Tuesday, June 9, 2026   
 
ARC'S Appalachia Builds con­fer­ence brings regional lead­ers to MSU
The Appalachian Regional Com­mis­sion brought its 2026 annual con­fer­ence, Appalachia Builds: Break­ing New Ground for Eco­nomic Growth, to Mis­sis­sippi State Uni­versity [last] week. Co-hos­ted by ARC States' Co-chair and Mis­sis­sippi Gov. Tate Reeves and the State of Mis­sis­sippi, the con­fer­ence brought together fed­eral, state and local lead­ers from across the Appalachian region to explore strategies for strength­en­ing eco­nomic devel­op­ment, work­force par­ti­cip­a­tion and long-term growth. ARC'S annual con­fer­ence serves as a chance for regional part­ners to share best prac­tices and innov­at­ive approaches that sup­port eco­nomic oppor­tun­ity across Appalachia. This year's event emphas­ized projects and part­ner­ships that strengthen busi­ness devel­op­ment and work­force pipelines while sup­port­ing resi­li­ent local eco­nom­ies. Gov. Reeves, ARC'S 2026 States' Co-chair, said Mis­sis­sippi State is a fit­ting loc­a­tion for the con­fer­ence, not­ing the uni­versity's long­stand­ing focus on ser­vice and applied research. "Mis­sis­sippi State is one of the great uni­versit­ies in Amer­ica," Reeves said. "And its mis­sion has always been rooted in ser­vice. This uni­versity pre­pares stu­dents for high-pay­ing careers, sup­ports research that strengthens industry, and works dir­ectly with com­munit­ies to solve real-world prob­lems. That is exactly the kind of prac­tical res­ults-ori­ented approach that ARC has cham­pioned for dec­ades."
 
MSU, partners receive East Mississippi Sentinel Landscape Designation
Mississippi State University (MSU), along with several state and military partners, announced that the East Mississippi Sentinel Landscape (EMSL) was selected for designation by the federal Sentinel Landscapes Partnership. This recognizes the region's national importance to military readiness, working lands conservation and long-term landscape resilience. The application was submitted by MSU's Office of Research and Economic Development, the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office, Governor's Office of Military Affairs, Columbus Air Force Base (CAFB) and Naval Air Station Meridian (NASMER), along with a broad coalition of federal, state, local, nonprofit, industry and private landowners partners across East Mississippi. MSU will play a central role in implementation by hosting the future Sentinel Landscape coordinator and supporting landscape-scale planning, geospatial coordination, landowner engagement and applied research efforts.
 
MSU, partners receive East Mississippi Sentinel Landscape Designation
Mississippi State University, along with several state and military partners, are announcing that the East Mississippi Sentinel Landscape has officially been selected for designation by the federal Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, recognizing the region's national importance to military readiness, working lands conservation, and long-term landscape resilience. The application was submitted by MSU's Office of Research and Economic Development, the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office, Governor's Office of Military Affairs, Columbus Air Force Base (CAFB), and Naval Air Station Meridian (NASMER), along with a broad coalition of federal, state, local, nonprofit, industry and private landowners partners across East Mississippi. Governor Tate Reeves praised the designation as a major accomplishment for Mississippi and the nation's defense mission. "Mississippi continues to play a vital role in supporting America's military readiness and national security," said Gov. Reeves. "This designation recognizes the importance of the working forests, farms and rural communities that support the missions at CAFB and NASMER. It also highlights Mississippi's ability to bring together military leaders, landowners, conservation partners, universities and state agencies around a shared vision that strengthens both our economy and our national defense."
 
MSU, partners receive East Mississippi Sentinel Landscape Designation
Mississippi State University, along with several state and military partners, is announcing that the East Mississippi Sentinel Landscape (EMSL) has officially been selected for designation by the federal Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, recognizing the region's national importance to military readiness, working lands conservation, and long-term landscape resilience. "Mississippi State University is proud to support the East Mississippi Sentinel Landscape and the partnerships that made this designation possible," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "Through our Office of Research and Economic Development, College of Forest Resources, Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine, and MSU Extension Service, we look forward to helping landowners, communities, and partner agencies implement science-based solutions that strengthen working lands, conservation, and military readiness across East Mississippi. This effort reflects the core of our land-grant mission -- serving Mississippi through research, outreach, and collaboration." The EMSL encompasses millions of acres of working forests, farms, river systems, and military training airspace across East Mississippi.
 
MSU's Collins amplifies disabled writers' voices in new anthology
Mississippi State faculty member Christie Collins' new co-edited anthology features essays by 17 authors and educators living with disabilities, chronic illnesses and neurodivergence, helping address a longstanding gap in creative writing scholarship. Collins, an English department lecturer, and co-editor Saul Lemerond, an assistant professor of English at Hanover College in Indiana, have compiled "Divergent Writers: Disability, Illness, Neurodivergence, and Ableism in Creative Writing." At the time we started this project, there were no books or academic articles available that discussed these issues in the field of creative writing, despite the reality that one in four writers face some form of disability," Collins said. "The status quo didn't offer support or understanding for writers whose minds or bodies require extra time, different approaches to writing and/or special accommodations," she continued. "We aim to show that writers and their writing processes are wonderfully and vibrantly varied."
 
