Monday, August 2, 2021   
 
National championship trophy to stop in Starkville on tour of state
To celebrate Mississippi State's 2021 baseball national championship, the national title trophy hit the road for a tour throughout the state. The tour will stop at the Greater Starkville Development Partnership office, 200 E. Main St., Starkville, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 3. MSU defeated Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt in the three-game national championship series in June to win the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska -- the first national title earned in any team sport at MSU. Paige Hunt, director of tourism for The Partnership, noted the Starkville community and the entire state is thrilled about the Mississippi State baseball team's win. "The state and Mississippi State fan base is very excited about the win," she said. "This tour celebrates that." Mayor Lynn Spruill said the trophy represents an exciting and historic moment for Mississippi State and the city. "It generates a fun and positive feel for those who have been waiting years, supporting our Bulldogs for this outcome," she said. Throughout the regional and super regional rounds of the postseason, Starkville's tourism industry benefited from Mississippi State hosting tournament baseball games, Hunt said. "Our hotels and restaurants were busy," she said. "When we celebrated the championship with a parade, people came in from out of town to celebrate."
 
Jimmy Hardin named director of Mississippi State's Cobb Institute of Archaeology
Veteran archaeologist and associate professor Jimmy Hardin has been named the new director of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State's College of Arts and Sciences announced. Specializing in the Bronze and Iron Age cultures of ancient Syria-Palestine, Hardin has served as interim director of the Cobb Institute since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience at MSU. "The mission of MSU's Cobb Institute of Archaeology is to support research and outreach endeavors related to the Middle East and to Native Americans of the American South. As an expert in Middle Eastern archaeology and as a close observer of Mississippi archaeology, Dr. Hardin is perfectly positioned to lead the Cobb Institute," said Rick Travis, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, noting Hardin and the institute offer substantial research and study abroad opportunities. Hardin plans to continue his active field research project in southern Israel while also continuing the institute's "long tradition" of training MSU students -- as well as others -- in archaeological survey and field excavations in the Middle East.
 
2021 Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area grants announced
A Mississippi State University project that aims to address opportunities in three Delta communities recently received a $24,500 grant. For a sixth year, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area (MDNHA) awarded nearly $200,000 in grants for 10 projects focused on cultural heritage development in communities across the Mississippi Delta. Mississippi State University's Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center received $24,500 to create a regional hub of opportunity consisting of the Delta communities of Cleveland, Merigold, and Mound Bayou to facilitate partnerships, address community specific needs and gaps, and ultimately create a stronger local and regional economy. The funded work focuses on MDNHA's themes, including music, folk art, the built environment, and the Civil Rights Movement. The grants support learning opportunities for students, museums, documentary films, and the historic preservation of Delta landmarks.
 
MSU Libraries' collection puts photos of Montana's Crow Indian tribe online
The beauty of both the natural and built environments of Montana's Crow Indian tribe is accessible to academic researchers and U.S. history enthusiasts through Mississippi State University Libraries' digital photography collections. Also capturing the diversity among the Crow, or Apsaalooke people, the images are part of the Dr. Andrew Bowles "A.B." Holder Collection, donated by the Mississippi native's descendants, the Bridgforth family of Pickens. The photos can be viewed at https://msstate.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16631coll36. A.B. Holder, originally from the Pickens community in Holmes County, was a doctor in the Magnolia State until he was appointed physician in the Montana Office of Indian Affairs, Crow Agency, at the request of his father, Civil War veteran and Mississippi Auditor Col. W.D. Holder. In medical practice in Montana for three years, from 1887-1890, A.B. Holder died at the age of 35 in 1896. More than 125 years later, his collection of photographs and published materials reside at MSU. The collection includes a casebook covering his early career as a physician, diaries reflecting his young life in Pickens, and samples of Native American clothing.
 
