| Monday, June 29, 2026 |
| Cultivating Dynamic Leadership: MSU pilot program helps DAFVM faculty build institutional perspective | |
 | According to an MSU press release, when Nicole Ashpole arrived at Mississippi State University a year ago to launch the new One Health program in the College of Veterinary Medicine, she brought enthusiasm, a long to-do list and years of academic experience. What she gained this spring was something her previous career hadn't given her: a real understanding of what a land-grant university is -- and why it matters. MSU is one of the nation's land-grant universities, a designation established through the Morrill Act of 1862 to expand access to higher education and serve the needs of the state through teaching, research and outreach. "Before, being a land-grant just meant it was a state designation with special funding," said Ashpole. "I didn't realize how much it means to the people here and to the state of Mississippi. Learning what a land-grant really is and how invested this university is in that mission was really important to me." |
| Still no cases of the New World Screwworm found in Mississippi | |
 | As cases of the flesh-eating New World screwworm continue to rise nationwide, Mississippi is not currently one of the states plagued by the parasite. Despite the screwworm only appearing so far in two states -- one in New Mexico and the other 19 in Texas -- it still poses a potential threat to Mississippi's food supply. According to Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, it's only an issue for animal safety, not food safety. Jerome Goddard, a Mississippi State University Extension professor of medical entomology, said the screwworm belongs to the blowfly family. Typically, blowflies infest dead animals and lay eggs inside them that eventually develop into larvae, which eat the carcass for nutrients. "Screwworms used to be endemic in the entire southern half of the U.S., but they were eradicated in the 1960s to 1970s using the sterile male technique," Goddard said. "This eradication process eliminated this pest from the U.S. all the way down to Central America." |
| Mississippi remains clear of New World screwworm | |
 | No confirmed cases of the New World screwworm have been found in Mississippi, but officials are monitoring the situation as the flesh-eating parasite spreads across Texas and New Mexico. As of June 25, 2026, there have been 20 animal cases reported in the United States, with one in New Mexico and the remainder in the south-central Texas region near the Mexico border. Jerome Goddard, an Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension professor of medical entomology, said the New World screwworm is a type of blowfly that can infest living animals. Unlike typical blowflies, which lay eggs on dead animals, this species lays eggs on living tissue, where larvae burrow into flesh and can cause serious harm in livestock. Dr. Jim Watson, state veterinarian with the Mississippi Board of Animal Health and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, said Mississippi has a response plan in place in case the pest is detected. "Our goal at the Board of Animal Health is to develop regulations and to put out information that will help, if possible, prevent the pest from coming back into Mississippi, and if it does, we have been working an planning on how we would respond to this," Watson said. |
| Families embrace new June date for Neshoba County Fair | |
| For the first time in the Neshoba County Fair's history, the fair is being held in June. According to the fair's social media, the change was made to better accommodate early school starts and late summer scheduling conflicts due to many schools now beginning in July. Despite the change in dates, many regular fair attendees said their experiences weren't negatively affected. "I personally was very excited that the fair dates had changed from July to June," said Camille Parker, whose daughter is in second grade. "I know there's a lot of tradition steeped in the July dates, but for us and the back to school timing, it really did benefit us as a family." Among every interview was a sense of openness to the change and a willingness to open their June schedules to accommodate for Mississippi's Giant House Party. "I think moving forward it will all be fine," said Gloria Langston. "And it doesn't matter to me, because I'll be at the fair." |
| How universities became engines of American success | |
 | For 250 years, America's colleges and universities have been engines of leadership, innovation and upward mobility. From training civic leaders to driving scientific breakthroughs, higher education has expanded the country's capacity to solve problems, imagine new possibilities and create new opportunities. "That has been higher education's purpose from the beginning -- to be public good that the whole of society benefits from," says Johann Neem, author of "What's the Point of College?" "Higher education since the American Revolution has been seen as a set of institutions that will serve the Republic," says Neem, who teaches the history of education at Western Washington University. How so? In the first half of the 19th century, "the idea was that it would create a class of educated leaders," he says. Those politicians, business leaders and ministers (nearly all White men) "were equipped with the capacity to think about everything they do in terms of a broader civic good." The late 1800s saw the rise of land‑grant universities, chartered to make education accessible to the working class while advancing research and public service. This transformed higher education from an elite pursuit into a broad engine of economic mobility. And the post-World War II era saw universities emerge as key drivers of innovation. |
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