| Wednesday, November 29, 2017 |
| New 'collaboratory room' launches at MSU-Meridian | |
 | Classrooms at MSU-Meridian are implementing a new kind of learning with a format called blended delivery. Students will now be able to log into a computer from off campus to access the classroom. "For the classes that we're providing in this new blended delivery format, it puts them in the driver's seat. It allows them to interact with the class in the way that they really need to dependent on their schedule and that type of thing," says Dr. Jeffrey Leffler, assistant professor for elementary education. Students like Andrew Wallace say they believe that this kind of classroom will benefit them. "It's helpful to interact with people who can't come to class, but even I might not be able to come to class one day, so I might have to use this service, or it's a good way to interact with the teacher, or any student really," Wallace explains. |
| Blended learning at MSU-Meridian | |
 | Local students at Mississippi State University-Meridian are now getting the opportunity to experience a new way of learning. "One of the reasons that we chose to go to some other online programs that were available," says Jeffrey Leffler the Assistant Professor of Elementary Education at MSU. "A lot of times students choose the online model because they think that it's going to be easier than going to the face to face classroom. And really what that translates to is a whole lot of busy work that they have to do to meet the number of hours that are required for the course." MSU-Meridian is now offering co-laboratory classrooms, where students can participate in blended learning. That means, that they can log in, from anywhere in the continental us, appear on a screen and participate in a lecture, as if they are face to face. |
| Mississippi State students attend financial literacy event | |
 | Financial literacy coach Eric Smith partnered with Regions Bank to offer financial literacy and budgeting advice to students at colleges throughout the country, and he spoke to Mississippi State University students Monday afternoon at the Union Dawg House. According to Smith, 60 percent of college graduates have no money in savings, 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 64 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings in any account and half of Americans don't have $500 to their name. "If you're always struggling and stressed about money, you'll never live up to your financial potential, or your full potential period," Smith said. Smith said the second step in being financially successful is living a 80-10-10 lifestyle. According to Smith, you should give yourself permission to spend 80 percent of every dollar you have, while saving 10 percent and donating or giving away 10 percent. |
| Study finds drones more damaging than bird strikes to planes | |
 | Drones that collide with planes cause more damage than birds of the same size because of their solid motors, batteries and other parts, a study released by the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday found. The study's researchers say aircraft-manufacturing standards designed for bird strikes aren't appropriate for ensuring planes can withstand collisions with drones. The FAA said it will depend on drone makers to help develop technology to detect and avoid planes. The study was performed by researchers from Mississippi State University, Montana State University, Ohio State University, and Wichita State University. The FAA said studies over the next three years will look at the severity of collisions between drones and other types of planes and helicopters. |
| What Really Happens When a Drone Collides With an Airplane? FAA and ASSURE Release Findings | |
| Studies have abounded theorizing about the results of a direct drone hit to a passenger aircraft. Conclusions have estimated the threat level of a drone collision at anywhere from "minimal" to "catastrophic." Now the FAA has released the results of the study performed by the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) and the official conclusion is: it depends. "While the effects of bird impacts on airplanes are well documented, little is known about the effects of more rigid and higher mass sUAS on aircraft structures and propulsion systems," said Mississippi State University's Marty Rogers, the Director of ASSURE. "The results of this work are critical to the safety of commercial air travel here in the United States and around the world." Researchers used simulations to estimate the damage. |
| FAA: Drones are bigger threat to planes than birds | |
| Drones can cause more damage to aircraft than a bird strike -- so says a new study from the Federal Aviation Administration. At the same weight, and traveling at the same speed as birds, a drone "...caused greater structural damage than bird strikes for equivalent impact energy levels (i.e. equal mass and impact velocity)," says the regulator. Takeoff was the most dangerous time as well, because of how fast fans are moving in a plane's engine. The FAA specifically looked at small unmanned aircraft systems -- or sUAS -- in its study, to determine how to regulate them as the adoption of these hobbyist vehicles in airspace grows. "While the effects of bird impacts on airplanes are well documented, little is known about the effects of more rigid and higher mass sUAS on aircraft structures and propulsion systems," says Mississippi State University's Marty Rogers, the Director of ASSURE. |
| How to keep your accountant accountable | |
 | For years, technology has been changing how we do everything from driving to paying our bills. Just as new websites and applications have improved our abilities to handle our personal finances, software has made some aspects of accountants' jobs more efficient. As organizing and tracking debits and credits gets easier, accountants can turn their attention to other ways to serve their clients. "Automated processes, like point-of-sale systems, make hand recording journal entries a quaint line drawing in an antique book of an employee with a quill pen," said Dr. Noel Addy, accounting professor in the Richard C. Adkerson School of Accountancy at Mississippi State University. "The remarkable enhances in technology are terrific opportunities for the alert and enthusiastic accountant." |