Mos­ley named State exec­ut­ive dir­ector of Hous­ing, Res­id­ence Life
Mis­sis­sippi State alum­nus Calvin Mos­ley is the new exec­ut­ive dir­ector of Hous­ing and Res­id­ence Life, bring­ing to the role more than 20 years of lead­er­ship exper­i­ence in hous­ing, stu­dent life and devel­op­ment. Mos­ley, who has served as interim exec­ut­ive dir­ector since Janu­ary, over­sees Hous­ing and Res­id­ence Life oper­a­tions, includ­ing stra­tegic plan­ning, res­id­en­tial edu­ca­tion, facil­it­ies, staff­ing, crisis man­age­ment and stu­dent sup­port ini­ti­at­ives. He also leads efforts to cre­ate res­id­en­tial com­munit­ies that sup­port stu­dent suc­cess, belong­ing, lead­er­ship devel­op­ment and engage­ment. "I have had the priv­ilege of serving Mis­sissippi State in a vari­ety of roles over the years, each deep­en­ing my appre­ci­ation for the impact that Hous­ing and Res­id­ence Life has on the stu­dent exper­i­ence," Mos­ley said. "Being named exec­ut­ive dir­ector is a tre­mend­ous honor and a hum­bling respons­ib­il­ity." "Calvin has ded­ic­ated his career to cre­at­ing com­munit­ies where stu­dents feel sup­por­ted, con­nec­ted and empowered to suc­ceed," MSU Vice Pres­id­ent for Stu­dent Affairs Regina Hyatt said. "He under­stands that res­id­ence halls are more than places to live. They are places where stu­dents build friend­ships, develop lead­er­ship skills and find a sense of belong­ing. His pas­sion for stu­dents and their suc­cess will strengthen the Mis­sis­sippi State exper­i­ence for years to come."
 
Lemonade Day returns Saturday to Golden Triangle
For the last three years, Locklyn Barker of Columbus has set up a stand for Golden Triangle Lemonade Day, offering regular and honey lemonade, along with chocolate chip cookies to her customers. Now 9, Barker said the experience has helped her learn to count money. It's also taught her how to make her money count, with one-third of her proceeds each year going to an area nonprofit. This year, she said, she will raise funds for the Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society. "I feel good after I donate and help out people," Barker said. Barker is one of 256 area children signed up to participate Saturday in this year's Lemonade Day, said Margaret Mary Coker, office coordinator for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach at Mississippi State University. The national business literacy initiative first came to Starkville in 2018 and has spread throughout the region. Coker said kids kindergarten through 12th grade can sign up individually or in groups, and the total number of participants normally continues to grow as the event approaches. "Lemonade Day is a great day for the youth of (the Golden Triangle) to be able to learn more about entrepreneurship," Coker told The Dispatch. "It helps them with financial literacy, customer service, innovation and life skills that they can use from now into adulthood."
 
New AICPA chair pitches a people-first profession
When you have made a career in tax at a regional firm in the Deep South and you're a huge college baseball fan, spring weekends are special. "There's nothing like coming off a busy tax season and going on a warm Saturday afternoon and watching college baseball," said AICPA Chair Jan Lewis, CPA, CGMA, partner at BMSS Advisors & CPAs in the Jackson, Miss., metro area. Lewis, who, in May, began a one-year term as the 2026–2027 chair of the AICPA board of directors and the chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, is a Jackson native who has worked at the same core firm for nearly 40 years, most of them as tax partner at Haddox Reid Eubank Betts PLLC. In 2023, the local accounting firm became part of a top 100 U.S. firm when it merged with Alabama-based BMSS Advisors & CPAs. Off the job, Lewis is a huge fan of Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball, and she and her husband are pet parents to three "spoiled Dachshunds." Lewis sees a renewed importance in people skills, in part driven by the advent of artificial intelligence (AI). Accounting and finance professionals are trusted advisers for a reason, but the reliance on AI to complete data input and analysis is creating an opportunity for CPAs to hone their people skills and deliver more value to clients.
 
Retired historian speaks about Lafayette's life and service in Starkville
As the United States celebrates its 250th Anniversary, many are taking time to learn more about our nation's past and its founding. One interesting aspect is the international flavor of Washington's Continental Army. Among the leaders were von Steuben of Prussia and Kosciusko of Poland, but perhaps the best-known foreign leader was the Marquis de Lafayette of France. Retired historian Brother Rogers spoke about Lafayette's life and service in Starkville [Monday]. Lafayette came to America at 19-years-old to help in the fight for Independence. Despite his age, he was eventually put in a command position. After the American Revolution, he returned home to France and had a leadership role in the French Revolution, becoming known as the "Hero of Two Worlds." But America always held a special place in his heart. He would return to see the growing new country. "The most surprising thing to me about Lafayette was that he visited Mississippi 50 years after the American Revolution in 1825. He came to Natchez when he was trying to tour every state in America at the time, all 24 of them," said Rodgers.
 
