| Friday, August 4, 2023 |
| New nursing master's degree program at MSU-Meridian adds faculty | |
 | Mississippi State University is welcoming four Meridian campus employees to the university's new Master of Science in Nursing entry licensure program, the first of its kind in the state. Currently under development, the 12-month accelerated program recently hired Mary Stewart as dean. She is now joined by faculty members Kayla Carr, Katherine Rigdon, Matthew Byrd and LaDaryl Watkins. MSU-Meridian Associate Vice President and Head of Campus Terry Dale Cruse said, "I couldn't be more impressed with the credentials of our new nursing faculty. Dr. Stewart has done an excellent job recruiting highly reputable educators with a passion for improving health outcomes in our state." Carr, former clinical director of Jackson School-Based Clinics managed by the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has accepted a full professor position with MSU-Meridian. An incoming associate teaching professor, Rigdon is a lifelong resident of the state's east central region and has worked for 18 years as an associate degree nursing instructor at Meridian Community College. Byrd joins MSU-Meridian as an assistant clinical professor after having taught pharmacology, pathophysiology and other courses as an instructor and guest lecturer at USM and Mississippi College. Watkins also begins her work at MSU-Meridian as an assistant clinical professor, with previous employment as a family nurse practitioner for UMMC's Jackson School-Based Clinics. |
| How to get ahead in the construction business with FL Crane & Sons | |
 | FL Crane & Sons is an employee-owned construction company specializing in commercial construction. Founded only two years after the end of World War II by Floy Lee Crane in Fulton, Mississippi, the firm has since grown year-on-year, becoming one of the leading construction companies operating in the southeastern United States. Last year, the FL Crane & Sons' team celebrated 75 years in business. But that wasn't the only reason for merrymaking: the firm also had its most successful year in terms of revenue ever recorded. To take a look inside the business, we recently spoke with Ty Crane, President at FL Crane & Sons. But before we begin talking about the company's exciting projects, we ask about Ty himself. As he makes clear, he's no stranger to the firm. "My earliest memories of FL Crane & Sons include roaming the halls of our office and visiting jobsites with my grandfather, Johnny Crane," recalls Ty. "I started working at the firm in earnest during a long hot summer. "I graduated from Mississippi State University's Building Construction Science program a year later -- after that, I joined Broaddus and Associated, a construction program management firm, and worked on an important disaster relief project. Upon coming back to the family business in 2012, I started as an estimator and project manager," he goes on. "I stayed in that role until 2016, ultimately moving into an operation officer role where I was tasked with improving company operations." In 2019, when Mike Heering retired, Ty was an excellent candidate for the role of President. Since his appointment, he's made it his mission to strategically navigate the family-run company on its continual pursuit of innovation, while also reinforcing the familial culture that previous generations worked so hard to cultivate. |
| Starkville Highway Patrol breaks ground on new building | |
| By the spring of 2025, the Mississippi Highway Patrol hopes to be out of the cramped substation that has been home to the troopers for nearly 60 years. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety officially broke ground Thursday morning on a new 25,000-square-foot facility in west Starkville, located near the intersection of highways 12 and 25. "When I became commissioner three years ago, I knew we needed a new substation," said DPS commissioner Sean Tindell. "I am proud of what this new facility represents." MHP commander and former captain of the Starkville-based Troop G, Col. Randy Ginn, said the land was donated by the Oktibbeha County Economic Development Agency in 2013. "We've been looking at this for 10 years," Ginn said. "Troop G will look a lot different from that 'little building as you go to Mississippi State,' as people say. It will be a modern facility with all we need to do our jobs." Troop G is currently housed in a two-story building on Highway 182 that was built in 1964. The $13.5 million new facility will be nearly three times larger than the current building. The 10-acre site will include not only the offices for MHP and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, but also a maintenance building, a commercial driver's license testing pad, a helipad and an emergency generator. The latter will allow the building to serve as a command center in the event of a disaster, said architect Hoppy Allred. |
| AP Election Brief | What to expect in Mississippi's state primaries | |
 | Tuesday is primary day in Mississippi, with Gov. Tate Reeves' bid for renomination to a second term topping the list of contests voters will decide. Reeves, who was first elected in 2019 after serving two terms as lieutenant governor, faces two challengers in the Republican primary: military veteran David Hardigree and physician and anti-vaccination activist John Witcher. The winner will face Democrat Brandon Presley, a state utility regulator and cousin of rock 'n' roll legend Elvis Presley. Presley is unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Mississippi has one of only three gubernatorial elections on the ballot this year. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann also faces a Republican primary challenge in a race that has turned increasingly nasty. His opponent is state Sen. Chris McDaniel, a four-term state legislator who is no stranger to challenging incumbents from his own party. He nearly toppled seven-term Sen. Thad Cochran in 2014 and briefly challenged Sen. Roger Wicker in 2018 before trying again unsuccessfully for Cochran's seat after his resignation. A third candidate, educator Tiffany Longino, could help force the race to a runoff later this month. Voters will also select nominees for 60 contested state legislative races and two regional seats for the state's utility regulator. And there are statewide primaries for agriculture commissioner and insurance commissioner. |
| How seriously is Gov. Tate Reeves taking Mississippi's hospital crisis? It's unclear | |