| A dead cow subsidy could lead to more conflicts with wolves | |
| Unburied cow carcasses can lead to conflict between wolves and people, according to a recent study. The study of wolves in Michigan's Upper Peninsula found that nearly a quarter of the diet of wolves consists of cattle in areas near dairy and beef farms. It's not that wolves prey on livestock, said Tyler Petroelje, a doctoral candidate at Mississippi State University who led the study. Instead, it is a result of wolves eating at dumps where farmers put dead livestock. Experts call that an unintentional wildlife food subsidy. |
| Tony Rook, Sharon Livingston win Oktibbeha County runoffs | |
 | Oktibbeha County voters finalized two elections Tuesday in selecting the county's new circuit and chancery clerks. Tony Rook won the circuit clerk position, based on Tuesday's results, which include walk up votes and absentee ballots. Rook got 2,955 votes, or 51.01 percent of the vote. His opponent, Teresa Davis, got 2,836 votes, or 48.96 percent of the vote. Both candidates advanced to Tuesday's runoff from a five-candidate field in the Nov. 7 general election. Sharon Livingston won the permanent chancery clerk position over Martesa Bishop Flowers in Tuesday's only other election. Livingston got 3,148 votes, or 54.6 percent. Flowers got 2,616, or 45.37 percent. Both candidates advanced to the runoff fro. a six-candidate field in the general election. |
| Sharon Livingston wins chancery clerk runoff | |
| Following unofficial results from the runoff election Tuesday, interim Chancery Clerk Sharon Livingston will serve as Oktibbeha County Chancery Clerk. Livingston won the race with 54.6 percent of the vote (3,148 votes) compared to Martesa Bishop Flowers' 45.37 percent (2,616 votes). Two write-in votes were also counted. Interim Circuit Clerk Angie McGinnis said 38 affidavit ballots will be processed on Wednesday morning, but the total will not be enough to affect the outcome of the race. Omitting affidavit ballots, 27 fewer registered voters cast votes in the chancery clerk race than in the circuit clerk race. Livingston has worked in the Oktibbeha County Chancery Court for 18 years, and has served as interim chancery clerk since the death of longtime Oktibbeha County Chancery Clerk Monica Banks in September 2016. She was born in Pennsylvania and has lived in Starkville since age five. She is an alumna of Starkville High School. |
| Tony Rook defeats Teresa Davis in circuit clerk runoff | |
| Starkville Municipal Court Administrator Tony Rook will serve as the next Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk after winning Tuesday night in a runoff against Mississippi State University Receiving Services Coordinator Teresa Davis. Unofficial results show Rook received 51.01 percent of the vote with 2,955 votes, while Davis received 48.96 percent with 2,836 votes, not including affidavit ballots. Interim Circuit Clerk Angie McGinnis said 38 affidavit ballots will be processed on Wednesday morning, but the total will not be enough to affect the outcome of the race. Omitting affidavit ballots, 27 more registered voters cast votes in the circuit clerk race. "It was a close one," Rook said. "Teresa should be congratulated. She ran a good campaign and made it a close race." Rook said he wanted to thank all his friends, family and supporters during his campaign. |
| Business booming at Golden Triangle Regional Airport | |
| Business is booming at Golden Triangle Regional Airport, but that doesn't mean Director Mike Hainsey doesn't have a few concerns. Hainsey, who spoke to the Starkville Rotary Club on Monday, said the airport is enjoying record success. "Last month, we put more people on airplanes than any other October in the history of the airport," he said. "That was a big number -- we were running 90 percent full. ... This month, we're doing the same, which means we'll have another record month. We'll have a record November, if it continues." The airport, situated in the heart of the Golden Triangle on Airport Road, just south of Highway 82 in Lowndes County, has also seen about $3.5 million in improvements in the last 18 months. While GTRA has maintained its service through Delta, Hainsey said a pilot shortage's impact is already being felt in the airport's years-long effort to get westbound flights. |
| Ingalls shipyard workers expected to vote in latest contract extension | |
 | While Ingalls shipyard and Huntington Ingalls Industries are racking up major contracts, the skilled work force voted to pass another contract extension. Mike Crawley, president of the Metal Trades Council that represents most of the unions at the yard, said workers voted Tuesday and the extension "overwhelmingly" passed. It will be the fourth extension since the 2007 strike that shut down work at the yard for 28 days. Essentially the workers are still under the contract hammered out during the strike. The unions have negotiated the extensions that address raises, bonuses and health insurance costs for a two-, a three- and now a four-year interval. There are about 12,000 workers at the yard. Between 7,000 to 8,000 of them are skilled craftsmen who will benefit from the contract extension the unions negotiated. Many of them are Hispanic workers who have been brought to Pascagoula in recent years. |
| Sexual misconduct in the workplace can have serious consequences | |
