherwise; doctors should be responsible for certifying patients; small businesses should be able to operate and compete in the industry; and the program should be self-funded. |
| Mississippi senators probe reality of medical marijuana legislation | |
 | The road to establishing a medical marijuana program in Mississippi has a ways to go if Thursday's state Senate hearing was any indication. Ken Newberger, executive director of the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association and one of the organizers behind the recently nullified Initiative 65, told members of the senate's Committee on Public Health and Welfare "there are some major gaps" in what voters approved last November and what is actually needed to create a viable medical marijuana program. "Large parts of Initiative 65 need to stay," Newburger said after the hearing. "The things that (Initiative) 65 got wrong are more procedural." Initiative 65, approved by 74 percent of voters in November, was overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court last month, with justices citing the state's outdated initiative process. Specifically, the initiative did not address potential zoning concerns, how tax revenue generated might be used or if the Mississippi State Department of Health was adequately equipped to oversee such a program by itself, Newburger said. "Putting everything under the health department was a short-sided mistake," Newburger told senators. However, Newburger said the government should honor the core tenets of the initiative a majority of Mississippians voted for: Broad access to medical marijuana for all eligible state residents under a self-sustaining, free-market system. Thirty-eight states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use. |
| Senate panel ponders parameters of a new medical marijuana bill | |
| The basic principles of the medical marijuana initiative approved by Mississippi voters in November -- but struck down recently by the state Supreme Court -- should be honored, members of the Senate Public Health Committee were told Thursday. Ken Newburger, executive director of the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association, conceded to the committee that there are areas where the now invalidated Initiative 65 could be improved, such as allowing local governments more leeway in zoning medical marijuana dispensaries and not placing the entire program under the umbrella of the underfunded and under-resourced Mississippi State Department of Health. The hearing of the Senate Public Heath Committee was the first since the Supreme Court ruled last month the medical marijuana initiative and the entire ballot initiative process invalid. Legislative leaders and Gov. Tate Reeves have discussed the possibility of a special session to consider both the reinstatement of the medical marijuana program and entire initiative process where citizens can gather signatures to place issues on the ballot for voters to decide. Senate Public Health Chairman Hob Bryan, D-Amory, said Thursday's hearing was a step in determining the type of program the Legislature should consider. The issue that must be decided first, Bryan said, is what kind of program the state should have -- a recreational marijuana program, a tightly controlled medical marijuana program or a loosely controlled medical marijuana program. |
| President Biden Signals Flexibility on Taxes for Infrastructure | |
 | President Biden signaled he could accept a narrower infrastructure package that didn't include raising the corporate tax rate, telling a top Senate Republican that he wants $1 trillion in new spending and floating alternative ways to pay for the measure, according to people briefed on the matter. The new proposal, which includes a minimum corporate tax of 15% for the nation's largest companies and the repurposing of some Covid-19 aid funding, marks a late shift from the White House, as Mr. Biden and Senate Republicans kick off what is expected to be a final flurry of talks on the size of the infrastructure plan and how to fund it. During a Wednesday meeting with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.Va.), Mr. Biden put forward the $1 trillion proposal, down from $1.7 trillion previously, and outlined options to pay for the spending that wouldn't boost the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, as he previously proposed. Republicans have called any effort to boost the corporate tax rate or unwind the Republicans' 2017 tax law a nonstarter. On Thursday, GOP aides signaled skepticism of many of Mr. Biden's ideas. Some Democratic lawmakers have urged the White House to move ahead without Republican support while others have supported continuing talks. Mrs. Capito and other Senate Republicans working on the compromise infrastructure legislation are discussing making a counteroffer to the White House on Friday, when Mr. Biden and Mrs. Capito are planning to speak again. |
| Former VP Mike Pence: Trump and I may never 'see eye to eye' on Jan. 6 Capitol attack | |