| Republican Gov. Tate Reeves at the Neshoba County Fair gave conflicting answers to reporters on how seriously he views Mississippi's worsening hospital crisis and what he's proposing to fix the problem. Reeves, running for a second term, initially indicated that hospitals around the state laying off employees and slashing medical services was not a real campaign issue, but he later said there's "no doubt" state leaders should do more to improve health care infrastructure. Mississippi Today initially asked the first-term governor last week what his reaction was to hospitals and medical facilities laying off employees. The governor chuckled, didn't substantively respond and brushed off the question. "I'm shocked that you decided to take the position of the CEO of the Hospital Association today," Reeves answered. "The fact of the matter is we know that my opponent can't talk about my record. He can't talk about what he believes in, so he's making up all these things that don't make any sense." But another reporter later asked the governor how he believes the state Legislature should address the burgeoning issue, prompting a more serious answer from the Republican official. "We've got to have more availability of health care throughout our state, we've got to have more accessibility to health care throughout our state and we've got to make sure that we can make health care more affordable throughout our state," Reeves said. Much like in 2019, Medicaid coverage and access to health care are some of the primary issues between the two leading candidates in this year's governor's race. |
| Gubernatorial TV war: Tate Reeves airs ad responding to Brandon Presley welfare scandal ad | |
| Republican Gov. Tate Reeves on Thursday released a new TV commercial labeling a Tuesday ad from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley as "100% false." Presley's Tuesday ad claimed that while Reeves has been in statewide office for several years, he helped steer millions of welfare funds "to help his rich friends." The governor's new ad pushes back on that assertion and says Reeves had "nothing to do with the scandal." "It all happened before he was governor," Reeves' ad said of the welfare scandal. "Tate Reeves has supported the prosecution to find the truth. And Democrat Brandon Presley, he doesn't care about the truth." Several people have pleaded guilty to federal and state crimes connected to the welfare money scandal, mostly stemming from how millions of federal funds disbursed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services were mishandled. Investigators and prosecutors have not alleged Reeves committed a crime related to the welfare scandal, nor have they indicated they're investigating him in connection to the scheme that has so far led to several people pleading guilty to federal and state crimes. The rapid response to Presley's ad from the governor's campaign likely shows how much money Reeves is willing to spend on advertising throughout the election cycle and how hard he'll work to push pack on efforts tying him to the scheme. This is now the fourth ad Reeves' campaign has pushed out this year. |
| Chris McDaniel knows that he's controversial | |
| Chris McDaniel is a man who needs no introduction. During his career in Mississippi politics, the state senator has found fans and controversy alike; a list of those controversies being listed on his Wikipedia page, which also labels the 52-year-old lawyer as "far-right." Though beginning his political career in 2008, McDaniel shot to both local and national prominence during his 2014 U.S. Senate run against Senator Thad Cochran. The race was mired in scandal and was described as both "wild" and "extraordinary" by The New York Times. The race took a bizarre/insidious turn when a scheme was hatched by multiple McDaniel supporters to sneak into the nursing home of Thad Cochran's wife and photograph her in a bid to support allegations of Cochran's infidelity. Those involved were ultimately arrested, with an attorney implicated in the plan committing suicide. McDaniel has always maintained that he knew nothing or had any involvement in the scheme. However, regrets of that race, McDaniel admits, still follow him to this day, and continue to be used as weapons against him by political rivals; most recently by Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann, who McDaniel is hoping to unseat in the August primary. Although viewed as one of, if not the, most divisive figure in state politics today, controversy has been good for McDaniel - at least on social media. On Facebook he has more than ten-times the number of followers than Hosemann, and around 50,000 more followers than Gov. Tate Reeves. In an interview with WLBT News, McDaniel discussed why he doesn't view himself as "far-right" (at least not in the way Wikipedia defines it), what he would change about his infamous race against Thad Cochran, and why he thinks he's considered so controversial. |
| McDaniel levels unproven Madison redistricting rumor at Hosemann, contradicting colleagues | |
| Six days from the GOP primary, Sen. Chris McDaniel has doubled down on unproven allegations that incumbent Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, has secretly plotted to redraw Madison County's circuit court district -- despite emphatic denials from Hosemann and multiple legislators who would be involved in that process. "We know he's attempting some judicial redistricting here," McDaniel told hundreds at a Wednesday GOP community event in Madison. "We're gonna protect Madison County at all costs," he added to cheers and applause. In the Mississippi Senate, judicial redistricting will go through a committee chaired by Brice Wiggins, who said the committee has not even begun gathering the data to start the process. Wiggins said the Daily Journal that McDaniel's claims are baseless and that such unfounded allegations have "been the track record for his campaigns." Hosemann, other county supervisors and all the state senators representing the area say the claims are false and it is far too soon for conversations about the redistricting process to begin. "Once again, I am committing to the voters of Rankin and Madison Counties that the Senate will not sever the Rankin-Madison circuit court district. I do not support changing the district and neither does any Republican Senator I have talked to," Hosemann said in a Thursday statement to the Daily Journal. McDaniel's attack continues his well-established isolation from most of his senate colleagues. Some claim it shows desperation. "If you're looking to gain traction, throw anything at the wall and see what sticks," District 20 Sen. Josh Harkins told the Daily Journal last month. District 25 Sen. Walter Michel, who represents about 45,000 people in Madison County, said he wouldn't support such a plan, and neither would any of his senate colleagues who represent the region. Michel and Harkins both said Hosemann personally assured them the rumor was false. |