| Hardly a day passes that there are not more headlines detailing allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace. Many of those involve famous Hollywood stars or producers. It is a lot harder to complain about a producer because doing that in a tight knit community could keep them from getting other jobs with other production companies, said Nick Norris, a labor and employment lawyer with Watson & Norris PLLC, Jackson. Steve Cupp, a labor and employment lawyer in Gulfport with Fisher Phillips, LLP, said there is hardly a workplace left today where managers are not at least aware of the complicated and costly problems that can be created by even a single incident of sexual harassment. Two most common types of sexual harassment are when a male or female supervisor uses their position of power to ask for sexual favors from a subordinate employee or the supervisor creates a hostile environment with constant verbal harassment. |
| GreenTech Automotive: Virginia governor sued by electric car company investors | |
| A group of Chinese investors is suing Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe over his past work for a troubled electric car maker that relied heavily on foreign money from people trying to obtain residency in the United States. The investors filed a lawsuit in Fairfax County last week against GreenTech Automotive, McAuliffe, Hillary Clinton's brother Anthony Rodham, company CEO Charles Wang, and various related companies. The lawsuit accuses McAuliffe, Rodham and Wang of milking political connections and lying to investors to perpetuate a $120 million scam. The Virginia lawsuit comes after Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood sued GreenTech in state court in Jackson earlier this month. Hood, a Democrat, is demanding the company repay $5 million plus interest on money the state and Tunica County borrowed to buy land and construct a car factory plus $2 million in punitive damages. |
| Chinese investors sue McAuliffe, Rodham over green-car investments | |
 | Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's brother Anthony Rodham are facing a $17 million fraud lawsuit from Chinese investors in Greentech Automotive, an electric car company that appears to be struggling to survive. The suit is yet another headache for McAuliffe as he mulls a potential presidential bid in 2020, buoyed in part by Democrats' strong showing in the state in the election earlier this month. As McAuliffe prepared to run for Virginia governor, Greentech was a bright spot on his resume, combining entrepreneurial spirit with environmentalism and an effort to bring jobs to an impoverished area of Mississippi. A 2012 ribbon-cutting for the Mississippi factory drew former President Bill Clinton and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour generated glowing press coverage. However, the firm soon ran into trouble. |
| Gulf Coast lawmaker proposes less time to pass general bills | |
 | Mississippi legislators would have fewer opportunities to pass new laws impacting their constituents, for better or worse, under a proposal being advocated by a Gulf Coast lawmaker. Rep. Henry Zuber, R-Ocean Springs, said he intends to introduce legislation during the 2018 session to limit legislators to offering general bills every other year. Under Zuber's proposal, the Legislature still would meet every year. Legislators would pass a budget every year and have the option to introduce what are known as revenue bills, such as tax bills and bonds bills, every year. But the session where they could introduce general bills, dealing with enacting or changing state laws, could only be done every other year. "Not one piece of general legislation is so important it can't wait one year to see if it is really needed," said Zuber, who is in his fifth term. |
| Metro Jackson's legislative wish list: Governor appears receptive | |
 | In his budget recommendation for the 2018 fiscal year, Gov. Phil Bryant acknowledged something promoters of Mississippi's capital city have often stressed: Jackson is the tree trunk from which grow the branches that make up each metro city. If the base of the tree is unhealthy, the rest cannot thrive. "Jackson's struggles are not a competitive advantage for neighboring jurisdictions; they are a cause for concern for the entire metro area," Bryant wrote. "But nor are Jackson's problems merely the byproduct of misperceptions. The challenges Jackson has with infrastructure and cost containment are real." If cost allows, Bryant continued, he recommends the Mississippi Legislature fund the Capitol Complex Commission that died in conference during the 2016 session. The Capitol Complex Improvement District bill would have given roughly $21 million in additional sales tax revenue to Jackson to help with infrastructure and fire and police protection. |
| Neil Whaley captures Senate special election | |
| Neil Whaley, a political novice, captured the Senate District 10 special election Tuesday night, defeating Holly Springs attorney Sharon Gipson. In unofficial returns, Whaley, a 29-year-old Potts Camp businessman/cattleman, garnered 3,590 votes, or 54.8 percent, to 2,960 votes for Gipson, a former Holly Springs alderwoman. Whaley won comfortably by a 1,698 to 600 margin in Tate County to secure his victory. Gipson won Marshall 2,360 to 1,892. The tally might not have included absentee and affidavit ballots in some instances, but Whaley's margin in the two county district appeared to be insurmountable late Tuesday. The two were vying in Tuesday's special election to replace Bill Stone of Holly Springs, the former Senate Democratic leader, who stepped down this past summer to take a position in the Holly Springs municipal government. While Whaley said he would decide on a party affiliation if he won the election, his campaign finance reports showed he received contributions from multiple Republican or Republican-leaning political action committees, including the Marshall County Republican Club. |
| Republicans flip Senate seat, retain House seat in special elections | |
