| Wednesday, April 11, 2018 |
| Mississippi State professor, New Hope Elementary students design robotic animals to help with therapy | |
 | Mississippi State University Associate Professor Cindy Bethel and New Hope Elementary teacher Jennifer Caldwell hope to soon set up a play date for two robots. One, a robotic stuffed dog named Therabot, was designed by Bethel with the help of her students. The other, a robotic stuffed cat called CAT, which stands for Calming Autistic Tendencies, was designed by fifth grader Ashton Budgins and fourth grader Aubri Stacy at New Hope. Bethel and Caldwell don't know much about each other's robots yet but admit they sound similar -- both robots are designed to help humans in need. Bethel has been working at MSU since 2011. She specializes in social robotics, which is the study of how humans interact with technology. The students at New Hope learned about Therabot when Stacy's mother found some information about it online. Caldwell then reached out to Bethel. |
| FARMtastic demonstrates the importance of agriculture | |
 | Lauderdale County School District elementary students horsed around and pigged out Tuesday without fear of detention or even their name on the board. Teachers from West and Southeast Lauderdale elementary schools watched as their students petted a horse and gathered around a pig on display at the Lauderdale County Agri-Center. Altogether, more than 700 students participated during the day in FARMtastic, an agriculture learning activity hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Students gathered around exhibits that ranged from bees to cows to Miss Rodeo Mississippi Taylor McNair riding a one-eyed horse named Roo. McNair, who has a degree from MSU in agribusiness, said she wanted students to learn about the importance of farming but also to learn other life lessons. |
| Victims services fair connects, teaches at MSU-Meridian | |
| Rather than do a research paper, Tina Ladner, an adjunct professor in criminology at Mississippi State University-Meridian, thought her students could do something bigger: a victim services fair that put more than a dozen organizations under one roof. Ladner, who works full time with the department of corrections as a director of electronic monitoring, teaches this semester course on victimology. "And as we started talking about the different types of victims, I realized that there's only so much they can learn from a book or from watching TV," Ladner said. "I wanted to give them a chance to see their career in the field." In addition to Weems Community Mental Health Center, Care Lodge and Wesley House, Soldier On, an organization for homeless veterans and mental health services such as East Mississippi State Hospital and Pine Grove appeared at Tuesday's fair. |
| PSC's Brandon Presley talks new program, internet at Rotary | |
 | Members of the Starkville Rotary Club were brought up to speed on a new program to give more work in Mississippi to contractors from the state, when Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley spoke Monday. Presley spoke in depth about the Mississippi Public Service Commission's Hire Mississippi program, which he designed in conjunction with state legislators and others. The program began March 1, and seeks to put contractors from across the state to work on Mississippi utilities projects, reducing the need for out-of-state workers. Presley also said Hire Mississippi had an education component, as it would show what areas Mississippi lacked in terms of workforce, and show universities and community colleges where shortfalls in programs were located. |
| Mayoral election contest: One ballot accepted, witnesses take the stand | |
| The second day of the election contest between Starkville's current Mayor Lynn Spruill and Democratic candidate Johnny Moore, moved one step closer to conclusion in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court Tuesday. Special Judge Barry Ford accepted one ballot as evidence provided by attorney William Starks, who represents Moore. The ballot belonged to David Moore, who was called to the witness stand on Monday. Moore said his address was on Highway 182 West, which was earlier stated in the court that it was interchangeable with Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The reason the ballot was initially rejected was the address was thought to be in the county. "That ballot is going to be counted," Ford said |
| Poll: Voters want transportation fixed, support Medicaid expansion | |
 | Fixing the state's transportation system remains the top priority of a plurality of Mississippi voters, who also support expanding Medicaid to cover the working poor, according to a survey commissioned by Millsaps College. The poll found that 29.1 percent of respondents said that fixing the state's roads and bridges should be the top priority of the state's politicians, followed by 20.2 percent saying providing more funds for public education should be the No. 1 priority. Nathan Shrader, a political science instructor and director of American Studies at Millsaps, said certain trends are emerging from the polling efforts. "Particularly, we find for the third consecutive quarter that Mississippians remain adamant about fixing roads and bridges, securing more funds for public schools, and improving access and affordability of health insurance in the state," Shrader said in a news release. |
