| Wednesday, July 2, 2025 |
| Transforming Agrifood Systems Through Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and High-Performance Computing | |
 | Technology is key to new solutions the world needs in transitioning to a sustainable, food-secure future. The challenges to ensuring food and nutrition for all have mounted with compounding crises, and in response, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has redefined its approach to cooperation and partnerships -- forging and reinforcing those that can deliver transformative impact -- and driving innovation across its work. As the world grapples with escalating food insecurity in the context of climate change and population growth, the partnership between FAO and Mississippi State University (MSU) is a strong example of collaboration and innovation. One area of partnership focus on is artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and data science for agrifood systems, and on 25 June 2025, FAO and MSU came together at FAO headquarters to explore how these cutting-edge technologies can help build resilient, sustainable food systems and help ensure food security and nutrition globally. Stressing the urgency of preparing for a world population projected to exceed 10 billion by 2050, MSU President, Mark Keenum, outlined the university's deployment of advanced technologies. As highlighted by MSU's Provost and former Vice President for Research, David Shaw, MSU exemplifies how academic institutions can serve as key enablers in global development. |
| John Robert Arnold: Scouts honoring a legendary civic servant, singer, and man of God | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: Mississippi U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Brookhaven is lending her time to an event on July 2 in Starkville that's a fundraiser for the Scouting program in northeast Mississippi. At that event, she will receive an award noting her service to the youth in the program. For the first time, that award will bear the name of someone for whom such an award should have been named years ago -- the late John Robert Arnold, who died August 23, 2017, at the age of 94. Until suffering a fall that produced complications that ended his life, Arnold remained active, vital and engaged in service to his family, friends, and his fellow man. To look at John Robert Arnold as he passed his 90th birthday, one would not suspect that during his lifetime, he had been one of Mississippi's wealthiest, most popular and most influential individuals. ... We attended church together where we both sang in the choir, shared weekly fellowship in the Starkville Rotary Club and worked together as adult Scouters in the former Pushmataha Area Council of the Scouting program, now part of the Natchez Trace Council, which serves youth in 22 northeast Mississippi counties from Macon to the Tennessee state line. ... This week, we will honor Sen. Hyde-Smith for lending her time and effort to help our Scouts with the presentation of the very first John Robert Arnold Champion for Scouting Award. |
| SFD takes second stab at grant to reopen Fire Station 5 | |
 | Starkville Fire Department is making a second run at a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant in hopes of staffing and reopening Fire Station 5. Aldermen on Tuesday approved allowing Fire Chief Dewayne Davis to apply for a $821,099 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, which would provide funding to hire 12 firefighters. "It will be very helpful to get Station 5 back open," Davis told The Dispatch. The grant would cover the salaries and benefits for the needed firefighters over three years. Davis said any additional costs would fall on the city. "There will be additional costs that go along with that, such as turnout gear," Davis told the board during a Friday work session. "The grant covers just basic firefighter costs. It doesn't cover the lieutenants and sergeant ranks ... so the promotional costs would be an additional cost." Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk said those extra expenses, along with the city's required 25% match, would cost Starkville about $345,000, according to Davis' estimates. After three years, the city would be responsible for either maintaining those positions or letting them go. |
| Matt Laubhan leaves WTVA, launches own site | |
 | At midnight on July 2, Matt Laubhan will begin providing weather coverage through his own site, Mississippi Live Weather. It comes a little more than 24 hours after his last broadcast with WTVA, where he was chief meteorologist for 14 years. "You're always supposed to have an exit strategy, right?" Laubhan said from his new studio inside the Renasant Center for IDEAs in Downtown Tupelo on Tuesday afternoon. "You're always supposed to know, but I didn't have one." Laubhan had no intention of ever leaving Mississippi, much less the television station where he became a popular, well-known figure. But all that changed in January. Allen Media Group, WTVA's parent company, announced a plan to provide local weather coverage powered by The Weather Channel to its television stations. That would have led to layoffs of the weather teams; in fact, some stations did eliminate their local forecasters. In Tupelo and North Mississippi, that ushered forth a groundswell of support for Laubhan and the Weather Authority team at the station to keep it intact. And it worked. Allen Media canceled the plans, at least for WTVA. Nevertheless, for Laubhan, it also brought realization that even though he had given his all for those 14 years and won 10 Emmy Awards along the way, it might not be enough to keep him or his colleagues from being shown the door, eventually. |
| Mississippi Agricultural Commissioner tours oyster farms, observes growing and harvesting | |
 | Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson got his first look at the 466-acre Deer Island Aquaculture Park to see how oyster farmers are growing and harvesting Mississippi oysters. Like other homegrown crops, Gipson said farm-raised oysters are better than imports. "When you buy it direct from a farm and you know it's locally raised, you're gonna be healthier, your family's gonna be healthier, your outcomes in your life are gonna be healthier for you eating fresh, eating local," he said.The goal of the new seafood labeling law is twofold: making sure you know what you're eating and helping local fishermen by encouraging people to buy local fish, shrimp, crawfish and oysters. Mark Havard is the owner of Two Crackers Oyster Company. He is one of many commercial oyster producers who lease part of the Deer Island reef. "This is a growing industry, and we want to get Mississippi seafood back on your table," he said. "We can not meet the demand out there. We're growing more oysters every year, and the demand for the oysters across the country just can not be met," Havard said. |
