| Wednesday, October 15, 2025 |
| MSU-Meridian awarded $1.2 million MDE grant for Teacher Residency program | |
 | Mississippi State University-Meridian's Division of Education is receiving a $1.2 million grant from the Mississippi Department of Education to help strengthen and expand the state's teacher pipeline. MSU is among nine Institutions of Higher Education awarded a total of $2,968,855 in grants through MDE's Mississippi Teacher Residency, or MTR, program to cover tuition and expenses for up to 236 individuals seeking licensure in elementary and special education. The funds were appropriated by the state Legislature this year. The MTR is part of a statewide strategy to expand the teacher pipeline and retain highly effective teachers so all students have teachers who are well-prepared, appropriately licensed and equipped to support the academic progress of all students. The program began in 2019 with funding by a $4.1 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and expanded in 2021 with $9.8 million in American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. At least 287 individuals have completed the MTR program since it was created. "Mississippi State is proud to partner with MDE to expand the Mississippi Teacher Residency program," said Teresa Jayroe, MSU College of Education dean. "This grant helps us prepare and support more teachers for critical shortage areas, ensuring every child in our state has access to a well-prepared and dedicated educator." |
| ORISE program participants showcase research in virtual poster session | |
 | Thirty talented participants in internship and fellowship programs administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) showcased their innovative research during a virtual poster session held on Aug. 26. This engaging event provided a platform for participants to share their findings with peers, mentors and others in the ORISE community. Participants presented their research through live video chats, allowing attendees to engage directly and ask questions. A panel of judges awarded first-, second- and third-place honors for best poster presentations, while attendees voted in an online poll for the "fan favorite" poster submission. The poster session was part of the inaugural ORISE Symposium, a three-day event that celebrated the innovative research and achievements of ORISE participants, while highlighting the value of impactful mentorship and collaboration. Through events like this, ORISE reinforces its commitment to "Shaping the Future of Science." The following participants were recognized for their outstanding poster presentations: First Place - Sk Nafiz Rahaman. Program: Graduate Research Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (GRO). Academic level: Graduate student. University: Mississippi State University. Poster title: "A national-scale spatiotemporal framework for power outage trend detection using EAGLE-I data." |
| Career expo returns next week to showcase trades | |
 | Thousands of eighth grade students from across the state will descend onto East Mississippi Community College's Communiversity next week to get hands-on experience with construction careers at the sixth annual FORGE Your Path Career Expo. Jim Sutherland, a career coach at Columbus High School, said in his four years volunteering at the event he always loves seeing the lightbulb moments that happen for the eighth graders. "It gives these kids an opportunity to start thinking now in eighth grade, what they want to possibly do, instead of waiting till their junior year or maybe even their senior year to figure out, 'Oh, what am I going to do?'" Sutherland told The Dispatch. About 2,200 students from more than 29 schools will take over the Communiversity from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 22-23, where they will have the chance to explore construction careers through hands-on experience with power tools and construction machinery while also speaking to workers in the industry, FORGE Executive Director Melinda Lowe said. "The experience connects them directly with industry professionals who can inspire and guide them toward rewarding career paths in the trades," Lowe said. "It's not just a field trip; it's an opportunity for students to discover their strengths, build confidence, and see how they can be part of building Mississippi's future." |
| Noxubee, Kemper school districts expanding STEM program thanks to Huber Engineered Woods | |
| Two Mississippi school districts are benefitting from a $170,000 STEM investment to expand the Project Lead the Way program. The funding was provided by Huber Engineered Woods, the company that built a new sawmill in Shuqualak. Huber Engineered Woods is part of the J.M. Huber Corporation. The PLTW program has been ongoing for the past year in Noxubee and Kemper County School districts, allowing about 1,000 students in elementary through high school access to its curriculum. Expansion of that program was announced last week, allowing an additional 1,400 students access to the program. Students in the program gain experience in areas that may inspire students to seek future jobs in engineering, the scientific fields and/or skilled professions. "I'm very excited to have our private companies help provide support in our schools," State Rep. Rob Roberson (R), chairman of the House Education Committee, told Magnolia Tribune. "This partnership will not only help the company but will provide the schools and more importantly the students an excellent opportunity. Congratulations to all involved." As part of the ongoing program, 12 teachers completed a two-week training that provides them with curriculum intended for the STEM classroom. |
| A new Aplós Simple Mediterranean will be opening in Oxford in near future | |
 | Alex Eaton is at it again. The restaurant entrepreneur who is expecting to open a new restaurant in Jackson's Highland Village and is also the owner of the well-known Jackson and Ridgeland favorite Aplós Simple Mediterranean, said he has plans to expand outside of the Jackson Metro area in 2026. Eaton, who also co-owns The Manship Wood Fired Kitchen, graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2007. While the Highland Village restaurant La Presa Taqueria will open just across the courtyard from Aplós, in what was formerly LaCour, has not opened yet, Eaton expects everything to come together in the next week or so. His newest restaurant project will be familiar to everyone while the location will be new. Eaton told the Clarion Ledger he plans to open his third Aplós Simple Mediterranean in Oxford to take advantage of the expanding business landscape in the North Mississippi home of the University of Mississippi. He said that when he was recruited by area businesspeople and economic development officials to a section of Oxford, called Oxford Commons northeast of The Square, there were a number of details that caught his attention. |
| Construction of new pier a big step forward for proposed 13th casino in South Mississippi | |