 | Former Vice President Mike Pence lauded his and former President Donald Trump's administration in a speech Thursday, but he said the two may never "see eye to eye" about the Jan. 6 insurrection. To a crowd of Republicans in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Pence called the Capitol riot a "dark day" in American history. The attack saw thousands of pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol and left five people dead. "President Trump and I have spoken many times since we left office," Pence said. "I don't know if we'll ever see eye to eye on that day. But I will always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people for the last four years." Trump insisted Pence had the power to block congressional certification of Joe Biden's presidential election win in November. Pence repeatedly denied the false claims, saying only lawmakers can decide whether to accept the Electoral College votes won by Biden. During the riots, chants to "hang Mike Pence" and "bring out Pence" erupted in the crowd, according to video shown during Trump's second impeachment trial. But Pence on Thursday immediately cast blame on Democrats and news media for what he called an outsized scrutiny over the day. "I will not allow Democrats and their allies in the media to use one tragic day to discredit the aspirations of millions of Americans," he said. |
| How Is The GOP Adjusting To A Less Religious America? | |
 | When Ronald Reagan accepted the 1980 Republican presidential nomination, he ended his speech with a pious request. "I'll confess that I've been a little afraid to suggest what I'm going to suggest -- I'm more afraid not to -- that we begin our crusade joined together in a moment of silent prayer," he said. It was the preface to a presidency that would help make white evangelicals the staunchly Republican voting bloc they are today. Fast-forward to a 2015 campaign event, when Republican consultant Frank Luntz worked to pin down soon-to-be-President Donald Trump on a simple question of faith: "Have you ever asked God for forgiveness?" Luntz asked Trump twice, before getting this answer: "I'm not sure I have. I just go and try and do a better job from there. I don't think so." Trump benefited from the white evangelical support that Reagan helped solidify, but he also presided over a country that, religiously, looks far different from the one Reagan took over after 1980. Trump's presidency is one early case study in how the Republican Party -- which has long associated itself with conservative Christian values -- may attempt to deal with a country that's less and less religious. In fact, the U.S. recently passed a religious milestone: For the first time, a majority of Americans are not church members, Gallup found this spring. The key bloc of white evangelicals is also shrinking as a share of the population, while the share of religiously unaffiliated Americans grows. |
| Report does not confirm, or rule out, UFOs in unexplained aerial events | |
 | A soon-to-be-released government report on unexplained aerial phenomena finds no proof of extraterrestrial activity, but cannot provide a definitive explanation for scores of incidents in which strange objects have been spotted in the sky, officials said on Thursday. The findings of the report, due to be provided to Congress by the director of national intelligence as soon as this month, will offer no firm conclusions about what the objects -- repeatedly detected by military pilots and others in recent years -- might be, according to two officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address a document that is not yet public. That the report, whose conclusions were first described by the New York Times, does not rule out extraterrestrial activity is likely to further stoke what has become a highly unusual national discussion about the possibility that unknown life-forms are visiting Earth, as senators, former CIA directors and former president Barack Obama express new openness to UFOs. The report, mandated as part of a gargantuan pandemic relief package signed last year by then-President Donald Trump, emerges as what was once seen as a fringe conspiracy theory becomes more mainstream. It comes as years of political divisions and misinformation shake Americans' faith in their government and fuel doubt about established science. John Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence under Trump, said this spring that there were many more UAP sightings than were publicly known. |
| University Police Chief Ray Hawkins to retire | |
| University of Mississippi Police Chief Ray Hawkins, respected law enforcement officer, natural leader and a believer in the 'education before enforcement' approach to policing, is retiring after a stellar 30-year career. Hawkins, who was hired as UPD chief on March 30, 2018, retires June 30. He's looking forward to spending more time with friends and family. He's been with UPD for 24 years, after initially arriving as a patrolman who wanted to finish his degree at the university while working. He quickly found that Ole Miss felt like home and has enjoyed all the collaboration that comes with working on a college campus. "It's the university environment that I'll miss -- the partnerships you create from one department to the other, the willingness to engage with others not only for success of the university, but for each person's individual success as well," Hawkins said. "We depend on each other to make things happen. What I will always love is that once you become a part of this community, people really step up to help you make your job easier." |
| 'Powerhouse': Northsider selected most outstanding educator at UMMC by students | |