| Candidates for Sen. Chris McDaniel's seat bring conservative values | |
 | Mississippi residents in Senate District 42 will have a new leader representing them at the capitol in January, bringing Sen. Chris McDaniel's 16-year tenure to a close. McDaniel is running for lieutenant governor and will face incumbent Delbert Hosemann and Tiffany Longino in Tuesday's Republican primary. The winner will be on November's general election ballot with Democrat D. Ryan Grover. Two Republican candidates have emerged in the District 42 race, including District 88 Rep. Robin Robinson and Ellisville resident Don Hartness. Since there are no other candidates, the winner of the primary will fill the Senate seat. The district represents parts or Forrest and Jones counties. Robinson was elected to the House of Representatives in a special election in 2020. The district encompasses parts of Jones and Jasper counties. She follows in the political footsteps of her mother Mary Joyce Robinson, who was elected to serve as a justice court judge. And Robinson's husband is former Public Service Commissioner Sam Britton. If elected to the Senate, she said she will continue to fight for her constituents and statewide interests. Her priorities include job creation, economic growth and education, she said. Robinson also will fight for measures that support law enforcement. Attempts to reach Hartness for an interview were unsuccessful. Hartness does not have a campaign website, but he and his wife Jerrie Lynn Hartness post about the campaign in a Facebook group supporting Hartness' candidacy. Like McDaniel, Hartness opposed changing the state flag. |
| Red states' revenge evident in House earmarks distribution | |
 | The majority of states would lose earmarked funds in the House GOP-drafted appropriations bills compared with the versions House Democrats wrote last year. But 16 mostly deep-red states would come out ahead. The lucky 16 would see their haul grow by over $915 million -- leaving the rest to see nearly $1.8 billion evaporate, a CQ Roll Call analysis found. Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma combined account for over half of the increase, boosting their share of earmarks in the fiscal 2024 bills to 10 percent, compared with less than 3 percent a year earlier. Despite some shifts under the 2020 census, the Big Four states in terms of population are still the Big Four when it comes to earmarks: California, Texas, Florida and New York, in that order. But those states' share of earmarks would drop from 39 percent to 34 percent under House GOP control, shedding a combined $691 million. Deep-blue California and New York each lost a House seat due to redistricting. California -- which swapped a Democratic speaker and earmark backer, Nancy Pelosi, for Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who doesn't earmark -- would see its "community project funding" drop by $335 million under the new House bills compared with the fiscal 2023 versions authored by House Democrats last year. Despite that 28 percent decline, to $858 million, California is still No. 1 among states in total earmarks. Not all the losers are in the blue column: Ruby red Louisiana would see its earmark total shaved by $83 million or 35 percent, for instance. Mississippi's total declined slightly -- by $8 million, or 9 percent -- though not for obvious reasons. |
| Donald Trump Pleads Not Guilty to Charges Over Efforts to Change 2020 Election Result | |
 | Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election to remain in power, appearing in a federal courtroom blocks from the U.S. Capitol that was stormed by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. While the plea amounted to two words, their resonance was enormous. Trump denied the charges in the indictment, the first time a president has been accused of blocking the peaceful transfer of power to his successor. To his supporters, Trump's postelection campaign to claim that he actually won the election was an act of courage; for his detractors, the charges are a long-awaited accounting for refusing to accept the loss. The charges brought in Washington directly relate to Trump's conduct in the aftermath of the 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden, and will shadow him on the 2024 campaign trail as he seeks to win the Republican nomination and recapture the White House. "This is a very sad day for America," Trump said after the hearing. "This is a persecution of a potential political opponent." Wearing a red tie and navy blue suit, Trump, 77, sat in the hearing room in the federal courthouse between his lawyers John Lauro and Todd Blanche, accompanied by a phalanx of security personnel. Trump sat impassively as the charges and potential penalties were read to him, speaking only occasionally in response to questions from the judge. The unprecedented charges accusing a former president of trying to subvert the peaceful transfer of power will test the country's legal system, as conservatives launch an aggressive campaign to question the Justice Department's integrity. |
| Why falling confidence in America's military is creating 'a real crisis' | |
 | The public's confidence in the U.S. military is the lowest it's been in decades, and it's doing no favors to the armed forces' current recruitment struggles. Thanks to a combination of culture war issues, fresh reports of sexual assaults and suicides within the ranks, and a disastrous end to the Afghanistan War two years ago, Americans' perception of the armed forces has taken a hit, according to experts and recent polls. "It's a confluence of lots of things and it's becoming a real crisis," said Michael O'Hanlon, a security fellow at the Brookings Institution. The latest numbers from Gallup, taken from a poll conducted June 1-22, found that Americans' confidence in the military was at its lowest point in 25 years: 60 percent. The last time it was this low was in 1997. Republican sentiment has seen a particularly steep decline, dropping from 91 percent to 68 percent in the past three years. Pentagon press secretary Brig Gen. Pat Ryder on Thursday said while he wasn't in a position to address the "why?" behind the decrease, he maintained that the Defense Department will continue to try to earn the trust and confidence of Americans. The military has long found itself entwined in various culture war issues, but increasingly has found itself under criticism from the right in recent years over various social policies --- a driving factor in the falling support. At the same time, it's not as if it is making up support on the left, where different kinds of worries are aimed at the military. |