| Jason White reviews legislative special session | |
| Mississippi House Speaker Jason White spoke to the Stennis Press Forum on Monday, reflecting on the challenges and achievements of the 2025 legislative session and outlining an ambitious agenda for the year ahead. Speaking to a crowd of journalists, policy professionals, and community leaders, White emphasized transparency, fiscal responsibility, and what he called "common sense conservative legislation" as guiding principles for the House moving forward. White pointed out that the legislature is now fully funding education and chastised the press for not making a bigger deal about this. He also pointed to successes in reforming PERS, lowering taxes and revitalizing downtown Jackson. He noted that the state now has billions in surpluses and said the senate should have done more to use this money to support vital local projects. White acknowledged that much of the public attention during the 2025 session focused on "the drama or the infighting," but he insisted the House achieved nearly all of its stated goals. "The House was clear on our goals from the beginning, and we did, for better or worse, accomplish almost everything we set out to do this session," he said. |
| Trump nominates Baxter Kruger, Scott Leary for Mississippi U.S. attorney posts | |
| President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Baxter Kruger to become Mississippi's new U.S. attorney in the Southern District and Scott Leary to become U.S. attorney for the Northern District. The two nominations will head to the U.S. Senate for consideration. If confirmed, the two will oversee federal criminal prosecutions and investigations in the state. Kruger graduated from the Mississippi College School of Law in 2015 and was previously an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District. He is currently the director of the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security. Leary graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law, and he has been a federal prosecutor for most of his career. He worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Tennessee in Memphis from 2002 to 2008. Afterward, he worked at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Mississippi in Oxford, where he is currently employed. |
| 5 Years Later: Reflecting on the old state flag retirement ceremony | |
| On July 1, 2020, the old state flag flew for the final time above the Mississippi State Capitol. Unity was the overwhelming feeling of that flag retirement ceremony for then-speaker Philip Gunn. "I had a front row seat to watch the men's hearts change on this issue," noted Gunn. "And I've always been quick to say I think the Lord moved in the hearts of these individuals to give us a new state image. And I got to watch these men grapple with what they thought was in their political best interests versus what they knew in their hearts to be right. And to see them come down on the side of what they knew to be right." The Mississippi Economic Council had been working behind the scenes on the issue for years. "Five years later, I think we point to that and see over $32 billion of investment," noted MEC President and CEO Scott Waller. "Thousands of jobs. One of the largest investments that was made, when that company talked about its reason for choosing Mississippi...it went as far as saying had the flag not changed, we would not have been here. That, without question, tells me it was time for it to happen." |
| South Mississippi is a hotspot for vaccine skepticism, data shows: 'It's worrying us' | |
 | The number of families refusing to vaccinate their children is growing across the Mississippi Coast, which has recorded more religious exemptions to vaccines than any other part of the state. New data from the State Department of Health shows that there are now nearly 700 children across Harrison and Jackson counties who are unvaccinated because of their families' religious beliefs. Mississippi began allowing the exemptions two years ago. The data also shows, when compared with each county's childhood population, that George and Stone counties have the second and third highest rates of religious exemptions in the state. Physicians and public health officials say the scale of vaccine holdouts so far does not appear to threaten herd immunity, which a community reaches when enough residents are vaccinated that together they stop a disease's spread. But they called the trend troubling. "It's worrying us," said David Reeves, a pediatrician for Memorial Health System. "It's a very frustrating time to be a doctor." |
| At Horhn's Swearing-In as Jackson Mayor, Gov. Reeves Vows Support for Capital City | |
| John Horhn has a laundry list of items to address as he begins his tenure as Mayor of Jackson, from potholes and street repairs, to public safety and attracting businesses to Mississippi's capital city. But as he delivered remarks to a room of supporters gathered for his swearing-in ceremony inside a ballroom at the Jackson Convention Complex on Tuesday, July 1, Horhn said that one of his main priorities is restoring hope in the capital city. A key piece in fostering that feeling of hope is unity among the state's elected officials, he explained. "County, state, federal government. If we have the help of those entities, there's no holding Jackson back," Horhn said. Former Jackson Mayor Kane Ditto spoke on Horhn's behalf while another former mayor, Harvey Johnson, looked on from the audience. Horhn publicly thanked the mayors for their support, as well as Gov. Tate Reeves, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Hinds County Board of Supervisors President Robert Graham -- all of whom he said have pledged to do more to support Jackson. Reeves delivered a speech early in the ceremony, commending Horhn for "his deep love for the capital city" and decades of service as a state senator. During his speech in support of Horhn, Reeves said that he was certain he and Horhn shared a goal of wanting to see Jackson and the entire state thrive. |
| This Job Market Is Weaker Than It Looks | |
 | American jobs growth is less than meets the eye. The U.S. has been adding jobs at a respectable clip, though the pace has been slowing. Economists expect that the Labor Department's monthly jobs report on Thursday will show that the economy added 110,000 jobs in June. This year through May, the U.S. has added an average of 124,000 jobs a month. That is down from last year's average of 168,000 a month -- a reflection in part of how stop-start tariffs, government layoffs and an immigration crackdown could be catching up to the job market. More fundamentally, slow population growth and an aging workforce make it harder for the U.S. to add jobs like it did in the past. The good news has been that layoff activity has remained relatively low, with employers hanging on to workers despite worries about the economy. And wage growth remains decent. But economic uncertainty has slowed the pace of hiring. People who have jobs are keeping them, but those who want jobs are having a tough time finding work. That includes recent high-school and college graduates, people who are back on the job hunt after an absence, and those who have been fired. That has created a stagnant market. |