 | Developer Ray Wooldridge has worked for 15 years and spent millions of dollars to get approval to build a casino on Veterans Avenue in Biloxi. Now, he's one big step closer. The Biloxi Community Development Department has issued a $1 million construction permit to demolish what remains of the pier at Veterans Avenue and build a new one. The pier was destroyed 20 years ago during Hurricane Katrina. Building a pier for public use is a condition imposed by the Mississippi Gaming Commission for Wooldridge and RW Development to get and keep site approval at Veterans Avenue, north and south of U.S. 90. The demolition work is scheduled to begin this week, said John Boothby, owner of Apple Construction, based in Gulfport. RW Development hired his company to do the work, he said. It includes removing the pilings from the old pier and building a new pier and deck. The construction will take about six months, Boothby said. The Gaming Commission also gave RW Development a tight deadline to make progress toward construction of the casino. Site approval expires in three years, or around the end of 2026, unless RW Development can get financing and construction plans submitted. With just over a year remaining on the commission's ruling, "The next step for RW Development in our process would be to request approval to proceed with development of the casino property," said Jay McDaniel, executive director of Mississippi Gaming Commission. "There is currently no application pending for that request," he said. |
| V2 Forensics honored with Drone Technology Company of the Year Award | |
 | On Tuesday, the Mississippi Small Business Development Center Network (MSBDCN) put a spotlight on a forensic business in Gulfport. Drones have grown to be very popular in today's society. They're used in media, disaster responses, agriculture, and more. However, V2 Forensics in Gulfport is a company that works to detect when they're used for the wrong reasons. "If a drone is being used for illicit behavior, you need to be able to identify the bad actors," explained V2 Forensics President Jansen Cahoon. MSBDCN is honoring V2 Forensics as the Drone Technology Company of the Year for its ability to assist law enforcement by getting data out of drones to track criminals who are using them with ill intent. Cahoon's business has helped local law enforcement with cases involving illegal surveillance, smuggling and cyberattacks. He launched V2 Forensics in 2023, building his own software so police can connect it to a drone to pull flight data from the device. "The residual of this is going to help our whole nation," stated Chip Templeton, director of the University of Mississippi's RISE Center. MSBDCN is supported through the RISE Center. Templeton claims the company is an example of how innovation can start small and grow big. |
| Innovate Mississippi startup accelerator wants to create new jobs and opportunities | |
| Mississippi has bemoaned its lack of technology startups and venture capital since the first dot-com boom in the mid 1990s. Innovate Mississippi believes it might have a solution. It is providing funding and training to seven Mississippi tech startups through a 12-week program. Alex Bucklew and Johnathan McAdory had an idea for a product that would find the best price for prescription drugs by aggregating discounts from a variety of sources. Their company, SimpleScript, is their first try at starting a business. For Bucklew and McAdory, Innovate Mississippi's accelerator has taught them how to grow their business. "Especially something that's scalable to the level (SimpleScript) is, it can be difficult to figure out what to do next. We needed some counsel on how to get from point A to point B." said Bucklew. "From working with CoBuilders we will be ready to get funding." Mississippi has a nascent tech scene and state leaders have struggled with how to grow it. Innovate Mississippi is a nonprofit organization trying to connect entrepreneurs with investors and other resources across the state. Mississippi's colleges are playing an active role in growing the startup pipeline, funding research and fostering new ideas. Innovate works with universities to host pitch competitions and connect to founders. |
| In This Small Mississippi Delta City, Even Adults Race Home to Beat Curfew | |
 | It was after 2 a.m. when the police chief called the mayor to report another night of violence in Greenville, Miss. This time, one of the city's former high school football stars was fatally shot while visiting his hometown. News of the death on May 28 of 18-year-old Alex Foster, a redshirt freshman on the Baylor University football team, ricocheted across the small Mississippi Delta city, and it was not the only case of violence in recent months. Days earlier, a 16-year-old boy was killed in a drive-by shooting while in the back seat of a family member's car stopped at an intersection. Weeks before that, stray bullets struck the windows of a school building, forcing a short lockdown. To Errick D. Simmons, the three-term mayor of Greenville, and Marcus R. Turner Sr., the police chief, this spasm of violence had plunged the city into crisis. Crime rates had spiked since January, a "surge" mostly related to gang activity and retaliations among minors and young adults. So on the same day as Mr. Foster's shooting, Greenville officials declared a state of emergency and imposed a temporary citywide curfew: With limited exceptions, no one would be allowed on the streets after midnight. For minors and young adults, the curfew was stricter. The country has been enveloped in a fiercely partisan debate over how to address crime. But in the Delta, the leaders of Greenville are trying to address gun violence with their own tough measures -- one that also asks how far a city should go to fight crime. |
| Soaring electricity bills could be the sleeper campaign issue of 2025 | |
 | Anger over soaring utility bills is shaking political fault lines, as electricity shortages and price spikes take center stage in nationally watched gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia -- and threaten to haunt candidates throughout the country in next year's midterm elections. Cheap, reliable electricity is no longer a given, with an energy crunch taking hold far and wide, and forecasts showing no price relief in sight. Average bills have jumped over 10 percent since last year in more than a dozen states -- with some seeing increases beyond 20 percent -- and more rate hikes have already been announced. Voters are demanding solutions, bringing to the forefront issues that long simmered in the political background, including the massive expansion of energy-hungry data centers, obscure surcharges on electric bills and mandates for clean energy generation. "People knew a problem was coming, but nobody expected it to emerge so sharply and quickly," said Dan Cassino, executive director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, which has tracked New Jersey voter opinion on rising energy prices. He said voters are confused about whom to blame, often pointing the finger at power companies or regulations that are not necessarily the driving forces behind rates going up. |
| Grocery Prices Keep Rising. Frustrated Consumers Are Trying to Adapt. | |