| A "saint." A "gem." A "true powerhouse in the profession of teaching." That's a bit of praise University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) students have heaped onto Dr. Stephen Stray, associate professor of microbiology and immunology. Now, he can add one more descriptor: 2021 Regions TEACH Prize winner. Since 2013, the annual Regions TEACH, short for Toward Educational Advancement in Care and Health, Prize has recognized one faculty member with a $10,000 award and the knowledge that students had a say in selecting the person deemed the year's most outstanding educator at UMMC. The award is presented in conjunction with the annual induction ceremony for the Nelson Order, which recognizes the Medical Center's best teachers. This year's ceremony took place Monday, May 10 in the School of Medicine and via livestream. "It's a genuine honor to be named alongside people I value as colleagues and as friends, and when I think about the people who have been selected [for the TEACH Prize] before, it's strange to me that people think I'm on the same level as these folks," Stray said. It's not a surprise for the students in the Schools of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences and Medicine, who put his name forward for the honor. A six-time Nelson Order inductee, Stray directs the first year doctoral-level Microbiology and Immunology course, in addition to the equivalent courses in the Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. |
| USM, Barnes & Noble announce discount book program for students | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi and Barnes& Noble announced anew new partnership Thursday that will allow students to buy or rent textbooks at a discounted price. They are calling it "Eagle Direct Textbooks. It is only available to required books for undergraduate students Allyson Easterwood, vice president of finance and administration says they partnered with Barnes and Noble to make this happen. "Through our partnership, the university and Barnes & Noble have a real focus on offering affordable options to our students for the delivery of course materials," said Allyson Easterwood, vice president of finance and administration at Southern Miss. Easterwood says the program offers access, affordability and convenience. Lucas Williams is a senior public relations major and the Student Government Association president. He says the students are very grateful. "We only wish we could have had it sooner," Williams said. "But we are excited for this innovative new trend that they are going to be doing with the textbooks. I feel like it is necessary. A lot of the students have already gotten word about it, and they are extremely excited about this opportunity." |
| Delta State alumnus & former UPS CEO to receive Georgia's highest honor | |
| Delta State University alumnus David Abney ('76), former chairman and CEO of United Parcel Service (UPS), will be among those honored during the historic first broadcast of the Georgia Trustees Gala on Saturday, June 5. During the gala, Abney will be inducted by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia Historical Society as a modern-day Georgia Trustee -- the highest honor the State of Georgia can confer. A native of Greenwood, Abney began his UPS career in 1974 as a part-time package loader while attending Delta State, where he would earn a bachelor's degree in business administration. Abney is the former executive chairman of the UPS Board of Directors. He served as CEO of UPS from 2014 until May 2020 and was appointed chairman of the board in 2016. Before his role as chairman and CEO, Abney served as the company's chief operating officer, overseeing logistics, sustainability, engineering, and all facets of UPS's global transportation network. The Trustees Gala is the Georgia Historical Society's premier annual event and the culmination of the Georgia History Festival, GHS's annual K-12 educational program that reaches over 250,000 students statewide. |
| Dave Dampier Named Dean of College of Engineering and Computer Sciences at Marshall | |
| Dr. David A. Dampier has been appointed as dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences at Marshall University, effective July 3. Dampier has served as interim dean for the past year and previously served as associate dean for research and a professor of computer science at Marshall. Dr. Jaime R. Taylor, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, met with the college's associate dean and chairs, and requested faculty input. They showed overwhelming support to Dampier's appointment as permanent dean, Taylor said. "I've been very pleased with Dr. Dampier since his appointment as interim dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences in August of 2020," Taylor said. "He has very quickly enhanced Marshall University's relationship with Marshall alumni, local industry and several federal granting agencies." Prior to joining Marshall in July 2019, Dampier was the chairman of the Department of Information Systems and Cyber Security at the University of Texas at San Antonio and founding director of the Distributed Analytics and Security Institute at Mississippi State University. |
| Sonny Perdue on why he wants to oversee Georgia's public college system | |