| Gov. Phil Bryant orders 83 bridges closed in emergency declaration | |
 | Gov. Phil Bryant on Tuesday declared a state of emergency, issuing a proclamation that orders the Mississippi Department of Transportation to immediately close 83 city and county bridges that have been judged deficient by federal National Bridge Inspection Standards and the Mississippi Office of State Aid Road Construction. The announcement comes almost a week after the U.S. Department of Transportation notified the state that the Federal Highway Administration is concerned that the bridges remaining open constitutes an unacceptable safety risk requiring immediate federal, state and local action, the statement said. The bridges expected to close are in Amite, Carroll, Clarke, Greene, Hinds, Humphreys, Itawamba, Jasper, Jones, Lauderdale, Leake, Lincoln, Newton, Pike, Smith and Wayne counties. |
| Governor declares emergency, orders county bridges closed | |
 | Gov. Phil Bryant on Tuesday took the unprecedented step of declaring a state of emergency and ordering 83 dangerously deteriorated county bridges closed to traffic, saying counties' failure to do so is threatening safety and federal funding. Bryant said his emergency declaration allows him to have Mississippi Department of Transportation workers close the bridges, with help from the Department of Public Safety and Highway Patrol if necessary. Bryant said he also might call the Legislature into a special session soon to deal with the state's flagging and underfunded infrastructure -- perhaps for them to consider creating a state lottery. But Bryant said he would wait until legislative leaders have an agreement or "are near an agreement" on infrastructure funding before doing so. |
| Rep. Gary Chism hospitalized for second time after stroke | |
| A longtime Mississippi policymaker is back in the hospital after a stroke over the weekend. State Rep. Gary Chism, a Columbus Republican, suffered what colleagues referred to as a "mild stroke," and was hospitalized, before being released on Monday. Fellow State Rep. Rob Roberson, a Starkville Republican, confirmed to the Starkville Daily News that the stroke was "bigger than first thought," and that Chism had been admitted to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson on Tuesday. Chism, a native of Columbus, has served in the Legislature representing District 37 since 2000. He is also the co-owner of Columbus Insurance Services, Inc. District 37 covers parts of Lowndes, Clay and Oktibbeha counties. |
| Mississippi's Medicaid work requirement would cause 20,000 to lose coverage | |
 | An estimated 20,000 poor parents in Mississippi would lose health coverage over five years under a state proposal to require Medicaid recipients to work for their benefits, researchers at Georgetown University reported Tuesday. Childless adults aren't eligible for coverage under Medicaid in Mississippi, where children, seniors, low-income parents and the blind and disabled make up the bulk of program recipients. Mississippi has asked the Trump administration for permission to require at least 20 hours per week of work or approved work activities in order to retain coverage under Medicaid, the state/federal health plan for low-income and disabled Americans. In a statement, Drew L. Snyder, interim executive director of the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, said the new report was "factually inaccurate and reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the agency's proposal." |
| Southaven's story: A year without a restaurant tax | |
| Barring some sort of miracle in a yet-to-be-called special session of the Mississippi Legislature, Lowndes County will lose its 2-percent restaurant sales tax and, with it, quite possibly the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau that relies almost exclusively on those funds. Without an extension beyond June 30, when the 32-year-old tax sunsets, local tourism and economic development will lose, at minimum, roughly $2 million in revenue from the tax, and that's if a new restaurant tax is approved in next year's legislative session. Since a dispute over which restaurants should be required to collect the tax from its customers wound up killing a bill that would have extended the tax for four more years, there has been speculation about how the loss of that tax revenue will affect tourism and economic development. The folks in Southaven don't have to speculate what that might look like, however. They've lived it. |
| Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith gets committee assignments | |
