| Monday, July 19, 2021 |
| Mississippi State offers new online communication/public relations degree | |
 | In the fall, Mississippi State University will offer an online degree program for students interested in earning a bachelor's in communication with an emphasis in public relations. "To meet the growing demand for online offerings -- even more evident in the past year because of COVID-19 -- the online degree meets a need for current and non-traditional students," said Terry Likes, professor and head of MSU's communication department. "The online offerings benefit students by giving multiple modalities of instruction as they learn more about public relations theory, application and practice." The program has been approved by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees. A 2.0 minimum GPA is required for entry into the program. For more information or to apply, visit https://online.msstate.edu/comm. |
| Mississippi State University Offering New Online Master's Degree Programs | |
 | Mississippi State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is introducing new online master's degrees in agribusiness management, agriculture with an animal and dairy sciences concentration and early intervention through the university's Center for Distance Education. CALS' previous online courses include a master's in food science, nutrition and health promotion with a health promotion concentration and a bachelor's in human development and family science with a child development concentration. The Master of Agribusiness Management is a 30-hour interdisciplinary degree in CALS and the College of Business, administered through MSU's Department of Agricultural Economics. MSU's 31-hour Master of Agriculture degree in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences prepares students to advance in animal feeding, breeding and production. The 30-hour Master of Science in Early Intervention, offered through MSU's School of Human Sciences, is a comprehensive program designed to address the shortage of trained professionals with expertise in working with infants, toddlers and preschoolers with special needs and their families. Enrollment is open for classes beginning in August. |
| Gulfport brewery crafts beer to help Mississippi State fund shark research | |
 | The Chandeleur Island Brewing Company is joining forces with the Mississippi State University to create a new beer for the Marine Fisheries Ecology Program. A portion of the proceeds from the Shark Tracker Wheat Ale will support great hammerhead tagging projects, which will provide data to guide future conservation and management strategies. According to the program, the great hammerheads live in warm coastal waters, including the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The sharks are known to make round-trip migrations of nearly 2,000 miles. Great hammerheads are a critical component of healthy coastal ecosystems; however, they are especially vulnerable to overfishing and habitat loss. Scientists say protecting this species requires a better understanding of its movements, migrations, and habitat use. That's when the brewery stepped in. The Chandeleur Brewing Company is based in Gulfport and has brewed serval limited-edition conservation beers for the Mississippi Aquarium. Representatives at the brewing company said they are committed to the conservation of threatened species like the great hammerhead. To help protect this species, they are pleased to introduce the new Shark Tracker Wheat Ale. |
| Shemah Ladania Crosby, a Mississippi State sophomore, named Choctaw Indian princess | |
| Shemah Ladania Crosby was crowned the Choctaw Indian Princess Wednesday night out of a field of 13 contestants. This is the 66th crowning of the Choctaw Indian Princess, a tradition that began in 1955 and is held each year on the opening night of the Choctaw Indian Fair. She becomes the official ambassador of her tribe for the next year. She knows she has a busy year coming up. "Right now, I am looking forward to meeting all of my people who are here," Crosby said, "And then I am going back to school and honoring my tribe the best way that I can." Crosby graduated from Choctaw Central in 2020. She is entering her sophomore year at Mississippi State University. This has turned out to be a very good summer for Crosby. She was named the Choctaw princess and Mississippi State won the College World Series. "Hail State," Crosby said. "I didn't get to go to Omaha. I was preparing for the pageant. But I watched it on TV." She is an anthropology major. "Once I am done with the anthropology degree, I want to go and get a medical anthropology degree. Then, maybe I can come back and help my tribe in the best way I can." |
| At MMA Bi-State invitational, 'Remembering Meridian' exhibits ending soon | |
 | Two exhibits showcasing different types of works, but reflecting the artists' statements and visions are coming to an end at Meridian Museum of Art. The exhibits, which feature works by 46th Annual Bi-State Art Competition winner Joe Morzuch and local photographer Shelly Graham, will end Saturday, July 31, with a closing reception from 6-8 p.m. at the downtown Meridian art gallery. With his Bi-State win, Morzuch was offered an invitational exhibition at MMA. His current exhibition titled "Near and Far" includes works from three different series. "My primary, ongoing focus is with the still life, depicting objects at or near life-size and within reach of the viewer," the artist states. Morzuch is an observational painter currently residing in Starkville. In addition to his studio work, he is an assistant professor at Mississippi State University, where he teaches courses in foundations, painting, and drawing. In 2006, he received his MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He has taught at the college level for the past 15 years and actively exhibits his work nationwide and abroad. |
| Asian hornet look-alikes confuse Mississippians | |