| Former Gov. Sonny Perdue cast himself as an experienced public leader who could bring stability to the state's higher education system in an interview on Thursday, his first public remarks about the secretive push to tap him to the coveted position. Perdue told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he would help burnish the University System of Georgia's reputation as an economic engine if the 19-member Board of Regents selects him to lead the state's 26 public colleges and universities, one of the most powerful and high-paying jobs in government. "It's safe to say I'm willing to serve. The governor and I had a conversation about it. I felt like it was probably, in this stage of my life, the only job in Georgia I felt like I was passionate about and that I would accept," Perdue, 74, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It's obviously up to the judgment of the Regents, which I respect," he added. "I just want the best chancellor Georgia can ever get. If that's someone else, so be it." The Regents in May resumed the process of finding a successor to retiring Chancellor Steve Wrigley after months of drama involving Perdue's push for the job, fallout that has led to threats of academic sanctions and the sudden departure of a search firm seeking finalists for the post. Without elaborating, he also spoke broadly about his desire to push conservative "values" in the higher education system, which is struggling to increase graduation rates and navigate a social justice movement that many Republican leaders have assailed. |
| Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney interested in U. of South Carolina president's job again | |
 | Mick Mulvaney, the former White House chief of staff and South Carolina congressman, is interested in leading the University of South Carolina again, a source with knowledge told The Post and Courier. Mulvaney, then the White House budget director under President Donald Trump, inquired about the job in 2019 after Harris Pastides retired as president of the state's largest college. But Mulvaney became interim White House chief of staff and the job went to Bob Caslen, a retired Army general and West Point superintendent who was once a finalist to become Trump's national security advisor. Caslen resigned from USC in May amid a plagiarism scandal after he failed to cite the source of a passage he used in a commencement speech. Pastides was named interim president. USC's presidential search committee holds its first meeting June 4. The panel has not hired a search firm or announced a timetable for finding new leader of the state flagship school with eight campuses and more than 50,000 students. Mulvaney was last the U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, but he resigned the day after the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. "We didn't sign up for what you saw last night," Mulvaney told CNBC on Jan. 7. "We signed up for making America great again; we signed up for lower taxes and less regulation." |
| Volunteers sought for LSU study on Louisiana's 'state bird,' humanity's apex predator: the mosquito | |
 | It may not gnash, maul or trample like some of its flashier counterparts in the animal kingdom, but Louisiana's unofficial state bird is -- hands down -- humanity's deadliest foe. Mosquitoes kill more than 725,000 people every year by spreading malaria, West Nile virus, dengue and a host of other diseases, according to the World Health Organization. While Louisiana accounts for only a handful of those annual deaths, LSU researchers are on the front lines of war against our apex predator by conducting studies that could bolster human defenses against the lethal blood-suckers. Kristen Healy, an entomologist with LSU's AgCenter, is spearheading the latest such inquiry: this one on the effectiveness of various mosquito repellents. And she's looking for volunteers to take part in field tests. Daring participants will expose their lower legs, apply repellent on one and leave the other without. Then, they'll venture into a mosquito-teeming area and see what happens. Fear not, though: researchers will "aspirate up" the mosquitoes with some chemical to prevent them from biting. The goal is to see how many of them land on the skin. "It's a great place to study mosquitoes," Healy said of Louisiana. |
| Texas A&M President M. Katherine Banks announces new university leadership team | |
 | Texas A&M President M. Katherine Banks, in her first week in the role, has announced several new university leaders, many of whom are replacing longtime employees for those positions. Thursday's announcement comes after Banks stated Tuesday -- her first day as president - that she would be conducting a comprehensive review of the school's operations "with the goal of developing an administrative structure that is effective, efficient and flexible, while directing our valuable resources toward our mission: the success of our students, faculty and staff." The nine newly appointed individuals assumed their roles Thursday, Banks' announcement states. Four of the people moving into new positions previously held titles within A&M engineering programs. Before becoming president, Banks was vice chancellor of engineering and national laboratories and dean of the Texas A&M College of Engineering. "I appreciate the significant contributions of those who previously served the administration and welcome the new members of the team," Banks said in her statement. |
| A New Mega-University Expects to Earn Big Money Immediately. Are Its Projections Too Ambitious? | |