 | During a recent trip to the supermarket, Kelvin Lin was surprised to see that the price of a rib-eye steak had jumped to $32.99 a pound. It had been several dollars cheaper two weeks earlier, he said. Lin, a 33-year-old software engineer who lives in New York City, complained to the butcher but ended up buying the steak anyway. "It feels terrible," he said. Inflation in the grocery aisle is picking up, and stinging consumers. Consumers said they are cutting back on purchases, stockpiling certain foods or exploring more-affordable stores. "It's perturbing and upsetting," said Mark Bookbinder, a 68-year-old engineer who lives in Cincinnati. He has been struck by steady increases in the prices of sliced turkey, cereal and yogurt. Over the 12 months ended in August, the price of coffee increased 20.9%, Labor Department data showed; ground beef was up 12.8%, and bananas rose 6.6%. Dairy, fruits and vegetables and cereals have all become pricier. Rising commodity prices are driving some of the increases, including American beef. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have separately raised the cost of importing a variety of goods, from Spanish olive oil to Guatemalan bananas to shrimp from Vietnam. Some of these costs have been absorbed by food companies; others are being passed on to consumers. |
| Fed's Powell suggests tightening program could end soon, opens door to rate cuts | |
| Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday suggested the central bank is nearing a point where it will stop reducing the size of its bond holdings, and provided a few hints that more interest rate cuts are in the cards. Speaking to the National Association for Business Economics conference in Philadelphia, Powell provided a dissertation on where the Fed stands with "quantitative tightening," or the effort to reduce the more than $6 trillion of securities it holds on its balance sheet. While he provided no specific date of when the program will cease, he said there are indications the Fed is nearing its goal of "ample" reserves available for banks. "Our long-stated plan is to stop balance sheet runoff when reserves are somewhat above the level we judge consistent with ample reserve conditions," Powell said in prepared remarks. "We may approach that point in coming months, and we are closely monitoring a wide range of indicators to inform this decision." On interest rates, the central bank chief did not provide specific guidance on a path lower, but comments about weakness in the labor market indicated that easing is firmly on the table, as financial markets expect. |
| GOP sets the stage for extended shutdown | |
 | Republicans and the Trump administration are bracing for a lengthy government shutdown, taking steps to alleviate any political pain that might boomerang on them while seeking to make life difficult for Democrats. The White House is taking steps to redistribute funds to ensure the military gets paychecks during the shutdown. Doing so in this way takes care of a constituency important to the GOP and Trump, but it deprives Democrats of a vote to fund the military. The White House also all but dared Democrats to push back on Trump's maneuverings, a position Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) articulated Tuesday. "If the Democrats want to go to court and challenge troops being paid, bring it. OK," he said during a press conference at the Capitol. Federal law enforcement may be next, as the Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday indicated it is searching for ways to pay officers at the federal level. In addition, the White House has laid out plans to keep funding the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. |
| Trump Honors Charlie Kirk With Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom | |
| President Trump on Tuesday honored the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. "We're here to honor and remember a fearless warrior for liberty, a beloved leader who galvanized the next generation like nobody I've ever seen before," said Trump, during the ceremony in the newly overhauled Rose Garden of the White House. "Charles James Kirk was a visionary and one of the greatest figures of his generation." In his remarks, Trump compared the activist's sacrifice to former President Abraham Lincoln, the Greek philosopher Socrates, civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and the apostle St. Peter. Kirk, a father of two, was assassinated last month while speaking in Utah during the first stop of what was to be a fall college speaking tour. His widow, Erika, accepted the medal. Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012, a group aimed at spreading conservatism to young people. The organization embraced free speech and political debate and sought to develop the next generation of conservative political talent. Several White House aides and Republican lawmakers got their start in politics through high school or college chapters of Kirk's organization and counted him as a friend. Republicans have credited him with helping Trump gain ground with young men. He also picked up support from young female voters, winning 41% of them in 2024 compared with 33% in 2020, the exit polls show. |
| 'It's revolting': More Young Republican chat members out of jobs as condemnation intensifies | |
 | Two more members of a Young Republican group chat strewn with racist epithets and hateful jokes stepped down from their jobs Tuesday after POLITICO published an exclusive report on the Telegram exchanges. Peter Giunta's time working with New York Assemblymember Mike Reilly "has ended," the Republican lawmaker said. Giunta served as chair of the New York State Young Republicans when the chat took place. Joseph Maligno, who previously identified himself as the general counsel for that group, is no longer an employee of the New York State Unified Court System, a courts spokesperson confirmed. Another chat member, Vermont state Senator Sam Douglass, faced mounting calls for his resignation as well, including from the state's Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, and Douglass' fellow Republican lawmakers, who called his statements "deeply disturbing." POLITICO's in-depth look into how one group of Young Republicans spoke privately was met Tuesday with widespread condemnation in New York, Washington and beyond. The members of the chat -- 2,900 pages of which were leaked and reviewed by POLITICO -- called Black people monkeys, repeatedly used slurs for gay, Black, Latino and Asian people, and jokingly celebrated Adolf Hitler. In a bipartisan outcry, members of Congress and other political leaders from around the country said they were appalled by the contents of the group chat. The board of directors of the National Young Republicans said every member of the chat "must immediately resign" their state organization. |
| USDA slaps down Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller over New World Screwworm | |
| Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is trading barbs with the Trump Administration over its response to a parasitic pest that continues to make its way north in Mexico, and could potentially threaten the state's $15 billion cattle industry if it crosses the border. This week, in an interview with a Nashville television network that focuses on rural issues, Miller expressed frustration that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was not using a synthetic bait that he has promoted to combat the New World Screwworm, a fly that infects warm-blooded animals and recently has been spotted less than 100 miles from the border. "I still haven't gotten buy-in from the USDA to do a fly bait," Miller told RFD-TV. "If we put out the fly bait, we can wipe out the screwworm in Mexico in 90 days, but for some reason, they're very reluctant to do that." On Tuesday, the USDA responded accusing the elected agriculture commissioner of "blatantly disregarding tried and true [New World Screwworm] offensive strategies in favor of clickbait publicity stunts." The USDA has announced a variety of methods to try and stop the fly from entering the United States and infecting cattle. In June, Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a plan to combat the threat of the parasitic insect. Miller, who was once reportedly in contention for Rollins' job leading the U.S. department, has issued multiple public statements and press releases about the state's efforts to combat New World Screwworm, stating that the Texas Department of Agriculture is the "tip of the spear" in partnering to combat the fly. |