 | The U.S. Senate Tuesday approved a resolution to confirm the Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittee assignments for newly sworn-in Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. "Senators from Mississippi have a proud tradition of serving on the Appropriations Committee, and I look forward to being a good steward of taxpayer dollars as the committee works on fiscal year 2019 bills," Hyde-Smith said. Hyde-Smith has been assigned to serve on the following subcommittees: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. Hyde-Smith has appointed the following to senior staff positions: Brad White, Chief of Staff; John G. Campbell, Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration; Daniel Ulmer, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy; Tim Wolverton, Legislative Director; and Umesh Sanjanwala, State Director. |
| House Speaker Paul Ryan will not seek reelection | |
 | House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) told colleagues Wednesday that he will not seek reelection this year, ending a nearly 20-year tenure in Congress and adding further uncertainty about whether embattled Republicans can maintain control of the House. "The speaker is proud of all that has been accomplished and is ready to devote more of his time to being a husband and a father," said Brendan Buck, counselor to Ryan, adding that Ryan plans to serve out his term and retire in January. The decision comes ahead of mid-term elections that were already looking treacherous for Republicans, who risk losing control of the House. |
| Alabama's Richard Shelby approved as Appropriations panel chairman | |
 | Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) was cleared Tuesday to be the next chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, according to an announcement from his office. Shelby, the senior Republican on the committee in charge of federal spending, was approved to be the Appropriations chairman by his GOP colleagues. His ascension to the chairmanship was near certain following the retirement of the previous chairman, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), this month. Shelby, in his sixth Senate term, said leading the committee "is a remarkable opportunity" and that he's "honored to serve our nation in this new capacity." He will serve beside Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the Appropriations Committee vice chairman. |
| Mitch McConnell super PAC warns of toughest midterm since 2006 | |
| The super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is warning donors that political conditions for the Republican Party have not been this perilous since 2006. That year, the Democrats won in a rout both houses of Congress in a midterm backlash against President George W. Bush. The Senate Leadership Fund, essentially McConnell's super PAC and run by his loyalists, said in a memo to contributors that little has changed to alter its earlier assessment that Republicans this year face similar challenges generated by dissatisfaction with President Trump. SLF executive director Steven Law wrote in an 11-page document titled: "Senate Investment Forecast Spring 2018 Update." It includes: "We are also paying attention to the Republican primary in Mississippi, where State Sen. Chris McDaniel is seeking revenge for his failed challenge to Sen. Thad Cochran in 2014. McDaniel, aptly dubbed the 'Mississippi Roy Moore,' could cost Republicans another Senate seat in a deep-red state if he becomes the nominee in either race." |
| Sonny Ramaswamy leaving NIFA, setting up battle over successor | |
| Sonny Ramaswamy, the director of the Agriculture Department's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, will leave the position on May 5 and in July become president and CEO of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), a Redmond, Wash., organization that accredits higher education institutions in the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington and in Canada. Ramaswamy has walked a careful line amidst pressures to spend government research money on conventional agricultural research, genetic modification, organic farming and nutrition. The choice of successor is likely to indicate the direction of USDA research for the following six years. Before starting at NIFA, Ramaswamy served as dean of Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences; director of Purdue University's Agricultural Research Programs; university distinguished professor and head of Kansas State University's Entomology Department; and professor of entomology at Mississippi State University. |
| Senators Face Off With Mark Zuckerberg in Marathon Hearing | |
 | "Mr. Zuckerberg, would you be comfortable sharing with us the name of the hotel you stayed in last night?" Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin asked that of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg nearly two hours into Tuesday afternoon's headline-grabbing Senate hearing. The Facebook chief predictably stammered a bit at the Illinois Democrat's question, and did so again when asked whether he would disclose the names of people he had texted with in recent days. "Senator, no, I would probably not choose to do that publicly here," he said. It was the star tech executive's first time in the klieg lights of the Hart Building, and the session was not without tension, even with each senator limited to roughly five minutes of questioning. But Zuckerberg seemed well prepared, and there were few fireworks. |