 | The University of Arizona acquired a troubled for-profit online institution, Ashford University, last August to create a new online mega-university that would extend the flagship university's reach, particularly into the market of working adults. The success of the endeavor may hinge in the first few years on ambitious revenue goals in a challenging environment for enrollment, according to recently filed public documents. The forecasts, which one observer described as "rosy," are also evidence of the growing pains that public institutions have encountered in the first few years after taking over for-profit colleges, both before and during a historic pandemic. The University of Arizona Global Campus is the nonprofit organization that was created after the University of Arizona agreed to take over Ashford's operations, with the new entity finalizing the sale last December. The university and Arizona Global Campus are led by different chief executives and governed by different boards, but the nonprofit considers itself to be an affiliate of the traditional public university. The circumstances that brought the University of Arizona and Ashford University together may owe themselves to the quirks of fate. Were it not for an evidently slow-moving Trump-era U.S. Department of Education, the University of Arizona might never have acquired Ashford. |
| COVID changes California State U. future: Students want more online learning | |
 | In early December, California State University leaders made a bold announcement: All 23 campuses would reopen for in-person classes in fall 2021. But with registration underway for the new academic year, the return is looking anything but normal -- and it has become clear the pandemic has altered the future of the nation's largest four-year university system. Online options are here to stay. Throughout the system, in spring surveys, campus discussions and early registration trends, a new realization has emerged among students and staff. At CSU's largely commuter campuses, many found valuable upsides to virtual learning: greater flexibility in their college-work-life balance, fewer expenses, the power to keep students in college. "What we learned during the pandemic is that virtual learning provides the opportunity for students to get an education while they're trying to balance a number of different things in their lives, whether they're parents or taking care of an elderly parent or working or living in a rural area," CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro said this week. "What I believe, based on what I've heard from students and faculty and staff throughout the CSU, is that we will have more virtual offerings after the pandemic is over than we did before the pandemic." Not all students may want to pursue virtual courses, and challenges remain to expand limited pre-pandemic offerings. But a greater blending of instruction could make a long-term difference for students, Castro said. |
| College Board analyzes who went to college last year and who didn't | |
 | Who showed up last fall? That's the question the College Board attempted to answer with a new report on enrollment -- new and continuing -- of students. The College Board used its own data and those of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center to create a sample of nearly 10 million students who represent about 80 percent of all U.S. high school graduates in the last three years. The students attended more than 22,000 U.S. high schools and 2,800 U.S. colleges, resulting in a nationally representative data set for understanding the impact of COVID-19 on college enrollment and retention among recent high school graduates. (The report does not include adult students.) Some of the results confirm past reports on the coronavirus. "Student enrollment rates declined more substantially at two-year colleges than four-year colleges. The report sought to look at who was going. "Among students in the two-year sector, the pandemic most adversely affected the college trajectories of first-generation, underrepresented minority, and lower-achieving students from higher-poverty communities and high schools," the report said. "The enrollment story for the class of 2020 is quite different among students in the four-year sector, where some of the largest enrollment rate declines occurred among white and Asian students, students with college-educated parents and strong academic achievement from more affluent communities and high schools." |
| NAFSA session focuses on efforts to scale up student and scholar visa processing amid pandemic | |
| The State Department is continuing to prioritize applications for student visas, but department officials do not expect to return to full capacity quickly. Kathryn Strong, a visa policy analyst for the department, provided this information to international educators gathered virtually for the NAFSA: Association of International Educators annual meeting Thursday. Higher education leaders have been worried for months about whether pandemic-related disruptions to visa processing will prevent some prospective students from getting their visas in time for the fall semester. The continuing uncertainty about fall international enrollments comes against the backdrop of an estimated 16 percent decline in total international students, and a 43 percent decline in new international students, enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities last fall. Visa services remain curtailed at many consulates: as of May 12, the department reported that 160 of the 223 posts that process nonimmigrant visas -- a category that encompasses student and scholar visas -- are offering some routine visa appointments. The remaining 63 posts remained closed for all but emergency and "mission critical" services. The State Department only resumed processing student visas in China, the largest country of origin for international students, last month. |