Mississippi's divided soybean crop has good price prospect
According to leaders with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, most soybeans in the state are having a good year to date. Eighty-two percent of the crop appears to be in good or excellent shape halfway through the season. Prices also look good, with averages above those of recent years. However, Trent Irby, soybean specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the state's soybean scene this year really is a tale of two crops. "Our full-season acres that weren't impacted by flooding look really good right now for the most part," Irby said. "We still have a lot of growing season left, but there are a lot of acres with great yield potential at this point." Irby said soybeans were still being planted in places as of mid-July. Most of these crops were replants forced by flooding. "Several areas around the state received big rain events during June that resulted in substantial flooding," he explained. "There were also areas impacted days later as rivers and creeks got out and flooded fields."
 
Weather ruins most of state's watermelon crop
One month ago, watermelon production in southeast Mississippi was on track. Now, growers there have lost much of their crop to the summer's wet weather. "The weather and what it would do was my one concern this year," said Heath Steede, Mississippi State University Extension agent in George County. "I knew if it kept raining, we could lose a good bit of the crop, and that's exactly what happened." Growers in the southeast corner of the state, where most of Mississippi's watermelons are grown, have endured excess crop loss this year. At least one George County grower lost 75% of his crop, and Steede estimates all other growers in the area will face approximately equal losses. "You'll find that kind of loss in all of the counties around here that have any watermelon production," he said. "I was in several of our fields in mid-June. I saw some of the prettiest watermelons I'd seen in a long time. But when the rain started, it just kept coming every day. And it's still raining." Excessive rains can also increase disease because growers cannot maintain a regular scouting and fungicide application schedule. "The vines have just melted down," Steede said. "Nobody has been able to get in the fields to spray."
 
Should There Be a Mandatory Retirement Age for Senior Executives?
Should senior executives be allowed to work as long as they want, no matter how old they are? As the U.S. population ages and medical advances allow people to stay healthier longer, that is a question Americans may increasingly ponder. In general, forced retirement based on age is illegal in the U.S. Some groups of workers are exempted from such protections, however, including certain high-level company executives, who can be asked to retire as soon as they turn 65. Supporters say mandatory retirement policies can protect shareholders from aged leaders who are underperforming. Opponents say C-suites don't have an old-age problem, and chief executives face more board scrutiny than ever before. Brandon Cline, the John "Nutie" and Edie Dowdle Professor of Finance at Mississippi State University's College of Business, argues in favor of mandatory retirement policies. Matteo Tonello, managing director of environmental, social and governance (ESG) research at the Conference Board, makes the case against.
 
Statewide U-Haul shortage leaves college towns desperate for equipment
Summer is ending and a new semester will soon begin. That means college students are on the move and moving trucks are in high demand. Kim Moreland owns three U-haul locations in Starkville. She said August is their busiest month of the year. "Every kid in this town got to be out of one apartment and into another. Right now, I am, I got 23 local trucks that all belong here for in-towns only. I would say those trucks are going out, every one of those, two, three, some of them four times a day right now, trying to accommodate for the college kids," Moreland said. Our reservations right now are limited from 4 to 6 hours." Because of the shortage, Moreland and her crew have traveled across state lines to bring more into town. Mississippi U-Haul Marketing Company President Charles Johnston has been making drives along with local staff. Moreland said booking online won't guarantee you get what you reserve. "We were averaging 400 reservations a day, over across the state of Mississippi. And there are not enough trucks and they finally shut down the reservation system. But we had 20 people walk in, last Saturday, that had reservations that had not been assigned yet," Moreland said. "It's the first time that I've ever had it be this bad, on shortage of equipment," Moreland said.
 
Mississippi reports nearly 5,000 new COVID cases over the weekend, 13 deaths
COVID-19 cases in Mississippi continued to climb over the weekend, with 4,991 new cases reported by the Mississippi State Department of Health Friday through Sunday. There were 13 coronavirus-related deaths reported Monday. Nine deaths occurred between Tuesday and Friday and four deaths occurred between July 11 and July 25, as identified from death certificate reports. Since the virus hit the state in March 2020, a total of 348,496 cases and 7,556 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 76,214 cases reported Tuesday, the latest figure available. Among patients under 18, children between the ages of 11 and 17 have the highest infection rate, with 26,726 cases identified. The 65 and older age group has the highest total number of deaths with 5,702 reported. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Hinds County has the highest number of reported cases in the state with 24,427, followed closely by DeSoto County with 23,439, Harrison County with 21,066, Rankin County with 15,704 and Jackson County with 15,597.
 