| Why many Americans are rethinking alcohol, according to a new Gallup poll | |
 | Fewer Americans are reporting that they drink alcohol amid a growing belief that even moderate alcohol consumption is a health risk, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday. A record high percentage of U.S. adults, 53%, now say moderate drinking is bad for their health, up from 28% in 2015. The uptick in doubt about alcohol's benefits is largely driven by young adults -- the age group that is most likely to believe drinking "one or two drinks a day" can cause health hazards -- but older adults are also now increasingly likely to think moderate drinking carries risks. The findings of the poll, which was conducted in July, indicate that after years of many believing that moderate drinking was harmless -- or even beneficial -- worries about alcohol consumption are taking hold. According to Gallup's data, even those who consume alcohol are drinking less. The federal government's current dietary guidelines recommend Americans not drink or, if they do consume alcohol, men should limit themselves to two drinks a day or fewer while women should stick to one or fewer. The government is expected to release new guidelines later this year, under the directive of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has promised big changes. Kennedy has not hinted at how the alcohol recommendations may shift. |
| No amount of alcohol is safe, at least for dementia risk, study finds | |
| For years, the common wisdom and science was that a little bit of alcohol wasn't bad -- and even beneficial -- for your health: A toast to moderation. But new research published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine suggests that even light alcohol consumption can increase dementia risk. The finding comes from data of more than 550,000 adults ages 56 to 72, as well as genetics information from 2.4 million study participants. It adds to evidence that even small amounts of alcohol can be harmful to our health, including increasing the risk of cancer or disrupting sleep. Excessive alcohol consumption -- more than 12 drinks per week -- and alcohol use disorder have long been linked to dementia, an umbrella term for different types of progressive cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer's disease. But the science on an occasional glass of wine or beer had been more rosy. "For a long time we thought that the healthiest way to approach drinking and brain health was to take about a drink a day," said Joel Gelernter, a professor of psychiatry, genetics and neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine and senior author of the study. Gelernter himself would regularly have one drink a day because the data suggested that was a sweet spot for cognition. But the accumulating new evidence has caused him to avoid alcohol more than he used to, he said. However, experts say that their goal is to give people the best data possible so they can manage their own risk, not to tell them how much to drink or not drink. |
| In rural America, scarce doctors battle misinformation as they practice medicine | |
 | When Dr. Banu Symington first moved to Rock Springs, Wyo., 30 years ago, she appreciated its empty desert landscapes and small-town respect for physicians like herself. Fast-forward to today. Some of Symington's cancer patients curse at her for suggesting they vaccinate or wear masks to protect their weakened immune systems while undergoing chemotherapy. "I actually had a patient's husband say, 'You only want me to mask because you're a liberal bitch.'" Symington is among many doctors who say political attacks on science and medicine are affecting their relationships with patients, particularly in rural communities, where physician recruitment already poses a chronic challenge. Increasingly, misinformation and conspiracy theories about health fill a vacuum created by the lack of doctors, adding challenges to care. Meanwhile, the Trump administration's dramatic changes to health, science, public health and immigration policies are making recruitment of overseas talent tougher. "It's very difficult, helping someone who scorns your help, or diminishes the value of it," says Symington, who is 65 and on the cusp of retirement. "A lot of us who went into medicine did it because we believed we were helping people." |
| MUW holds fair to bring mental health awareness | |
 | When it comes to the health of its students, Mississippi University for Women is making overall wellness a priority. Organizers of The W's annual Mental Health Fair want to make sure students, faculty, and staff know about all of the mental health resources available to them, not only on campus, but also in the surrounding community. They said each time they've held the event, they discover more issues that need to be and can be addressed. They also said taking care of your mental health is as important as looking after your physical well-being. "I mean, everyone deals with mental health issues in one way or another, whether it's loneliness, whether it's family issues, relational issues. It can be all kinds of different things that cause us to have problems -- test anxiety, social anxiety, things like that. So, I think we all deal with anxiety at times and depression at times. We just don't want it to get to the point that it really takes over our lives," said Kimberly McCarty Davis of the MUW Counseling Center. |
| U. of Alabama-Huntsville president Charles Karr announces retirement | |
 | Dr. Charles L. Karr, the 10th president to lead the University of Alabama in Huntsville, is retiring. Karr will leave the post at the end of the spring term in May 2026. "Serving as president of UAH has been one of the greatest honors of my life," Karr said. "Together with our faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners, and supported by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees and UA System leadership, we have elevated UAH's impact across research, academics, and public service. The Charger spirit is strong, and the future of this university is brighter than ever." Karr joined UAH as interim president in November 2021 before assuming the job permanently in September 2022. Before leading UAH, Karr was dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Alabama. UAH has initiated several major capital campaigns under Karr's leadership, including work on the Raymond B. Jones Engineering Building and renovations to the Bevill Center, enhancing the Center for Cybersecurity Research, Education, and Advanced Training. |
| 16-year-old arrested in shooting that two left 2 wounded on LSU campus Homecoming night | |
