| Thursday, June 24, 2021 |
| Ransomware, data breach, cyberattack: What do they have to do with your personal information, and how worried should you be? | |
 | Merrill Warkentin, the James J. Rouse Endowed Professor of Information Systems in the College of Business at Mississippi State University, writes for The Conversation: The headlines are filled with news about ransomware attacks tying up organizations large and small, data breaches at major brand-name companies and cyberattacks by shadowy hackers associated with Russia, China and North Korea. Are these threats to your personal information? If it's a ransomware attack on a pipeline company, probably not. If it's a hack by foreign agents of a government agency, maybe, particularly if you're a government employee. If it's a data breach at a credit bureau, social media company or major retailer, very likely. The bottom line is that your online data is not safe. Every week a new major data breach is reported, and most Americans have experienced some form of data theft. And it could hurt you. What should you do? ... Having your data stolen from a company can be scary, but it is also an opportunity to take stock and apply some common-sense measures to protect your data elsewhere. Even if your data has not been exposed yet, why not take the time now to protect yourself? As a cybersecurity scholar, I suggest that you make a risk assessment. Ask yourself some simple questions, then take some precautions. |
| Longest Student Health Center offering limited supply of Johnson & Johnson vaccine | |
 | Mississippi State's Longest Student Health Center has a limited supply of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccinations are available free of charge. Appointments are being made on a first-come, first-served basis. To set up an appointment, call 662-325-2431 and select option 1. For more information about the vaccine, please visit covidvaccine.msstate.edu. |
| Plantersville, Starkville to receive Mississippi Municipal League awards | |
 | Plantersville's never-give-up attitude and Starkville's forward thinking will be recognized this summer at the Mississippi Municipal League's annual conference. Both municipalities are receiving MML Excellence Awards, which are presented to towns and cities that meet the challenges of municipal government through innovative projects and higher levels of service. Eight winners, based on population, are chosen in four categories: City spirit, economic development, public safety, and public works. In Starkville, the city is being honored for its proactive approach toward infrastructure reinvestment. Starkville's city leaders made a priority to improve aging water, sewer and waste water collection systems before major issues arose, according to city utilities general manager Terry Kemp. "Rather put Band-aids on the problems, we said let's go into the root cause, deal with it, fix it and move on," Kemp said. "And rather than waiting on grants or funds or someone else to fix the problem, we looked at how we can allocate fund and make those investments now that will have a payback over time." |
| Four charged in Wednesday afternoon shooting in Starkville | |
| Four people have been arrested following an afternoon shooting near a troubled apartment complex in north Starkville that sent a female victim to the hospital. The Starkville police responded to a shots fired call at the Brooksville Garden apartments at 305 Everglade Avenue at 12:57 p.m. June 23. Officers already in the area apprehended the suspects at 12:59 and found them in possession of rifles with drum-fed magazines. "A credit to the members of the Starkville Police Department who responded quickly and apprehended the suspects within two minutes." said Police Chief Mark Ballard. "This is a narrative that has been consistent throughout 2021, individuals making for whatever reason the stupid choice of using a weapon in a fight. They should know and the record shows that this department is committed to apprehension and accountability; stop, think, don't make stupid choices." Dequan Montgomery, 22, and Charles Dailey, 22, have been charged with attempted murder and attempted aggravated assault. Eric McCarter Jr., 19, has be charged with two counts of accessory after the fact. Claudia Holley, 26, was charged with discharging a firearm within the city limits. The Starkville Police Department is very familiar with the apartment complex north of Highway 182 and near Westside Park. In the past four years, officers have responded to at least six shootings. In November 2019, a 16-year-old was charged as an adult with murder following a fatal shooting there. |
| Northeast Mississippi unemployment rate at 5.3% in May | |
| The unemployment rate in Northeast Mississippi moved up a notch to 5.3% in May. According to estimates from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, roughly 216,190 people were employed in the 16-county region out of a labor force of 228,390. That's about 1,000 fewer workers on the job than in April, when the jobless rate was at 5.2%. A year ago, as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered many businesses, Northeast Mississippi's jobless rate was 10.8%. Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for last month was 6.1%, a decrease of one-tenth of a percentage point from April and 4.9 percentage points lower than a year ago. Nevertheless, on a nonseasonally adjusted basis, Union County had the state's second-lowest jobless rate at 4.3%. Itawamba and Tishomingo ties for fifth-lowest at 4.6%, while Pontotoc was at seventh at 4.7%. Prentiss County rounded out the top 10, tied at 9th with a 4.8% rate. Clay County had the highest unemployment rate in the region at 8.0%, but that ranked 63rd of the state's 82 counties. The unemployment rates for the other Northeast Mississippi counties in alphabetical order: Benton (7.5), Calhoun (5.1), Chickasaw (6.9), Lafayette (4.9), Lee (5.1), Marshall (6.3), Monroe (5.7), Oktibbeha (6.0), and Tippah (4.9). |
| Amazon announces plans to build solar farm in Mississippi | |
 | Amazon has announced plans to build a solar farm in Mississippi and in at least 10 other states, including Arkansas and Pennsylvania. The project is part of a company launch of new renewable energy projects throughout the U.S., Canada, Finland, and Spain, according to a news release. Amazon officials say they plan to decarbonize business operations and reach net-zero carbon by 2040. The 175-megawatt solar farm will be located in Scott County, according to a map of planned renewable energy projects released by Amazon. It's projected to come online in 2024. The project is just the latest development in Amazon's growing presence in Mississippi. Amazon announced in November that it was opening a third "fulfillment center" for sorting and processing customer orders. Its set to be the first to feature Amazon's robotics technology. Associates in Canton will work alongside robots packing and shipping books, toys and household items. |
| Mississippi recognized for economic development | |
| The state of Mississippi has been recognized by Area Development magazine with a Silver Shovel Award. The award is a tribute to Mississippi's economic development successes in 2020, and it signifies the state's unwavering efforts to generate new jobs and investment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mississippi's top 2020 project is Amazon's new state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Madison County, which is creating 1,000 new, full-time jobs. "Gov. Tate Reeves is working hard to advance a business environment that fosters innovation and growth, therefore making Mississippi one of the best places for business," said MDA Executive Director John Rounsaville. The Shovel Awards are presented to state economic development agencies that create a significant number of jobs through innovative policies, infrastructure improvements, processes and promotions that attract new employers and investments in new and expanded facilities. |