Southern States Urge Covid-19 Vaccines as the Delta Variant Surges
Arkansas and other Southern states have emerged as crucial battlegrounds in efforts by state and local officials to persuade enough unvaccinated Americans to get Covid-19 shots to arrest a national surge in coronavirus infections. Arkansas now has the second-highest rate of new daily Covid-19 cases in the country, after Louisiana. The highly contagious Delta variant that dominates the surge has been especially devastating to states in the South and Midwest, including Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Missouri, as well as Arkansas. All of those states except Florida have full vaccination rates well below the national average of 58% of eligible people. Across the U.S., 97% of people hospitalized for Covid-19 treatment are unvaccinated, according to CDC director Rochelle Walensky. The CDC says 99.5% of Covid-19 deaths are among the unvaccinated. Officials in Mississippi this month urged all residents age 65 or older to avoid large indoor gatherings, regardless of vaccine status. At the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, the monoclonal antibody clinic -- which administers infusions to patients who test positive for Covid-19 -- is booked solid and can't take new patients, said Jeanne Marrazzo, a physician who leads the infectious-diseases division of UAB's medical school. On July 25, a 30-year-old expectant mother died from Covid-19 at the hospital, leaving behind her premature baby in the neonatal intensive-care unit. The woman's family, along with public-health officials and doctors in Alabama, have been encouraging vaccinations via social-media posts highlighting the case as a cautionary tale.
 
COVID-19 Delta variant cases outpacing available ICU beds in state
Mississippi health leaders are warning COVID-19 Delta variant hospitalizations are outpacing the number of ICU beds available in the state and emphasize how quickly the variant spreads. At the Mississippi Medical Association's weekly COVID-19 update, the focus is on warning people about the severity of the Delta variant surge. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says it's extremely contagious. "CDC in some sort of preliminary information has shared that it has an r and r value, looks like 8 to 9. What that means is each person gives it to eight to nine people. This is phenomenally contagious," said Dobbs. Friday, the state health department reported more than 1,600 cases and 10 deaths. Dobbs says they're discovering people who are vaccinated can have mild to no symptoms but infect others. He explains he tested a mother who was vaccinated. Her child wasn't vaccinated and tested positive. "Tested the mom and the mom felt perfectly normal, felt great, no problems, she had a super high viral load. Super, super contagious and she felt fine. She still feels fine," said Dobbs. Dobbs says the best defense is to get vaccinated and wear a mask in public. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers says the infectious rate of the Delta variant may lead to schools imposing virtual learning. He's recommending universal masking at schools.
 
Mississippi reversing quarantine protocol for schools less than a week before new year starts
The Mississippi State Department of Health plans to reverse part of its quarantine protocol less than a week before most students return to the classroom. An option to avoid a 10-day or 14-day quarantine listed in MSDH's "Isolation, Contact Tracing, and Quarantine" protocol that will be rescinded currently states: "Unvaccinated students and staff who are exposed to COVID-19 will not require exclusion from school for quarantine if they receive any type of COVID-19 testing every two days and remain asymptomatic. At the end of 7 days, they will no longer require testing." The testing policy was in use by the Corinth School District this week in an effort to avoid unnecessary student quarantines before MSDH officials recommended it be discontinued. The recommendation came on a conference call with State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers and superintendents across the state on Friday. MSDH Communications Director Liz Sharlot confirmed the protocol change with the Daily Journal.
 