| Mississippi is home to several flying insects that can be mistaken for the invasive Asian giant hornet discovered in Washington in 2020. Blake Layton, Mississippi State University Extension Service entomologist, said this insect, also called a "murder hornet," has not been confirmed outside the Northwest. However, Layton said he has been contacted by people who think they have seen these hornets in Mississippi and Alabama in the last few weeks. "Asian giant hornets are still confined to a small area of Washington state, and they are working to eliminate them there," Layton said. "We do not have Asian giant hornets in Mississippi, and it is very unlikely that they will occur here anytime soon. But we do have one large stinging insect that is almost as big, and we do have one nonnative hornet that is already established here." The Asian horntail wasps is one of five insect species found in Mississippi that can be confused with the Asian giant hornet. Southern yellowjacket queens, cicada killer wasps, European hornets and periodic cicadas also look like this pest. |
| Starkville looks to Lowndes for juvenile beds | |
 | Starkville and Lowndes County are discussing an agreement that would allow Starkville to reserve beds at Lowndes County's juvenile detention center. Due to a recent spike in juvenile crime in Starkville, the city has been trying to find new solutions to reduce the risk of continued misconduct, including a juvenile detention center. In May, Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill called a meeting with regional counties and municipalities to discuss a potential juvenile detention center for all of the Golden Triangle. Lowndes County owns a detention center, but the center's annual budget of just short of $1 million only allows the county to utilize six of its 24 beds, board of supervisors president Trip Hairston said. Spruill and City Attorney Chris Latimer are constructing an agreement with the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors to reserve two beds full time at the detention center for Starkville juvenile detainees. "We used to think we didn't have access to detention facilities," Spruill said. "(Youth Court Judge Lydia Quarles) has said she has to hunt for detention facilities across the state. In order to make an impact ... having an opportunity for (access to an area) detention facility is important." Hairston said he is "on board" with working with the city of Starkville. By entering this interlocal agreement, Lowndes County would also benefit because a constant source of revenue would come into the center. |
| John Bateman to step down as Starkville Area Arts Council executive director | |
| Starkville Area Arts Council's office sits in the back corner of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership complex at the corner of East Main Street and South Lafayette streets. Barely big enough for two desks and a small table, the cramped office features art in various mediums on three of its four walls. The fourth, behind two dark brown wooden desks, features various posters of past art council events and awards won by said programs. Juliette Reid, one of two AmeriCorps VISTAs currently working for the nonprofit, sits at one desk, answering calls and taking questions from Executive Director John Bateman. He sits at the other desk, while on a Zoom call about October's Cotton District Festival. After four years at the helm of the nonprofit and serving as the council's first executive director, Bateman is stepping down at the end of the month and heading to Chicago to further his education. Despite his impending departure, the grind of running an arts council continues. "We're still planning the arts festival in October and we're interviewing folks and planning full speed ahead," he said, while giving this reporter a tour of the new exhibit "Time on Our Hands" in the building's lobby. Bateman, who grew up in Starkville, will attend the Art Institute of Chicago to get a master's in creative writing. |
| 'Time on Our Hands' exhibit inspired by events of the past year | |
| Works inspired by the events of 2020-21 are on display as part of the Starkville Area Arts Council exhibit, "Time on Our Hands." The exhibit can be viewed in the lobby of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, 200 E. Main St. The pieces range from acrylic pours to books to photographs to ceramics to drawings to paintings. SAAC Executive Director John Bateman noted that most of the submissions are from artists living in the Golden Triangle. "Some of them are artists who are usually in our shows," Bateman said. "I think a couple of them are some newer artists, but they're all local to the Golden Triangle. I think everybody in this show is local with a couple of exceptions." All of the pieces are for sale. The SAAC keeps a 20-percent commission of each sale to help pay for its overhead, while the rest goes directly to the artists. Opening night of the exhibit was July 8. The reception was well attended, Bateman said. The exhibit will be available for viewing in-person in the partnership's lobby until Sept. 13. It will be available online on the council's website at https://www.starkvillearts.net/timeonourhands.html |
| SFD starting youth program as recruitment tool | |
| Cameron Lockridge became a firefighter with Starkville Fire Department at age 21. After a few years of college, he decided firefighting was the career path for him. He joined SFD in January, and Lockridge said it was the best decision he's ever made. "I've never experienced something like this before," Lockridge said. "I've learned a lot and over time I've grown as a man, mentally and physically. They've taught me so much." Young firefighters can positively impact the community, Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough said, and Starkville is finding new ways to bring young people into the department. SFD is creating a youth program to teach teenagers about fire safety and give them an opportunity to learn what it's like to be a firefighter. Yarbrough spoke at the board of aldermen work session Friday about establishing the program. "This would be an opportunity to maybe get some firefighters from the community from high schools and try to keep them out of trouble," Yarbrough said. The program will begin in August. Participants must receive parental consent. Yarbrough said they are recruiting participants through "word of mouth" and social media posts. |