Neshoba County Fair officials stress rules following cabin fire
We're just under two weeks from Mississippi's Giant House Party beginning, and Neshoba County Fair officials are encouraging cabin owners to follow rules set in place following a fire that broke out over the weekend. The blaze was spotted at a cabin on Sunset Strip on Sunday evening, as reported by The Neshoba Democrat. Following the fire, Neshoba County Fair officials promptly reminded cabin owners that rules are in place to prevent incidents like Sunday's from occurring. The fairgrounds have strict rules about cabin maintenance, when electricity will be turned on for cabin use, and other regulations aimed at ensuring the safety of all on site. Officials say adherence to these rules would prevent future occurrences, like Sunday's, from happening. "The Neshoba County Fair Association cannot emphasize enough that the rules and regulations of the Association be followed to prevent occurrences in the future. In the event of emergencies of this nature, please keep roads clear to allow first responders access." The fair is scheduled to run June 19-26, about a month earlier than usual, after officials altered the schedule because of the evolving K-12 academic calendar.
 
Nissan uses AI for safety and efficiency at Canton plant
The 23-year-old Canton Nissan Assembly Plant continues to make a major impact on Mississippi employment and specifically in Central Mississippi and Madison County. The company is also a major player in technology. One way that is happening is the by the efficiencies that have built into the business model and in the way the vehicles have been manufactured over the years. Currently, the Canton plant produces approximately 170,000 vehicles a year but has the capacity to produce as many as 400,000. Reports that many types of vehicles other than the Frontier and Altima that could be built in Canton persist, and officials at the Madison County facility said Nissan continues to explore those options. Nissan has implemented artificial intelligence into is production facility in a way that allows workers to produce vehicles more safely and efficiently. In recent years, Nissan invested $1.5 million to install more than 200 cameras on the production line analyze how work is done across the facility. Chi Amaechi, a process engineer at Nissan, said the investment paid off almost instantly as the company recouped more than $2 million in savings after just one year.
 
Mississippi DPS Academy graduates 54 new officers, continuing family legacies of service
Family members, friends and law enforcement leaders gathered at the Mississippi Coliseum to celebrate the newest officers, who will serve in divisions across the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, including the Mississippi Highway Patrol, Capitol Police and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. The graduation marked the culmination of a lengthy process that began with nearly 800 applicants. Through testing, interviews, evaluations and background screenings, the field was narrowed to 94 cadets who entered training in February. Just 54 completed the academy. Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell noted that the demanding process is designed to ensure only the most qualified candidates earn the title of state trooper. "They went through a lot, and that's traditional with any Highway Patrol class," Tindell said. "These men and women will go out across our state and make our communities safe, make our Capitol safe and make our highways safe." The Mississippi Highway Patrol was established in 1938 with 53 troopers. Eighty-eight years later, Class 70 graduated 54 officers. Out of those 54, 49 are now Highway Patrol troopers, six have been assigned to Capitol Police, two to the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division, and four to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.
 
Which schools and school districts could be closed in Mississippi?
More than a quarter of Mississippi's school districts could be combined with others or see schools closed in the coming years as the state Legislature tackles school consolidation. Lawmakers met to discuss closing schools and joining districts with Mississippi Department of Education Superintendent Lance Evans, who urged the Legislature to focus more on closing schools than dissolving districts. Committee Chair Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, gave reporters a clearer view of what could be on the horizon next session. The Legislature will likely draw up a long-term plan, something around the 10-year plan that Evans requested to avoid piecemeal consolidation, with a focus on smaller districts at first. "My kneejerk would be that if you're in a school district that has less than 1,000 kids in it, you're going to be affected," Roberson said. "That's just baseline for me. There's research out there that suggests that if your district has less than 2,000 or 3,000 kids, there needs to be a conversation ahead." That 1,000 student benchmark puts 35 school districts, or about a quarter of those in the state, at the center of the consolidation debate.
 
Democrat-aligned super PAC to include Colom in $50 million media blitz
A Democrat-aligned super PAC announced Tuesday morning that it was launching a $50 million ad campaign ahead of the November midterms targeting House and Senate races in traditionally safe Republican areas, including in Mississippi. Other states where the group is spending money are Iowa, Alaska, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Of note, the American Bridge 21st Century super PAC, otherwise referred to AB PAC, has benefited over the years from high-dollar individual left-leaning donors and likeminded political action committees, such as unions, Democracy PAC (a super PAC created by billionaire George Soros) and the National Education Association, among others. In Mississippi, the super PAC is backing Democrat nominee Scott Colom in the state's U.S. Senate race. Colom, who is no stranger to receiving assistance from national Democrats and their financial backers like Soros, is running against incumbent U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) and Ty Pinkins (I) on the November ballot. As noted in the New York Times, Mississippi's U.S. Senate race is "among the longest shots the group said it planned to invest in." Mississippi has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1982. Democrats need four seats to flip control on the U.S. Senate this cycle.
 
Bitter rivalry? At the Congressional Baseball Game, sort of
Democrats are looking to break a five-year losing streak at Wednesday night's Congressional Baseball Game, hoping a revamped roster will be enough to beat Republicans. But partisan rivalry aside, research suggests the game may boost legislative collaboration. Playing baseball gives legislators the chance to forge bonds outside the halls of the Capitol, according to SoRelle Wyckoff Gaynor, an assistant professor of public policy and politics at the University of Virginia. Gaynor got the idea when former Reps. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., and Charles Boustany, R-La., spoke to an undergraduate class she was teaching and seemed glad to see each other. They explained they had become friends through the Congressional Baseball Game. "After class, one of my students and I were like, this is interesting, I wonder if this is a one-off thing or not? So we tracked down all the rosters with the clerk's office, and we also collected every co-sponsorship that occurred in the House ... and matched up the data." Crunching the numbers, they found that congressional baseball players were more likely to sign on to legislation together, even across party lines. For example, when two members of the 117th Congress participated in the game, the likelihood of a bipartisan co-sponsorship of legislation together was 56 percent. Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, a Republican team coach, isn't so sure. "Everybody says it's bipartisan, and it is, but it's not," he said. "The Democrats are practicing every day like we are. They want to beat us, we want to beat them. There's bragging rights at stake."
 