| Dr. Thomas Dobbs calls on more young people to take vaccine, foresees 'ongoing outbreaks' if not | |
| State health officials discussed Mississippi's COVID-19 vaccination efforts at a press conference Wednesday. The conference comes a day after First Lady Jill Biden visited Mississippi to encourage residents to get the vaccine. According to Dr. Thomas Dobbs, State Health Officer, Mississippi "is struggling at the bottom" of the country with total vaccinations. The state has, however, successfully immunized 76% of every person over the age of 65. Dobbs called this development "important," but points out that this leaves a quarter of those 65+ still unvaccinated. Dobbs also noticed that the state is lagging when it comes to its younger citizens getting the vaccine. He said that this will cause the state difficulty as it enters the fall and as variants continue to spread. He suspects this will result in "ongoing outbreaks" that will impede the opening of schools without some occasional quarantines and will threaten vulnerable groups due to transmission. "We've been through the worst pandemic in over a century, we've lost over 600,000 Americans. [Coronavirus] is now the third leading cause of death in this country and we have an opportunity, an exit door, and too many of us are not choosing that door," Dobbs stated. |
| 'No time for apathy': Health officials say young, unvaccinated are coronavirus transmission source | |
 | While hesitancy around the COVID-19 vaccine has impacted Mississippians for months, state health officials said Wednesday afternoon they worry complacency may also be behind the lagging rate. "We have an exit door and too many of us are choosing to not use that door," State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs said during the virtual press conference. As of Wednesday, 30% of Mississippians were fully vaccinated against the virus. When vaccinations first came into Mississippi in mid-December, the elderly were among the first able to get vaccinated. Six months into the state's vaccine rollout, the focus has shifted to young people. Mississippians ages 25 to 39 account for 13% of those fully vaccinated, while those between ages 12 and 24 make up 6.5% of the state's fully vaccinated residents. The low vaccinated rate of younger people is a concern of Dobbs, who said while COVID-19-related deaths are down, the Mississippi State Department of Health is seeing increasing deaths in people in their 40s and late 30s. To encourage vaccination in younger residents and to damper the spread of COVID-19 variants, State Epidemiologist Paul Byers said the health department will soon rollout new messaging targeted toward young people. Also still in the planning stages are school-based vaccination clinics for students and K-12 staff. "It's no time for apathy," he said. |
| Some Republicans call for a coherent climate strategy | |
 | For years young Republicans have been telling the party that their denial of climate change was unacceptable. Party leaders are finally starting to listen. Earlier this month conservatives held a rally for climate action in Miami. In Utah, a group of 29 state lawmakers issued a call for a price on carbon dioxide emissions, the most prevalent planet-warming gas. New think tanks that cater to conservatives who want to work on climate change are emerging. In Congress, the Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California is poised in coming weeks to announce a new task force aimed at developing Republican climate legislation. And today Representative John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, announced the formation of a new Conservative Climate Caucus aimed at educating party members about warming. "If we're not successful working with Democrats then we'll fail," Mr. Curtis said of his new caucus. "If this is only about getting Republicans talking about climate and it just increases the partisan nature of climate, that's a failure for me. We have to learn how to engage our Democratic colleagues to move forward legislation." |
| Congressman Steven Palazzo joins new Conservative Climate Caucus | |
 | South Mississippi Congressman Steven Palazzo (R-MS04) announced Wednesday that he has joined the newly formed Conservative Climate Caucus. In a release, new Caucus chair Congressman John Curtis (R-UT) said the goal of the Conservative Climate Caucus is to bring members of the Republican party together to educate each other on climate policies that will make real progress on reducing emissions through American innovation and resources. "Proposals to reduce emissions and be good stewards of the earth do not have to hurt the American economy -- in fact they do the opposite," Curtis said. "There is a way to lower global emissions without sacrificing American jobs and principles -- and I believe Republicans are the ones that can and should be leading the charge." Congressman Palazzo said in a tweet that the group will "prioritize the preservation of our climate without crippling our economy." "It's time that the threats to our environment are addressed with common sense solutions," Palazzo tweeted. |
| Senators push $953B infrastructure plan, raise hope for deal | |
| A bipartisan group of senators is seeking President Joe Biden's support for a $953 billion infrastructure plan, raising hopes for a breakthrough agreement after arduous negotiations on his top legislative priority. Biden has invited members of the group of 21 senators, Republicans and Democrats, to the White House on Thursday, and they are scheduled to meet late morning. The pared-down plan, with $559 billion in new spending, has rare bipartisan backing and could open the door to the president's more sweeping $4 trillion proposals. The senators have struggled over how to pay for the new spending. The tentative framework dipped by $20 billion after a shift in funds for broadband internet, according to details from a person familiar with the proposal who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations. The White House and Democratic leaders cast the bipartisan proposal as a positive development. Biden's top aides had met with senators for back-to-back meetings on Capitol Hill and later huddled with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. |
| Cindy McCain to be nominated as ambassador to U.N. food and agriculture programs | |
 | President Biden announced Wednesday that he will nominate Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), for an ambassadorship to the United Nations' food and agriculture programs. If confirmed, Cindy McCain, who crossed party lines to endorse Biden in the general election, will head to Rome as the envoy to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, which encompasses three U.N. agencies. Biden also tapped Claire Cronin, a state representative in Massachusetts, to serve as ambassador to Ireland, a significant posting in the Biden administration given the president's Irish heritage. Cronin is the majority leader in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and she is the first woman to hold that role. Biden often talks about his Irish roots, whether sharing stories about his ancestors' journey to the United States in coffin ships or professing his love for Irish poets. Many other high-profile political ambassadors will probably be announced in the coming weeks and months, but many of the nominees are still in the vetting and financial disclosure processes. The rollout of political ambassadors has been slowed in part because of diversity concerns, people familiar with the process say. Many of the president's longtime friends and donors are White men, and the administration is working to ensure that the ambassadors reflect gender and racial diversity. |