| Conservatives fear frustrated evangelicals won't save GOP in 2018 | |
| Conservative leaders are increasingly worried that evangelical voters' devotion to Donald Trump isn't translating into excitement for other Republican candidates, an ominous development for a GOP that is scrambling to defend its majorities in a challenging 2018 campaign landscape. Top Christian conservative activists say that Republican-controlled Congress still hasn't made good on a number of major policy priorities---and they are now warning of an enthusiasm gap with evangelicals, one of the GOP's most staunchly pro-Trump constituencies and an influential segment of the Republican base. Worse yet, this comes at a moment when the Democratic base is energized. For Republicans, the stakes couldn't be higher. |
| McConnell, Barbour holding Washington fundraiser for Scott as he prepares to 'shake that place up' | |
 | Gov. Rick Scott, who kicked off his Senate campaign Monday promising to "shake up Washington," will attend a Washington fundraiser next week at the office of BGR Group, a firm founded by former Mississippi Gov. and Republican Governors Association Chairman Haley Barbour. Those who will be in attendance include Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which will play a big role in Scott's race, POLITICO Influence reported. Scott's early campaign message has been to hammer "career politicians" and to cast himself as a political outsider. Scott has been a prolific state-level fundraiser, shattering all of Florida's previous records. State and federal fundraising are different, but most expect Scott to continue to raise huge amounts of money. |
| President Trump taunts Russia, warns missiles 'will be coming' in Syria | |
 | A top Russian official on Wednesday vowed that Moscow will shoot down any missiles the United States fires at Syria, prompting President Trump to tell Russia to "get ready" because "they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart.'" Trump threatened military action following a suspected chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma, near Damascus, on Saturday that activists say killed at least 40 people, many of them children. The Syrian government and Russia, a close ally of the Bashar Assad regime, have denied a chemical attack occurred. Syria's Foreign Ministry accused Washington of using the alleged chemical attack as a pretext to attack it. |
| Two laptop thefts reported to U. of Mississippi Police this semester | |
 | With finals week just around the corner, the library at the University of Mississippi is getting more packed by the day, leaving open opportunities for students to have items stolen from them. Capt. Peggie Jane McGregor-Mahan of the University Police Department said although there have only been two laptops reported stolen to UPD from the J.D. Williams Library this semester, there is normally an increase during certain times of the academic year. "Generally, with theft in the library, the numbers run about the same throughout the semesters," she said. "Usually we see increases starting about a week before finals and a week before midterms because there's an increase of people in the library." Capt. Mahan said she believes these crimes to be random and that students can avoid theft by taking their belongings with them or asking friends to watch their things while they're gone. |
| Ole Miss Students Team Up With Inmates To Feed Children In Need | |
 | More than 100,000 meals are heading out to hungry children. Students from the University of Mississippi's Department of Legal Studies, teamed up with inmates from the Marshall County Correctional Facility to pack the meals in just eight hours. The university has a partnership with the facility and the legal studies department chair, teaches restorative justice to a group inmates there which is how this project got started. Over 150 inmates were part of the meal packing. Many of the students say this project changed the way they'll look at those who are incarcerated. |
| JSU Wins $75,000 Top Prize in Honda's HBCU National Academic Contest | |
| Jackson State University is $75,000 richer after students captured the top academic prize during the 29th annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC) National Championship Tournament in Torrance, California. JSU competed in a head-to-head battle with 48 Historically Black Colleges and Universities on the campus of the American Honda Motor Co. Inc. The four students representing JSU were Zaveon Demon Cooper II, a senior majoring in theatre arts from Jackson, Mississippi; Justin Clarke, a junior majoring in accounting from Atlanta, Georgia; Charles Octavius Pennington, a senior majoring in chemical engineering and chemistry from Hollandale, Mississippi, and James Meeks Jr., a senior majoring in finance from Jackson, Mississippi. Team coaches were JSU instructors Dr. Farah Christmas and Joshua J. Cotton, both in the Department of History and Philosophy. |