| Moncrief Pool serves as hub of activity in Starkville | |
| Hamp Beatty and his wife visit the Moncrief Park pool at least twice a week. The Ward 5 alderman made it a priority over the past year to spruce up the pool and make it more accessible for the community. Built during the 1950s, the pool greatly needed improvements if community members wanted to utilize it, and Beatty made sure the upgrades were a priority. "What we want is to provide the availability of swimming in the city to people who either would choose not to or can't afford to attend a private club," Beatty said. "This is one of these activities that tax dollars should go towards, and people would expect it in a city the size of Starkville. It gives people a place to go swim for people that like to go do that." Beatty said over the past several years, the pool had "gone down." He reached out to the Starkville Parks and Recreation Department last year about bettering the pool and throughout the winter months, they worked together to find solutions to repair it. Mayor Lynn Spruill said she believes utilization of the pool represents a sense of getting back to normal after a time that has not been so normal. While she said she is pleased with the improvements already made to the pool, the pool has some major piping issues that need to be addressed, but for a facility that is only used for three months a year, the city will have to consider how these needs compare to other priorities when allocating resources. |
| Forest Service sells land for southwest Mississippi project | |
 | The U.S. Forest Service is transferring ownership of a parcel of land to a group that plans to develop a conference center and a 200-room lodge near a lake in southwestern Mississippi. Scenic Rivers Development Alliance said in a news release Friday that it had acquired about 150 acres (60.7 hectares) by Lake Okhissa. Money for the purchase came from the state. Legislators this year passed and Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bond bill that included $750,000 for the project. Work on the lodge and conference center is expected to begin during the final months of this year. The alliance said Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith sponsored a provision in the 2018 Farm Bill allowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to convey the land to Scenic Rivers. The alliance promotes outdoor recreation and tourism in southwest Mississippi. Its members are the city of McComb and five counties -- Amite, Franklin, Pike, Walthall and Wilkinson. "There is a shared vision for rural economic development," said the executive director of the alliance, Joseph Parker. |
| Tate Reeves, Philip Gunn say legislative talks continue over medical marijuana details | |
 | Gov. Tate Reeves has a hand in negotiations over the details of legislation that would sanction medical marijuana in Mississippi. During a Tuesday trip to Tupelo, the first-term Republican governor said his administration is involved in efforts to shape a program that will replace Initiative 65, which voters widely backed in 2020 only to see the state Supreme Court void on a technicality. "We are in those conversations literally as we speak," Reeves said, citing meetings between his staff and key legislative leaders taking place that day. Reeves confirmed that Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, is the lead lawmaker drafting a medical marijuana bill. Amid those efforts, Blackwell has an open line of discussion with House legislative leaders, according to Speaker Philip Gunn, who spoke with the Daily Journal in Fulton on Friday. Blackwell, who chairs the Senate Medicaid committee, told the Clarion Ledger last month that he believes a deal could be brokered and a special session ordered by sometime in August. Gunn, however, told the Daily Journal it's not clear when a special session may occur. "That could change tomorrow, but there is no plan at this moment," Gunn said. "The practice has been not to call a special session until we get the issues resolved." |
| Former Mississippi first lady Elise Winter dies at 95 | |
| Elise Winter, the wife of former Mississippi Gov. William Winter, was surrounded by loved ones when she died Saturday at her home in Jackson, said Dick Molpus, a longtime family friend who served on Winter's gubernatorial staff. She was 95. The family did not release a cause of death. Born Elise Varner, she grew up in the north Mississippi town of Senatobia, sometimes working in her father's pharmacy. She started dating William Winter while they were both students at the University of Mississippi in the late 1940s. They married in 1950. William Winter was 97 when he died Dec. 19. William Winter was a Democrat and served as governor from 1980 to 1984. He was best known for pushing Mississippi lawmakers to enact the Education Reform Act of 1982, which set rules for compulsory school attendance, established free public kindergartens and set quality standards for schools and teachers in a state that had long struggled with the intertwined problems of poverty, racial strife and poor academic performance. Elise Winter joined her husband's key staff members in traveling the state to persuade people to accept the changes he was proposing. |
| Analysis: Mississippi lawmakers could set Parole Board path | |
| Mississippi legislators will decide next year whether to keep the state Parole Board as a separate entity or transfer the board's functions to the Department of Corrections. Some state agencies come up for review every few years. The law authorizing the Parole Board's existence expires on July 1, 2022. A new report by PEER -- the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review -- examines operations of the board, which has five members nominated by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. PEER recommended that the board improve the timeliness of some parole hearings. Board chairman Steven Pickett responded that there are sometimes delays in receiving information about the amount of time that inmates have served in county jails, which affects calculations about when they might become parole-eligible. PEER found that while the board members are full-time state employees, some had spotty attendance but all filled out time cards showing they had worked a full 40-hour week. During the week of Oct. 24-30, PEER staffers observed eight board hearings that were conducted by teleconference because of the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Shuwaski Young, former U.S. Homeland Security staffer, to run as Democrat for Congress | |