Trump formally nominates Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general
President Donald Trump on Monday formally nominated acting attorney general Todd Blanche for a full term as the nation's chief law enforcement officer, kicking off what is likely to become a contentious and uncertain battle in the Senate to confirm him. Blanche, Trump's former personal defense lawyer, has temporarily served as head of the Justice Department since the president's decision to fire former attorney general Pam Bondi in April. In just over two months on the job, he has moved aggressively to steer the typically independent department toward Trump's demands and, at times in doing so, drawn bipartisan criticism from lawmakers. After Trump previewed his intention to nominate Blanche at a dinner last week, two prominent Republicans -- Sens. Thom Tillis (North Carolina) and John Cornyn (Texas) -- said they still had questions they needed answered before they would support the acting attorney general for a full-time stint in the job. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) offered only a hesitant prediction on whether Blanche would make it through the confirmation process. "Most of our members are pretty deferential to who the president wants in some of those key positions. And he's obviously serving in the role already and clearly has experience in it. So, that'll serve him well," Thune told reporters last week. "But this is an environment where nothing's a safe or sure bet."
 
What does it mean if political scandals matter less?
In the race to the midterms this year, neither party is untouched by scandal. Texas Senate GOP hopeful Ken Paxton has faced legal battles and criminal investigations for years, along with allegations of infidelity, a public divorce and an impeachment by the Texas House. In Maine, Democrat Graham Platner has pushed past controversies including a report that he sent women sexually explicit messages while married and sported a tattoo of an emblem used by Nazi SS units; he says he did not know what it was when he got it and has since covered up the tattoo. In generations past, any one of those scandals could be enough to end a campaign or career. Just ask Gary Hart, who was once seen as the frontrunner for Democrats' presidential nominee, before he dropped out after reports of an affair -- or Republican Rep. Chris Lee, who resigned the same day an article was published in 2011 detailing a shirtless photograph he sent to someone on Craigslist. "The fact politicians are more likely to survive scandals now is a condition of the world we live in," said Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor at the University of Houston and author of Scandal: Why Politicians Survive Controversy in a Partisan Era. Undergirding this is an environment where partisanship seems to outweigh almost everything.
 
A government-commissioned study found drinking risks. US guidelines didn't feature its findings
A study commissioned by President Joe Biden's administration to investigate alcohol-related health harms was released independently on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump's administration decided not to feature the researchers' findings in new dietary guidelines as it faced pushback from the alcohol industry and a congressional committee. The findings of the study, in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, were in line with years of research, saying that health risks go up with just one drink a day and no level of alcohol has a protective effect on mortality. Even levels considered "moderate" raise the risk of premature death and more than 200 diseases, including heart disease and cancer, researchers found. The Trump administration earlier this year released new dietary guidelines that advised consuming "less alcohol for better overall health." The researchers said that they don't dispute that advice but that their findings support a more detailed and forceful recommendation that current adult drinkers consume one drink or fewer a day.
 
FORGEing a new career path in construction
This week kicks off the third annual BuildHer Construction Camp. The camp held by FORGE is on the EMCC Golden Triangle Campus and area girls are learning skills they need to succeed in the building trades. Brooklyn Sanders is an incoming Junior at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and just as her love for education grew as a student at West Lowndes High School, so did her love for construction. "I wanna say it was about three years ago, I did my first camp and I had a school counselor tell me about it and I was like well I've never really heard of anything in the construction field or opportunities for me to do this, so I was like I might as well shoot my shot at it, I might as well do it." And Sanders taking the opportunity to learn more about construction during FORGE's BuildHer Construction Camp has led her to pursue a promising career path. She says she wants to be in the management side of construction. It ties together two of her other loves -- math and science. FORGE Executive Director Melinda Lowe says stories like Sanders' and her introduction to construction are what the weeklong camp is all about.
 
Workforce Development: Girls get their hands dirty at FORGE BuildHER Construction Camp
Trades comprise nine of the top 10 occupations with the smallest share of female workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. FORGE's BuildHER Construction Camp is working hard to change that. The camp targets girls ages 11-14, hoping to help young women step out of their comfort zone and learn new skills that will make them feel more confident and capable of pursuing careers in construction-related fields. "(It's) more than likely not every (camper) is going to go into the construction industry," FORGE Executive Director Melinda Lowe told The Dispatch on Monday at East Mississippi Community College-Golden Triangle campus. "We get that, but we're giving them life skills. We're giving them the ability to build confidence and know that they themselves can do some of this work, whether it be as a career or if it's just something at home." Now in its third year, Lowe said they've figured out what works and what doesn't, deciding to cap the camp at 16 participants for the sake of focus and efficiency and modifying the structure of the group project to better suit each camper's needs. Throughout the week, campers will have the opportunity to learn from skilled trade professionals, conduct hands-on work, visit a job site at the Howell Hall Building Construction Science building on Mississippi State University's campus and receive advice regarding financial literacy and career development from women leaders in the field.
 