| President Biden's new science adviser shares views on foreign influence, research budgets, and more | |
| President Joe Biden's newly installed science adviser says he understands why scientists are baffled by rules intended to prevent other nations from unfairly benefiting from U.S. science. In recent years, the U.S. government has cracked down on requiring federally funded scientists to report any sources of foreign funding -- and has even prosecuted some who failed to follow the rules. But the effort has forced them to navigate a mélange of requirements, and Eric Lander thinks the government can do better. "It's very hard to figure out what you're supposed to be disclosing," Lander told ScienceInsider yesterday during a wide-ranging interview conducted on his first day on the job as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). "Agencies have different rules, and their definitions also vary." Lander believes researchers would be happy to comply with a simpler system of disclosure -- such as a digital record of their research activities updated on a quarterly basis. "What if there were an electronic CD that contained all my grants, my papers, my collaborations, and any stock holdings and whatever?" he says. "Boy, would I love that." |
| Local leaders build pressure on President Biden to cancel student loans | |
 | Local leaders are stepping up the pressure on President Biden to tackle the issue of student debt by taking official action in their own jurisdictions that they hope will urge him to forgive some college loans. Washington, D.C., and several other city governments have passed resolutions that call on the federal government to act on student loan cancellations. The moves come as Biden laid out new measures towards economic equity this week, an issue that student loan advocates say could be tackled in part by canceling student loans. The resolution D.C. passed on Tuesday unanimously urges immediate attention from the federal government and to "begin the transition to education as a public good," outlining how student loans impact the district's residents. Boston's city council passed a resolution in April that calls on the federal government to cancel all student loan debt, calling it a "burden" that disproportionately impacts communities of color. Cambridge, Mass., Somerville, Mass., and Watsonville, Calif., have taken similar steps. Biden's speech on Tuesday to mark the Tulsa Race Massacre centennial unveiled a plan to drive racial equity throughout the country by expanding and targeting federal purchasing power to benefit more minority-owned businesses. He didn't discuss student loan forgiveness during his remarks, which the NAACP has criticized the president for. NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement that student loan debt suppresses Black Americans. |
| More than 250 colleges agree to President Biden's Vaccine Challenge | |
| By the Fourth of July, the Biden Administration has set a lofty goal of having 70% of the U.S. population vaccinated. That goal likely will not be reached without a little assistance. So, the President and his team are calling on colleges and universities to help lend their reach, resources and communications expertise to get students to sign on and get the nation past that target. On Thursday, the Department of Education launched the COVID-19 College Challenge, effectively asking institutions to take a pledge that says they will strive to get their communities vaccinated. The ED says the timing is crucial as students head back home for the summer but will return for fall semesters in just a couple of months. "The College Vaccine Challenge is a terrific way for all postsecondary institutions to engage students, faculty, and staff in an effort to keep their communities safe," said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. "I encourage every college and university to take this pledge and get creative in becoming Vaccine Champion Colleges. We must all work together to beat this pandemic and put the focus back on students' educational careers that will put them on the path to success." So far, more than 250 institutions have signed on to take the Challenge, which not only involves administrators but educators and students who can help boost those numbers in a variety of ways. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State baseball kicks off Starkville Regional play with Samford rematch | |