NIH Director Francis Collins: 'We want to avoid lockdowns at all costs'
One of the nation's top public health officials said Monday that the Biden administration was seeking "to avoid lockdowns at all costs" amid a precipitous rise in cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant that has prompted a reversal of federal masking guidance and resulted in more stringent coronavirus-related orders across the country. Urging greater numbers of people to get vaccinated, Francis Collins -- director of the National Institutes of Health -- reported that "most of the projections say we're in for a really tough August, September, October," and warned Americans would be forced to adopt unpopular mitigation measures to stave off the widespread lockdown directives that the country endured earlier in the pandemic. "We want to avoid lockdowns at all costs," Collins told ABC's "Good Morning America" in an interview. "But that means we're going to have to do some other things that won't necessarily be welcomed by people, such as the new recommendation of wearing masks in indoor gatherings, even if you're vaccinated." Skirting new shutdowns will also "mean schools really need to have kids masked, so that they're protected from being the source of spreading, as well," Collins said, adding: "But if we want to avoid a more severe outcome that might lead to more extreme measures like lockdowns, we know what to do. We just need to do it."
 
CDC report shows vaccinated people can spread COVID-19
One of the most nagging questions about the COVID-19 pandemic for public health authorities, policymakers and the public was whether the vaccines stop transmission. New Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that in breakthrough cases of the highly transmissible delta variant, the answer is no. The newly released report showing that vaccinated people can still be superspreaders drove the recent decision by the CDC to once again recommend masks for vaccinated people indoors where case counts are high or substantial. The viral load of vaccinated people with breakthrough cases is the same as in unvaccinated people, the CDC said Friday. Experts say the report shows the importance of getting a shot to prevent hospitalizations and deaths as the virus continues to circulate. "The biggest takeaway is that we need more people to be vaccinated. The vaccines are still extremely effective against delta," said Rachael Piltch-Loeb, a public health emergency preparedness and response fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "There is a significant difference between having a fever and dying from COVID-19."
 
Analysis: Critical race theory a predicable topic at Neshoba
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn each stood on stage at the Neshoba County Fair last week and pledged to prevent schools from teaching critical race theory, even though there's no evidence of concerted efforts to make that part of the K-12 curriculum. Critical race theory is an academic framework that examines how racism has shaped public policy and institutions such as the legal system, and how those have perpetuated the dominance of white people in society. Given the amount of attention the topic has received in several Republican-led states the past few months, it was a predicable that at least one Mississippi politician would talk about it during speeches at the Neshoba County Fair, where audiences tend to be mostly white and conservative. "In what world are we living in where it's OK to teach children that they're born racist?" Reeves said. "In what world is it OK to teach children that they'll be judged by the color of their skin, not by the content of their character? Reeves continued: "That is not the education that we need for the next generation of America's leaders. ... They should be learning the truth about the United States -- that we are blessed to live in the greatest nation in the history of mankind."
 
Mississippi's public defense system is widely criticized, and reforms look to fix it
Revised reform efforts aim to strengthen Mississippi's public defense system, which is widely considered overburdened, haphazard and ineffective. A key figure involved in these efforts said the need is urgent. The Mississippi Legislature has not acted on the recommendations of a task force it created in 2015, despite warnings that the Magnolia State's criminal defense system for the poor poses a constitutional crisis. "We've got to do something to enhance indigent defense and the delivery system of indigent defense," said Andre de Gruy, who is director of the Office of State Public Defender. Efforts led by de Gruy and others come even as much of the Mississippi Legislature's attempts to reform the state's criminal justice system remain focused on easing the return of the imprisoned back into society. Several legislative committees focused on criminal justice and prisons convened a joint hearing last month to discuss reentry and parole. But Cliff Johnson, director of the MacArthur Center for Justice at the University of Mississippi Law School, believes this approach must be balanced with attention to the mechanisms by which the inmates held inside Mississippi's prisons got there in the first place.
 