Despite education gains, report ranks Mississippi's child health outcomes last in the US
Mississippi continues to outperform most of the nation in education, according to a new report, but health outcomes for children remain dismal. The 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, published annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows the state's education ranking has held steady at 16th nationwide. Unchanged since last year, this ranking on education is Mississippi's highest score ever, according to the foundation's rubric. In other measures, though, Mississippi still struggles. The report puts Mississippi at 49th for economic well-being, 50th for health and 49th for family and community. "When we think about children and families where the household head lacks a diploma, that's tied to a chance of children living in poverty in that house," said Ashley Parker Sheils, executive director of Children's Foundation of Mississippi. "Every one of these indicators is an opportunity for us to work together to do better for the children of our state." Louisiana and Mississippi were the only states to make progress in education during the five-year period, according to the KIDS COUNT data. Chronic absenteeism, however, remains an issue across the country and in Mississippi.
 
Auburn professors say university dissolving faculty senate is an 'attack on our voices'
Auburn University's board of trustees has dissolved its faculty senate and claimed more control over course curriculum. Auburn's board on Friday approved a new "presidential academic advisory council" that will put the university president, Chris Roberts, directly in charge of some faculty appointments and policy. It also created a syllabus database and new civics courses for undergraduates. Auburn faculty are pushing back on changes, saying the board of trustees aren't education experts. Curriculum should be crafted by faculty, according to faculty member Elijah Gaddis. "They're not experts in the content that we deliver, and they're not experts in how people are educated," Gaddis said. Gaddis said morale on campus "is as low as it's ever been" after a year of "attacks on faculty and on our voices." Gaddis, who's been a faculty member for nine years, said the change, especially coming over the summer, felt "very quick and it felt very deliberate."
 
UNO will revive its marching band as it joins LSU to jazz up campus culture and recruit students
The University of New Orleans' long-dormant marching band is poised to make a comeback. When UNO joins the LSU system on July 1, the university will resurrect the Marching Privateers, which were a fixture of sporting events and parades into the 1980s -- even playing halftime shows at Saints games -- but has not been in full force for decades. The revived band will wear purple and gold and march at the direction of Eddie Williams Jr., a prominent high school band leader who has directed the St. Augustine High School's Marching 100 and West Jefferson High School's marching band. Officials hope the new LSUNO band will jazz up the student experience and become a recruitment pipeline, drawing local students with a passion for New Orleans-style band music. "There's a lot of kids in New Orleans that don't want to leave home, but they play music," Williams said Monday. "Those are the kids that we're targeting." University officials are touting the band as a key aspect of UNO's revival as it transitions from the University of Louisiana system to the LSU system following years of low enrollment and financial struggles.
 
What did U. of Kentucky' officials buy in Grand Cayman? They refuse to show travel receipts
University of Kentucky's top administrators spent nearly $270,000 on travel during a recent three-year span, but are refusing to say what that cash paid for. According to a Herald-Leader review of publicly available travel records, the five university officials took 185 trips from 2023 to 2025. But the specific details of the travel are scant. Some trips were within Kentucky, like a $451 visit to Ashland that President Eli Capilouto took in July 2024 for Royal Blue Health board meeting, a UK limited liability company connected to healthcare. Other trips were out of the country, records show. Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Eric Monday and General Counsel William Thro traveled to the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean in 2023 and 2024. Monday and Thro also went to London, England, every May in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The total spent on those London trips was $31,147. What did they spend money on in Ashland or Grand Cayman? How many days did they stay? University officials won't say. The refusal to release information about travel costs comes as the state's flagship university faces increased scrutiny over its governance and spending.
 
U. of Missouri employee will step into the communications director role for the city
Christopher Ave has been named the first director of communications for the city of Columbia's new Communications Department. "I am thrilled at the opportunity to lead communications and engagement efforts for the world-class city of Columbia," Ave said. Ave currently works as the University of Missouri's director of media relations and public affairs. He will step into his new role June 22 with a starting salary of $150,000. "Christopher's extensive experience in journalism and strategic communications makes him an outstanding addition to our team," Columbia City Manager De'Carlon Seewood said. The city of Columbia established the Communications Department with the hope that it would simplify the distribution of information and improve the city's relationship with the community.
 
Three new cases of screwworm confirmed in Texas; A&M leader tasked as federal adviser
Three more cases of New World screwworm were confirmed in Texas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to five. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with Gov. Greg Abbott, held a joint press conference at the Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville where they revealed their "War on Screwworm" campaign with a slogan declaring "Inspect, Report, and Protect," warning Texans the situation is expected to get worse. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the U.S. Department of War is making the New World screwworm infestation one of its top priorities by putting a military commander in charge of helping accelerate resource gathering, construction and research. Abbott also said the state's emergency command center will be open 24/7 with specialists from Texas A&M and state personnel to ensure all incidents are reported and tracked. Rollins announced Monday that President Donald Trump appointed John Bellinger, a member of the Texas A&M University Board of Regents, to be the new senior adviser for New World screwworm preparedness. Bellinger was appointed to the A&M board in 2023, where he serves as chair of the committee on research.
 