| UM researchers link anxiety sensitivity to postpartum distress | |
| One in eight women who have recently given birth will experience postpartum depression symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers in the University of Mississippi's Department of Psychology have identified a prenatal risk factor that, when treated, could lessen postpartum and parental distress. In a recent paper in the Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health, the authors find a correlation between anxiety sensitivity in pregnant women and postpartum distress. "One of our main questions was looking at whether anxiety sensitivity was a unique predictor of postpartum distress," said Laura J. Dixon, associate professor of psychology. "Thinking about this in the context of pregnancy is interesting -- given the many changes in the body." In a nutshell, anxiety sensitivity is fear of the physiological symptoms of anxiety, said Sara Witcraft, the paper's lead author. This psychological vulnerability is known to contribute to a range of anxiety disorders and increase distress across other psychological and health-related conditions. "Everyone knows what anxiety is, but anxiety sensitivity is something the general public may not be familiar with," said Witcraft, who received a doctorate in clinical psychology from the university in 2022. "It boils down to the fear of fear, and the fear of sensations or experiences that are driven by anxiety. |
| USM leaders Heinhorst, Cannon retire; couple spent more than 40 years each in academic roles | |
| Two pillars of the University of Southern Mississippi's faculty have stepped away, but their many important contributions to the school -- including its nationally recognized research enterprise -- will remain evident well into the future. Dr. Sabine Heinhorst, professor emeritus and former dean of the USM Honors College, and her husband, Dr. Gordon Cannon, professor emeritus and former provost and vice president for research (now vice president emeritus for research), recently retired from the university, where they played key roles as administrators and scholars in helping it attain Carnegie I Research Institution (Very High Research Activity) status as one of America's research leaders in higher education. Since 1987, the two have made major contributions in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry, while also working with colleagues across all academic disciplines to expand scholarly opportunities for faculty and students, including through their strong support of both the Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research and its Undergraduate Research Symposium. "Dr. Cannon and Dr. Heinhorst have shaped all areas of research, teaching and service at the University of Southern Mississippi for nearly 40 years," said President Joseph S. Paul. "They are the epitome of faculty leadership and mentorship of our students, and their legacy is truly immeasurable." |
| Auburn University to get new brewery | |
 | The city of Auburn has added a manufacturer-type license category to the Alcoholic Beverages section of the city code in order to allow Auburn University to bring a brewery to the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center. The move will allow the university to open New Realm Brewing Company as part of the Rane Center so long as it pays a $1,500 manufacturing license fee to the city. The Auburn City Council voted unanimously to allow the change to the code at its Tuesday meeting. Auburn City Manager Meagan McGowen Crouch said there had always been a spot designated in the Rane Center for a brewery. The university said last summer that a microbrewery and tasting room was expected to open this past March. During its discussion Tuesday night, the city council did not directly say whether other breweries would be allowed in the city yet. "It's something that's still new to us," McGowen Crouch said. "I would suggest that we will actually further address this from a planning side as we take a harder look... this is a license category defined by the state and when applying for it, the state ABC board decided this is the category that it falls under." New Realm was started in 2016 and has its flagship brewery and restaurant in Atlanta. It also has locations in Virginia Beach, Va., and Charleston S.C. |
| What Really Happened in Texas A&M's Two High-Profile Controversies? An Investigative Report Explains. | |
 | An internal investigation at Texas A&M University revealed the extent of the involvement of high-level state and university officials in two faculty-employment scandals that have generated national attention, one of which will result in a $1-million settlement. The first controversy, which produced the newly announced settlement, involved Kathleen O. McElroy, a former New York Times editor whose contract to lead Texas A&M's journalism department unraveled following a wave of conservative criticism and resulted in the resignation of two university officials who were involved in her hiring. The investigation, the results of which were published on the Texas A&M University system's website and include summaries by the Office of General Counsel and hundreds of pages of supporting documentation, refutes claims made by M. Katherine Banks, the now-former president of Texas A&M at College Station. Banks said she was not part of the negotiations with McElroy and did not know changes had been made to the proposed terms of her employment before they came to light in The Texas Tribune. But documents released in the investigation indicate that Banks became involved early on in McElroy's hiring and attempted to minimize and cover up the damage from the fallout. |
| Texas A&M reaches $1 million settlement with Black journalism professor | |