| 20,000 sweet potatoes donated to Jackson citizens in need | |
 | The Society of St. Andrew and Jackson State University teamed up to feed thousands of people in the Metro area Tuesday. Volunteers went through and sorted sweet potatoes, noting that hard ones are good to eat and soft ones are thrown out. "This crop actually comes from Vartamin, Mississippi, the 'Sweet Potato Capital'," said Heather Wilcox, who's with JSU's Center for University-Based Development. "So we have really good sweet potatoes today, and we're really excited because it's a healthy option for our community, and it's at no cost to them." Over 200 JSU students signed up to volunteer. |
| First Cybersecurity Summit at Mississippi College keeps hackers and terrorists at bay | |
| Cybersecurity may bring to mind threats on a national scale, such as the 143 million American consumers whose personal information was exposed as a result of a data breach at credit reporting agency Equifax. There are also cyber risks that can occur much closer to home, security experts in Mississippi say, and consumers often do not know how to address those issues. "I think everybody pretty much thinks that it's somebody else's responsibility," said Melissa Wiggins, a Mississippi College computer science professor. The 2018 Mississippi College Cybersecurity Summit, Tuesday night through Wednesday, will bring a user-friendly approach to understanding cybersecurity threats and issues to businesses, government and the everyday consumer. The event will cover topics such as anti-terrorism strategies, risk management for small businesses, banking industry regulations, policy and protection and cybersecurity from a state government perspective. |
| Study: South's Native Talent Suffers Without Better Schools | |
 | The South's increasingly diverse homegrown talent won't share in the region's economic growth unless state leaders commit to spending more on public schools and higher education, according to a study released Tuesday. The State of the South 2018 report found that 13 states across the region rely heavily on an influx of newcomers with college degrees to fill higher-paying jobs. At the same time, the report finds that state leaders have failed to adequately invest in public schools, higher education and other resources to prepare the next generation of workers. Social and economic divisions will only get worse "if we let our talent systems atrophy so that they can no longer reach deep into distressed populations to prepare them for the best jobs," said David Dodson, president of the education and job development advocacy group MDC, which published the report. |
| Mississippi students boost reading scores; math results are stagnant | |
| National test results released Tuesday show that Mississippi students are improving in reading, while math scores remain unchanged. Detailed data from 2017 was released Tuesday for the Nation's Report Card, officially known as the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). NAEP tests fourth and eighth grade students on what they know and what they can do in math and reading. Previous results are from 2015. Mississippi saw a "statistically significant" four point improvement in eighth grade reading with an average of 256, while fourth grade reading improved one point to 215 from 2015 results. Nearly a third (27 percent) of fourth graders were at or above proficient, while 25 percent of eighth graders were. |
| Mississippi eighth-grade reading scores rise on US test | |
| Mississippi's eighth-grade reading scores improved on the latest Nation's Report Card, but other scores did not change significantly, mirroring national trends. The results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress were released Tuesday. The exams, given to a cross-section of students nationwide, are considered one of the most reliable ways of comparing academic performance across the state. Mississippi's scores on fourth-grade reading and math tests remain in the lower quarter of states, while eighth-grade scores are among the lowest nationwide. The eighth-grade scores suggest Mississippi's students are roughly a year behind the national average in learning. "It's good news for Mississippi but it's also news that should challenge us," said Kim Benton, Chief Academic Officer of the Mississippi Department of Education, referring to both the eighth grade improvements and the state's overall standing. |
| Cyber expert at SEC academic conference: Future bleak, but fixes are on the way | |