| When Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis and pitching coach Scott Foxhall got together Monday, they knew what had to be done. The Bulldogs' decision-makers didn't have to sweat out the call with their first game in the Starkville Regional looming four days away. When Foxhall raised the idea, Lemonis wholeheartedly agreed. Will Bednar was going to start. The Bulldogs will turn to the sophomore right-hander at 2 p.m. Friday against Samford (35-12) in the regional opener at Dudy Noble Field. "Our motto of our team is 'Right here, right now,'" Lemonis said Thursday. "It's about our first game, and we feel like Will gives us the best matchup in that first game. I don't want to play for down the road or anything like that. I've got too much respect for the teams in this tourney." Against a Samford lineup featuring eight right-handed starters, it's only natural that Mississippi State will turn to its reliable right-handed weekend starter to get the host Bulldogs off to a good start. Left-hander Christian MacLeod will pitch MSU's second game of the weekend, with the rest of the weekend's innings likely to be filled by committee. Certainly, not every regional host starts with its top two weekend starters right off the bat. But not every team is Mississippi State, with two top-tier pitchers rested and ready and not much reliability beyond. "We need to get off to a good start," Lemonis said. "We need to have great momentum." |
| Mississippi State's Will Bednar starting against righty-heavy Samford | |
| Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis is switching up his starting rotation this weekend. Lemonis announced that right-handed pitcher Will Bednar will pitch in the regional opener against Samford on Friday. The game between the No. 1 seed Mississippi State (40-15) and No. 4 seed Samford begins at 2 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field. Bednar will start the opener instead of left-hander Christian MacLeod because Samford's lineup has right-handed hitters throughout. MacLeod will pitch Mississippi State's game on Saturday. "We looked at matchups and Samford has eight right-handed hitters," Lemonis said on Thursday. "They're a really good offensive team and we just felt like, at that point, Will would match up best with them. Will has also pitched the 2 o'clock game all year so it will probably feel the same to him in terms of his body and the next two opponents have three or four leftys in their lineups." Those eight right-handers for Samford (35-22) also hit for a lot of power -- the lineup has produced 167 extra-base hits and 64 home runs this year. Samford has three hitters -- all right-handed -- that have hit over 10 home runs. Sonny DiChiara, a .265 hitter, leads the team with 15 homers while Ryan Crockett (.294) and Tyler McManus (.335) each have 11 home runs. |
| In 'the year of the mid-major,' three small-conference teams are gunning for Mississippi State baseball | |
| Campbell coach Justin Haire doesn't have to look far to highlight the successes of mid-major college baseball programs this season. Two of them -- VCU and Samford -- make up 50 percent of this weekend's Starkville Regional, while the Camels form another quarter of the field. The three schools are just a few success stories in a 2021 season Haire said has often been called "the year of the mid-major." That's mainly because the NCAA allowed players to seek a waiver for an extra season of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to seniors and other veteran players returning to the small schools from whence they came. "Having some depth and experience at the top end, especially at the mid-major level, is a really big benefit," Haire said. The 2021 NCAA tournament features 28 teams not part of the Power Five conferences, Conference USA or the American Athletic Conference. That means nearly half the field is composed of teams that don't often make it to this stage -- especially in other sports. Haire noted even Group of Five teams never make the College Football Playoff; the men's and women's basketball tournaments rarely feature a mid-major Cinderella. But it's not so uncommon in baseball. Not this season, anyway. "This year in the country, with so many kids coming back because of COVID, you're seeing a lot of the mid-majors have great years," Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said Monday. |
| SEC, Big East latest to scrap intraconference transfer rules | |
| The Southeastern Conference and the Big East eliminated their intraconference transfer policies Thursday, allowing athletes to transfer within the leagues without losing a year of eligibility. The decisions were made in each conference by university presidents and chancellors. The changes take effect immediately and are in line with the trend throughout college sports to allow more freedom for athletes who switch schools. The SEC's change will more closely align the conference with NCAA rules. One difference with the SEC is it will require athletes who play fall sports -- such as football -- to declare their intent to transfer by Feb. 1. NCAA rules will require fall and winter sport athletes to notify their schools of a transfer by May 1 and spring sport athletes by July 1. The SEC's deadlines for winter and spring athletes will be the same as the NCAA's. A new NCAA policy passed in April allows athletes in all sports to transfer once and be eligible to play immediately. Many conferences including the ACC, Pac-12 and Big 12 already dropped their restrictions on intraconference transfers. |
| SEC grants immediate eligibility for intraconference transfers | |