| A 29-year-old Republican from Potts Camp won a Senate seat vacated by the former Senate Democratic leader in a special election Tuesday night, adding another Republican vote to the three-thirds supermajority. The Mississippi seat is the first legislative seat in the nation to flip from Democrat to Republican since President Donald Trump was elected last November. Neil Whaley of Potts Camp, a Republican, defeated Sharon Gipson of Holly Springs, a Democrat, in the special Senate election to fill the north Mississippi seat left vacant by former Sen. Bill Stone, D-Holly Springs, who stepped down earlier this year to become manager of a local municipal utility. "This race is further proof that, in places like Mississippi, you can be a conservative or a Democrat, but you can't be both, and it is becoming even harder for Mississippi Democrats to distance themselves from the failed liberal policies of their friends in Washington D.C.," Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement following the election. |
| Kevin Ford defeats Randy Easterling in a runoff for House District 54 seat | |
| Kevin Ford carried Warren, Issaquena and Yazoo counties to defeat Dr. Randy Easterling in a runoff to complete the unexpired term of former District 54 Rep. Alex Monsour. Incomplete and unofficial returns Tuesday showed Ford with 1,386 votes to 917 for Easterling. "The people of District 54 have spoken, and I'm going to support Kevin 100 percent," Easterling said. "He ran a good campaign, so we'll just move forward." "I want to say thank you to Randy for running a good, hard-fought campaign, but a clean campaign; he worked really hard" Ford said. Monsour, a Republican, resigned his seat in the Mississippi House July 5, about a month after defeating then-incumbent South Ward Alderman Willis Thompson in the June 6 municipal general elections. |
| Mississippi law endorses anti-LGBT bias, attorneys argue | |
| A Mississippi law unconstitutionally endorses specific religious beliefs that could lead to discrimination against people who support same-sex marriage, gay rights advocates said Tuesday in written arguments to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court has not said whether it will consider a dispute over the law that lets government workers and private business people cite their own religious beliefs to deny services to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people. Legal experts say the Mississippi law is the broadest religious-objections measure enacted by any state since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015. The law protects three beliefs: that marriage is only between a man and a woman, that sex should only take place in such a marriage and that a person's gender is determined at birth and cannot be altered. |
| Mississippi woman seeks parental rights in same-sex divorce | |
| The Mississippi Supreme Court will hear the case Wednesday on whether 44-year-old Chris Strickland should be listed as the legal parent of now-6-year-old Zayden Strickland. A lower court judge ruled during the divorce that Strickland wasn't a parent. He said the anonymous sperm donor had paternal rights, and awarded full custody rights to Kimberly Day, who carried a child who bears Strickland's last name. "Can Zayden have three parents? Both these ladies who are married to each other and the father? The court is of the opinion the answer is 'No,'" wrote Rankin County Chancery Court Judge John Grant. "The court finds two women cannot conceive a child together. The court does not find its opinion to be a discriminatory statement but a biological fact." |
| Chances for government shutdown rising | |
 | The odds of a government shutdown grew dramatically Tuesday as President Trump tweeted that he saw no path to a year-end deal with Democrats "Chuck and Nancy," who then promptly backed out of a meeting at the White House. Shortly after Trump's "I don't see a deal!" tweet, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said they didn't see the point of sitting down with Trump. "If the President, who already said earlier this year that 'our country needs a good shutdown,' isn't interested in addressing the difficult year end agenda," the Democrats said in a statement, "we'll work with those Republicans who are, as we did in April." Later, at the White House, flanked by empty chairs with name cards for Schumer and Pelosi, Trump said he was "not surprised" by the move and accused the Democrats of being "all talk" and "no action." The blow-up sent shockwaves through Washington as lawmakers, aides, lobbyists and reporters openly wondered whether the coming holiday season would be consumed by a new crisis over government funding. |
| MUW testing dormitory after 34 treated for carbon monoxide | |
| The Mississippi University for Women says it's continuing tests in a dormitory after 34 students were treated for inhaling carbon monoxide. University spokeswoman Anika Perkins said Tuesday evening all the students have been released from Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle in Columbus. She says that as of Tuesday afternoon, no carbon monoxide was detected in Kincannon Hall, but says testing will continue Wednesday. Perkins says students are being housed in hotels Tuesday night, but the dorm might reopen Wednesday. Columbus Fire and Rescue spokesman Anthony Colom says a boiler in the basement was leaking. He says the leak filled the dorm's five floors with high levels of carbon monoxide. |
| Paige Chandler Named Associate Vice President at Phi Theta Kappa | |
| Phi Theta Kappa has named Paige Chandler Associate Vice President of Financial Services and Comptroller. Prior to joining the Phi Theta Kappa staff as Director of Financial Services in 2012, Chandler was Director of Finance for Catholic Charities in Jackson. A certified public accountant, she earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration and accounting from Delta State University. Chandler is assuming the duties of outgoing Chief Financial Officer Steve Mulhollen, who has accepted a position as executive pastor of business and administration at his church. |
| Brazile, Compton share message of hope in 'Critical Conversation' at Auburn University | |