 | The 2018 SEC Academic Conference ended Tuesday, with an emphasis on the role universities play in cyber security. "If you saw the talks yesterday, you saw what was mostly a depressing look at the current state of cyber security. There were not a whole lot of happy thoughts going around," Andrew Case, director of research at Volexity, said during his keynote address Tuesday morning. "Unfortunately, the future is worse. So, this is not going to be a bright and cheery talk to start the morning. "At the end, you will get some good news. We'll talk about how we can actually fix that. And specific to this conference, the fixes are going to have to come from the academic community." Case spoke about malware and the various ways networks can be attacked, adding that cyber defense research takes years from the inception of a program to the development of a usable product. Keeping with the theme of this year's conference, "Cyber Security: A Shared Responsibility," he also explained that academic research defines defense capabilities. |
| Auburn chief of staff headed home to North Carolina | |
| The University of North Carolina Wilmington announced Tuesday that it has named Miles Lackey the school's Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs. "Miles Lackey's broad professional background will benefit our university's commitment to growth with quality," UNCW Chancellor Jose V. Sartarelli stated in a press release issued by his university. "Miles previously served at Auburn University, Iowa State University, UNC Chapel Hill and the UNC System, and we expect him to excel at UNCW as well. We look forward to welcoming him to the Seahawk family on April 30." Lackey currently serves as Chief of Staff to Auburn University president Steven Leath, a role he has only held here since January. Leath, who began his term as Auburn University's president last summer, restructured some roles in the office of the president and created the chief of staff position. |
| WAFB: LSU's head of HR placed on leave, immediately retires after reports of degrading, profane emails | |
 | LSU said late Tuesday that Associate Vice President A.G. Monaco retired hours after being placed on leave after the tone of some of his emails came under scrutiny. WAFB-TV reported the decision came following records requests submitted by the station seeking Monaco's emails. Jason Droddy, LSU Interim Vice President of Strategic Communications, said in a statement Tuesday night that Monaco decided to retire. "A.G. Monaco has done a lot of good work on behalf of LSU," Droddy said. "However, recent records requests caused LSU administrators to review Dr. Monaco's emails and their tone. Rather than have the emails become a distraction from the good work that university staff is performing, Dr. Monaco decided to retire effective July 1, 2018, and to go on leave until that date." |
| Controversial alt-right speaker Milo Yiannopoulos' LSU talk canceled, organizers say | |
| Far-right author and controversial commentator Milo Yiannopoulos will not speak at LSU next month after failing to acquire proper insurance for the event, organizers said. The student group LSU College Republicans apologized on Twitter on Tuesday evening, saying that ticket sales will be refunded. Yiannopoulos had been scheduled to speak Wednesday evening at the LSU Union Theater. Organizers said it was the speaker's team's obligation to secure required insurance. |
| Author, musician Daryl Davis tells Texas A&M crowd that conversation is key in confronting hateful ideas | |
 | Musician, author and activist Daryl Davis said although music is his profession, his obsession is with studying race relations. Davis said in his decades of interacting with hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, he has come to believe that conversations, education and mutual respect are key to confronting hateful ideas. Throughout a nearly two-hour event Tuesday on the second floor of the Evans Library at Texas A&M University, Davis recounted both personal history and anecdotes from the time he has spent getting to know self-proclaimed white supremacists. He said although the stance might be controversial, he feels the only way to work through lurking issues like racism is to give it a platform where it can be discussed and challenged. |
| Local officials get social media tips at U. of Missouri conference | |
 | Transparency and building trust are key to public organizations' use of social media at a time when false information in common online, panelists said Tuesday at the annual Partners in Governance Conference. The theme of this year's conference, hosted by the University of Missouri's Truman School of Public Affairs, was "Achieving Balance in Governance in the Post-Truth Era." The session, titled "Balancing the Media Message: Social Media - Friend or Faux?" included discussion of how to be more transparent through social media, the dangers of too much social media and ways to use the platform to build trust in the community. |
| Verbal attack of international students near campus denounced by U. of Missouri leaders | |
 | Two MU international students were verbally attacked Saturday by an unidentified person yelling out of a window of the TODD apartment buildings near the University of Missouri, according to a statement posted Monday night on Facebook by the Missouri International Student Council. One of the students took to Facebook to talk about the experience. "I thought Mizzou is my home, a safe place to study, a safe place to learn, but it is not true after all," the student said in the post. "I (learned) it in a hard way." Both students wish to remain anonymous to protect their identities. The behavior was denounced by MU's chancellor and chief diversity officer, student leaders and TODD apartments. In an email to the campus community, Chancellor Alexander Cartwright and Vice Chancellor Kevin McDonald said the behavior is "unacceptable and contrary" to MU's values. |