| 'The Tea Party to the 10th power': Trumpworld bets big on critical race theory | |
 | Former top aides to President Donald Trump have begun an aggressive push to combat the teaching of critical race theory and capitalize on the issue politically, confident that a backlash will vault them back into power. These officials, including Trump's former campaign chief and two former budget advisers, have poured money and organizational muscle into the fight. They've aided activists who are pushing back against the concept that racism has been systemic to American society and institutions after centuries of slavery and Jim Crow. And some of them have begun working with members of Congress to bar the military from holding diversity trainings and to withhold federal funds from schools and colleges that promote anything that can be packaged as critical race theory. "This is the Tea Party to the 10th power," Steve Bannon, Trump's former adviser who has zeroed in on local school board fights over critical race theory, said in an interview. "This isn't Q, this is mainstream suburban moms -- and a lot of these people aren't Trump voters." Concerns about critical race theory, which examines how race and racism permeates society, have been percolating for months in what activists describe as a sincere grassroots phenomenon led by parents. Critical race theory dates back to the 1970s, but as the country remains in a prolonged conversation about race following George Floyd's death, a new political battle over how to teach American history has emerged. |
| Joint Chiefs chairman clashes with GOP on race theory, 'white rage' | |
 | Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley on Wednesday said it was important for service members to understand critical race theory, shooting down assertions by Republican lawmakers that studying the topic was harmful to military cohesion. In an impromptu and passionate statement, Milley at a House Armed Service Committee hearing rejected the assertion that critical race theory and other such teaching could be damaging, telling lawmakers that "a lot of us have to get much smarter on whatever the theory is." "I do think it's important, actually, for those of us in uniform to be open-minded and be widely read ... and it is important that we train and we understand," Milley said. "I want to understand white rage, and I'm white." "What is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that? I want to find that out. I want to maintain an open mind here, and I do want to analyze it. ... It is important that the leaders now and in the future do understand it." Critical race theory --- a relatively new academic concept in the eyes of the public despite being more than 40 years old --- promotes the idea that racism is a pervasive issue that is steeped in U.S. society and its legal systems. |
| This Farming Video Game Is So Popular, People Pay To Watch Gamers Play It | |
 | One of the joys of video games is the way they let the player experience a new world and do things they would never do in real life -- and it turns out that includes the thrill of plowing a soybean field, the excitement of bailing hay and the exhilaration of harvesting wheat. Harley Hand is getting ready for a day on the farm. "First let me jump in a combine," he says. That sound isn't a real combine, of course, because Hand isn't on a real farm. He is in front of his computer, in his house in rural Hazelhurst, Georgia, playing the game Farming Simulator and streaming the session online. He has more than 40,000 people following him on Facebook. Playing the game is his full time job, with some subscribers paying 5 dollars a month and others giving him tips while he plays. Farming Simulator covers a lot of ground, including buying equipment, choosing crops, plowing, planting, fertilizing and harvesting, not to mention options to raise livestock. Shelbey Walker is an agricultural communications researcher at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She's studied farmers and video games and has found some farmers use the game as a quintessential busman's holiday: They drive a real tractor all day and unwind by driving a virtual one at night. "The conditions aren't always perfect," she says. "But within the game, the conditions are always perfect. So it's almost like this fantasy, I get to do things in the digital realm that I didn't get to do in real life." Walker says the game also attracts people like her who may not be farmers, but feel connected to agriculture because they grew up in rural areas or were in 4-H. |
| USM School of Kinesiology and Nutrition enhances coaching degree | |
| The University of Southern Mississippi's School of Kinesiology and Nutrition is changing its Master of Science in coaching and sport performance program. These changes allow students to earn their degrees sooner and become more effective leaders and coaches. "In our revised program, students will take fewer classes but experience more integrated content that reflects global trends and best practices in coach development and coaching practice," said Dr. Melissa Thompson, professor in the School of Kinesiology and Nutrition. "We are proud to be one of only 13 NCACE accredited programs in the country and will uphold the highest standards for coaching education while finding ways to continuously improve our offerings." Coaches who pursue this degree study coaching methodology, sport psychology, and human performance to prepare them to for success in sports related environments. |
| Tuition-free coding and cybersecuirty program coming to Biloxi this fall | |
 | A new training facility for those interested in software development and cybersecurity training is coming to Biloxi, and the program is free for those interested. The Mississippi Coding Academies is partnering with the University of Southern Mississippi and the City of Biloxi to create a facility to prepare students for entry-level cybersecurity industry certification through an 11-month program. "We're excited to get this off the ground in 2021," said Sarah Lee, director of USM's School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering. "We've got a great learning space with the help of the city of Biloxi, our instructors are in place, and we're ready to welcome our first class of coders this summer." Coders at the Biloxi campus will learn from the full-stack coding curriculum employed at other MCA campuses, with one addition. Lee said they plan to add a cybersecurity module to prepare coders to successfully complete a CompTIA Security+ certification. The facility is planned for downtown Biloxi, and with the proximity to technology-oriented employers such as the Stennis Space Center, the Roger Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise, and Kessler Air Force Base, the Biloxi campus is well-positioned to take advantage of some exceptional resources. |
| U. of Alabama modifies COVID-19 rules for summer graduation | |