 | Political strategist Donna Brazile and veteran journalist Ann Compton spoke of their work and life experiences throughout a one-hour discussion at Auburn University on Tuesday, part of the Critical Conversations Speaker Series. One of the questions posed concentrated on the current student population. In their answers, both women shared a message of hope. "When I look at my career, I think about all of you. Your ability to lead. Your ability to one day serve in our nation's highest offices," Brazile said. "I am so impressed with this generation. You have so much to give back to your country, not just in terms of your time and your talent, but your wisdom and your great zeal for service. I would hope that many of you in this room would decide, one, to enter the call to lead this country and to lead this great state." The format for the speaker series -- presented by the office of the provost and the office of inclusion and diversity -- varies with each presentation, but the general focus is on issues surrounding inclusion and diversity. Brazile and Compton spoke on the topic of "Diverse Perspectives, Civil Discourse, and a Healthy Democracy." |
| Sonia Hirt new dean of UGA College of Environment and Design | |
 | Sonia Hirt, a seasoned administrator and one of the world's foremost scholars of land use and planning, has been named dean of the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design. Hirt is currently professor and dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at the University of Maryland, College Park, and her appointment at UGA is effective July 1. "Dr. Hirt brings an exemplary record of leadership to the University of Georgia," said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten. Hirt holds a Ph.D. and master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree from the University of Architecture and Civil Engineering in Sofia, Bulgaria. |
| Man arrested with gun at U. of Kentucky had sent threatening tweets | |
 | The man who was arrested Monday for bringing a gun into the University of Kentucky's Buell Armory had previously sent threatening tweets to university ROTC members and a female student, according to his arrest citation. Diontre Davis, who was quickly arrested Monday on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and criminal trespassing, allegedly created four separate Twitter accounts and sent threatening posts and direct messages to a female student at UK whom he knew. In some of the messages sent by Davis on Twitter, he mentioned Ulysses S. Davis, a former UK employee who was arrested in 1986 after wounding two men in a shooting on UK's campus. Police determined that Ulysses is Diontre's uncle. Ulysses S. Davis was angry that he was fired from UK, and he held police at bay for 11 hours with a sword, a pistol, a shotgun and a rifle and while wearing a ninja costume. |
| Arkansas law schools to split $2M; last of $45M cigarette settlement will fund scholarships | |
| Two Arkansas scholarship funds -- one at each of the state's law schools -- will split more than $2 million left over in a cigarette settlement fund that has paid about $20 million to almost 20,000 former Marlboro Lights smokers over the past year, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled on Tuesday. The money is the charitable component of a $45 million fund established to end a 14-year-old false-advertising lawsuit against Marlboro Lights manufacturer Philip Morris USA over how it marketed Lights and companion brand Marlboro Ultra Lights. The settlement agreement empowered Fox to choose a charitable source, established by court precedent, for whatever funds were left over. Fox chose the Public Interest Litigation Scholarship Program Fund at the University of Arkansas Law School in Fayetteville and the Dean R. Morley Scholarship Fund at the W.H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. |
| U. of Missouri sets new goals to increase enrollment, grad rates | |
 | The University of Missouri wants more new incoming freshmen and transfer students to enroll over the next five years but it also wants them to graduate faster. The draft goals of the Strategic Enrollment Management Committee, unveiled Monday during a campus forum, don't set a target for total campus enrollment, which is down 13 percent since fall 2015. Instead, they are designed to improve student success by increasing retention rates and making sure graduates can find jobs, said Pat Okker, dean of the College of Arts and Science and co-chair of the committee. "Our goal is to help students graduate, not to keep them on campus," Okker said in an interview Tuesday. The committee is one of three formed in the spring to address issues that are forcing budget cuts and program reductions on the Columbia campus. The other two deal with financing capital construction needs and evaluating which programs should see further cuts and which should receive additional funding. |
| A little diamond in a big university: Missouri School of Music celebrates its centennial | |
 | Julia Gaines was one of the youngest faculty members when she joined the University of Missouri's School of Music in 1996 as a percussion professor. Now, as the school's director, Gaines is regarded as one of the senior faculty members. Plenty has changed in the school in the 21 years she's been there -- and much more in the 100 years since what was then the Department of Music was founded in 1917. As the school marks its centennial, Gaines finds herself reflecting not only on the past but also big changes coming in the next few years, including the $24 million phase one construction of a building. "Everything will radically change with our new building," Gaines said. "It's really great that we're celebrating our centennial now, and then we're looking around the corner to a brand-new 100 years." The centennial has given Gaines the opportunity to talk to people about the school. "We're quite a little diamond here in the middle of this big university," she said. |
| Graduate Students Mobilize 'to Stop Something That Can Ruin Us' | |