 | Baton Rouge police have arrested a 16-year-old in connection with a shooting that wounded two people Saturday night during the Tigers' Homecoming game against South Carolina. The teen is set to be booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Juvenile Detention Center on one count each of illegal use of a weapon, illegal possession of a weapon by a juvenile, carrying a firearm on school property and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. LSU police originally arrived at the 3400 block of Highland Road near the campus's north gates around 8:30 p.m., with a campus alert going out 10 minutes later. At least two people opened fire during the incident, a BRPD spokesperson said, resulting in two men sustaining injuries and being hospitalized. One of the injured is believed to be a bystander. On Tuesday, police described the shooting as having stemmed from a prior altercation between the involved parties. Another shooting Saturday, which took place earlier in the day just before kickoff, is believed to be accidental. About 5:30 p.m., Lawrence Hubbard, an 18-year-old from Jefferson Parish, accidentally shot himself in the thigh on South Stadium Drive, just outside Tiger Stadium, according to LSU police. According to his arrest warrant, witnesses saw Hubbard adjusting his pants before shooting himself. |
| Accreditor green-lights South Carolina's first veterinary school | |
| South Carolina is accepting applications to the state's first veterinary school, following a nod from the accreditor of veterinary education. Clemson University, a public university, received the letter of reasonable assurance on Oct. 8 from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education, which had determined that the developing program has a realistic plan to meet accreditation standards and can enroll students for fall 2026. "The hope is to attract South Carolina residents to our program and that they will remain in the state, especially in underserved and rural areas," Dr. Steven Marks, dean of the program, said in an email to the VIN News Service. he program will accept 80 students per year -- 60 from within the state and 20 from outside the state. South Carolina previously had agreements with Mississippi State University, Tuskegee University in Alabama and the University of Georgia through which 46 South Carolina residents could attend veterinary school at in-state or otherwise discounted tuition rates. With the advent of Clemson's program, the so-called Veterinary Medicine Regional Contract, is being phased out; applications closed permanently on Dec. 1, 2024. Students already enrolled will continue to receive state-subsidized tuition through their graduation, according to the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, which administers the program. |
| U. of Tennessee Student Union will be transformed with food truck park outside | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has multimillion-dollar plans to modernize two prominent student spaces, including the addition of an amphitheater and food truck park at one of Cumberland Avenue's most recognizable campus buildings. The Presidential Court Building, which is surrounded by residence halls, is one of the buildings that will be renovated, though the outside will remain the same, Vice Chancellor for Student Life Frank Cuevas said during a Knoxville Chamber presentation Oct. 14. The inside will be gutted and renovated later this year to add an esports complex, multimedia lounge and multipurpose rooms, along with new office spaces for Greek Life, dining and off-campus student life services. The Presidential Court Building renovations also would create a new home for the Center for Basic Needs, which provides resources to help ensure the basic needs of students are being met, from food and housing to transportation and health care. This project would move the Center for Basic Needs out of the Student Union and into a more accessible location for students, who used the center and its resources more than 46,000 times last school year, according to UT. |
| National Transfer Week brings university partners to Lone Star College System | |
| Thousands of students transfer from Lone Star College System to four-year universities every year -- often to partner institutions that help make that transition seamless. Campuses throughout LSCS are celebrating National Transfer Week with events from Oct. 20-24. Students can connect with university representatives to learn more about admissions criteria, degree options, the application process, scholarship opportunities, life at four-year institutions and transfer assistance opportunities. "At Lone Star College System, we recognize that each student's journey is unique. Our campus transfer advising teams work with students to develop course transfer plans that meet their specific needs, saving time and money along the way," said Michel Rodriguez-Zuch, Ph.D., LSCS associate vice chancellor, Academic Initiatives and Partnerships. "Regardless of where they came from or where they're going, we want to help students succeed academically and overcome challenges they may face in the process." In addition to several public in-state institutions, LSCS also works with private and out-of-state schools, including Houston Christian University, Mississippi State University and Southern Illinois University, among others. |
| Court stops U. of Texas System from enforcing new campus free speech limits | |
| A U.S. district court temporarily halted the University of Texas System's enforcement of a new free speech law, siding with students who say its limits are overly broad and restrictive. The decision, filed Tuesday afternoon after a hearing earlier this month, said the Campus Protection Act, or Senate Bill 2972 by Sen. Brandon Creighton, is likely in violation of the first amendment, particularly its end-of-term restrictions on expressive activities, guest speakers and amplified sound. Creighton previously served as the chairman of the Senate Education K-16 Committee and was recently named the chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. Senate Bill 2972 passed after pro-Palestinian protests on Texas campuses resulted in more than 150 arrests and roiled conservative lawmakers, who accused the protesters of being disruptive and anti-Semitic despite protesters saying their speech was peaceful. Creighton previously said the act regulated free speech to better protect students on campus, while still upholding the First Amendment. The law notably undid bipartisan protections that lawmakers passed in 2019 to classify all university open spaces as traditional public forums for any member of the public. A coalition of University of Texas at Austin and University of Texas at Dallas students, represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, sued the system for its enforcement of the law |
| Farming from the air: Drones offer flexibility and problem solving | |