| House Republicans race toward a final vote on Trump's tax bill, daring critics to oppose | |
 | Republican leaders in the House are sprinting toward a Wednesday vote on President Donald Trump's tax and spending cuts package, determined to seize momentum from a hard-fought vote in the Senate while essentially daring members to defy their party's leader and vote against it. "The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay," the top four House GOP leaders said Tuesday after the bill passed the Senate 51-50, thanks to Vice President JD Vance's tiebreaking vote. It's a risky gambit, one designed to meet Trump's demand for a July 4 finish -- and there's a steep climb ahead. Since launching early this year, Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way, often succeeding by only a single vote. Their House majority stands at only 220-212, leaving little room for defections. Some Republicans are likely to balk at being asked to rubber stamp the Senate bill less than 24 hours after passage, having had little time to read or absorb the changes that were made, many at the last minute to win the vote of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. House Republicans from competitive districts have bristled at the Senate bill's cuts to Medicaid, while conservatives have lambasted the legislation as straying from their fiscal goals. |
| House Rules Committee advances Trump megabill as potential GOP revolt looms | |
 | The House Rules Committee advanced the GOP's "big, beautiful bill" early Wednesday morning after an hours-long meeting, sending the legislation to the floor for consideration as its fate in the chamber remains unclear. The panel adopted the procedural rule in a 7-6 vote, with two Republicans -- Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) -- siding with Democrats against the measure, showcasing their opposition to the underlying legislation over deficit concerns. The hearing ran for nearly 12 hours, with Democrats needling Republicans about the bill, GOP lawmakers largely praising the measure and some hardline conservatives criticizing its contents. The panel convened at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday and gaveled out just after 1 a.m. EDT on Wednesday. Despite the successful vote, the legislation is far from being out of the woods. The full chamber must now debate and vote to adopt the procedural rule, which could get dicey as a handful of hardline conservatives vow to oppose the effort. If the rule fails, legislative business in the House would be brought to a standstill, threatening to thwart leadership's goal of sending President Trump the package by July 4, which is Friday. |
| Senate Republicans shock the House with a supercharged megabill | |
 | It was the exact opposite of what nearly everyone on Capitol Hill expected. Rather than soften its edges, Senate Republicans took the sprawling Republican megabill the House sent them and sharpened it further, making the heart of President Donald Trump's legislative agenda more politically explosive. GOP senators made steeper cuts to Medicaid, hastened cuts to wind and solar energy tax credits and also managed to add hundreds of billions of dollars more to the deficit compared to the House plan. Usually, it's far-right conservatives in the House proposing politically precarious policies, leaving the careful moderates in the Senate -- the "cooling saucer," according to the old Hill cliche -- to dial them back. This time, Senate Republicans were dead-set on making an expensive suite of pro-growth business tax cuts permanent. That required finding deep offsetting cuts, and the cold, hard calculus by the Senate GOP's chief architects was that enough of their 53-member conference would ultimately swallow their protests and go along. That bet paid off Tuesday with a 51-50 nail-biter vote. But now GOP senators are having to do some explaining. |
| Exits by Tillis and Bacon demonstrate Trump's enduring grip on modern GOP | |
 | The looming departures of North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis and Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon represent the latest retreat by members of the Republican mainstream and another sign of President Donald Trump's firm grip on his party. Tillis, especially, surprised political observers over the weekend when he announced his retirement after getting slammed by Trump over his opposition to the president's signature domestic policy legislation. "Trump is growing more confident in his leadership of the Republican Party,'' GOP strategist Alex Conant said. "You can't just get on his good side with some nice tweets. You have to vote for his agenda. ... Clearly, he's learned a lot about politics over the last 10 years, and one of the things he's learned is that political power is useless if you don't use it to advance your goals." Still, the president's brand of politics doesn't play in every House district, particularly the purple ones like Bacon's that the GOP needs to maintain its majority. And on the Senate side, while Republicans have a favorable map going into next year's midterms, Tillis' retirement gives Democrats an opening to gain a seat the party lost in 2014. As Trump marks a decade in politics -- and almost six months into his second term as president -- most Republicans know that challenging him carries a steep price, said Jonathan Weiler, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| National pride in the U.S. has declined sharply, Gallup survey finds | |
 | Just 58 percent of adults in the United States are "extremely" or "very" proud to be American, according to a Gallup poll released this week -- the lowest level recorded by the company in the more than two decades since it started including the question in surveys. The dramatic decline was largely driven by Democrats, while most Republicans had strong feelings of national pride, according to the poll published Monday -- an indicator of the deepening partisan divide in the U.S. Younger Americans, particularly Gen Z, are also less likely to be proud of their country compared with previous generations. "At the beginning of the 21st century, U.S. adults were nearly unanimous in saying they were extremely or very proud to be Americans. But that national unity has eroded over the past 25 years due to a combination of political and generational changes," Gallup said. Thirty-six percent of Democrats expressed strong pride in their country in this year's poll, down 26 percentage points from last year to a new low. Political independents also reached an all-time low, with 53 percent expressing great pride. More than two-thirds of Democrats reported great pride in being American in 2017, when President Donald Trump first took office, according to Gallup. That number dipped to 42 percent in 2020. By contrast, national pride remained high among Republicans at 92 percent, up seven percentage points from last year. |