| TJ Finley originally planned to wait until June 3 to make his transfer decision because he wanted to make sure the SEC would allow intraconference transfers to be immediately eligible at their next school. The reason the former LSU quarterback didn't wait, and instead announced on May 24 that he would be transferring to Auburn football, was because he had seen and heard enough to believe that the SEC would change its policies to go along with the NCAA's. He was correct. The SEC announced Thursday it will grant immediate eligibility for players transferring between two schools in the conference after a vote by the league's presidents and chancellors. Those players would have had to sit out a year under the previous rules. "This is an important measure to further support student-athletes throughout the Southeastern Conference," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in news release. "While maintaining the expectation that coaches and others avoid improper recruiting, this change will ensure that student-athletes who enroll at an SEC member institution will enjoy the flexibility afforded to other student-athletes across the nation." |
| Tennessee baseball preparing to invest big in Tony Vitello, Lindsey Nelson Stadium | |
 | Danny White was perched down the left-field line at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on April 26. The Tennessee athletics director watched as Vols closer Sean Hunley struck out LSU's Will Safford to secure a 3-1 UT win. Vols coach Tony Vitello shot out of the dugout to celebrate one of the many benchmark moments of UT's most successful baseball season in more than 15 years. White and deputy athletics director Reid Sigmon walked across the field to the dugout to take in the moment -- one White intends to see repeated many times. "We want to build the best athletic department in the country -- an absolute juggernaut at Tennessee," White said Thursday in an exclusive interview with Knox News. "That means we need to resource our programs at the highest level across the country, facilities and operationally. "We are not afraid of that." Tennessee is at a turning point, preparing to make a sizable financial commitment to its coaching staff and facilities to sustain the program's success, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the Tennessee baseball program told Knox News. One of the sources indicated the investment could place Tennessee among the nation's biggest spenders on college baseball and make Vitello one of the highest-paid coaches in the nation. |
| Tim Corbin, Geno Auriemma and two other unmistakable faces on a Zoom call: 'I learn something every time' | |
 | The Zoom call connects, and four unmistakable coaches appear. Geno Auriemma's wide grin lights up the screen. Brad Stevens' calm voice and clean-cut look slide into the call. There's Chris Peterson with his salt-and-pepper hair and gleaming white teeth. And then Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin's New England accent chimes in. Four coaches, four different sports, 13 national championships, 16 NCAA final appearances, seven undefeated seasons and a lot of knowledge crammed into one video conference. Corbin said these coveted Zoom calls are refreshingly intimate, especially since the group has no other college baseball coaches competing for a spot in the College World Series. "Inside your own sport, you're guarded," he said. "But when you're around Hall of Fame coaches and not guarded, you get to learn things." No one has disclosed whether the Zoom calls are recorded. But Auriemma, the Hall of Fame coach for UConn women's basketball, takes minutes of the meetings, just in case something is missed. "My notebook is out, and I'm taking notes through the whole thing," Auriemma said. "I learn something every time." Corbin's Vanderbilt baseball team will begin the NCAA Tournament on Friday (6 p.m., SEC Network) against Presbyterian in the Nashville Regional. Stevens, the former Butler men's basketball coach, is transitioning from Boston Celtics head coach to president of basketball operations and searching for his replacement. |
| Texas A&M launches new program to help student-athletes with NIL issues | |
| Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel said he made "somewhat of a decent living" on autographs while at A&M, outlining two transactions that banked him $33,000 in an interview with Barstool Sports released Thursday. The stories painted a cloak-and-dagger picture of Manziel signing collectables in a hotel room, then receiving the combination to a safe that contained money. The plan was aimed at circumventing the NCAA's rules against student-athletes profiting on their name, image and likeness (NIL) to maintain amateur status. "We're doing it all sneaky," the former Heisman Trophy winner told Barstool Sports. "We don't want to get caught. We're trying to learn from everybody else that got caught." The need for such sneakiness is over. A&M's athletics department released it's plans for the "AMPLIFY" program hours prior to the Manziel interview release. The program will offer student-athletes education and resources related to personal branding, networking, finance and media training as the national legalization of monetizing NIL approaches. In essence, AMPLIFY, combined with state and eventual federal or NCAA legislation, brings Manziel's covert dealings out of the dark and establishes good business practices for the next generation of student-athletes. |
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