| Texas A&M University reached a $1 million settlement Thursday with a Black journalism professor whose hiring was sabotaged by backlash over her past work promoting diversity.The nation's largest public school agreed to pay Kathleen McElroy and apologized to her while admitting "mistakes were made during the hiring process." Texas A&M, which is located in College Station, about 90 miles (144 kilometers) northwest of Houston, initially welcomed McElroy with great fanfare to revive its journalism department in June. A former New York Times editor and Texas A&M alum, McElroy had overseen the journalism school at A&M's rival -- the more liberal University of Texas at Austin. But McElroy told the Texas Tribune last month that soon after her hiring, she learned of emerging internal pushback from then-unidentified individuals over her past work to improve diversity and inclusion in newsrooms. According to investigation documents released Thursday, those individuals included at least six board of regents members who began "asking questions and raising concerns about McElroy's hiring" after Texas Scorecard, a right-leaning website, highlighted her past diversity, equity and inclusion work. In a joint statement with McElroy announcing the settlement, the university said the school "has learned from its mistakes and will strive to ensure similar mistakes are not repeated in the future." McElroy called the matter "resolved." |
| The Toll of a Botched Hire | |
 | The Texas A&M University system will pay $1 million to settle legal claims by Kathleen McElroy, the Black journalist whose botched hiring embarrassed the system's flagship campus and led to its president's retirement. Thursday's settlement announcement came the same day the system released findings that the now former president, M. Katherine Banks, was involved in changing the terms of McElroy's job offer, which McElroy eventually rejected. Banks had previously pleaded ignorance. The five-page report from the system's Office of General Counsel also mentions allegations that members of the system's Board of Regents had expressed concerns about McElroy's hire. And it touches on conservative opposition to the hire regarding McElroy's past diversity, equity and inclusion work and her previous work for The New York Times. "This matter has been resolved," McElroy said Thursday. "But I wish I could bottle the encouragement I received from organizations, government officials, friends and strangers and distribute that support to the rest of the world. I will remember every resolution, public statement, commentary and friendly email or text. However I know others deserve similar attention---from Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, still detained in Russia, to the everyday people who quietly bear the brunt of oppressive policies and practices. I'm moving forward. I'm excited about projects I have resumed at the University of Texas at Austin, including work in ethical leadership in media as well as supporting community journalism. My career continues, as does my commitment to journalism, higher education and trying to do the right thing." |
| A&M legal counsel investigated Joy Alonzo's suspension. Here's what they found | |
 | Texas A&M pharmacy professor Joy Alonzo didn't name Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a guest lecture this March that led to her two-week paid suspension, but she did name the office held, according to an email to Alonzo on March 22 from George Udeani, A&M's pharmacy practice department head, that was released Thursday as part of findings from Alonzo's suspension by the A&M System's Office of General Counsel. "I understand that your comment did not assign blame," Udeani wrote in Alonzo's reinstatement letter. "However, some members of the audience felt that your anecdote was offensive. "While it is important to preserve and defend academic freedom and as such be able to discuss and present to students and the public the results of research observations and strategies, you should be mindful on how you present your views. That is, you are presenting your views as a member of the faculty body of a state institution. Therefore, be thoughtful when you make a reference to any state official or state office." In a statement Wednesday, Alonzo said a comment she made during a two-hour lecture on March 7 at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston regarding opioid overdose education and naloxone administration was mischaracterized and misconstrued. She also said she agreed to the administrative leave pending the inquiry, and was satisfied with the outcome, which she said exonerated her from any wrongdoing. A two-page memo from A&M general counsel Thursday provided a summary of the investigation's findings to provide a timeline from Alonzo's guest lecture, her suspension and subsequent reinstatement. |
| UCLA Chancellor Gene Block to step down after boosting enrollment, diversity, rankings | |
 | UCLA Chancellor Gene Block announced Thursday he is stepping down from the helm of the nation's top-ranked public university after steering the Westwood campus through a financial crisis and global pandemic to reach new heights in expanding enrollment, diversity, philanthropy and research funding. His tenure was also rocked by a huge scandal involving a former UCLA gynecologist, James Heaps, who was sentenced in April to 11 years in prison for sexually abusing patients. Block called the case, which cost the UC system nearly $700 million in settlements to hundreds of former patients, one of his "most painful" moments at UCLA and said he was hopeful that greater training, reporting protocols and other reforms at UCLA Health would guard against future abuse. Block, 74, said he is eager to return to his UCLA faculty position as a researcher in sleep cycles and circadian rhythms -- which he called his primary identity -- when his 17-year chancellorship ends on July 31, 2024. Until then, he will help launch two new satellite sites in downtown L.A. and San Pedro, hire more diverse faculty and lay the groundwork for an ambitious new fundraising campaign. Block's impending retirement, which follows a similar announcement by UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ last month, will leave the top posts at the nation's two most renowned public research universities open at the same time -- a pivotal opportunity for the University of California to advance its mission with a new generation of leadership. |
| For First Time, U.S. Releases Data on Student Basic Needs | |