 | The University of Alabama has modified some of the COVID-19 restrictions for summer commencement ceremonies scheduled for July 31 at Coleman Coliseum. According to a news release, masks will not be required for people in attendance who are fully vaccinated. For those who have not been fully vaccinated, face coverings will be required. Graduates and guests who need face coverings should bring their own, UA says. Another change is that there will be no limit on the number of guests each graduate can invite and no tickets will be required for entry. UA also recommends that groups of guests maintain social distancing of 3 feet. Hand sanitizing stations will be provided throughout the coliseum, and the building will be cleaned and sanitized between the 8:30 a.m. and noon ceremonies. More than 1,000 students are expected to receive their diplomas during the two July 31 ceremonies. When the coronavirus pandemic began, UA canceled the spring 2020 graduation exercises. UA held a combined spring/summer graduation in August 2020, with mask requirements, limits on guests, social distancing rules and sanitizing protocols. The same rules were followed for the winter 2020 and spring 2021 ceremonies. |
| Florida Law Will Require Public Colleges to Survey for 'Intellectual Freedom' and 'Viewpoint Diversity' | |
 | Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed legislation on Tuesday that requires public colleges to survey their level of "intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity," among other things. Faculty groups have criticized the new law as unnecessary and potentially chilling. Florida's more than three dozen public colleges and universities will have to determine "the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented" and if community members "feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints" in the classroom and on campus. The law, which takes effect on July 1, does not describe the survey's methodology but stipulates that it should be "objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid." It will be selected or created by the state university system's Board of Governors and the state's Board of Education. Under the law, those boards are barred from limiting "access to" or the "observation of" ideas and opinions that students, faculty, and staff members "may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable, or offensive." The law does not say what, if anything, will happen in response to the survey results, which must be compiled and published by September 1 each year, starting in 2022. But DeSantis hinted at potential consequences for state institutions, saying that colleges should not be "hotbeds for stale ideology." That's "not worth tax dollars, and that's not something that we're going to be supporting going forward." |
| Congressmen question 'FBI misconduct' after U. of Tennessee professor falsely accused of spying for China | |
 | Congressional leaders and Asian American advocacy groups are calling for an investigation into the FBI's treatment of a former Knoxville professor falsely accused of being a spy for China. Three Democratic members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee -- Ted W. Lieu of California, Mondaire Jones of New York and Pramila Jayapal of Washington -- are asking the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General to "review whether the China Initiative puts untoward pressure on DOJ personnel to engage in racial or ethnic profiling." A chorus of advocacy groups also are calling for an investigation of both the China Initiative, which was former President Donald Trump's order to the Justice Department to ferret out Chinese spies living and studying in America, and the actions of federal agents in Knoxville in the case of former University of Tennessee at Knoxville associate professor Dr. Anming Hu. Hu's career and professional reputation was ruined by the false spy claims. He was one of dozens of China-born professors and researchers working at American universities who were the targets of investigations and charges by the Justice Department in the last two years of Trump's term. Jinliang Cai, chair of United Chinese Americans, said Hu's trial "has literally put the federal government's China Initiative on trial." |
| Regents name acting chancellor for University System of Georgia | |
| Teresa MacCartney will be the acting chancellor of Georgia's university system as regents remain at an apparent impasse over efforts to name former Gov. Sonny Perdue as the leader of 26 universities and colleges. Regents voted unanimously Wednesday to name MacCartney to take the reins from outgoing Chancellor Steve Wrigley when he retires June 30. But the "acting" title could signify that they expect MacCartney, now the system's executive vice chancellor of administration, to hold the post for only a short while. Otherwise, she might have been given an interim title, as Wrigley was given before regents decided he should lead the system permanently. Regents met by videoconference and weren't available for questions. A spokesperson for the system couldn't immediately answer how long MacCartney was expected to lead the 340,000-student system, although regents said in a news release that the search for a permanent chancellor continues. Regents paused the search in April as contention spread about the possibility of naming Perdue. The agency that accredits all the schools sent a letter on April 26 asking whether there has been undue political pressure to appoint Perdue. A recent public records request by The Associated Press shows regents never responded to that letter from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. |
| 5G technology is coming to Texas A&M's RELLIS Campus | |
 | AT&T and Texas A&M System's RELLIS Campus are preparing to launch 5G technology in an effort to improve research for autonomous vehicles, robotics, advanced manufacturing and more. The first phase of the project will be completed in the fall and will include about a mile worth of space in which the technology can be used on the campus. Brad Hoover, RELLIS Campus chief information officer, said that a second phase will be done in about a year and will add another mile and a half worth of space in which researchers can use 5G. Hoover said that the 5G technology will primarily reach the outdoor runway system on RELLIS' campus and some off-road areas for autonomous tanks and other military vehicle testing. A smaller portion will include indoor labs. The testbeds, which are the areas with 5G access, will require several towers to be built. Hoover said five towers ranging from 30 to 80 feet will be built for the first phase, and the second phase will bring another five towers. While many universities, including A&M, use 5G technology in some labs, Hoover said outdoor testbeds like the ones coming to the RELLIS Campus are not found anywhere else in the country. "Nobody else has this scale and these capabilities," Hoover said. |
| U. of Missouri System curators may vote to abandon idea of contextualizing Thomas Jefferson statue | |