| NOAA budget spells out plans to reduce spending and abandon climate research | |
 | A new budget document from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spells out in detail what many scientists and researchers both in and out of the federal government have feared since a White House budget proposal in the spring. If approved by Congress, it would reduce NOAA's expenses by 30%, roughly $2 billion, and the 12,000-member staff by 18%. It would eliminate the agency's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and zero out funding for its climate, weather and ocean laboratories and cooperative institutes, which work to improve forecasting and better understand weather patterns and the ocean. That includes an office that helps support the pioneering carbon dioxide monitoring on Hawaii's Mauna Loa, and another that supports the National Sea Grant program and its aquaculture research. Sea Grant is a 50-year-old federal university partnership that assists coastal communities and local economies with understanding, conserving and using coastal resources. Members of the American Meteorological Society and others are worried the actions taken at NOAA are risking the nation's safety and economy. |
| A New Era for Ole Miss Alumni: Triplett Alumni Center expansion plans underway | |
| For almost 75 years, Ole Miss alumni have found a home at the Alumni House overlooking the iconic Grove. This space has served as a hub for connection, celebration and memories. However, as the university -- and its alumni base -- continues to grow, so has the urgency for a facility that meets the evolving needs of the Ole Miss community. Ole Miss Alumni Association CEO Kirk Purdom (BA '93) says the Association plays a crucial role in maintaining lifelong connections between the university and its former students. Through programs, events and initiatives, he says the association fosters a sense of belonging that extends well beyond graduation. As the number of living alumni has surged, the demand for facilities to support these relationships has only increased. "Enhanced facilities are not only essential in achieving this mission but also contribute to expanding services and engagement opportunities," said Purdom. "Demands for meeting and event spaces exceed the current Triplett Alumni Center's capacity. Some traditional events have moved off campus, while some new requests have been declined due to space limitations." Plans to fulfill this need are underway with a new and improved Triplett Alumni Center. Architectural plans call for a classic red-brick building -- a $51 million-plus project. |
| Morgan Stanley, Scion Group to acquire UM student housing portfolio for $262M | |
| Morgan Stanley Investment Management, through investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, and The Scion Group announced a joint venture to acquire a portfolio of student housing communities in Oxford for a combined investment of $262 million. The portfolio is located within 2 miles of the University of Mississippi campus and comprises 600 apartments, townhomes and cottages with more than 2,000 beds. "We are pleased to acquire this high-quality portfolio of student housing communities at the University of Mississippi, offering a variety of product types and price points," said Will Milam, Head of U.S. Investments at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing. "The dramatic supply-demand dynamics in the region have led to notable financial performance for these assets, which we expect to continue as the university continues to experience strong enrollment." The acquisition of College Town Oxford, a cottage-style community located on the west side of the campus, closed earlier this month. The remaining acquisitions of a garden-style community located south of the campus and four smaller downtown Oxford properties are expected to close in the third quarter of 2025. |
| Delta State University Holds Certification Ceremony | |
| Delta State University recently hosted a certification ceremony recently to recognize graduates of the Agricultural Aircraft Operations Career Pathway program. The event was held at The Gin in the West End District and celebrated a new generation of skilled aviation professionals poised to support Mississippi's vital agricultural sector. The program is the result of DSU's collaboration with area ag pilots, the Cleveland Airport Board, and many others. The Delta State University Agricultural Aircraft Operations Career Pathway is a $2 million Congressional award that is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Additional training and supportive services funds were provided for the students by AccelerateMS and the Mississippi Office of Apprenticeship, MDES, through South Delta Planning and Development District. The program featured a special introductory video and welcoming remarks delivered on behalf of the Honorable U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by her Field Representative, Bill Crump. |
| Nissan Commits $250,000 to Mississippi's HBCU Stem Program Initiative | |
| Nissan is donating $250,000 to Mississippi's seven HBCUs to further STEM education, continuing its 11th consecutive year of funding Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the state. Since launching the Mississippi HBCU STEM Initiative in 2014, Nissan has invested $2.75 million to support and encourage innovative programming that serves Mississippi students, helping to grow STEM awareness and the technology workforce of the future. "I'm particularly proud as an alumnus of Alcorn State University for Nissan to contribute to the future of science, technology, engineering and mathematics at Mississippi HBCUs, creating the next generation of workforce leaders," said Victor Taylor, Vice President, Manufacturing, Nissan Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant. "Nissan's Canton facility counts dozens of Mississippi HBCU graduates among its leadership and staff. In continuing this investment, we are helping to prepare students for their future career in industries like automotive, creating a growing talent pool for this community." The seven HBCUs receiving a Nissan donation are Alcorn State University, Coahoma Community College, Hinds Community College---Utica Campus, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Rust College and Tougaloo College. |