At This Flagship, a Decades-Long Enrollment Strategy Is Cracking
The University of Oregon has built an enrollment strategy over decades that hinges on recruiting out-of-state students -- so much so that this group now makes up nearly half of all students attending the institution. The strategy has been foundational to the university's financial stability: At a time of dwindling state appropriations, nonresidents bring in more than three times the net tuition revenue as their in-state peers do. That nonresident tuition funds close to half of the university's core spending on instruction, research, and much of student services. There's an aspirational element, too. The University of Oregon -- with its memberships in the Big Ten Conference and the Association of American Universities and ties to powerhouse alumni like the co-founder of Nike -- "very much wants to be a national institution," said Marty Wilde, who served in the state legislature from 2019 to 2023 and represented the university's district for part of his tenure. This foundation, though, has cracked, with expected out-of-state domestic enrollment for the fall of 2026 hundreds of students under target, and below the university's 10-year average for the second consecutive year. As a result, Oregon must now plan for a future with fewer nonresidents, requiring tens of millions in permanent cost reductions.
 
Students Remain Higher Ed's Cybersecurity Weak Link
Just 22 percent of chief technology officers say students at their institution receive adequate cybersecurity training, according to Inside Higher Ed's 2026 Survey of Campus Chief Technology/Information Officers. By comparison, 68 percent say faculty and staff receive adequate training. Another 70 percent say their institution's leadership prioritizes cybersecurity investments. Students constituting a gap in their institutions' cybersecurity ecosystems is nothing new. In last year's survey, just 26 percent of CTOs reported requiring student cybersecurity training, versus 79 percent for faculty and 86 percent for administrative staff. But cybersecurity threats to higher education are only increasing, as the recent attack impacting the Canvas learning management system underscored. And artificial intelligence promises to accelerate this trend. Convincing phishing attacks, for instance, are much easier to draft, personalize and deploy at scale with AI. Agentic tools represent new risks. And models have also been used to discover and weaponize "zero-day" vulnerabilities -- those previously unknown to developers -- in software systems.
 
University Endowments Are About to Strike It Big on the SpaceX IPO
Elon Musk has been critical of U.S. universities. Right now, the feeling isn't mutual. SpaceX is among the most widely held investments across colleges and universities, endowment executives say, likely making the rocket company's coming IPO one of the great windfalls for American endowments. Many schools' investments in SpaceX make up a low-single-digits percentage of their endowments. A handful of schools have outsize positions that make up a tenth or more of their endowments, unusual scenarios for institutions that typically aim to have well-diversified investment portfolios. When the company goes public in a few weeks, shortly before the June 30 end of many endowments' fiscal years, schools' positions in SpaceX will surge even more. The paper gains for some of the schools could climb into the billions. The University of North Carolina system, which serves 17 institutions, has roughly 10% of its endowment tied up in SpaceX, according to people familiar with the endowment. That is largely due to investing early with Peter Thiel's venture firm Founders Fund, one of the earliest backers of SpaceX.
 
NIH plans to cap number of grants a scientist can have at once
Seeking ways to spread its $38 billion in grant money to more research labs, the U.S. National Institutes of Health is bringing back an idea that went down in flames nearly a decade ago: placing a cap on how many NIH grants an individual investigator can have at one time. A notice today lays out several scenarios for limiting the number of research project grants (RPGs) that a principal investigator (PI) can hold simultaneously -- with options ranging from two to four. The limits would help "ensure that [NIH] uses funding approaches that maximize scientific productivity and innovation," the notice states. "One way to do this is through policies that allow the NIH to support a greater number of investigators, allowing more ideas to be explored and eventually leading to more breakthroughs." The plan recalls a similar 2017 proposal backed by then–NIH Director Francis Collins that aimed to free up funding for early- and midcareer investigators. Citing studies suggesting gains in productivity per grant dollar start to taper off as a lab gets bigger, the agency's extramural research office, then led by Michael Lauer, came up with a formula known as the Grant Support Index. It would have limited support to the equivalent of three of NIH's standard, 4-year, R01 grants.
 
More Medical Schools, Examiners Embrace RFK Jr.'s Nutrition Push
Starting next year, thousands of medical students will be learning a lot more about nutrition. The Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday at a news conference that 19 more medical schools have agreed to require students to complete at least 40 hours of nutrition education, beginning next fall. The announcement comes just three months after more than 50 medical schools pledged to do the same at the urging of the Trump administration, which has said more nutrition education is critical to advancing its so-called Make American Healthy Again agenda -- a plan focused on addressing and preventing chronic illness through diet and lifestyle choices. While the nearly 200 medical schools in the United States already require some form of nutrition education, exposure averages just 1.2 hours per year, research has found. But with Monday's announcement, 73 physician training programs across 32 states will teach from a curriculum that includes substantially beefed-up nutrition-education components. Although some in the medical education community have long advocated for expanded nutrition education, it finally gained traction after the Trump administration took up the mantle last year.
 
Federal judge strikes down Trump's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas
A federal judge on Monday struck down the Trump administration's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, contradicting an earlier federal court ruling upholding the fee hike. The administration announced the much-higher fee as a way of preventing foreign workers from taking American jobs. But U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston sided with 20 states and struck down the visa policy, concluding that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations. "The Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress," Sorokin wrote. H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs that are difficult to find American workers to fill. Deep-pocketed technology companies are the biggest users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India. The states argued that using the H-1B program to fill vacancies for much-needed doctors and teachers was already difficult before the higher fee. In the Boston case, the states argued that the policy impedes their ability to hire primary and secondary school educators and to staff public colleges and universities, will stymie academic research and will lead to a decline in medical workers.