 | The University of Missouri System Board of Curators may abandon a plan to put the campus Thomas Jefferson statue in context. The information is included in a draft resolution that is part of the agenda for Thursday's meeting. It's listed as an action item. The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. in Memorial Union, the first in-person meeting of the board since February 2020. The board has been holding online meetings since then because of the pandemic. A task force worked for months to develop the recommendations after new calls to remove the statue of the founding father and slaveholder emerged. Student Roman Leapheart started an online petition a year ago seeking removal of the statue, gathering thousands of signatures. The task force was developed by System President and MU Chancellor Mun Choi as a compromise. The task force recommendations included a so-called wayside sign near the statue noting Jefferson's contributions to public education and political democracy, but also his ownership of more than 600 enslaved people, fathering children by one of them, Sally Hemings. It also was to note Jefferson's forcible removal of indigenous peoples from ancestral lands. |
| U. of Missouri to cut 20 School of Medicine tenured faculty salaries by 10% to 25% | |
 | About 20 tenured faculty in the University of Missouri's School of Medicine will see salary cuts ranging from 10% to 25% starting Sept. 1 after recent productivity reviews. MU spokesperson Christian Basi said the reviews started in early spring and were conducted over several weeks. Productivity reviews are a common method of measuring the performance of tenured faculty, Basi said, but salary adjustment is a relatively new tool in that process. He said the reviews and cuts are ways MU holds itself accountable. Some faculty in the School of Medicine and beyond disagree with the planned cuts and the reviews. Dennis Lubahn, a professor of biochemistry appointed jointly to the School of Medicine and the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, sent an email to MU faculty members declaring the cuts an "attack on tenure." He said he hoped to make faculty aware of the issue. Lubahn also invited faculty members to attend a meeting Tuesday evening to discuss potential action. He said more than 20 people came in and out of the meeting, representing various schools and colleges at MU, the MU Faculty Council and the American Association of University Professors. He said many people who were out of town wanted to attend via Zoom, but Lubahn wanted to keep the informal, brainstorming feel of the meeting. |
| The pandemic cost transfer students vital time on campus: Some want it back | |
| The coronavirus pandemic cost some transfer students more than worry and anxiety over falling ill. It cost them internships and research opportunities, chances to work closely with renowned faculty, and even travel abroad as part of their studies. With less time on campus than the traditional freshmen or sophomores who arrive as high school graduates, some question whether transfer students can get any of that time and those opportunities back. Colleges are taking a new approach to how they welcome transfer students to their campuses this fall given how the last year has played out for these students. "Transfer students have a limited window of opportunity on campus, and their timeline is compressed," said Judith Brauer, associate director at the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students at the University of North Georgia. "And coupled with that, we know unfortunately at a lot of universities there is still a bias or unconscious focus on first-time freshmen coming from high school." |
| Report Proposes Higher Education COVID-19 Recovery Policies | |
| In a year defined by a deadly pandemic, economic crisis and racial injustice, colleges and universities were forced to reevaluate their practices, structures and delivery models. As the United States transitions to a recovery phase, New America and the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) sought to further understand the overall impact of these crises on the education sector. Through a culmination of interviews with over 100 college leaders and students, blog posts and focus groups, the "Crisis to Recovery" report details policy recommendations for federal and state governments and higher education institutions. The year-long research project -- funded by the Bill Gates Foundation and Ascendium Education Group -- focuses on the areas of college affordability, accountability, transparency, access and student support systems. "There is so much urgency to just bring people back and it is going to be really easy to fall back on what we know because we know is not working," said Alejandra Acosta, policy analyst for the Higher Education Initiative at New America. "I hope that this report serves as a guide, as an inspiration and [provides] ideas to move forward and come out of this crisis better than before." |
| Some two-year colleges report summer enrollment up | |
 | Spring enrollment for undergraduates this year was down nearly 5 percent from last year, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. That is roughly 10 times the decline experienced from spring 2019 to spring 2020. Community colleges were the hardest hit, losing more than 9 percent of their students. Enrollment data for the summer haven't yet been collected and released, as some institutions are still taking sign-ups for their late-season classes. But anecdotal evidence suggests a mixed picture. While some institutions are seeing a summer enrollment surge, others are seeing comparable numbers to past years or a dip. At Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan, for example, summer enrollment is up nearly 9 percent from last year's session and 3.7 percent from 2019, a spokesperson for the college said. The term doesn't start until June 29, leaving room for some additional sign-ups. Laredo College, in Texas, saw a dip in summer enrollment from 2019 to 2020 but reported that numbers are back up this year. Summer 2021 shows a 20 percent jump in enrollment over 2020. The College of Southern Idaho has seen a tremendous jump in summer enrollment this year, with the head count up 43 percent from last year and nearly 41 percent from 2019. Among four-year colleges and universities, many institutions saw summer enrollment surge in 2020, as students saw internship and work opportunities vanish. In some cases, this year is can't compete with last. |
| Through proposed climate labs, Department of Energy reaches out to urban communities | |
| Taking aim at two goals at once, the Department of Energy (DOE) wants to launch an initiative both to address the climate crisis and increase diversity in the U.S. scientific workforce. In its 2022 budget request to Congress, DOE requests funds to create urban integrated field laboratories (IFLs) that would gather climate data in cities and build bridges to urban communities, including by collaborating with minority-serving universities, such as historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). "I was surprised but thrilled to see the IFL language," says Lucy Hutyra, a biogeochemist at Boston University. "Urban areas are radically understudied." David Padgett, a geoscientist at Tennessee State University, an HBCU in Nashville, says, "This sounds like something I might want to collaborate on with my colleagues at TSU or Spelman" College, an HBCU in Atlanta. The effort is timely, scientists say, as evidence suggests the impacts of climate change will often fall hardest on poorer urban communities. But collecting climate data in cities poses major challenges, and Black researchers stress that to really boost diversity, DOE will have to help minority institutions grow their research capacity. Other federal agencies already gather climate-related data in urban areas. The National Science Foundation supports 28 Long-Term Ecological Research sites, including stations in Baltimore and Phoenix, with one to be added in Minneapolis. |