Infrastructure fight finally set: T's crossed, i's dotted
After much delay, senators unveiled a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, wrapping up days of painstaking work on the inches-thick bill and launching what is certain to be a lengthy debate over President Joe Biden's big priority. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act clocked in at some 2,700 pages, and senators could begin amending it soon. Despite the hurry-up-and-wait during a rare weekend session, emotions bubbled over once the bill was produced Sunday night. The final product was not intended to stray from the broad outline senators had negotiated for weeks with the White House. "We haven't done a large, bipartisan bill of this nature in a long time," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He said a final vote could be held "in a matter of days." Senators and staff labored behind the scenes for days to write the massive bill. It was supposed to be ready Friday, but by Sunday, even more glitches were caught and changes made. Late Sunday, most of the 10 senators involved in the bipartisan effort rose on the Senate floor to mark the moment. The bipartisan bill still faces a rough road in the House, where progressive lawmakers want a more robust package but may have to settle for this one to keep Biden's infrastructure plans on track.
 
Terminated professor settles with U. of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi has reached a settlement with an assistant professor who was terminated after publicly criticizing the school as racist while speaking out for criminal justice reform. Details of the settlement remained confidential, including how much money the university agreed to paid to Garrett Felber. University officials have never said the tenure-track assistant history professor was fired because of any public statements he had made. In a December 2020 termination letter from History Department Chair Noell Howell Wilson, Wilson told Felber they had experienced a breakdown in communication after she rejected a grant he was awarded to support a project focusing on mass incarceration and immigrant detention. She said he had refused to meet with her by phone or online, only in writing. Felber has asserted that his termination was a result of his outspoken criticism of the university. Felber has accepted a faculty fellowship at Yale University in American Studies at the Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration.
 
Scholar Who Claimed He Was Fired for Speaking Out Settles With U. of Mississippi
A University of Mississippi faculty member whose unexpected firing caused a free-speech firestorm last year has reached a settlement with his former institution, according to a news release from his lawyers. Garrett Felber, whose contract as an assistant professor of history was terminated in December, announced through the Mississippi Center for Justice that he and the university had settled for a confidential amount. He is now a visiting fellow at Yale University's Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration. "We are pleased to have this matter resolved, and are pleased with the resolution," Rod Guajardo, a University of Mississippi representative, wrote in an email to The Chronicle. "The university stands by the process it followed, the ruling of the faculty committee that reviewed this case and the decisions made. We wish Dr. Felber well as he pursues his future opportunities." Anne Twitty, an associate professor of history at Mississippi and an advocate of Felber's, wrote on Twitter that her former colleague's settlement was "joyful, but also bittersweet news." Felber's termination, Twitty wrote, "has done irrevocable damage -- to him, to me, to many of our colleagues, to our students, to our department" and to the university. "One doesn't 'get over' this. I'm not, and I won't."
 
Ole Miss settles with professor
The University of Mississippi settled for an undisclosed amount with a former professor who said the university effectively fired him for political reasons, both parties said Thursday. "The university is, and has always been, a political institution," the professor, Garrett Felber, a prison abolitionist, said in a statement. "The question is not whether our work within the university can ever be political. It is whether our politics within it can ever be just, noble and life-affirming. The answer must be yes." Rod Guajardo, university spokesperson, said, "We are pleased to have this matter resolved, and are pleased with the resolution." He said he wished Felber well "as he pursues his future opportunities." Rob McDuff, one of Felber's lawyers, who represented him in negotiations with the university, said that Felber's termination violated the First Amendment, as "this all went down after his very pointed criticisms of the university. The reasons given for the university's decision don't hold up." McDuff, of the Mississippi Center for Justice, is representing another Ole Miss professor who's said he also finds the campus climate for academic freedom wanting. Most recently, the professor, J. T. Thomas, an associate professor of sociology, accused the university of failing to comment or in any way defend him against a state inquiry into his participation in an action for racial justice last year.
 