| East Central Community College gets ready for Kids College | |
 | East Central Community College is preparing for its annual Kids College. Kids College is open to all kids in first through fifth grade, with activities for all interests. There are two sessions per day from July 14th to July 18th. ECCC fine arts department chair Mandy Quinn says this is an excellent opportunity for kids to feed their interests and have something to do during the summer. "Individuals that come and attend it will get to select a variety of emphasis during the morning block. That can be creative college, automotive, cosmetology, sweet treat creation, STEM, and if they would like to, they can also add on the evening the afternoon block, which is Sports Jamboree." |
| Mississippi Delta Community College Administrators Attend Education Conference | |
| Mississippi Delta Community College Dean of Student Services, Christopher Lee, and Director of Financial Aid, Cade Holder, recently attended the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators 2nd Annual Prison Education Program Convening, held June 4–7, in Washington, D.C. Themed "Aligning Efforts: Navigating the Intersection of Student Services and Prison Education," the four-day convening focused on the administration of higher education programs in prison and the essential services they provide to incarcerated students. MDCC's involvement in prison education continues to grow through its robust program at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, where students pursue college coursework and credentials designed to support reentry and personal development. As MDCC continues to strengthen its commitment to incarcerated students, participation in events like the NASFAA PEP Convening underscores the college's focus on aligning student services and compliance practices to build sustainable, student-centered programs. |
| Childhood love of detective shows leads Athens woman to career at UGA Police Department | |
 | Britney Green serves her community when she's on duty and when she's off duty. "I really enjoy the UGA community, and I enjoy Athens," she said. Green joined the University of Georgia Police Department in 2014 as a patrol officer. After a year and a half, she moved to the Criminal Investigation Division, eventually becoming a lieutenant and supervisor of the division. Now, she serves as the department's professional standards coordinator. "I always knew I wanted to get into a career where I could help people," she said. "That's how I was brought up. My family loves helping others." Even before joining the police department, Green was very familiar with the university. She's the first one to go into law enforcement, but several family members, including her mother, have worked at UGA. "It felt like home to apply here," she said. Green developed an interest in investigations at a young age. "I grew up watching all of those detective shows and thought, 'Maybe one day I can find out what that's like in real life,'" she said. |
| Hegar opens door on new chapter on first day as Texas A&M chancellor | |
 | After four months of waiting, Glenn Hegar finally strolled into Texas A&M University System headquarters as chancellor for the first time Tuesday morning. It wasn't his first time in the Moore/Connally Building on Tarrow Street as he has been a regular at the office learning the ropes from former Chancellor John Sharp. On one of those previous trips, he must have learned how to get into the building other than the main entrance. Hegar first entered through a back way to go up to the chancellor's suite and drop off his bag before coming back down and doing a grand entrance through the front doors where members of the local media and A&M System communications department staff were waiting to welcome him. "I feel like a kid. I'm back in class all over again," Hegar told local media after his entrance through the front doors. "It's like the first day of class. Obviously there has been a lot of work over the last three months working with Chancellor Sharp and the administration on the transition. Today is really nice to be officially in the role. I'm extremely excited about what's on the horizon for the Texas A&M University System." |
| U. of Missouri System to receive $518 million in core funding | |
 | Following the approval of the state budget, Gov. Mike Kehoe signed off on $518 million in core funding for the University of Missouri System. This marks the sixth straight year core funding has been increased, according to university officials. "We are deeply grateful that lawmakers continue to trust in our mission of service throughout the state," UM System President Mun Choi said in the news release. "The UM System contributes $6.5 billion to Missouri's economy by providing world-class education, conducting important research, delivering meaningful outreach and developing the workforce of the future." Along with an increase in core funding, the UM System will receive $110.9 million to support students pursuing doctorates in medicine, veterinary medicine, optometry, dentistry and pharmacy. An additional $83.6 million will be provided to support the mission of public research at the universities. The University of Missouri is budgeted to receive $50 million for its NextGen MU Research Reactor, $30.2 million for MU Extension to continue the land-grant mission and $10 million in new funding to support rural medicine education and additional engagement and extension services. |
| Indiana Public Universities to 'Voluntarily' End 19% of Degrees | |
 | Indiana's public higher education institutions plan to eliminate or consolidate over 400 programs, equaling roughly one-fifth of their degree offerings statewide, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education said Monday. The announcement came just before a new state law took effect Tuesday setting minimum requirements for how many graduates individual programs must produce at the universities and Ivy Tech Community College, or face termination. Republican state legislators passed the law -- a state budget bill with major higher education provisions tacked on -- less than two days after revealing it in April. It says institutions can ask the commission for approval to keep offering degrees that don't meet the threshold of average annual graduates. But the universities "voluntarily submitted" the first wave of hundreds of programs to be ended or consolidated, the commission said, meaning they didn't ask for exemptions. According to a list posted by the commission, among the 400 degrees to be nixed or combined into others are many foreign language and teacher-education programs. The list also includes undergraduate and graduate degrees in fine arts, English, business, economics, philosophy, history, anthropology, sociology, journalism, public administration, social work, labor studies, political science, American studies, Africana studies, women's and gender studies, religious studies, and classical studies. |