| Shuwaski Young, 38, who worked in the Department of Homeland Security in the administration of President Barack Obama, plans to run in the U.S. House 3rd District Democratic primary with the intent of challenging Republican incumbent Michael Guest in the November 2022 election. Young, a Philadelphia native, previously worked in multiple capacities in both government and politics. He worked in the Secretary of State's office during the tenures of both Democrat Eric Clark and Republican Delbert Hosemann. In a press release announcing his candidacy, Young is described as a fifth generation Mississippian whose grandfather was active in the civil rights movement in Neshoba County. He also joined the Mississippi Army National Guard at age 17. Guest, the Republican incumbent, is a former district attorney for Rankin and Madison counties in suburban Jackson -- the population center of the district that covers much of east-central Mississippi and stretches into southwest Mississippi. Guest defeated a crowded field in 2018 to capture the seat that was left vacant when incumbent Rep. Gregg Harper opted to retire. Guest won re-election to another two year term in 2020. Young is the first to announce plans to challenge Guest in 2022. |
| China is buying up American farms. Washington wants to crack down. | |
 | The push to drain China's influence from the U.S. economy has reached America's farm country, as congressional lawmakers from both parties are looking at measures to crack down on foreign purchases of prime agricultural real estate. House lawmakers recently advanced legislation to that effect, warning that China's presence in the American food system poses a national security risk. And key Senate lawmakers have already shown interest in efforts to keep American farms in American hands. The debate over farm ownership comes amid broader efforts by Congress and the Biden administration to curb the nation's economic reliance on China, especially in key industries like food, semiconductors and minerals deemed crucial to the supply chain. The call for tighter limits on who owns America's farms has come from a wide range of political leaders, from former Vice President Mike Pence to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), after gaining momentum seeded in farm states. Chinese firms have expanded their presence in American agriculture over the last decade by snapping up farmland and purchasing major agribusinesses, like pork processing giant Smithfield Foods. Still, that's less than farmland owned by people from other nations like Canada and European countries. But it's the trend of increasing purchases and the buyers' potential connections to the Chinese government that have lawmakers spooked. |
| Microsoft Exchange email hack was caused by China, US says | |
| The Biden administration on Monday blamed China for a hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software that compromised tens of thousands of computers around the world earlier this year. The administration and allied nations also disclosed a broad range of other cyberthreats from Beijing, including ransomware attacks from government-affiliated hackers that have targeted companies with demands for millions of dollars. China's Ministry of State Security has been using criminal contract hackers, who have engaged in cyber extortion schemes and theft for their own profit, according to a senior administration official. That official briefed reporters about the investigation on the condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, the Justice Department on Monday announced charges against four Chinese nationals who prosecutors said were working with the Ministry of State Security in a hacking campaign that targeted dozens of computer systems, including companies, universities and government entities. The announcements highlighted the ongoing cyberthreat posed by Chinese government hackers even as the administration has been consumed with trying to curb ransomware attacks from Russia-based syndicates that have targeted critical infrastructure, including a massive fuel pipeline. |
| Unvaccinated Americans Are Behind Rising Covid-19 Hospitalizations | |
 | The vast majority of patients driving up Covid-19 hospitalizations in parts of the U.S. are unvaccinated, according to hospitals, some of which are reactivating surge plans used in the peak of the pandemic. As the highly contagious Delta variant spreads nationwide, some hospital and public-health officials said they are preparing for hospitalizations to potentially reach new pandemic peaks where fewer people are vaccinated. AdventHealth, which manages 41 hospitals across seven largely Midwestern and Southern states, said about 97% of roughly 12,700 Covid-19 patients treated this year were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. The data excludes some AdventHealth hospitals managed under joint ventures. Of the fully vaccinated Covid-19 patients who have been or are in AdventHealth hospitals, many have weakened immune systems due to cancer or other conditions, said Jeffrey Kuhlman, chief quality and safety officer for AdventHealth. "There is a clear message that is coming through: This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday at a White House briefing. She said more than 97% of patients entering the hospital nationwide are unvaccinated. |
| Tracking the coronavirus in Mississippi: 2,326 new cases, 3 deaths reported Friday-Sunday | |