U. of Southern Mississippi paying tuition, housing for vaccinated students
The University of Southern Mississippi is offering students the chance to get money off their tuition and room and board if they get the COVID-19 vaccine. Each week until Oct. 15, the names of five vaccinated students will be drawn for the chance to win prizes. "The best way for our students to stay healthy, stay connected, and stay in class this fall is by getting a COVID-19 vaccine. I urge all of our students to do their part and get vaccinated for COVID-19 now, if they haven't already done so," Dee Dee Anderson, USM vice president for student affairs, said in a news release. A student will have the chance each week to have their fall 2021 semester tuition covered, a benefit worth about $4,600. Students can also win a $2,000 housing credit, $1,000 in dining dollars, a parking decal worth $414 and a $300 bookstore voucher. Sixty incentives will be awarded to University of Southern Mississippi students during the 12 weeks
 
New vaccine incentive program announced for USM students
The University of Southern Mississippi has announced a new incentive program to encourage students to obtain their COVID-19 vaccination. Through the program, fully vaccinated USM students will be eligible for incentives that will be offered over the course of the next 12 weeks. Beginning Friday, July 30, 2021, through Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, weekly drawings will be held. "It's important because we feel like the vaccines are safe and effective and it's our path forward to be able to continue to be in-person, to be in class, to go to ball games and other events," said Dr. Dee Dee Anderson, USM Vice President for Student Affairs. "The best way for our students to stay healthy, stay connected, and stay in class this fall is by getting a COVID-19 vaccine. I urge all of our students to do their part and get vaccinated for COVID-19 now if they haven't already done so." All USM students and employees have the option to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment at Moffitt Health Center on the USM Hattiesburg campus.
 
Love history? Mississippi governors letter project looking for volunteers
Residents around Mississippi are getting a clearer view of the state's history during the Civil War era thanks to an ongoing project through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the University of Southern Mississippi. Through 20,000 letters sent to governors by citizens and dating back to1859, the Civil War & Reconstruction Governors of Mississippi Project will examine a wide range of topics with the goal of helping researchers better understand the revolutionary time period. The project began in 2019 and work is currently focused on transcribing letters from the post-Civil War period of Reconstruction, which began around 1867. Susannah Ural, director of the project and a professor of history at Southern Miss, said the project showcases a time period historians don't know much about from a civilian perspective. "The Governor's Papers, as much as they sound like you're gonna be hearing from top powerful politicians, you're actually hearing from people who wrote to the government," Ural said. "You get to hear from people you don't traditionally hear from in historical sources. It lets you hear from a true cross-section of Mississippians during one of our most revolutionary times in history." Organizers for the project recently invited the public to help with the transcription process. No previous experience is necessary and the only requirements are being able to read cursive handwriting and having access to a computer, Ural said. Transcribers are trained through a short video and a set of guidelines, but anyone can take part, she said.
 
JSU Unveils Civil Rights Mural, Substance Abuse Prevention Block Grant and USM Vaccine Incentive Program
Jackson State University's Office of Community Engagement unveiled its new Council of Federated Organizations mural on Saturday, July 24. The mural, located on the outside of the COFO building at 1017 John R. Lynch St., is called "Chain Breakers" and pays homage to civil-rights legends both living and dead, a release from JSU says. JSU commissioned Jackson artist Sabrina Howard for the mural project. Her previous work includes the Milton Chambliss Shoe Hospital mural in the 900 block of John R. Lynch Street and a mural titled "Sowing the Seeds of Love" at the JSU/Blackburn Learning Garden near the main campus of the university. The Mississippi Arts Commission gave JSU an $8,000 grant for the new COFO mural. COFO, established in 1961, was a coalition of several major civil-rights groups in Mississippi that coordinated to register voters and conduct other civil-rights activities. The organization regularly partnered with other civil-right groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Congress of Racial Equality, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. JSU reopened the COFO building as COFO Civil Rights Education Center in 1971. The center aims to preserve the past, cultivate young minds and foster the development of future leaders and community builders, JSU's release says.
 
William Carey University opens new College of Health Sciences building
The largest building on William Carey University's Hattiesburg campus is now operational as the new College of Health Sciences facility. William K. Ray College of Health Sciences building is named after Bill Ray, who was a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps and directed fundraising projects at WCU. "I'm so emotional right now. The pride that I'm feeling right now is just too much," said Janet Williams, associate vice president for health programs at WCU, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday. WCU broke ground for the 67,000-square-foot facility on the corner of Tuscan Avenue and Cherry Street on Feb. 28, 2020. Classroom sizes vary, with some capable of accommodating up to 100 students. The building was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, said WCU President Tommy King, though the private college did not provide the cost of the facility. There are 54 doctoral students across four majors and 183 new medical students attending WCU this fall. King said the university expects over 200 new medical students next fall.
 