| UVa Became an Unexpected Trump Target. Now What? | |
 | On Saturday, scores of students, faculty and staff members, and local residents joined James E. Ryan, president of the University of Virginia, for what could be the very last "Run With Jim." Only this time, it was branded as a "Run for Jim." Ryan, whose compelled resignation under pressure from the Department of Justice startled the higher-ed sector last week, had made recurring group jogs around campus his trademark. They helped cement his reputation among some as a president-of-the-people after taking office in 2018. Nearly seven years later, at the abrupt and emotional end of his presidency, Ryan addressed some of those people. Though he'll no longer be at UVa's helm, he told the crowd of supporters: "I'm not going anywhere. I'm just returning to civilian life." Ryan's ouster has turned UVa into an unexpected battlefield in the Trump administration's political assault on colleges. For months, officials have wielded federal power to rebalance what they see as higher ed's extreme leftward tilt and stamp out diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Harvard and Columbia Universities were predictable targets, their fates now tied up in a handful of court cases. But the greatest concession to Trump thus far, as The New York Times suggested on Friday, may very well have come from Charlottesville. That UVa of all places was the site of such extraordinary scrutiny has left professors reeling. They wonder what's in store for higher ed's future if strong-arming presidential resignations is in the cards. |
| UVA ouster shows Trump higher ed fight ready to go beyond Ivy Leagues | |
| The shocking ouster of the president of the University of Virginia (UVA) has shown the Trump administration is expanding its higher education battle to public universities and using local and state support to push its demands. University President James Ryan announced Friday he would be leaving after an apparent pressure campaign from the Trump administration that went largely unreported until it reached its boiling point. President Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) began a civil rights investigation into UVA months ago, according to The New York Times, with the administration particularly concerned about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the university. The department specifically pushed for the ouster of Ryan to settle the civil rights investigation, according to The Times, after he built a reputation of embracing diversity initiatives and made enemies among the conservative bloc in the UVA community. While UVA's Board of Visitors voted unanimously in March to shut down the university's DEI offices, it was not enough for the federal government. Experts speculate UVA is a unique situation given the political backing the Trump administration was able to get from the university's board, many of whom were appointed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. |
| How Do You Teach Computer Science in the A.I. Era? | |
 | Carnegie Mellon University has a well-earned reputation as one of the nation's top schools for computer science. Its graduates go on to work at big tech companies, start-ups and research labs worldwide. Still, for all its past success, the department's faculty is planning a retreat this summer to rethink what the school should be teaching to adapt to the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence. The technology has "really shaken computer science education," said Thomas Cortina, a professor and an associate dean for the university's undergraduate programs. Computer science, more than any other field of study, is being challenged by generative A.I. The A.I. technology behind chatbots like ChatGPT, which can write essays and answer questions with humanlike fluency, is making inroads across academia. But A.I. is coming fastest and most forcefully to computer science, which emphasizes writing code, the language of computers. Computer science programs at universities across the country are now scrambling to understand the implications of the technological transformation, grappling with what to keep teaching in the A.I. era. Ideas range from less emphasis on mastering programming languages to focusing on hybrid courses designed to inject computing into every profession, as educators ponder what the tech jobs of the future will look like in an A.I. economy. Heightening the sense of urgency is a tech job market that has tightened in recent years. |
| 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Nears the Finish Line | |
| The Senate's sweeping reconciliation bill, which narrowly passed Tuesday after 37 hours of debate, could significantly change how American colleges and universities are run, even with some recent changes designed to soften the blow, higher education experts said. "Despite all of the headwinds, [Republicans] continue to move this forward and they're very close to getting [the bill] over the finish line and onto the president's desk by July 4," said Jon Fansmith, senior vice president for government relations and national engagement at the American Council on Education. "When you look at the magnitude of what's in there for higher education, the fact that they're able to do that is very concerning." Among other changes, the legislation increases the tax rate for university endowments, introduces a new metric to hold colleges accountable for student income levels after graduation, expands the Pell Grant to short-term job training programs and eliminates Grad PLUS loans. The megabill also limits access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and cuts Medicaid. Fansmith noted that though the massive cuts to state subsidies don't directly concern higher education, the downstream effects could be devastating. |
| Senate passes big changes to student loans in reconciliation bill | |
| The Senate's version of President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" passed Tuesday would make significant changes to student loan programs, worrying advocates that borrowers will face higher monthly payments. The reconciliation bill revamps the types of student loan repayment plans available to borrowers; how much students will be able borrow from the federal government; and how student loan deferment works. The massive package now heads back to the House. If passed it its current form, it would represent some of the biggest changes to the student loan system in years. In the megabill's current form, student loan repayment options would dwindle down to two in the next few years. Multiple popular plans, such as the Biden administration's SAVE option, would be phased out in favor of either a new Repayment Assistance Plan or a standard plan. Borrowers would have to choose one of those plans between July 2026 and July 2028. The legislation also eliminates the Graduate PLUS Program, which allows students going to graduate or professional school to cover the full cost of attendance. Instead, a cap of $100,000 will be put on lifetime loans for graduate students, and $200,000 for medical and law students. Other changes include eligibility for Pell Grants, excluding those who receive full rides to a university and adding individuals who enroll in workplace training programs. |