 | The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 2,326 new cases of COVID-19 and three coronavirus-related deaths Friday-Sunday. Since the virus hit the state in March 2020, a total of 329,130 cases and 7,468 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported. Residents between the ages of 25 and 39 represent the largest portion of the infected population in the state, with 72,667 cases reported Tuesday, the latest figure available. Among patients under 18, children between the ages of five and 17 have the highest infection rate, with 35,459 cases identified. The 65 and older age group has the highest total number of deaths with 5,671 reported. According to health department data, 1,130,751 people have begun the vaccination process in Mississippi, as of Friday morning. Since December, about 1,007,618 people are fully immunized against COVID-19. DeSoto County has the highest number of reported cases in the state with 22,732, followed closely by Hinds County with 22,322, Harrison County with 19,221, Rankin County with 14,598, and Jackson County with 14,077. |
| UMMC requiring employees, students to be fully vaccinated or wear N95 mask | |
 | If you learn or work at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, you've got two options: get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or wear an N95 mask at all times on campus grounds. Beginning next Monday, the center's new policy will be phased in over three months with the deadline of Nov. 1. Dr. Alan Jones is associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs and COVID-19 clinical response leader. At a press event last week, he said they're concerned about the surge in new coronavirus cases in Mississippi. "We're at the highest point now than we have been in months," said Jones. "Doubled in the last week in our in-patient census. We've got more pediatric patients in the hospital than probably we've had through the pandemic. So, that just emphasizes to us that we really have to take a strong stand for our patients, for the state and be a leader in this." Provisions in the new policy call for required booster shots if the CDC recommends it. And, once the COVID-19 vaccines reach FDA approval status, vaccines will become mandatory for future enrollment and employment. Dr. Lou Ann Woodward is vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. She says they're expecting mixed reactions to the new policy. "We acknowledge that this is not going to be a popular decision with all of our employees and the last thing that we want to do is to lose employees over this," said Woodward. |
| State releases COVID-19 guidelines for K-12 school year | |
| The Mississippi Department of Health on Friday released COVID-19 guidelines for K-12 schools for next school year, including recommendations for masks for unvaccinated students, teachers and staff and social distancing of 3 feet when possible. Dr. Paul Byers, state epidemiologist, last week said the department would be releasing "Mississippi-specific" protocols to go with the school guidelines recently released by the Centers for Disease Control. However, none of the guidelines sent Friday differ from the general CDC recommendations. Byers also made a presentation to the annual Mississippi Association of School Superintendents conference earlier this week that included suggestions such as requiring exposed, unvaccinated individuals to submit to testing every two days for a seven-day period to avoid quarantine. But that provision was not in the guidelines released Friday. Byers said vaccination is "the key forward" for ensuring schools can safely operate in person in the 2021-22 school year. Only 31% of the population in the state is fully vaccinated. Of that, 6% of children ages 12-15 and 12% of kids ages 16-17 are fully vaccinated, according to the Mississippi Department of Health. |
| Andrea Mayfield resigns top job at Mississippi community colleges | |
| The Mississippi Community College Board will start searching for a new executive director after Andrea Mayfield stepped down Friday. Her resignation took effect immediately. A news release from the board did not say why Mayfield left the job she had held since Dec. 1, 2015. She had worked in other roles in community colleges before becoming executive director. In the top job for the 15 two-year colleges, she worked closely with governors to promote workforce training. The board chose Kell Smith as interim executive director. He has worked for the board since 2008 and is director of communications and legislative services. "Since 1996, Dr. Andrea Mayfield has dedicated her professional career to community colleges," the chairman of the Mississippi Community College Board, John Pigott, said in the news release. "We appreciate her commitment to the system and wish her the best in the future." |
| Monday Profile: SGA president pledges to serve as strong Owls' advocate | |
| Mississippi University for Women's Student Government Association President Luis Leal Jr. said he is prepared to serve as a strong advocate for the Owls' student body. "SGA president is the bridge between the administration and students," he said. "My duties are to have open communication channels between both parties. I, however, am always going to push for what is best for students in any way possible." Sworn-in as president in May, Leal will preside over SGA meetings while serving as the voice for the 2,800 students attending the "W" during the 2021-22 school year. "I am not the first male president, but as the campus continues to grow I hope more people are interested in the position regardless of gender," he said. "It feels pretty good to be president -- there is a lot of responsibility. I'm a little anxious, but very excited to get to know the students a little bit better and kind of help them out throughout this time during the year." A senior studying marketing, Leal, 21, who was raised on the Gulf Coast in Ocean Springs, loves to skate, write a journal, play chess, hang out with friends and play tennis as a member of the Owls' tennis team. Leal said though there are elections to choose the best candidate to serve as president, if there are not two or more candidates who come forward to run for office, then the presiding SGA president, who was Lydia Holland during the last school year, works with the SGA Executive Board to choose who can best serve the student body which is how Leal was selected to serve. |