 | Senate Republicans are expected to bring their tax-reform proposal to a vote this week, but the House Republicans' plan -- passed on November 16 -- already has graduate students hustling nationally to protest. At the head of their complaints is a change that would tax graduate students for the value of tuition waivers they receive. The students have told local reporters and written columns for national publications saying that the change would be catastrophic to higher education, putting a strain on current students and building financial barriers to future ones. Graduate students at more than 50 public and private universities in 30 states will spend part of Wednesday rallying to draw attention to what they perceive as the continued negligence of -- though some have called it an attack on -- the nation's higher-education system. |
| Colleges voice concern over planned net neutrality rollback | |
 | Last week the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission published his plan to dismantle Obama-era regulations protecting "net neutrality" -- the idea that all web content should be treated equally by internet service providers. Under the FCC proposal, due to be voted on Dec. 14 by the majority-Republican commission, ISPs would have the freedom to slow down or even block websites or online services that do not serve their commercial interests. They could also charge their customers a fee to prioritize the delivery of their content through the creation of internet "fast lanes." Higher education groups have been united in their condemnation of the net neutrality rollback, which they say could make it more difficult for students and the public to access educational resources, and potentially impose huge costs on institutions. Jarret Cummings, director of policy and government relations at Educause, said the FCC proposal was concerning for higher education on "multiple levels" and would likely have a significant negative impact on higher education "and the internet as a whole." |
| Scientists Worry About Backlash Against Climate Change Research | |
 | Scientists appear to be self-censoring by omitting the term "climate change" in public grant summaries. An NPR analysis of grants awarded by the National Science Foundation found a steadily decreasing number with the phrase "climate change" in the title or summary, resulting in a sharp drop in the term's use in 2017. At the same time, the use of alternative terms such as "extreme weather" appears to be rising slightly. The change in language appears to be driven in part by the Trump administration's open hostility to the topic of climate change. Earlier this year, President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, and the President's 2018 budget proposal singled out climate change research programs for elimination. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency has been systematically removing references to climate change from its official website. The National Science Foundation is widely regarded to be among the most independent bodies funding federal research, so it's particularly notable when politics seeps into statements by agency officials. |
| Profs push back on Republican lawmakers' allegations about English department, U. of Nebraska | |
| Disappointed with the University of Nebraska's response thus far to increasing criticism from Republican state lawmakers, professors are asking the system's Board of Regents to defend them against political attacks. "We insist that all levels of the administration respect the governance structures currently in place, and categorically reject political interference in the good work being done at our state's flagship institution," reads an open letter to the regents signed by more than 100 faculty members from the university's three campuses. Public institutions across the country are facing all kinds of political pressure, but much of what's happening in Nebraska can be traced to a single event at the Lincoln flagship. Members of the English department faculty also have been the subject of extensive open records requests this semester from conservative groups, with keywords including everything from "Trump" to "teaching." Julia Schleck, an associate professor of English at Lincoln and president of the state AAUP, said she's been in Nebraska for 10 years and has never seen this level of contempt for higher education. |
| OUR OPINION: Priorities should remain clear with coaching changes | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal editorializes: "Mississippi found itself right in the middle of the coaching carousel the last few days as Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi both made changes to the top positions of their respective athletic departments. Students, alumni and fans all had plenty of feedback on the recent moves and decisions made by both universities, as expected when dealing with programs where passion for the game runs deep. ...What shouldn't be forgotten during these processes -- by fans and university officials alike -- is that finding the right person to bring athletic success to a program and who also prioritizes helping mold these young men can be difficult. Sometimes the latter isn't given as much priority as the former, but it absolutely should. These coaches, who end up representing the entire state in many ways, are ultimately hired to win. But more importantly, they should be hired to develop players into leaders." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State to name Penn State OC Joe Moorhead head coach | |
| Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, who helped guide the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten title last season with his record-setting offense, will be named Mississippi State's new coach, sources told ESPN on Tuesday night. Moorhead, 44, will replace former Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen, who was hired as Florida's new head coach on Sunday. News of Moorhead's hiring was first reported by Brett McMurphy on Facebook. In two seasons as Penn State's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Moorhead directed one of the country's most prolific offenses. Prior to helping head coach James Franklin revitalize Penn State's program, Moorhead spent four seasons as head coach at Fordham, his alma mater. The Pittsburgh native inherited a program that went 1-10 in 2012 and guided it to a winning record in each of the next four seasons. |