Mississippi seeking new leader of math and science school
The top administrator at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science said he will leave that job at the end of December, prompting a search for a new school leader. Germain McConnell has been executive director of the residential high school in Columbus for eight years. On Jan. 1, he will become chief of staff for the Oxford School District. During a Columbus Rotary Club meeting Tuesday, McConnell said God led him to Columbus to serve at MSMS, but the time has come for him to return to Oxford, the Commercial Dispatch reported. MSMS is for high-achieving juniors and seniors. It will have 237 students on campus this fall. The Oxford School District has more than 4,500 students. McConnell said it's important to give the state Department of Education and the state Board of Education time to conduct a search. The department plans to fill the position before the end of the fall semester, said Nathan Oakley, the department's chief academic officer. He said there are no plans to hire a search firm.
 
Since LSU won't mandate vaccines, faculty vulnerable to COVID ask to keep teaching online
Jerry Ceppos is running out of options as well as time. On Aug. 23, LSU resumes in-person classes with a mask mandate but none for vaccines. Though students start moving in this week, social-distancing rules are still up in the air. If Ceppos hews to the school's plan, the 76-year-old mass communications professor -- whose age and health conditions make him particularly prone to the now-more-contagious coronavirus -- will start teaching a few-hundred students in a few-hundred-seat classroom in just a few weeks. Or, if he can help it, he'll stay virtual. "Social distancing is logistically impossible if we have full classrooms," he said. "If the school isn't going to require vaccinations, we have to consider an online option." One of the only ways he can think of to exercise that option is to ask for disability accommodations. This week, Ceppos joined a host of fellow faculty members -- exactly how many remains unclear -- in filing petitions to work out exemptions under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
 
UF College of Medicine launches new clinical department
Seven years in the making, the University of Florida College of Medicine inaugurated its department of physical medicine and rehabilitation and residency program July 1. The department of PM&R became UF College of Medicine's first new clinical department -- a group of researchers, administrators and clinicians who support each other to achieve a specific mission -- in 30 years. However, its journey began in September 2014, Dr. Kevin Vincent, the founding chair, said. The role of PM&R is to help people transition back into work, their home environment and their social setting, Vincent, who is also the medical director of the UF Sports Performance Center and the director of the UF Running Medicine Clinic, said. If necessary, physicians also work with the patient's family to reincorporate them into their home. Physicians specializing in PM&R look at the whole musculoskeletal and nervous systems and how they work together to make a patient as functional as possible, Vincent said. Patients could have a traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury or a sports injury, among other things. "We look at the entire body, and that's what makes us different," Vincent said. In 2020, Newsweek ranked the UF Health Rehab Hospital as No. 1 in Florida. Vincent said they hope to build a top-10 PM&R department in the future.
 
Texas A&M, Blinn College prepare for school year amid surging COVID cases
Texas A&M University officials are still working to solidify plans for the upcoming school year about how to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic. The hope, Chief Operations Officer Greg Hartman said, is to release guidance in the coming days so parents, students, faculty and staff can know what to expect this fall. It is information that Hartman said may have come sooner if not for the increasing case numbers throughout the state that now have leaders rethinking some of how the year will look. Even so, Hartman said the goal is to run classes as close to what they used to look like prior to the pandemic as possible, with students in person for their course work. But as with all plans, that could change as the situation fluctuates. In recent interviews, Texas A&M University President M. Katherine Banks has expressed a strong desire to have a normal school year. Before his recent move to the COO position, Hartman was the senior vice president and chief operating officer of Texas A&M Health. There are some things that Hartman is absolutely sure about for the year: COVID-19 tests and vaccines will be readily available and free on campus. Other things like what type of information the university will collect and share regarding case numbers or other similar information on campus is still to be determined.
 