| Auburn University to be featured in national documentary | |
| Last November, Tiffany Sippial, director of the Honors College, was contacted by Cortney Moore, executive assistant to Lori Singer, the senior producer of the show Viewpoint. Moore told Sippial that the team at Viewpoint was working on a documentary series for Public Television, CNN and Discovery Channel about "leaders in the future of higher education and the role of the Honors College," and Viewpoint thought the Auburn University Honors College could be a great fit. Soon, Singer set up an interview with Sippial to discuss details. At the same time, Singer was interviewing other deans and officials to see who the best fit for the documentary would be. "The interview provided a wonderful chance for me to discuss the past, present and future of our program and to speak to the key values that ground our work," Sippial said. "I was so thrilled when, following deliberations by the production team, we were selected as the feature Honors College for this program. "This program provides a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate the amazing work of our students, faculty and staff. It also allows us to showcase what educational excellence means at Auburn University and in the state of Alabama." |
| U. of South Carolina Wants to Rename Buildings. State Politics Will Stop It. | |
 | A commission at the University of South Carolina recommended on Friday that the names of 11 people who were slaveowners, fought for the Confederacy, or held racist beliefs be removed from campus buildings, including that of the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, who supported segregation for much of his political career. To many on the flagship campus, in Columbia, it felt like a victory at first. But there's no political path forward to actually removing Thurmond's name or any others, at least for now. University leaders say their hands are tied by a state law -- the Heritage Act -- that requires a two-thirds supermajority of the state legislature, controlled by Republicans, to approve any changes in the names of public buildings. Current legislative leaders have made clear that such proposals won't go anywhere. South Carolina isn't the only university facing political pressure in debates over controversial names and monuments. But at a time when many colleges have renamed buildings, South Carolina seems stuck in place. Harris Pastides, the university's interim president, confirmed on Wednesday that name changes were off the table. "State law currently prevents us from changing those names, and we will follow the law," he wrote in a message to the campus. The university's debate over Thurmond -- whose name appears on the campus fitness center -- isn't new, but it has swelled in the year since George Floyd's murder. |
| Clinton support laid out in memo; ex-aide details scenario on U. of Arkansas dean | |
| A former aide in the Bill Clinton White House linked "financial benefits" and Clinton support to a specific outcome in the search for the next leader of the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock. Marsha Scott, a former White House personnel office chief of staff and now working at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, sent a "talking points" document on May 21 to Monticello attorney and University of Arkansas System board of trustees member Cliff Gibson. UA and the University of Arkansas System's Clinton School would receive Clinton support under a scenario outlined with a list of numbered points that name Todd Shields, dean of UA's Fulbright College since 2014, as the choice for a management and mentoring role. The points take shots at UA System President Donald Bobbitt and state that some people close to Clinton are "even advocating" that he "pull" the Clinton School from the UA System, under which it was founded in 2004, "if Bobbitt continues to resist." The Clinton School holds a unique place in the UA System. The main campus is at the Bill Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. Similar schools linked closely to presidential libraries tend to focus, as the Clinton School does, on graduate training in public policy and related issues. |
| UF Online set to welcome largest ever incoming class this Fall | |
| Initially disappointed to be joining PaCE her freshman year, Marium Abdulhussein was glad to learn her online classes would give her an advantage among her in-person peers in 2020. "I think I got a little lucky because everyone was taking online classes when I was," Abdulhussein, an 18-year-old public relations sophomore, said. "So the way my classes were structured were actually a lot more put together than my friends who were in-person." In Fall 2021, UF Online will welcome its largest incoming class with applications leaping by 30% compared to Fall 2019, Evangeline Cummings, assistant provost and director of UF Online, said. She said about 1,000 PaCE students also accepted the offer of admission by UF, which represents a cohort nearly 40% larger than Fall 2018. When the pandemic forced Fall 2020 classes to move online, associate provost for teaching and technology William McCollough said UF Online hardly skipped a beat. "There was some universities who did not have the kind of online experience we had that really had some difficulty as they tried to move from face-to-face to online," McCollough said. "We weren't ready for the pandemic but we made that major transition in a week essentially to bring everything online." |
| Texas A&M, Prairie View partner to improve graduate education | |