| Mississippi State To Hire Penn State's Joe Moorhead as Head Coach | |
| Mississippi State found a gem in a sharp offensive guy with Northeast roots when they hired Dan Mullen in 2009. The Bulldogs have decided to go a similar route in replacing Dan Mullen, who departed for the Florida job. Mississippi State will hire Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as its next head coach, multiple sources told SI.com. The 44-year-old Moorhead was 38-13 in four seasons as a head coach at FCS Fordham after inheriting a team that went 1-10 the year before. He joined James Franklin's staff at Penn State before the 2016 season. Moorhead has been a revelation for the Penn State offense. |
| Joe Moorhead changes Twitter bio to reflect new job at Mississippi State; Penn State players wish him well | |
| Penn State nor Mississippi State have commented on reports that Joe Moorhead is leaving his offensive coordinator post at the former to take the head coaching job at the latter, but the Pittsburgh native is not waiting around. Moorhead changed his Twitter bio on Wednesday morning; what once mentioned Penn State now says "Hail State" while listing him as the Bulldogs' head coach. Official word is expected to come sometime soon as the Lions begin searching for a replacement. Two Nittany Lions have already wished him well on Twitter. |
| Mississippi State will hire Joe Moorhead as its next football coach | |
| Mississippi State is set to name Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as its new head football coach, sources confirmed Tuesday. The Bulldogs were looking for an up-and-coming and forward-thinking offensive mind with a tireless work ethic after Dan Mullen left Mississippi State on Sunday for Florida. They found exactly that. Moorhead, 44, is the guy behind one of the most prolific offenses in the country. Penn State (10-2) scored an average of 41.6 per game this season, the seventh-high total in the nation. Moorhead's offenses at Penn State ranked 21st and 17th, respectively, in yards per play in the last two seasons. Moorhead is from Pittsburgh, a blue-collar city -- Mississippi State wanted a fit for its own hard-working culture -- and coaches from around the country described him to the Clarion Ledger as a tireless worker, innovator and someone who doesn't shy from challenges. |
| Mississippi State hires Penn State's Moorhead as coach | |
| Mississippi State has found its man. Two days after Dan Mullen departed for Florida, the Bulldogs have hired Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as its new head coach. Moorhead has spent the past two seasons coaching the Nittany Lions' offense and was named the No. 1 rising assistant coach in college football by both Sports Illustrated and Yahoo entering this year. Last season, Penn State averaged 432.6 yards and 37.6 points per game. This year, the Nittany Lions are up to 453.3 yards and are seventh nationally in scoring at 41.6 points. The 44-year-old from Pittsburgh does have head coaching experience at Fordham, where he went 38-13 and led the Rams to the FCS Playoffs in three of his four seasons from 2012-15. |
| Mississippi State follows similar blueprint to find new coach | |
| Mississippi State hired a Florida offensive coordinator with no college head coaching experience to come lead its football program. That was nine years ago, his name was Dan Mullen. It turned out be a risk that worked out extremely well for the Bulldogs. Now Mississippi State has gone back to a similar blueprint. The Bulldogs will hire Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as their next head coach, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because a deal was still being finalized. "In anticipation of this development, MSU has already begun the process of an orderly and expeditious transition to new and exciting leadership for our football program," Mississippi State President Mark E. Keenum said in a statement on Sunday. |
| Mississippi State has found its next football coach, according to reports | |
| According to multiple reports Mississippi State will hire Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as its next head football coach. If the hire goes through, the Nittany Lions play caller will replace Dan Mullen, who recently left Starkville to take over Florida's program. National college football reporter Brett McMurphy was the first to report the news. He added the deal was expected to be finalized in the coming days. Moorhead has been the OC at Penn State for two seasons. Prior to that, Moorhead was Fordham's head coach from 2012-15, leading his alma mater to a 38-13 record. Many national reports have applauded MSU's apparent hire. Sports Illustrated's Bruce Feldman wrote a lengthy article in September entitled "The Oral History of How Joe Moorhead Created Penn State's Cutting-Edge Offense." |
| Mississippi State hosts Ragin' Cajuns in Jackson tonight | |
| Mississippi State will play in the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson for just the second time tonight. The Bulldogs will host Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m. in their first appearance in the state capital since 2006. MSU enters the contest with a 6-0 record and ranked sixth in the country. Senior guard Victoria Vivians, who won two high school state titles at the Mississippi Coliseum, leads the Bulldogs averaging 18.8 points per game. State is 9-0 in the series, last winning in Lafayette 66-51 on Dec. 17, 2014 paced by Vivians' 17 points and 12 rebounds. |
| Mississippi State up to No. 6 in AP Poll before heading to Jackson | |