 | Caleb O'Neal is spending his Saturday at the Montgomery County fairgrounds teaching about a dozen people how to operate and pilot drones. But they're not hobbyists, they're farmers. "This is not a brand new industry, but it's definitely blooming with modern technologies and just the availability to the everyday producer to get their hands on some of this equipment," said O'Neal, a University of Missouri Extension field specialist. For years now, farming has become increasingly tech-savvy, and now the next frontier for agriculture tools could be in the sky. Among the participants in O'Neal's drone school are farmers, college students and rural Missouri residents interested in working in agriculture. "When we can reduce input costs, we're also reducing environmental impact. We're making ourselves more sustainable," said Rusty Lee, MU Extension agronomy field specialist and O'Neal's co-teacher at drone school. Lee said there's been exponential growth in the use of agricultural drones in the last five years, in part because they enable farmers to be a bit more nimble. He started deploying drones on his own farm more than a decade ago. Now, MU Extension educators are traveling the state to get farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs up to speed on the best practices, regulations and safety measures for piloting drones. Trainers have hosted about half a dozen "drone schools" this year. |
| Under Anti-DEI Pressure, Ohio State Limits Conference Funds | |
 | The Trump administration's investigation into allegations of racial discrimination at Ohio State University has prompted the university to limit its support for faculty and student participation in academic conferences affiliated with affinity groups. Critics say it's another example of OSU's overcompliance with Republican-led crackdowns on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In response to President Trump's DEI ban and a sweeping anti-DEI law the Republican-controlled Ohio Legislature passed earlier this year, OSU has already closed its DEI offices, restricted decorations permitted in public dorms and banned most public land acknowledgments. And now, scholarly conferences and associations that represent underrepresented groups have become the university's latest political pressure-relief valve. Earlier this month, the university told numerous faculty and students who were planning to attend an upcoming conference hosted by the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, which happens to be in Columbus this year, that they could not use university funds to attend, The Columbus Dispatch first reported Tuesday. |
| Will the Commission for Public Higher Education Be a 'Serious' Accreditor? | |
 | When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a new college accreditor at a June news conference, he started with a 20-minute diatribe about the ills of higher education, and eventually blamed many of the problems on "the woke accreditation cartels." The Republican governor's announcement set off alarm bells among faculty, some traditional accrediting organizations, and other accountability experts worried that the effort was meant to assert a conservative takeover of higher education. Since then, however, the Commission for Public Higher Education has sought to establish itself as a non-ideological and innovative alternative to established institutional accreditors, which monitor college quality and gatekeep federal financial aid. The idea was actually the brainchild of officials at the University of North Carolina system, The Assembly reported last month, and was developed in collaboration with administrators in five other southern states. The commission's formation is a rare opportunity for a new approach to accreditation, said Cameron Howell, who is on leave from his position as the secretary to the Board of Trustees at the University of South Carolina to help establish the commission. "We want streamlined processes, strong results, a focus on student success, and I think that that speaks for itself," Howell said in an interview. |
| NACIQI Meeting Delayed by Government Shutdown | |
| The Department of Education has delayed the semiannual convening of its accreditation advisory committee for the second time this year, according to an email sent to committee members and obtained by Inside Higher Ed. The meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, originally slated to take place in July, had already been pushed back to Oct. 21. Now, as a result of the government shutdown, it's been rescheduled for Dec. 16. "As many of you know, most department staff, including those supporting NACIQI, have been furloughed and the Department has suspended operations except for specific excepted activities," Jeffrey Andrade, deputy assistant secretary for policy, planning and innovation, wrote in the email. "The Department will be publishing a notice in the Federal Register shortly announcing this change of meeting date." The meeting was slated to include Under Secretary Nicholas Kent's first comments on accreditation since he took office, as well as compliance reports from five different accreditors. Three of those agencies are institutional: the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the New England Commission of Higher Education, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission. The other two are programmatic: the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education and the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy. |
| Scientists lose jobs and grants as US government shutdown takes a toll | |
| The shutdown of the US government, about to enter its third week, is starting to take a toll on US science. Since the shutdown began, the administration of US President Donald Trump has cancelled funding for clean-energy research projects and laid off public-health workers. The activities of some federally funded museums and laboratories have been suspended, along with the processing of grant applications by agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF). Funding to run the US government expired on 1 October after members of the US Congress failed to pass a spending bill. Negotiations to end the impasse have made little progress. Lawmakers from the opposition Democratic party say that they will only pass the spending bill if it extends popular health-care subsidies, a condition that Republicans do not want to negotiate. "The longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts are going to be," Vice President JD Vance said Sunday. Coinciding with the shutdown, the administration has also announced a fresh round of cuts to research projects, adding to billions of dollars in federal research grants revoked since Trump took office in January. On the second day of the shutdown, the DoE announced that it was cutting almost US$7.6 billion in funding from 223 energy projects, many of them supporting renewable energy. An analysis by Nature found that the list includes grants to 33 academic institutions, which have a combined value of $620 million. |
| Community colleges are losing millions in funding under Trump | |
| A spate of federal cuts are hurting a pillar of the higher-education system: community colleges. The schools, which educate about 40 percent of the nation's college students, are contending with millions of dollars in lost funding for services such as campus-based child care, student advisement and academic support. The Trump administration has hailed the career and technical training that community colleges provide, emphasizing the need for greater investment in skilled trades. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, have expanded the use of the federal Pell Grant to more short-term programs, which policy experts say could be a boon for community colleges in coming years. But for now, the Trump administration's policy on cutting discretionary grants to programs that serve diverse student populations is disrupting the very type of college education that the administration says is critical for the nation's workforce. Cuts to higher education this year have been spread across a variety of federal programs, but policy experts say community colleges can least afford to absorb the losses. |