 | New opportunities are opening up for students at Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M as the universities partner to create initiatives that will improve each school's respective graduate programs. The institutions established a partnership that is geared toward improving graduate education. Officials have been meeting regularly since October as part of the agreement and recently decided that a "teaching exchange program" will be the first of several initiatives established under the partnership. The program will allow doctorate students at each university to teach at the other institution for a semester. Some of the first participants will likely get started in the fall. "The teacher exchange is the kind of the inaugural first project that we're launching," Interim Dean for Graduate Studies at Prairie View Tyrone Tanner said, "and it's really a beautiful opportunity for graduate students to teach and work with students at both of our institutions. ... We have extraordinary students that I think bring a wealth of knowledge and skill and scholarship. [A&M] students will be served and vice versa." University officials are looking into other initiatives that would benefit graduate students and faculty that could be launched after the teaching exchange program gets off the ground. |
| AAUP report documents threats to the faculty | |
 | The American Association of University Professors sees "an existential threat to shared governance and academic freedom" resulting from the economic and other hardships facing most faculty members, according to a new report. The report builds on a report the AAUP issued in April on faculty salaries for the year (which fell, when adjusted for inflation, for the first time since 2011-12) but adds additional information on how COVID-19 affected the faculty and an analysis of trends affecting adjunct faculty. "Decades of divestment and chronic underfunding at the state and federal level have brought higher education to a precarious tipping point," said Irene Mulvey, president of the AAUP and a professor of mathematics at Fairfield University. The report is a reminder to academe not to judge the health of institutions (or faculties) on the basis of news coverage of the wealthiest institutions. Generally, those colleges and universities -- public and private alike -- did well. But other colleges did not fare as well. For example, the top 10 private universities in faculty salaries in 2020-21 all had average salaries of over $200,000. Columbia University led the way at $280,800. But according to the report, more than half of all colleges and universities froze (or cut) salaries in response to the pandemic, and more than a quarter cut benefits. |
| 21 conservative AGs push back on Education Department's Title IX guidance | |
| A coalition of 21 Republican attorneys general on Wednesday blasted the Biden administration's interpretation of Title IX, which now also prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. "It goes far beyond interpreting Title IX and instead seeks to rewrite it," the AGs wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden, adding the department's interpretation is skirting "the procedural safeguards or democratic accountability required by our constitutional system." Led by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, the coalition also includes Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia. The attorneys general largely took issue with the Biden administration's decision to craft its guidance around the landmark Supreme Court opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County, which says it is unlawful to discriminate against people based on their gender identity or sexual orientation in the workplace. The AGs argued the department's interpretation was "substantively flawed" because they said the Bostock decision does not apply to Title IX. |
| Federal judge rules DACA is illegal | |
| President Biden says the Department of Justice will appeal a federal judge's ruling against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides protection against deportation to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants known as Dreamers who were brought to the U.S. without documentation as children. The judge ruled the program, which also provides the immigrants work authorization, illegal and ordered the Biden administration not to approve any new applications for the program. The ruling does not immediately affect current DACA recipients. Biden said in a statement Saturday that the ruling "relegates hundreds of thousands of young immigrants to an uncertain future." U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ruled that former president Obama overstepped his executive authority in creating the program in 2012, ruling that "as popular as this program might be, the proper origination point for the DACA program was, and is, Congress." "Even after the implementation of the DACA Memorandum, Congress has continued to consider and reject proposals to protect a DACA-like population," wrote Hanen, who was appointed by former president George W. Bush. "The Executive Branch cannot just enact its own legislative policy when it disagrees with Congress's choice to reject proposed legislation." |
| If Philip Gunn runs for governor, there will be speaker's race, but not like old-time donnybrooks | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: Mississippi could be on the verge of what used to be one of the fiercest spectacles in politics -- a speaker's race. Speculation that three-term Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, will challenge incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves in the Republican primary in 2023 has gotten tongues wagging and House members strategizing on who might run to be the next presiding officer of the chamber. No doubt, probably every representative in the 122-member chamber believes he or she would be the best person to succeed Gunn as speaker should he opt to challenge Reeves. But, because of the rise of partisan politics in the state, the race, if there is one, will not play out like past speaker's races as former Speaker Billy McCoy used to say "in the cold light of day." Nowadays, the race for speaker is almost anticlimactic, a far cry from the past. The party that wins a majority in the 2023 election will caucus behind closed doors before the Legislature convenes in January 2024 and select a choice for speaker. All members of the majority party -- most likely the Republicans -- will cast their vote for that person on the opening day of the legislative term, ending any suspense. That is what happened when Gunn was first elected. |