SPORTS
 
Baseball: Parker Earns Freshman All-America Status
Jacob Parker is coming off one of the most memorable rookie seasons in Mississippi State Baseball history. Parker clubbed a freshman record 18 home runs this year to go along with a .339 batting average and 62 RBIs. For his prowess at the plate, the outfielder was named a first team Freshman All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder appeared in 53 games and made 44 starts this spring. Parker finished second on the Diamond Dawgs in homers and RBIs as well as third in batting average and stolen bases (seven). He also added 10 doubles and one triple to his totals. In addition to his NCBWA honor, Parker was also tabbed to the Freshman All-SEC team, named the Most Outstanding Player of the Starkville Regional and also selected as the SEC Freshman of the Week on March 23. He is also a Midseason second team All-American by Perfect Game and one of five finalists to be Baseball America's Freshman of the Year. Parker is the 43rd MSU freshman to earn All-American status and the 86th player overall in program history to be picked as an All-American.
 
Out of the Park-er: Freshman phenom slugs, shines in super regional
Freshman Jacob Parker stood in the box, with an 0-1 count in the eighth inning. Mississippi State trailed 9-8. With two outs, and junior Ace Reese standing on second, Parker represented State's best chance to take its first lead in Game 2 of the super regionals. Georgia reliever Matt Scott threw a fastball, and Parker attacked. With a sweet swing, Parker reached and got to the ball low in the zone. He barreled the ball to center field, took a moment to admire his work, and smiled as he strutted outside the box. The freshman had his second no-doubter, this one the climax of a five-run comeback. Everything about the home run, the pure swing in a clutch moment and the swagger to stare at the ball and smile as it took its ride beyond the batter's eye, was far from what would be expected of a freshman. Parker's two bombs ultimately weren't enough, as MSU fell 11-9 in 10 innings. He was the final out of the game, striking out with two runners on. But even in the down moment, Parker's at bat still looked veteran. "I'm proud of this guy," head coach Brian O'Connor said, patting Parker on the back during the postgame press conference. "I know he hurts because the game ends with his at bat, but we wouldn't be where we're at without his and his teammates' contributions." Parker played above his class all season.
 
Softball: Bulldog Players And Coaches Prepare For Second AUSL Season
Opening Day for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is just around the corner. All six teams will open the 2026 season on Tuesday, June 9. Mississippi State will be represented by Peja Goold on the Oklahoma City Spark and Sierra Sacco-Ferrie and Mia Davidson with the Portland Cascade this year. In addition to the Bulldog players, a pair of coaches will spend their summers in the league as well. Alyssa Loza will join Goold and the Spark as an assistant coach, while Taryne Mowatt-McKinney will serve as the Chicago Bandits' pitching coach. The Spark and Cascade will both make their AUSL debuts as the league's first expansion clubs this year. The Spark's first season of operations was in 2023 as an independent club before joining the AUSL in November. Former Bulldogs Chloe Malau'ulu and Fa Leilua have previously played for the franchise. The Cascade were created specifically as an AUSL expansion team, and Sacco-Ferrie and Davidson will be members of the club's first roster.
 
Tennis participation surges in Mississippi as millions nationwide pick up rackets
Millions of Americans are playing tennis, and more Mississippians than ever are picking up a racket for the first time. According to the Physical Activity Council, 27.3 million Americans played tennis in 2025. In Mississippi, 183,000 of them called this state home. USTA Mississippi Executive Director Russell Dendy said the growth started with the pandemic. "I think in 2020 when COVID hit, I think tennis was one of the best sports to get out. And you could have social distancing, you could get out, you could play socially," Dendy said. "So tennis, the growth of tennis really started then when tennis was kind of encouraged. And then I think a lot of tennis, it just really caught on from there." Dendy said tennis has grown for six consecutive years nationally. The United States has 14.5 million core players who play 10 or more times a year. The trend has not slowed down in Mississippi. Junior membership in the state has grown 25% over the last five years, rising from about 3,000 to 4,000 members to more than 8,400 junior USTA members. "High school tennis is really one of the greatest avenues to get involved in tennis. High school tennis has really grown," Dendy said. For college students, the USTA offers Tennis on Campus, a club program for those not playing varsity tennis. Dendy said those clubs are growing, with 80 to 100 members at some colleges.
 
Brendan Sorsby ruling: College sports' brass enraged by Texas judge's decision
At a recent Big 12 administrative meeting, a fascinating discussion emerged. If a local Texas judge granted quarterback Brendan Sorsby's injunction to play this season despite wagering on his own team, the league's other member schools wondered something aloud: Should we play the Red Raiders? "We've had some serious conversation about it," Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor told Yahoo Sports. "There is still a lot to be discussed. We aren't scheduled to play them this year, but it's something we have to look at from a college football perspective. This is greater than the Big 12." On Monday, a Lubbock judge did, indeed, grant Sorsby his injunction against the NCAA, making him eligible to play this season -- a stunning decision that many across the college sports landscape are referring to as another seminal moment in a turbulent time in an industry upturned by legal decisions. Even notable attorneys who usually fight against NCAA rules were floored by the ruling. "At first, I thought it was a joke," said Tom Mars, an attorney who's won several cases against the association. The Sorsby decision, while opening the door for more such injunctions, is now the latest event to lead administrators to call for congressional intervention.
 