| Exclusive: Trump administration targets college prep program Republicans defended, sources say | |
| President Donald Trump's administration fired almost all 60 staff at a college-preparation program for low-income students in a wave of shutdown layoffs, two people familiar with the cuts told Reuters, targeting a service Republican lawmakers defended earlier this year. Trump promised last week to cut "some very popular Democrat programs that aren't popular with Republicans," during a federal government shutdown in its 14th day on Tuesday. The permanent layoffs disclosed on Friday also targeted education programs supported by Republicans, including the federal Education Department's TRIO programs that assist around 900,000 students across all 50 states from middle school onward to prepare for college. Almost all of the approximately 60-person staff overseeing the programs were cut, said the two people, who asked for anonymity to share details the administration did not reveal in a legal filing that disclosed more than 4,200 layoffs across the federal government. "The whole crux of the support staff is to ensure that taxpayer money is spent appropriately and we are not there anymore to do it," said one of the people familiar with the layoffs. This move follows the administration's goal of dismantling the Education Department and its 2026 budget request to cut the $1.2 billion in funding approved by Congress for the multiple TRIO programs, including Upward Bound for high school students and Talent Search to identify promising younger students for eventual post-secondary opportunities. |
| Republican lawmakers ask McMahon to restore funding for Hispanic-serving colleges | |
| A group of congressional Republicans last week asked U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon to reverse cuts to Hispanic-serving colleges amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. The U.S. Department of Education announced the cuts in September, calling the programs racially discriminatory because they confer "government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas." In an Oct. 8 letter to McMahon, six members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference wrote, "These institutions do not artificially seek to meet quotas to obtain federal funds; rather, they serve the communities in which they are located." More than 270 Hispanic-serving institutions across 20 states would suffer under the Education Department's plan to stop paying out federal HSI grants, according to a recent report from the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions. Federally designated HSIs are defined as those where Hispanic students make up at least 25% of the undergraduate population and at least half of students qualify for federal need-based aid. The study estimated a collective compound loss to HSIs totaling $459 million over the remaining funding years for three programs: the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program, Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions and Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans. |
| Dartmouth's President Balks at Trump Compact, Sources Say, as Feds Expand Offer to 'Any Institution' | |
| The president of Dartmouth College, an initial recipient of the Trump administration's much-debated "compact" for higher education, has told faculty members that she will not endorse the current version of the agreement, two sources told The Chronicle. The sources, who asked to speak anonymously to describe internal decision-making, said they participated in a meeting with President Sian Leah Beilock in which, as one of them put it, she said "she would not sign the compact as written." "She was very firm and clear on that, but it also had that very clear 'as written' part attached to it," said that faculty member. A Dartmouth spokesperson, Jana Barnello, told The Chronicle that Beilock "has been meeting with faculty across the institution to solicit their input and is looking forward to providing feedback to the White House, as requested," and referred to Beilock's October 3 message to the college community. Meanwhile, the circumstances surrounding the compact are changing rapidly. On Friday, Sally Kornbluth, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, posted a statement saying that her institution "cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education." And on Tuesday, The Chronicle confirmed that a post from President Trump on Truth Social was intended as an invitation to "any institution" to sign on to the deal. |
| Gun violence remains a dangerous reality that's growing in rural Mississippi counties | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: Here are some troubling statistical facts that should concern every Mississippian, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or political loyalty -- Mississippi has the highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S., the highest rates of gun homicides are in rural counties, and seven of the rural U.S. counties with the highest gun homicide rates are in Mississippi, according to the CDC. Our state was shaken over the weekend by news of multiple shootings connected to high school and university football homecoming celebrations, leaving at least nine dead and more than 15 injured. The high school shootings occurred in Leland and Rolling Fork in the Delta, and Heidelberg in Jasper County. Shootings were also reported at Alcorn State University in Lorman and Jackson State University's football tailgating area near Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Hinds County Sheriff's Office reported a child injured in the JSU-related shooting, while one victim was killed and two were injured at ASU. ... Despite common perceptions that violent streets are confined to Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, the actual data show that rural Mississippi's gun homicide rate exceeds those cities by more than double. After tragic events like those over the weekend, familiar questions arise about responsibility, blame, and how to curb violence. Yet, these answers are elusive, rooted in generations of complex social and economic issues. |
SPORTS
| Holding the line: MSU, Florida both look to address pass protection in key SEC matchup | |
| Mississippi State and Florida are both looking to turn things around on Saturday in Gainesville. The Bulldogs (4-2, 0-2 SEC) are still searching for their first SEC win in three years, while the Gators (2-4, 1-2 SEC), are trying to claw their way back to .500 after losing four of their last five. Both teams are coming off of rough trips to Kyle Field that saw their respective quarterbacks jumped on by a vicious pass rush, and protecting the quarterback is key for both teams in turning their respective fortunes around this week. MSU quarterback Blake Shapen has been sacked 16 times this season, including 10 times in the last two games against Tennessee and Texas A&M. Given, those were two of the toughest defensive lines in the SEC, but the quarterback taking hits is a surefire way to kill drives. The challenge against Florida might not look as daunting on paper (the Gators have just nine sacks as a team), but the Bulldogs are not taking anything for granted against a defense that has still produced at times in a frustrating campaign. "Defensively, they have played great team defense," MSU head coach Jeff Lebby said of Florida. "They've got a roster that's full of very talented players at all three levels of the defense, so we're going to have to do a great job winning matchups. We're going to have to do a great job keeping Blake clean, that's obviously been a thing, but I like where we're at from the gameplan standpoint." |