| Over the past decade, universities and community organizations alike have increased their efforts to support students struggling to access basic needs like housing and food. But even as researchers tried to study how best to help those students, one significant hurdle stood in their way: no one knew exactly how many homeless or hungry students were out there. From 2015 to 2021, Temple University's Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, a student equity research center, published an annual #RealCollege Survey, which included rates of homelessness and food insecurity among college students. While it proved a useful window onto the issue, it was limited by the small number of colleges and universities that opted to participate -- particularly in its early years. That's why some researchers began pushing the U.S. Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics, a federal body dedicated to collecting data related to education, to track and publish information about student food insecurity and homelessness. Now that wish has finally been granted. The latest NPSAS, which was publicly released in late July and features data from spring 2020---during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic -- surveyed over 100,000 students on their experiences with food and housing insecurity. Over all, the findings corroborate something that basic needs researchers have long asserted: college students face higher rates of food and housing insecurity than the general population. Kevin Kruger, president and CEO of NASPA: Student Affairs Administrations in Higher Education, said he is hopeful that the new data will help university leaders realize that homelessness and hunger aren't problems that only impact community colleges or rural institutions. |
| The Next Affirmative Action Battle May Be at West Point | |
 | Students for Fair Admissions, fresh off its Supreme Court victory gutting affirmative action in college admissions, is preparing for another potential lawsuit. The group is soliciting possible plaintiffs --- applicants rejected from the U.S. Military Academy, known as West Point; the Naval Academy; and the Air Force Academy --- for an effort to challenge race-conscious admissions at the three major American service academies, which are responsible for educating and training many of the country's future military leaders. "Were you rejected from West Point?" asks a new webpage, WestPointNotFair.org, set up on Thursday and apparently aimed at white and Asian applicants. "It may be because you're the wrong race." It goes on to urge, "Tell us your story," and provides a form requesting detailed contact information. Affirmative action at U.S. military academies was not addressed by the Supreme Court ruling in June, because Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, in a footnote, that they had "potentially distinct interests." The federal government argued in its brief to the court that race-conscious admissions in the military was needed to create a pipeline of Black and Hispanic officers, and maintain morale among the troops. Racial integration in the military is a matter of national security, the government said. The question of how to handle racial preferences in the military has come up before, notably in Grutter v. Bollinger, a 2003 case in which the Supreme Court upheld the University of Michigan Law School's use of race in admissions. In that case, high-ranking officers and civilian leaders of the military argued in an amicus brief that the military could not achieve an officer corps that was highly qualified and racially diverse without using limited race-conscious recruiting and admissions policies in both the service academies and R.O.T.C. |
| Miguel Cardona commends HBCUs, warns of attacks to public education | |
 | United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona laid out his plan to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities and criticized attacks on Black history curriculum during a visit to Birmingham Thursday. Cardona said he spoke with university leaders about what some of their needs are, including building maintenance and infrastructure needs. HBCU officials also told Cardona about their efforts to prepare young people for careers through programs like dual enrollment and health and mental health resources. "It was an opportunity to hear the great work that they're doing, how this administration has been helpful, but also what we could do to continue to support them," Sec. Cardona said during a news conference at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute alongside Mayor Randall Woodfin. "The historical funding [for HBCUs] hasn't been equitable, yet they're delivering. So the message is, you know, thank you. But also, we are still working twice as hard to get our students prepared for the jobs of today and tomorrow." When asked about any concerns that HBCUs in Alabama may have trouble attracting students given the state's near-total abortion ban and laws that target LGBTQ youth, the secretary said he believes changes to race-based college admissions after a recent Supreme Court ruling will encourage more students to look at HBCUs. "It's sad that in 2023 there are students that can't be their authentic selves on campuses across our country. We have a responsibility as educators to make sure our students feel welcome and HBCUs do that exceptionally well," he added. |
| AP Psychology 'effectively banned' in Florida over sexuality lessons, College Board says | |
 | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration has essentially barred a high school Advanced Placement psychology course in the state because it includes lessons on sexual orientation and identity that violate state law, the College Board said Thursday. The decision not only deepens a raging dispute between the struggling Republican presidential candidate and massive education nonprofit, but it also threatens the course loads of thousands of Florida students just before a new school year. "We are sad to have learned that today the Florida Department of Education has effectively banned AP Psychology in the state by instructing Florida superintendents that teaching foundational content on sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal under state law," the College Board said in a statement. "The state has said districts are free to teach AP Psychology only if it excludes any mention of these essential topics." Earlier this summer, the College Board, which administers AP exams, rejected calls to change its AP Psychology lessons on gender and sexual orientation in a direct challenge to DeSantis after his administration expanded restrictions and regulations on classroom instruction in April. That decision came after Florida and the nonprofit previously clashed over an African American history AP course that state officials rebuked for being "filled with Critical Race Theory and other obvious violations of Florida law," pointing to the "anti-woke" policies under DeSantis. But the DeSantis administration denied the College Board's latest claims, and instead blamed the nonprofit for attempting to cut off access to the course. |
SPORTS
| Pregame speeches and Madden: How Kevin Barbay's fast coaching rise has him primed for stint at Mississippi State | |