SPORTS
| 3 questions for Mississippi State heading into SEC Media Days | |
| The expectations for Mississippi State's football season are all over the place just like press conferences with Mike Leach typically are as SEC Media Days approach. Here are few questions you can expect him to be asked on Wednesday afternoon: Who will be your starting quarterback this season? To which we'll likely hear: it's still to be determined. What did a full offseason mean for the offense? As glorious as the offense was against LSU and Missouri, it was clear that implementing a new system with most of the prior spring season canceled due to a pandemic isn't helpful. How about the defense? MSU's defense was on the field too much last season and often in unfavorable starting positions, but it still could've been better. |
| Scouting the Schedule, Week 2: After canceled 2020 matchup, Mississippi State hosts N.C. State | |
| Mississippi State and North Carolina State were scheduled to meet up in September 2020 in Raleigh. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonconference contest never took place. This year, the two teams will meet in Starkville at 6 p.m. Sept. 11 in just their third matchup in nearly 60 years. N.C. State isn't an opponent Mississippi State sees very often --- until the postseason rolls around. The Bulldogs and Wolfpack have met only six times and just twice since the Bulldogs won the 1963 Liberty Bowl in Philadelphia. Both meetings have come in bowl games: the 1995 Peach Bowl, which N.C. State won 28-24, and the 2015 Belk Bowl, which the Bulldogs won 51-28. N.C. State won the first two contests between the teams in 1930 and 1931. The Wolfpack had a strong 2020 season in the ACC, going 7-3 in conference play en route to an 8-4 finish. They dropped the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl to Kentucky, 23-21. N.C. State's three other losses came to ranked teams: Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Miami. The Wolfpack beat then-No. 24 Pitt 30-29 on Oct. 3 and took down then-No. 21 Liberty 15-14 on Nov. 21 in Raleigh. |
| Scouting the schedule, Week 3: Mississippi State hits the road to face Memphis | |
| Mississippi State and Memphis played every year from 1974 to 2003. But the Bulldogs and Tigers won't have matched up in more than a decade by the time they meet at 3 p.m. Sept. 18 in Memphis, Tennessee. Here's what Mississippi State can expect from its first road opponent of the 2021 season. The Bulldogs have mostly dominated the all-time series, winning 27 of 37 matchups all time against the Tigers. MSU won by 42 and 45 points, respectively, in its prior two games against Memphis in 2010 and 2011. But those Tigers teams went 1-11 and 2-10 on the season, and they've come a long way since. Memphis won 10 games in 2014 and 2017 and went 12-2 in 2019. Still, the Bulldogs have won 12 straight against the Tigers and will look to make it a baker's dozen in mid-September. The Tigers posted an 8-3 record in 2020 in their first year under Silverfield after Mike Norvell left for Florida State. Memphis picked up wins over UCF, South Florida and Houston but lost to SMU, Cincinnati and Tulane during the regular season. The Tigers beat Florida Atlantic 25-10 in the Montgomery Bowl. |
| SEC Media Days to feature new faces | |
| What does it say about the SEC that half of the coaches at SEC Media Days this week will be making their debuts at the sessions? It says everyone's feverishly chasing Alabama, the defending College Football Playoff national champion, and only a few league programs have inched close enough to challenge Nick Saban's Crimson Tide the last 14 years -- briefly -- before falling back in the pack. It also says a one-year hiatus in SEC Media Days due to the coronavirus pandemic last year resulted in a turnover of several conference head coaches in a two-year span. Covid-19 is still casting a shadow on the proceedings, as restrictions on capacity, a reduction to two players per team and "encouraged" mask wearing will be in evidence at the Hyatt Regency in this suburb of Birmingham, home of the SEC offices. The coronavirus has not disappeared and neither has the coaching churn that is a staple in the nation's most rigorous conference. University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman is starting his second season at the helm, as is Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, the Arkansas Tech graduate from Alma. So are Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin and Mississippi State's Mike Leach. Only Kiffin has spoken at media days before, and that was in 2009 during his lone season at Tennessee. |
| NIL era brings cautious optimism to college-town businesses | |
| Bret Oliverio says he wants college athletes to endorse his Sup Dogs restaurant along the main Franklin Street drag steps from the University of North Carolina. He is just being patient before jumping into a brave new world. Like other small business owners in college towns, Oliverio is sorting out just what it means to strike an endorsement deal with athletes who are now free to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) for the first time. "I don't know if an athlete wants 20 bucks or 20,000," he said, "so that's what I'm trying to navigate." Schools are cobbling together policies or leaning on state laws permitting NIL activities, along with having compliance staffers scrambling to ensure athletes follow guidelines. "I would say it's a beautiful mess," said Kurt Svoboda, an associate athletic director at Michigan. "It truly is. These are uncharted waters." It certainly is for schools and for businesses assessing a market that is less than a month old. How much is it worth to have an athlete endorse the local pizzeria on social media? What about appearances at a car dealership or tattoo parlor -- popular subjects of past NCAA infractions investigations -- for a fee? How much will those moves boost the bottom line, if at all? |
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