| What the Senate's Sprawling Policy Bill Means for Higher Ed | |
| By the narrowest of possible margins, the Senate on Tuesday passed President Trump's signature legislation, sending the sprawling, expensive domestic-policy bill back to an uncertain future in the House. To fund the extension of roughly $3.8 trillion in tax cuts made during Trump's first term, the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade while making steep cuts to Medicaid and other social services. Low-income Americans would be especially hard-hit, analyses show. Should the bill become law, it would contain some bitter pills for higher ed, too: an increased excise tax on the endowment income of wealthy colleges, penalties for institutions that fail to deliver an earnings bump to their graduates, and the elimination of Grad PLUS loans. But while advocates for the sector and its students decry those provisions, they may have dodged more damaging bullets. The Senate legislation underwent significant changes in the week leading up to its passage, several of which softened provisions in the House bill that had raised alarms across the sector. The Senate retained the House's broad plan to raise the endowment tax, for example, but it limited the extent of the hike and opened up loopholes for small institutions. As the late-stage lobbying moves back to the House, President Trump has attempted to crack the whip. |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs will return to Tupelo for nonconference matchup | |
| Mississippi State men's basketball announced two more nonconference opponents for the 2025-26 season, as well as a return to Tupelo for December action. The Bulldogs will return to Tupelo for the third straight season for nonconference play, facing West Coast Conference team San Francisco at Cadence Bank Arena on Sunday Dec. 7. The Dons have made back-to-back appearances in the National Invitational Tournament, and have averaged 22.7 wins per season in four years under head coach Chris Gerlufsen. Last season, the Bulldogs faced McNeese State, narrowly winning 66-63 against the eventual NCAA Tournament team. So far, the 2025-26 schedule also includes neutral-site action against Iowa State, Kansas State and either Nebraska or New Mexico. The Bulldogs will also travel to face Georgia Tech in the ACC/SEC Challenge. The team also announced that it added a home game against Alabama State, set for Monday, Dec. 29. It's the sixth confirmed nonconference matchup at Humphrey Coliseum for the upcoming season along with games against Southeastern Louisiana, New Orleans, SMU, Long Island and Memphis. |
| Ace Reese confirms return to Mississippi State after rumors of leaving for transfer portal | |
| Ace Reese confirmed his returned to Mississippi State following rumors of him leaving for the NCAA transfer portal. The baseball All-American first told the news to Kendall Rogers. "SCOOP: Contrary to what has been rumored over the last week or so, Mississippi State slugger and D1Baseball All-American Ace Reese tells me he will not enter the portal, and will stay put," Rogers wrote on Twitter. "Reese's return is obviously massive for Brian O'Connor and Co." This past season, Reese played in 57 games and hit .352 for the Bulldogs. He also hit 21 home runs and had 66 RBI to go along with his 80 hits and 58 runs scored. Reese transferred to Mississippi State prior to the 2025 season after spending 2024 with Houston. He hit seven home runs, 34 RBI and had a .278 batting average during that season. |
| Baseball: Sullivan Earns CSC Academic All-American Of The Year | |
| Mississippi State's Noah Sullivan was selected as the Division I Baseball Academic All-American of the Year by College Sports Communicators on Tuesday. Sullivan is the first player in program history to be named an Academic All-American of the Year and the 20th Diamond Dawg to be named to the CSC Academic All-All America Team. MSU players have been tabbed Academic All-America 25 times total with first teamer R.J. Yeager being the last in 2022. Sullivan posted a perfect 4.0 grade point average as a graduate student majoring in workforce education leadership. He is one of only three players from the Southeastern Conference selected to the CSC Academic All-America first team. On the field, the junior from Orlando, Florida was the only Bulldog to start in all 59 games as a designated hitter and pitcher. Sullivan was second on the team hitting .345 with 70 hits, 16 doubles, 15 home runs and 46 RBIs. He also ranked third in the SEC with a .475 on-base percentage and reached base in 33 consecutive games during one stretch of the season. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound right-hander also drew seven midweek starts on the mound where he posted a 1.96 earned run average with 15 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings of work but did not factor into a decision. |
| Glass remains half full for ex-Bulldog Foscue | |
| Justin Foscue's first taste of life in the big leagues in 2024 read a bit like a classic tale from Charles Dickens. The best of times included his big-league debut with Texas on April 5, 2024, and his first career hit and RBI two nights later in front of a national TV audience on ESPN against in-state rival Houston. However, the flip side was the left oblique strain which landed the Mississippi State product on the injured list three days later. Foscue was initially on the 10-day IL but in late April, his injury was deemed worse than originally thought and he was shifted to the 60-day IL. After being activated in late June, he returned to Triple-A Round Rock before returning to the Majors for nine days in July. After heading back to Triple-A again, he was recalled by the Rangers again on Aug. 31. All told, Foscue appeared in 15 games with 44 plate appearances and struggled offensively, woes which he has put behind him after Texas recalled him from the minors again on June 21. Thus far, he's appeared in three games and has just one hit, but he remains optimistic. "It's just good to be back and be in a big-league clubhouse again. Just a learning experience (is how I view 2024)," Foscue, 26, said. ... like many who have played ball at MSU before making it to the big leagues, he credits those years in Starkville as crucial in preparing him for life in the show. |