 | Inside the Appalachian State football locker room, Kevin Barbay was not the head coach. But on game days, he sure sounded like one. Especially to his offensive players. Especially on Sept. 10, 2022, in College Station, Texas. Minutes before the Mountaineers took the field at Texas A&M, Barbay, the team's offensive coordinator, was putting the final touches on another one of the patented pre-game speeches that have followed him throughout his career. "His speeches are crazy," former Appalachian State running back Daetrich Harrington recalled. "He gets fired up and juiced up every game. That had me ready to run through a wall for him. "(That day) it felt like the head coach was speaking to us. One of those speeches where we got to go out and do this, execute that. We are going to run, pass and he kept us juiced up." It wasn't as over the top as the pounding tables and walls and throwing chairs routine he practiced in Mount Pleasant, during his coaching stint at Central Michigan, but enough to get the Mountaineers, a Sun Belt Conference program, ready to go toe-to-toe with the No. 6 team in the country. By the time the clocks hit triple-zero at Kyle Field, it wasn't a surprise to Harrington that his team pulled off the jaw-dropping 17-14 upset over the Aggies, but that they didn't score more points while doing it. "We didn't have as much size as they had, but we could compete with them because of (Barbay's) offense," Harrington said. "We should have scored more points. We could have put 28-plus on them. |
| Position Previews: Getting to know Mississippi State's Special Teams group | |
| The countdown to this year's college football season has begun in earnest with just 29 days until Mississippi State football kicks off its season on Sept. 2 against Southeastern Louisiana at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs, under first-year head coach Zach Arnett, begin fall camp this week. Over the past two weeks, The Dispatch has taken a look at each position group on MSU's roster, noting who could be the potential starters, backups and impact players to look out for on the gridiron. That series concludes with special teams. MSU has dipped into the transfer portal to fill out its special teams group after losing kicker Massimo Biscardi and punter Archer Trafford to graduation last year. The Bulldogs also return one of the most dangerous return duos in the country. Here is what to know about MSU's 2023 special teams group. |
| Cape Cod Baseball League celebrates 100 years as pathway from college to majors | |
| For 100 years, the Cape Cod League has given top college players the opportunity to hone their skills and show off for scouts while facing other top talent from around the country. Using wooden bats and riding buses like they would in the minor leagues, they get a sense of what pro ball might be like. They might learn a few things about life, too. Before he came to the Cape, New York Mets manager Buck Showalter played high school and community college ball on the Florida panhandle. He won the 1976 Cape League MVP award with a .434 average that is third-best in CCBL history. "Best summer of my life," Showalter said. "See, I was from a little Southern town and a little junior college and I went up there and all of a sudden they let (us) out there on the beaches and I was like, 'Oh my God, there's another world here.' "That was quite the summer," Showalter said. "And then I went from there to Mississippi State and I was ready for anything." Like the tourists that stream to the beaches every summer, a century of baseball history has flowed through the Cape Cod League -- more, if you count the Fourth of July games held in some towns starting in 1885. The league that formed in 1923 with an Original Four of Chatham, Falmouth, Osterville and Hyannis just finished up its 100th anniversary season, trimming 10 teams down to three rounds of playoffs that start Friday. Most players stay with host families, often leading to a lifelong connection. Showalter's host father had a car rental agency. "So I would get a Chrysler Cordoba on Fridays, with the Corinthian leather," he said. "And then I would go wash my uniform, take a nap, go hang out two line drives, and hit the streets." |
| North end zone of U. of Missouri's Memorial Stadium could anchor future community entertainment zone | |
 | The north end zone of Memorial Stadium at the University of Missouri could anchor a future entertainment district serving the entire community, not only the campus. The University of Missouri System Board of Curators heard about the plan during a Tuesday tour of MU athletic facilities. "It can be much broader than just something that relates to football," said MU athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois. "This would be the anchor of an an entertainment zone, open 365, not just game days." The north end zone is the least developed area at the stadium, but Reed-Francois said student seating on the hill for games will remain whatever happens. The plan is part of a partnership with Huron consulting firm to identify areas of potential growth in MU athletics. "It changes the university forever if we do something like this," said Huron managing director Tim Walsh on the tour. There's no specific schedule for development of the entertainment zone at this point, Reed-Francois said. It's part of a process with Huron to look at the MU athletics holistically. Inside the stadium, the 300 suites in Tiger Lounge are in high demand, said Colleen Lamond, MU associate athletic director for facilities and events told those on the tour. "These don't move very much," Lamond said, noting there's not any turnover in the suites. None are available now, she said. A $250,000 capital gift over five years is required for one of the suites. |
| UNC AD Bubba Cunningham: FSU's 'barking' about leaving ACC not good for conference | |
| North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham responded to comments on the ACC's revenue gap made Wednesday at a public Florida State Board of Trustees meeting by saying the Seminoles trustees' "barking" was not good for the league. "If they want to leave, that's gonna be their choice, but there are certain obligations that they do have," Cunningham said. "We have an exit fee and we have a grant of rights. I believe that the ACC is a great league. It's been a great league for a long time. Their frustration about the money, everyone would like to have more money and everyone would like to win more. ... What they want to do and how they want to go about doing their business, that is their business but it does have an impact on us. And quite frankly, I don't think it's good for our league for them to be out there barking like that, and I'd rather see them, you know, be a good member of the league and support the league. And if they have to make a decision then so be it. Pay for the exit fee, wait for your grant of rights that you've given, and then in 2036, when those rights return to you, do whatever you want." Florida State president Rick McCullough called the ACC's current TV revenue situation, which is set to leave league members roughly $30 million in annual payouts behind the SEC and Big Ten in the future, an "existential crisis" for Florida State and encouraged the ongoing exploration of other options. Several trustees offered concurring statements. |