Coaches, ADs 'disgusted,' 'stunned' with Brendan Sorsby ruling
A judge's decision to rule Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby eligible on Monday morning roiled college sports, with reactions ranging from doomsday predictions to informal chatter about Big 12 schools attempting to not play the Red Raiders this season. The reaction around college sports was nearly unanimous, with the idea of Sorsby playing in 2026 after admitting to thousands of bets on sports -- including 40 on his own team -- representing the latest crossroads for an industry that has faced a dizzying number of them in recent years. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told ESPN the ruling represents a "horrendous pattern" that is "eroding the integrity of our process." A Big 12 athletic director told ESPN that they are "disgusted" and added: "We officially lost our soul." TCU coach Sonny Dykes told ESPN: "How is anyone ever going to trust the outcome of a game again?" Florida AD Scott Stricklin told ESPN he was "stunned," even recalling Major League Baseball's 1919 "Black Sox Scandal," when eight players from the Chicago White Sox took bribes to lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. "As someone who grew up reading about the 'Black Sox Scandal,' and seeing what happened to Pete Rose and just understanding how bright that line seemed to be in all of American sports, I'm stunned that there would be a question at the court level that this is acceptable," Stricklin said. "That's not a judgment on the young man. It's just that was a pretty fundamental tenet of American sports, that if you're going to participate, you can't gamble, especially on your own team."
 
SEC, Big Ten schools ban scheduling Texas Tech in light of Brendan Sorsby ruling, reports say
The athletics departments at both Georgia and Nebraska have reportedly banned their teams from scheduling non-conference games against Texas Tech following a controversial court decision involving quarterback Brendan Sorsby. A Texas judge on Monday granted Sorsby a preliminary injunction, clearing the way for him to play for the Red Raiders this fall after serving a two-game suspension. The NCAA had ruled Sorsby ineligible after it came to light that he had placed thousands of bets on college sporting events, including at least 40 on Indiana football games while he was playing for the Hoosiers in 2022. The Athletic is reporting that Georgia compliance director Will Lawler on Monday sent a memo to coaches and staff, notifying them that in light of "recent developments" the Bulldogs will not schedule games against Texas Tech "until further notice." Sports Business Journal is reporting that Nebraska athletics director Troy Dannen had issued a similar directive to his staff. According to Yahoo Sports, several Big 12 schools are considering refusing to play Texas Tech if Sorsby is on the roster (it's not clear how they could do so without forfeiting games). NCAA president Charlie Baker also weighed in, urging Congress to intervene and stop "schools and deep-pocketed supporters willing to look the other way on the glaring integrity threat of betting on your own team."
 
Everyone loses in the Brendan Sorsby decision -- except shameless Texas Tech
The Athletic's Stewart Mandel writes: The word "unbelievable" has become so ingrained in college sports that I consulted a thesaurus to find an apropos adjective to describe Monday's news that Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, despite his gambling on college sports (including his own team), will be allowed to play college football in the fall, for now. No one word seems strong enough. So how about all of this? Unconscionable. Reprehensible. Outrageous. Gross. With one three-page injunction order Monday, Judge Ken Curry of the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, Texas made the wrong kind of history. He allowed Texas Tech's transfer quarterback to become the first known athlete in a major sport to admit to gambling on his own team (at Indiana, in 2022) and still be allowed to continue playing that sport. ... Meanwhile, shameless Texas Tech has twisted itself into knots attempting to defend the indefensible. In a May 26 open letter, university president Lawrence Schovanec had the audacity to argue, "The NCAA bylaws governing Brendan's case have not adapted to the era of widespread legalized sports betting," just months after his own school voted to overturn an NCAA policy change that would have allowed athletes to bet on pro sports. Hey, they've got a Big 12 championship to defend.
 
Sorsby Injunction: A Jump-the-Shark Moment for College Sports?
The ruling on Monday that Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby can play NCAA football despite having bet on his own team is a sports law earthquake. It's occurring at the intersection of a modern double whammy: one involving dozens of ineligible college athletes suing to extend their NCAA eligibility to profit from lucrative NIL and revenue-share opportunities, and the other in which athletes in several sports have been suspended and even banned for sports betting. No recent college eligibility case has been quite like Sorsby's, who the NCAA ruled was permanently ineligible due to his gambling history before a judge stepped in. After Monday's ruling, social media lit up with criticism for Sorsby regaining eligibility minus the first two games of the 2026 season, while others pointed out the seeming absurdity. "There really aren't any rules. You just go to court. If it fails, go to court again until a judge says you're all set," SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt tweeted. ... While the ruling for Sorsby is a major development, it's worth acknowledging its limited legal effect. For starters, Judge Curry's order, which the NCAA late Monday filed a notice of a forthcoming appeal, is not a final judgment in Sorsby's case. An injunction is a preliminary order in a litigation where the judge finds the plaintiff is likely to prevail on the merits and would suffer irreparable injury (meaning an injury money can't fix) without an injunction. In other words, from a legal standpoint, Sorsby hasn't yet "won" his case.


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