| Men's Hoops Geared Up For #SECTipoff '26 | |
| Josh Hubbard, Jayden Epps and Shawn Jones Jr. will join Chris Jans at the SEC Tipoff '26 event on Wednesday morning at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook, Alabama. The trio will meet with various media members and media outlets from across the country which include ESPN, CBS, NCAA and Sirius XM. SEC Now airing on the SEC Network will have live coverage from media days starting at 9 a.m. CT hosted by Dari Nowkhah, Daymeon Fishback and Pat Bradley. The Bulldogs are scheduled to join the SEC Network set from 10:50 to 11:05 a.m. CT. Press conferences for each head coach will stream in their entirety online via SEC Network+ and the ESPN App. Coach Jans' press conference is slated to begin at 9:35 a.m. CT. In 22 days, State takes on North Alabama (Nov. 5, 8 p.m. CT, SEC Network) for its 2025-26 season opener at Humphrey Coliseum and officially embark on the program's fourth season under Coach Jans, who has guided State to three consecutive NCAA Tournament trips. |
| MSU assistant women's basketball coach talks new team at Starkville Rotary | |
| With basketball season looming on the horizon, Fred Castro, an assistant coach and offensive coordinator for Mississippi State University's women's basketball team, spoke with excitement Monday at the Starkville Rotary Club about some of the new and returning players who will be leading the charge for the Bulldogs this season as they try to build upon last season's finish in the second round of the NCAA Tournament -- and there may be some slam dunks involved. That's right. Lancaster, New York, native Madison Francis is one of State's three new freshmen and brings highlight athleticism to Starkville as a part of the team's top-10 recruiting class. Despite being only 6-foot-2, Francis notched two in-game dunks last year in high school. "If you really want to really check the highlights, (look up) 'Madison Francis YouTube dunk' and you'll see somebody you're going to get to see for the next four years in about 20 days live and in person," Castro said. " (She is an) unbelievable young lady (who) played for USA Basketball, a top-20 recruit and (head) coach Sam (Purcell's) highest-rated recruit since he's been here." The season tips off on Nov. 3 when the Bulldogs host Davidson College, which Castro said will be a tough way to begin the year. "I don't know how much y'all know about Davidson, but guys, we need you there," he said. |
| Darty Dennis wins 100th game, Bulldogs keep pace in SEC play with 1-1 weekend | |
| The Mississippi State volleyball team moved to 13-3, 3-3 in SEC play, after another split weekend of conference games on their home court. They took a 3-1 win against rivals Ole Miss on Friday at Newell Grissom, but fell 3-0 to Texas A&M on Sunday. MSU nearly went the distance against their in-state rivals, winning each of their sets by no more than five points, and going beyond 25 in the second and fourth sets as Ole Miss pushed to stay alive. The visitors won the third set 25-22 to avoid the sweep, but the Bulldogs came back out and won a hotly contested final set 26-24. "It was a great team win and we're proud of the Dawgs for battling out that fourth set where it could've gone either way," said head coach Julie Darty Dennis. "Ole Miss is a very scrappy team and it took a lot of effort and execution for us to come out with a win against a tough SEC opponent. We love playing at home and the energy helps give us the edge that we need. Our serving, passing and defense were very important in this match and we fought hard for the win." The victory marked 100 career head coaching wins for Darty Dennis at MSU. |
| SEC commissioner Greg Sankey talks league parity, strength of schedule, SCORE Act | |
| SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey took in the pageantry of the Florida football vs Texas A&M matchup on Oct. 11 before 105,086 at Kyle Field. The No. 4 Aggies (6-0, 3-0 SEC) remained one of the two remaining unbeaten teams in the SEC following a 34-17 drubbing of the Florida Gators. No. 5 Ole Miss (6-0, 3-0 SEC) is the other. From there, it's a jumbled mix of one-loss teams in the SEC including No. 6 Alabama (5-1, 3-0 SEC), which lost to Florida State, No. 7 Georgia (5-1, 3-1 SEC), which lost to Alabama, No. 10 LSU (5-1, 2-1 SEC), which lost to Ole Miss and No. 11 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC), which lost to Georgia. Despite the early league parity, Sankey is confident that the new strength of record component in the College Football Playoff rankings will result in more conference teams making the CFP Field. Last year, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas were the only three conference teams to make the CFP, with three-loss teams Alabama, South Carolina and Ole Miss left out in the cold. "I'll go back to strength of schedule, strength of record," Sankey said. "The adjustment made by the CFP is important to us to see how that plays out, you look at our league there was one time we had 11 of the Top 25. By any definition that's disproportionate and highly competitive. I think we're now at nine or 10." Sankey was made available prior to the game to discuss the SCORE Act, which has been introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives. |
| Sources: USC, Michigan question proposed Big Ten private capital deal | |
| The Big Ten's proposed $2 billion-plus private capital deal is facing headwinds after a joint meeting Tuesday afternoon between trustees at Michigan and USC led to unified questions about the plan, sources who were on the call told ESPN. The two schools discussed their shared skepticism during the call. One sticking point: The deal doesn't address the root issue -- soaring costs -- that has made the need for cash so imperative for athletic departments. Just providing short-term money, sources said, does not solve that issue. The schools also noted pending federal legislation that makes predicting the future of college athletics difficult as well as a general apprehension at selling equity in a university asset (the conference media rights). Both Michigan and USC believe there are funding options that can provide superior terms and would like to slow the process and explore them, sources said. The goal, the meeting agreed, should be to help the Big Ten schools that need money but at the most favorable terms imaginable without giving up equity. Although the questions are numerous, it is not certain how much influence the trustees can yield on the proposal, let alone change or even stop the process. The complicated agreement remains fluid and continues to be negotiated and worked on, meaning despite the current opposition, a deal still might be worked out. That said, having two of the league's biggest and most storied athletic brands against it is not insignificant. |
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