| Daily Journal expanding state politics and college sports coverage | |
| Sam R. Hall, the executive editor of the Daily Journal, writes: In the short amount of time I have been here, my focus mainly has been on acquainting myself with changes to the area, getting up to speed on important issues and learning the rhythm of an already successful newsroom. The spirit of community journalism is still alive and well here, right alongside the commitment to watchdog and investigative journalism that is so important. We have great features writers, storytellers and photographers who capture the spirit of our people. And our sports staff is second-to-none, from our coverage of Mississippi State and Ole Miss to the work of our high school sports reporters in Tupelo and throughout the region at our weekly publications. But I'm never one for resting on laurels, and I have found the same ambition for growth and higher excellence among the rest of the staff here. So, with that in mind, I'm happy to announce several exciting changes to our newsroom. ... On the sports side, we are expanding our coverage of college athletics. Unfortunately, we start with sad news. Dalton Middleton, our Mississippi State beat writer who covered high school sports before that, is moving to Alabama with his fiancé. He's done a tremendous job for us, and we wish him all the best. As we searched for a new Mississippi State reporter, we saw an opportunity to expand our sports staff and restructure how we cover college sports. |
SPORTS
| Deep, Resilient Lineup Leads Mississippi State To College World Series Win | |
| For seven innings Tuesday at the College World Series, Mississippi State was held hitless by Virginia righthander Griff McGarry. The Bulldogs' potent offense was held to just a walk and a hit batter as McGarry plowed through the lineup. But in the eighth inning, everything changed for the Bulldogs. After Scotty Dubrule worked a walk to lead off the inning and Brad Cumbest flew out to left field, Kellum Clark stepped up to the plate. He got a pitch to hit and drove it over the right field wall into the Mississippi State bullpen -- a frozen rope that broke up the no-hitter and broke the ice for the Bulldogs. "Up until that point he was suffocating us but if we did hit a ball well, it was right at somebody," Mississippi State hitting coach Jake Gautreau said. "As soon as that ball was hit, there was more energy in dugout and with the things everybody was saying, it felt like we had a chance to do something." On a night when so little went right for Mississippi State's offense for so long, the Bulldogs ultimately showed what makes them so difficult for opposing pitchers to shut down. It was team offense at its best and a mix of grinding out good at bats, solid approaches and the right dose of powerful swings. Mississippi State is there to grind out at bats, make things difficult for opposing pitchers and be ready to strike the moment it gets an opening. That's all it took Tuesday against Virginia -- the door cracked open a little in the eighth inning and the Bulldogs smashed through. |
| Off the bench, Josh Hatcher makes big impact for Mississippi State in comeback win over Virginia | |
 | By the end of April, Chris Lemonis had seen enough. First baseman Josh Hatcher had started 39 of Mississippi State's first 40 games, but the senior's production wasn't where the Bulldogs coach wanted it. Hatcher's batting average first dipped below .200 on April 9 at Auburn. He surpassed the mark the next day only to fall below it April 16 against Ole Miss, resulting in his first benching of the season the following game. After a hit in the series finale April 18, Hatcher's average dived below .200 a third time, never to return. So after the Albany, Georgia, native went 0 for 3 in the April 30 series opener against Texas A&M, Lemonis pulled Hatcher from the starting lineup for good. The senior has appeared in just 15 of the Bulldogs' past 23 games, mostly as a defensive replacement. But in Tuesday night's College World Series winners' bracket game against Virginia, Hatcher played his supporting role to perfection to help Mississippi State to a dramatic comeback win. "That's why we have a great team," Lemonis said. "We have some selfless guys like that that let you keep playing and keep doing. And when his opportunity came, he got a huge hit for us." |
| Mississippi State's Josh Hatcher comes through in pinch-hit opportunity | |
| Josh Hatcher has been through it all in his Mississippi State career, and the senior first baseman came through in one the biggest moments of the game on Tuesday night at the College World Series in Omaha. Following Kellum Clark's two-run home run to cut the Virginia lead to 4-2, Hatcher pinch-hit for freshman Lane Forsythe and worked one of his best at-bats of the year. He was down 1-2 in the count, but after fouling off a pitch, he slapped a hit into the outstretched arm of the Virginia shortstop, who wasn't able to throw him out at first for an infield single. Rowdey Jordan followed with a double to left field, then Tanner Allen cranked the biggest home run of his career, a three-run home run that put MSU up, 5-4, and into a winner's bracket game on Friday. "A lot of people are going to remember Rowdey's double and my home run, but I'm going to tell you one thing that won't go unnoticed Josh Hatcher's two-strike fight at the plate, to put the ball in play and get something started. That was big time," Allen said. "He hasn't got to play much lately, but I never doubted him." Hatcher's infield single was his first hit since May 27, a single against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament. It was only his second hit since April 25 against Vanderbilt in Nashville. |
| Hospitalized fan fighting for life cheers for MSU Bulldogs | |
 | Mae Schoeber, 82, hasn't missed one Mississippi State post-season game this year. Even while fighting for her life in the hospital, she found the strength to root for the Bulldogs on Tuesday during their win against Virginia on Tuesday, June 22. On Wednesday, June 16, Schoeber coded during a heart procedure, which caused her to have a stroke and a seizure. She couldn't speak nor remember things. Her daughter, Candice Brewster, said she couldn't even recognize her family. Brewster said they expected the worst. On Thursday, her mom started to make improvements. Schoeber said she just never gave up; just like Mississippi State against the Virginia Cavaliers. Mississippi State found themselves down 4-0 against until the 8th inning when Kellum Clark hit a two-run homerun to put the Bulldogs on the board. In the same inning, Tanner Allen hit a three-run homerun to give State a 5-4 lead. Mississippi State won 6-4 in the College World Series. Schoeber said she thanks her family, doctors, and the Lord for giving her the strength to continue to be with her children and grandchildren for some more time. Her doctors said there's a chance she'll be able to go home within the next few days. |
| College World Series: Couple celebrates both teams making it to Omaha | |