U. of Missouri reinstates mask mandate in classrooms, introduces COVID vaccine incentives
The University of Missouri is again requiring masks in classrooms, starting Monday, according to a message to the campus community sent on Thursday from Mark Diedrich and John Middleton with the MU Incident Command Team. "Missouri is working to combat a rise in cases primarily caused by the Delta variant, with most of the cases occurring in unvaccinated individuals," the message reads. "While faculty, staff and student cases remain very low at Mizzou, we will take additional precautions." All students, faculty staff and visitors will be required to wear masks in classrooms and meeting rooms regardless of vaccination status. For other indoor spaces, the mask requirement applies only to those who aren't vaccinated. The measure is temporary and will be reviewed by Sept. 15. Exceptions are when you are alone in a work space, when the work space has at least six feet or a physical barrier between employees and when with a small group of people you consistently live or work with daily including roommates and coworkers. The university still will not require -- only encourage -- vaccinations for students.
 
This year's 128 incoming MU medical students represent a global community
Growing up in the small river town of Hannibal, Brooke Burton heard inspirational stories about members of her family in the medical field. Tales about her grandfather saving lives in rural Missouri were shared around the dinner table, as were her uncle's wild stories about his work as an orthopedic surgeon. When Burton's anatomy teacher boosted her confidence about a medical career in high school, she decided to pursue her dreams. On Friday, Burton was one of 128 incoming students at the University of Missouri School of Medicine who celebrated their first steps toward becoming physicians at a white coat ceremony in Jesse Auditorium. Selected from more than 3,000 applicants, the Class of 2025 represents the most diverse group of future physicians MU has ever enrolled. According to School of Medicine data, 20% of this year's incoming class self-identifies as underrepresented in the field of medicine. This includes students who are Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Pacific Islander, Native American and mainland Puerto Rican. Additionally, 42% self-identify as an ethnic minority within the United States, 26% are from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, 88% are from Missouri and 20% are from rural areas.
 
When it comes to redistricting, all that's left for Republicans is to run up the score. Will they?
Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: One Democrat in the Mississippi Senate -- Hob Bryan of Amory -- represents a district that does not have a majority African American population. Republicans hold 36 of the seats in the 52-member chamber. There are currently 14 Democrats. Two Democrats resigned this summer and special elections have not been held to replace them. Those two vacant Senate seats as well as 13 other districts represented by Democrats not named Bryan have a Black population of more than 50%. In the coming months, as U.S. Census data comes in, legislators will begin the task of redrawing the 52 Senate districts and 122 House districts to match population shifts found by the decennial census. Legislators on the committee tasked with overseeing the drawing of both state legislative districts and the four U.S. House seats will hold nine public hearings across the state, starting at 6 p.m. Aug. 5 at Meridian Community College's McCain Theatre, to garner public input. Then in the 2022 session, legislators will try to complete the redistricting process. Presumably, Republicans who control the Senate could redraw the districts in a manner to increase their numbers, but at this point that would be just running up the score.
 
If Philip Gunn is going to challenge Tate Reeves for governor, it didn't show at Neshoba
Geoff Pender writes for Mississippi Today: Given House Speaker Philip Gunn's recent testing of the waters for a challenge of Gov. Tate Reeves, there was some anticipation their back-to-back Neshoba Fair stump speeches could serve as a soft launch of a Gunn gubernatorial campaign. But if Thursday's speech by Gunn was intended as any sort of a launch, it didn't make it off the pad. And except for a couple of mild jabs at each other, the two state leaders mostly threw out the same red meat for the GOP base and mostly espoused similar policies. In case you missed it, they both really, really, really oppose critical race theory being taught in Mississippi schools and vow to prohibit it. They both detest any liberal, socialistic, Democratic federal overreach coming from Washington, D.C., and they both want to eliminate the state's individual income tax -- although their plans do differ. If Gunn plans to put any significant daylight between himself and Reeves on policy or politics, he didn't do it at the fair on Thursday. One would doubt that "vote for me just because I'm not Tate Reeves" would be a way to entice much of the GOP base to jump ship from a well-financed Republican incumbent in 2023.


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