 | Fresh off a three-game sweep to win the Mayan Division of the Cancun Challenge, the Mississippi State women's basketball team moved up to No. 6 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 Poll. The Bulldogs jumped one place in the ranking after improving to 6-0 on the season with wins against No. 24 Arizona State, Columbia and a Green Bay squad that was receiving votes. MSU notched its 59th-straight week in the poll, the seventh-longest active streak in the country. The Bulldogs' 23-consecutive weeks in the Top 10 rates fifth nationally. Mississippi State takes its No. 6 ranking to Jackson on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip against Louisiana at Mississippi Coliseum. Tickets for the game, which is sponsored by American Medical Response (AMR), First Commercial Bank and The Westin Jackson, are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.hailstate.com/tickets. |
| East Hampton bell manufacturer has been lifting Christmas spirits for nearly 100 years | |
| Each machine builds onto the harmony of Bevin Brothers Manufacturing. It's been playing in East Hampton, Conn., for nearly 100 years. Bevin is the last surviving bell maker in the country. Started by four brothers in 1932, it has always been family-owned and operated. Twenty-five employees churn out about 500,000 different bells every year. All of their bells start as a long piece of steel, it goes through the machine and presses out the bell, like a stamp. The cow bell, which is used as part of a football tradition at Mississippi State University, is their biggest seller. "We're doing a huge order for Mississippi State right now," Belvin said. So are they big Mississippi State fans? "We are. When they do well, we do well." |
| Massey will bring energy to The W's new women's soccer program | |
| Matt Sykes knows what it means to push players to realize their potential. In 2016-17, the former Heritage Academy and East Central Community College goalkeeper led the Starkville Academy girls soccer team to the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Division III State championship and the Starkville Academy boys soccer team to the Division III State title game. This past season, Sykes served as a volunteer assistant coach / goalkeeper coach for Tim Gould and the Mississippi University for Women's first intercollegiate men's soccer team. Sykes said Gray Massey, his former coach at ECCC, played an instrumental role in his success as a player and helped him understand how to get the most out of players as a coach. Sykes' experience with Massey is one reason he was excited by the news Monday that The W named Massey the first head coach of the women's soccer program. |
| Jim McElwain's buyout: $7.5M to leave U. of Florida | |
 | Jim McElwain's negotiated buyout with the University Athletic Association is for $7.5 million, the school announced Tuesday. McElwain's buyout was negotiated down from $12.9 million when he and the school agreed to part ways a month ago. McElwain will receive six payments from UF over the next four years. The first payment of $3.75 million is due Friday. UF also released more financial details of new head coach Dan Mullen's contract. His salary over six years is for $36,618,000, giving him an annual salary of $6,103,000, making him the second-highest paid coach in the SEC behind Alabama's Nick Saban and fifth in the country. Mullen also has been allotted $5 million for hiring assistant coaches. |
| 2 Firms to Help U. of Arkansas in Search for Football Coach, Athletics Director | |
| Arkansas will use two firms to search for its athletic director and football coach. The school announced the hiring of firms Korn Ferry and DHK International on Tuesday, two weeks after Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz fired former athletic director Jeff Long -- and less than a week after interim athletic director Julie Cromer Peoples fired former coach Bret Bielema. Steinmetz met with a seven-person advisory committee charged with aiding in the search for an athletic director on Tuesday. He said Korn Ferry will be used to help contact, reference and vet final candidates for the position. The school also said DHR International would work with Cromer Peoples in the search for a football coach. She fired Bielema on Friday night after a season-ending loss to Missouri. |
| Mike Gundy tweets he's a 'Cowboy For Life' | |
 | Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, viewed as a Tennessee coaching candidate, tweeted Tuesday night that he's a "Cowboy For Life." Reports surfaced earlier Tuesday that Gundy had emerged as a prime candidate in the Vols' coaching search. This would seem to close the book on the Vols' latest overture toward Gundy, who also turned away Tennessee in 2012, when the Vols wound up with Butch Jones. Gundy is in his 13th season coaching Oklahoma State, his alma mater. He's 113-53 with the Cowboys. Had the Vols landed Gundy, it would have been a stunning turn of events after UT endured a public relations nightmare on Sunday, when the university was set to hire Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano until backlash from fans, politicians, local businesses and some donors caused the deal to unravel. |
| ESPN Is Laying Off 150 More Employees | |
 | ESPN announced on Wednesday that it was laying off 150 more people, seven months after the sports broadcasting juggernaut shed about 100 employees. Unlike that last round of cuts, this one was not expected to include prominent on-air personalities. "Today we are informing approximately 150 people at ESPN that their jobs are being eliminated," the network's president, John Skipper, said in a statement. "The majority of the jobs eliminated are in studio production, digital content, and technology and they generally reflect decisions to do less in certain instances and re-direct resources." In April, ESPN laid off several well known on-air personalities like the former N.F.L. players Trent Dilfer and Danny Kanell. In October 2015, ESPN laid off about 300 people, most of whom were not on camera. The network has been searching for ways to cut costs as fans increasingly watch video clips on their smartphones rather than traditional highlight shows like "SportsCenter." |
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