| Spouses are supposed to support each other. But what happens when you love different baseball teams and they both make it to the College World Series? "We've got both of our teams here! I went to the University of Tennessee. She went to Mississippi State," said Croft Walker. Croft and Dottie Walker have been married for 22 years. They live in Knoxville, Tennessee, and drove 14 hours to be here for both of their teams. And they make sure they support one another at each game. "We watch the Tennessee game, we go change and come back in our Mississippi State garb and we watch the second game and pull for the Bulldogs!" said Croft Walker. You can spot them around T.D. Ameritrade park taking pictures is each of their team's gear. That is until... "It's fun up until the point where we may have to play each other and somebody goes home. And that is not going to be fun," said Dottie Walker. The last time these two were able to see their teams play at this high of a level was in 1998 for the SEC football championship. |
| College World Series boosting local vendors | |
| Last June, The Dugout located at the corner of 13th and Cuming announced it would be permanently closing its doors after the College World Series was canceled. Now only one storefront College World Series apparel shop remains in the downtown area. Sports Mania has been coming to the College World Series for the past 12 years and has been downtown for the past nine years. Owner John Smith says in that time he's learned how to keep up with the demand. "My challenge as the owner - and doing it for the amount of years I have -- you got to react, and you got to get more product," Smith said. "You got to feed the frenzy." He says this year, Mississippi State and Texas really stand out as fan bases with buying power. Just one week into the series, Smith says he isn't even close to leaving Omaha and its baseball fans. "I got out of Jacksonville, Florida, our home base, on June 1," Smith said. "I get to go home about July 15. I spend more time in Omaha than almost any other city in the country by days. It takes a lot of work." He's expecting this series, as it comes down to the final few, to be great for merchants like himself and the city as a whole. |
| Gobble til you wobble! CWS has all sorts of goodies every foodie would love | |
| The College World Series (CWS) is not just a baseball tournament. It's a place where people around the country can gather with good company, entertainment, and food. All sorts of vendors lined the Omaha Baseball Village including sports merchandise to radio stations to the unsung heroes of CWS, the food tents. Jim McNew, the Pit Master of Dort's BBQ, says this year in particular is special since there were no games last year. The food is bringing people together from all backgrounds said Tammi Japp, another vendor in Omaha Baseball Village. McNew is a firefighter with the Omaha Fire Department, and Tami Japp is a teacher. Japp said college students are also joining in on the fun of feeding people good food this year. There is something for every foodie at the Omaha Baseball Village. The food includes ice creams to tacos to BBQ to McNew's favorite, turkey legs. |
| Marquee Road Trip For Big 12/SEC Challenge | |
| A marquee road trip to Texas Tech awaits the Mississippi State men's basketball team during this year's Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday, January 29 announced Wednesday by both conference offices. The ninth annual Big 12/SEC Challenge will feature 10 games televised by ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU during the last Saturday of January for the seventh straight season. Game times and television network assignments will be announced at a later date. The SEC holds a 25-24 advantage over the last five seasons on the strength of winning the challenge in 2017-18 and 2020-21. The two conferences posted a pair of 5-5 draws in 2016-17 and 2019-20. The Bulldogs provided the challenge clinching victory, a 95-56 rout of Iowa State, last season. Iverson Molinar racked up a game-leading 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, followed by Tolu Smith's 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Derek Fountain provided a then season's best seven points off the bench. The Mississippi State Athletic Ticket Office is on-sale with 2021-22 season tickets. New season ticket purchasers can call (662) 325-2600 or visit www.HailState.com for more information. Current season ticket holders will receive a renewal notice in late June from MSU's Athletic Ticket Office. |
| New Hope alumna, former All-American joins Mississippi State softball staff | |
| Any time you can add a coach with a playing career as illustrious as DJ Sanders, it seems like you have to. That's exactly what Samantha Ricketts and Mississippi State softball did. Sanders is a Columbus native, playing her high school ball at New Hope. Sanders took the opportunity to come back closer to home after spending some time away during her college tenure. "I really can't put into words how much this means to me or how important this is to me and my family," Sanders said. "With as much as I've gone off and done with softball -- as far as school transferring, playing, and coaching -- this is definitely the closest I've been since leaving for college. And because I have wonderful parents who love to support me, they've followed me wherever I've gone, so this should be a lot shorter drive for them." Sanders grew up very close to Mississippi State and even cheered for the Bulldogs as a kid. However, she elected to head to Lafayette, Louisiana, to play for the Ragin' Cajuns in college. While at Louisiana, she piled up accolades like All-American honors and First-Team All-Sun Belt, to name a few. Sanders finished up her playing career at the University of Oregon, where she earned All-PAC 12 honors. For the last two years, Sanders has been serving in a graduate assistant role at Missouri. |
| Vandy scores on wild pitch in 9th, beats Stanford 6-5 at CWS | |
| Enrique Bradfield Jr. enjoyed the view from second base as the biggest play of the season unfolded for Vanderbilt. Bradfield had just driven in the tying run against Stanford, and what happened next was nearly unimaginable for a Commodores team that had played from behind all game. Spencer Jones scored from third on Brendan Beck's wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, allowing Vanderbilt to stay alive in the College World Series with a 6-5 victory Wednesday night. "We've done some crazy things this year, down in the last inning, two outs," Bradfield said. "Nobody's on to start the inning. We get to two outs, we get a baserunner, another base hit follows. So we knew it was always possible." Possible, yet improbable. The reigning national champions were down to their last strike before the shocking finish against the Pac-12 pitcher of the year, who had been dominant since beginning his rare relief appearance in the seventh. They avoided their shortest stay at the CWS in their five appearances, all since 2011, and will play North Carolina State in the Bracket 1 final. They would have to beat the Wolfpack on Friday and again Saturday to reach the best-of-three championship series a second straight time. |
| After Tim Corbin loses his cool, Vanderbilt gets hot at College World Series | |
 | Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin came out to the mound to change pitchers Wednesday night. He didn't like the looks in his players' eyes. Corbin isn't big on mid-game speeches. It's their game, he says. But Vanderbilt wasn't playing like Vanderbilt. In the middle of the fourth inning against Stanford, the Commodores made three errors and several other defensive mistakes. Enrique Bradfield, the nation's leader in stolen bases, got picked off at first. The Commodores were in an early hole, almost entirely self-inflicted. But there was Corbin in the dugout, raising his voice, reminding his players that this was a College World Series elimination game and if they continued to play like that, they'd be on their way home. "I thought we were pressing," Corbin said. "We were anxious in some respects offensively. We were on our heels defensively. And it cost us. The first inning was indicative of how we were playing the first four innings. Balls not taken care of. Fly balls not being caught. I just thought we were very tentative inside of the game. ... I'm sure for them, when you think about it and you're human and the elimination games are just different because you know that if things don't go your way, the season's over. And there's some emotional feelings that way." |