| Just did it: Auburn signs game-changing Nike deal | |
| Today marks a new era for Auburn Athletics. After 18 years with Under Armour, the Tigers will wear the Nike Swoosh on all uniforms and merchandise for the next 10 years. "We are excited to enter this new partnership with Nike, a brand that consistently champions athletes and sport around the world," said Athletics Director John Cohen in Tuesday's press release. "We believe that our agreement will continue to elevate Auburn and best serve our student-athletes and our university moving forward." In 2005, Auburn became the first Power Five school to sign with Under Armour, becoming the brand's flagship program. All 21 varsity teams at Auburn will receive new uniforms, courtesy of Nike. While other universities have tested out new alternate uniforms, it is highly unlikely that we will see that on the Plains. Athletics have a storied history at Auburn, and the university is expected to stick to their roots. Football, volleyball, soccer, and cross country will be the first teams to rep the orange and blue Swoosh this fall. "There's not a student-athlete who's not excited about Nike," said Head baseball Coach Butch Thompson. "You can see it with younger people when you're out recruiting. When they're not under contract, it seems like Nike is preferred a bunch." |
| NCAA's House settlement era begins, shaking up college athletics as some schools opt out | |
| The NCAA's House settlement era opened Tuesday, with athletic programs across the country free to start paying millions to their athletes in the biggest change in the history of college athletics. The end of the NCAA's longstanding amateur model is certain to cause headaches and disputes among powerhouse schools and smaller colleges alike. Scattered among them, however, is a handful of schools that have decided to wait it out at least a year to see how things develop, including legal risks and Title IX concerns. Call them the opt-outs. The Ivy League removed itself from the conversation early, saying in January that its eight schools -- which do not award athletic scholarships -- will not participate. Military rules bar Navy, Air Force, and Army from compensating athletes through name, image and likeness deals. But alongside the academies are others choosing to watch the settlement unfold from the sidelines during year one. The deadline for schools to opt out was Monday. There were very few announcements. For schools opting in – and that's the vast majority across Division I -- there is a host of questions. |
| North Carolina extends AD Cunningham, hires Newmark as successor | |
| North Carolina announced Tuesday it has hired Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing President Steve Newmark as the successor to athletic director Bubba Cunningham. Newmark will serve as executive associate athletic director starting next month, focusing on driving revenue in football and men's and women's basketball, before transitioning to athletic director in summer 2026. Cunningham will then become a senior adviser to Newmark and Chancellor Lee Roberts. As part of the succession plan, Cunningham received a two-year contract extension through July 2029. Given the shifting collegiate landscape in this new revenue-sharing era, North Carolina believes making these changes now will help serve the athletic department into the future. Newmark, a native of Chapel Hill, has served as president of RFK Racing for the past 15 years. Before joining RFK Racing, Newmark was a partner at a Charlotte-based law firm, where he worked extensively with the SEC, Conference USA and the NCAA. He also served on the advisory committee that helped hire Bill Belichick. |
| The big divide: How the SEC and Big Ten differ in dealing with the media | |
| The Sandestin, Fla., Hilton is part hotel complex, part beach resort. Every year after Memorial Day, the SEC meets there to discuss league and national matters. Media members are also there, so it amounts to a week of publicity for the conference. This year, as the debate raged over the future of the College Football Playoff, the result was a lot of thinking out loud. Head coaches and athletic directors mused about different options. Commissioner Greg Sankey held a daily news conference, and at his final one, media members were handed an eight-page argument for why the SEC was the toughest football conference. Whether you liked the SEC's message or not, it got out. Meanwhile, the other major conference was silent. The Big Ten quietly held its meetings the week before in Los Angeles, purposefully keeping the media at arm's length. Normally, this would just be a media story, relatively unimportant in the grand scheme. But in this case, it seems to matter: The SEC and Big Ten were supposed to be working together on a format, but the public thinking by the SEC -- and the silence from the Big Ten and Commissioner Tony Petitti -- showed a fissure. As one Big Ten athletic director told The Athletic right after SEC meetings: "We thought we were on the same page. What was that?" That was the SEC emerging as the key decision-maker, while the Big Ten publicly abdicated its preferred format of four automatic bids for itself and the SEC. |
| UPenn updates records, will apologize to female swimmers over Lia Thomas | |
| The University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday modified a trio of school records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and said it would apologize to female athletes "disadvantaged" by her participation on the women's swimming team, part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case. The U.S. Education Department and Penn announced the voluntary agreement of the high-profile case that focused on Thomas, who last competed for the Ivy League school in 2022, when she became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title. The department investigated Penn as part of the Trump administration's broader attempt to remove transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports, concluding the university in Philadelphia had violated the rights of female athletes. Under the agreement, Penn agreed to restore all individual Division I records and titles to female athletes who lost to Thomas and send a personalized apology letter to each of those swimmers, the Education Department said. Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines thanked President Donald Trump on social media and wrote of the settlement, " Are pigs flying?" Gaines has said she started her activism against transgender athletes competing in women's sports after sharing a locker room with Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships. |
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