| Pac-12 being pushed to brink as Big Ten joins Big 12 in honing in on West Coast schools | |
| The Big Ten has joined the Big 12 in pushing the Pac-12 to the brink. Arizona is in serious talks to join the Big 12, a person with direct knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Big Ten is discussing membership with Oregon and Washington, two people with direct knowledge of those talks told the AP. None of the news bodes well for the Pac-12's survival. The boards of regents for Arizona's two biggest universities, along with the University of Washington, had special meetings Thursday night, ramping up speculation that more Pac-12 schools could leave the flailing conference. The person with direct knowledge of the Arizona situation also said that Arizona State was mulling jumping to the Big 12, too, but was not as far along in the process. That could slow down Arizona's final decision because the Tucson-based school would prefer to be in sync with its rivals from Tempe. The Arizona Board of Regents were holding a closed executive session Thursday to look at possible legal advice and discussion regarding university athletics. Washington regents held a special meeting late Thursday night with most of the 90-minute gathering held in executive session to discuss present, pending or potential litigation with counsel. The meeting included Washington President Ana Mari Cauce and athletic director Jen Cohen, and adjourned around 10:35 p.m. PDT without any action taken. While the Big 12 has been eyeing Pac-12 schools for months, the Big Ten --- which dealt the first blow to the Pac-12 by poaching Southern California and UCLA last year -- has jumped in late. |
| Washington, Oregon to Big Ten losing momentum: Sources | |
| Oregon and Washington's exit from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten appears to have lost momentum overnight, sources briefed on the discussions tell The Athletic. This is a turning of the tides after Big Ten presidents authorized commissioner Tony Petitti to pursue expansion on Thursday. Additionally, the Pac-12 has a meeting scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. ET, and there is renewed optimism around it. On Thursday night, the Arizona Board of Regents met, but no announcement was made on a possible exit from the Pac-12. The Washington Board of Regents also met Thursday night, with no announcement on a possible move to the Big Ten. George Kliavkoff, Pac-12 commissioner, presented the conference's new media rights deal Tuesday to board members and athletic directors. Initial reports indicated Apple would be the league's primary distributor and that the deal would follow an unconventional revenue structure in which the schools could incrementally improve the deal's value if they drive an unspecified number of streaming subscriptions. The ACC is also scheduled to meet Friday. |
| Why Colorado moved to Big 12 and how shift affects Pac-12 | |
| On July 21, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff took the stage for media day at a critical time for his conference. USC and UCLA were already on their way out, and Colorado was rumored to be next as the league struggled to complete a TV deal. Kliavkoff told a room full of media members and anyone watching that "our schools are committed to each other and the Pac-12." While Kliavkoff spoke, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark was wrapping up a regularly scheduled Zoom call with his athletic directors. As he completed an otherwise mundane meeting, he foreshadowed the big news to come without mentioning any school by name or any details. "He said, 'Guys, I'm not going to tell you anything,'" a source on the call said. "'I'm just feeling really good about it. If it doesn't happen next week, then it's probably not going to happen for a while. But you'll find out five minutes before it happens.' And that's basically what happened." The near simultaneous unfolding of two vastly different messages from two of the most powerful people in college athletics on a sweltering Friday in July was uncanny. Five days later, the Big 12 presidents and chancellors held a private call during which they voted unanimously to accept Colorado as a member. The next day, on July 27, the Colorado board of regents voted in favor of the move in a public videoconference -- a swift formality that lasted less than 16 minutes and put an end to months of speculation about the future home of the Buffaloes. For the third straight summer, conference realignment has been one of the biggest stories in college athletics. |
| Adidas brings in $437 million from the first Yeezy sale. Part of that will go to anti-hate groups | |
| Adidas brought in 400 million euros ($437 million) from the first release of Yeezy sneakers left over after breaking ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, as the German sportswear maker tries to offload the unsold shoes and donate part of the proceeds to groups fighting antisemitism and other forms of hate. The first batch of shoes released in June, which sold out, helped the company reach an operating profit of 176 million euros in the second quarter, better than it originally planned, Adidas said Thursday. A second sale started Wednesday. After Ye's antisemitic and other offensive comments led the company to end its partnership with the rapper in October, Adidas said it had sought a way to dispose of 1.2 billion euros worth of the high-end shoes in a responsible way. "We will continue to carefully sell off more of the existing Yeezy inventory," said CEO Bjørn Gulden, who took over in January. "This is much better than destroying and writing off the inventory and allows us to make substantial donations to organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change and Robert Kraft's Foundation to Combat Antisemitism," Gulden said. Adidas has already handed over 10 million euros to the groups and expected to give an additional 100 million euros, with further donations possible depending on how future sales go, Chief Financial Officer Harm Ohlmeyer said. |
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