| LSU baseball coaching search nearing an end as list narrows to 3 candidates | |
 | LSU's search for a new baseball coach is expected to end soon. The school has narrowed its list of candidates to Arizona coach Jay Johnson, East Carolina coach Cliff Godwin and Notre Dame coach Link Jarrett, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Advocate | Times-Picayune. Johnson, Godwin and Jarrett all interviewed for the position within the past week, multiple sources said, and a final decision should come over the next few days on who will replace retired coach Paul Mainieri. The coaches could not be reached for comment after the Lafayette Daily Advertiser first reported their candidacy Wednesday. All of them fit a similar mold: up-and-comers who turned their respective programs into postseason contenders. Since Mainieri's announcement, LSU has wound through a number of possible candidates. The school has considered Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan, former Oregon State coach Pat Casey, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco and former TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle, who accepted the job at Texas A&M, multiple sources said, during the search. |
| New turf installed at Faurot Field for Mizzou's 2021 football season | |
| Faurot Field will have new turf for the first time since 2012, installed by AstroTurf. The upgrade for Memorial Stadium will feature two products: AstroTurf's RootZone 3D3 turf system with 60-ounce Trionic fibers, and a Brock PowerBase Pro pad, which will boost the shock absorbency and stability of the field, per a company news release. Both end zones will continue to have gold diamonds with a black outline. Written inside the diamonds will be "Tigers" at both ends of the field. It had been "Mizzou" in both end zones since 2012. The RootZone 3D3 system is built to enhance longevity and increase safety for athletes. The patented Trionic fibers form a texturized layer that stabilizes the infill material and minimizes migration, per the company's website. "We love our AstroTurf 3D3 field," Missouri head football coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a statement. "It is fast underfoot for our pro-tempo offense. It's got a great look to it and it appears like natural grass. We are really excited to play on it this fall." Curtis Wilson, AstroTurf's regional sales manager for Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, played for the Tigers in 1987 and 1988. |
| Rules for student-athlete pay set by Florida's Board of Governors | |
| Preparing for changes approved by lawmakers, the state university system's Board of Governors on Wednesday adopted regulations about athlete compensation and student disciplinary proceedings. Gov. Ron DeSantis last year signed a measure that will permit student athletes to profit from their names, images and likenesses. The regulations approved Wednesday will help carry out the law, which will take effect July 1. Under the regulations, athletes will be able to hire agents and will be required to disclose to the universities any contracts for compensation. The law will require universities to provide a "financial literacy and life skills workshop" for athletes. "Grant-in-aid to student-athletes cannot be revoked or reduced as a result of the student-athlete earning compensation or obtaining professional representation" under the law, information published on the Board of Governors' website said. The Board of Governors also on Wednesday formally changed rules about the student-disciplinary process. Under a bill (HB 233) that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Tuesday, each state college and university will be required to adopt a student code of conduct that provides "due process protections" for students accused of misconduct. |
| NCAA expected to adopt more athlete-friendly NIL solution | |
| NCAA officials are targeting a new, simplified solution to allow athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness -- just in the nick of time, too. The organization, having abandoned exhaustive NIL legislation that's been ready for months, is expected to now adopt a more permissive, alternative model most similar to the one proposed last week by six Division I conference commissioners, sources tell Sports Illustrated. A week before a cascade of state laws threatens to plunge college sports into a proverbial inequitable playing field, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, the division's highest ranked governing body made up of school presidents and chancellors, is scheduled to meet virtually Thursday and further explore the alternative model. The model, a stopgap until Congress can pass a uniform bill to govern the issue, removes guardrails in the original legislation that would have conflicted with the bevy of state NIL laws taking effect July 1. The proposal attempts to level the playing field for athletes enrolled at schools residing in states without an NIL law, potentially granting them unfettered access to strike NIL deals. Under the plan, effective July 1, the NCAA would mostly exempt itself from NIL. Schools in states with an NIL law may follow that law without penalty, and schools located in states without a statute are granted permission to each create and administer their own NIL policy, as long as they use guiding principles such as prohibiting NIL ventures designed as pay-for-play or recruiting inducements. |
| Telling college sports stories in a different role | |
| The Daily Journal's Parrish Alford writes: Have I told you, Dear Reader, about the time David Miller and I narrowly missed a 12-car pileup on an I-20 exit ramp only to become part of a 20-car pileup seconds later? Or the time a group of guys stepped out of their element and won a one-day industrial league softball tournament that ended at 4:30 a.m.? Or the time Danny Chisholm and I drove through blinding fog at 2 a.m. only to get back to the rent house and find someone in Danny's bed. Turned out it wasn't a stranger. A moocher but not a stranger. My family members roll their eyes when they hear these stories, but please don't fret, I'm not about to start telling them to you. I'm going to tell your stories, your Ole Miss and Mississippi State stories and many more, and I'll tell them in a way we haven't told them at the Journal in quite some time. Earlier this month we told you that local political reporter Taylor Vance will reestablish a Daily Journal tradition by becoming our capitol reporter in Jackson. Today we announce that after 26 years as the beat reporter for first Mississippi State and then Ole Miss I will move into the role of college sports columnist. The plan is to be fully integrated in the columnist role for SEC Media Days beginning July 19. In 2021 these are unnewspaperlike moves and underscore The Journal's commitment to not only remaining the lead news voice in Northeast Mississippi but to growing that reach. |
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