| How Much Did Professors Earn This Year? Barely Enough to Beat Inflation | |
 | A rise in the cost of living chipped away at salary gains by full-time faculty members in the 2017-18 academic year, according to new survey data published on Wednesday by the American Association of University Professors. Full-time faculty earned an average of 3 percent more than they did in the prior academic year. But that salary increase was cut by nearly two-thirds, to 1.1 percent, after adjusting for inflation. The average salary ranged widely, depending on rank: Full professors earned $104,820, associate professors made $81,274, and assistant professors took in $70,791. The average pay for lecturers was about $57,000 while, for instructors, it was $59,400. The AAUP's analysis also found salary compression at 892 institutions. Almost 100 institutions had associate and assistant professors whose pay was close enough -- within $5,000 -- to be a sign of salary compression. On average, the pay of both groups is typically separated by $10,600. |
| AAUP's annual report on faculty compensation takes on salary compression and more | |
 | Average salaries for full-time continuing faculty members increased by 3 percent this year over last, according to the American Association of University Professors' Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession: 2017-18. That amounts to about 1 percent, adjusting for inflation, the association notes with a cheeky reference point: presidents of institutions that participate in the AAUP's annual study make 4.78 times more, on average, than their full-time professors. "Drastic cuts in state appropriations have often affected faculty at public colleges and universities more than other public employees as legislators have targeted higher education budgets," the report says. |
| Anonymous faculty members at NC State object to job candidate who was ousted from Ohio State | |
| A group of anonymous professors at North Carolina State University want to know why Terrell Strayhorn is a finalist for an education faculty position there even after he was fired from a center directorship at Ohio State University last year over financial misconduct. "Strayhorn used his faculty position at Ohio State to enrich himself by over $100,000 a year, using state employees to schedule and book his private business engagements," reads a letter sent to the North Carolina Legislature, the University of North Carolina System's Board of Governors and news media Tuesday evening. The charges relate to Strayhorn's pocketing approximately $200,000 over less than three years on the lecture and consulting circuit, much of it through unapproved travel during the workweek while he was a professor of higher education and director of the Center for Higher Education Enterprise at Ohio State. |
| Arizona Supreme Court Denies DACA Students In-State Tuition | |
 | Arizona students protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will no longer be eligible for in-state college tuition, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. The 7-0 ruling upheld an earlier decision in the Court of Appeals last year that said DACA recipients, often called DREAMers, who have been granted "lawful status" but not "legal status" do not qualify to pay resident rates. Monday's decision will affect more than 2,000 students enrolled in Arizona's community colleges and three public universities. Arizona DACA students are also ineligible for federal or state financial aid. The decision on Monday comes on the heels of a similar move in Missouri last month to continue a ban on in-state tuition for college DACA students. Other states prohibiting in-state tuition for DREAMers are Georgia and Indiana, while Alabama and South Carolina have gone a step further by completely banning them from enrolling at any public post-secondary institution. |
| Special election offers Mississippi Democrats shot at Alabama Senate 'miracle' | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "Mississippi Democrats are hoping for a repeat of the political 'miracle' that handed their counterparts in Alabama a U.S. Senate seat last December. ...After focusing over the last couple of columns on the Hyde-Smith and McDaniel standoff for winning the votes of Mississippians predisposed to vote for Republicans, let's take a look at the choices facing state voters predisposed to vote for Democrats. The two Democrats who have formally entered the race are a study in contrasts -- not the least of which are their ages and their political experiences." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State takes on Alabama State in Montgomery | |
| Mississippi State tries to carry the confidence it gained from a series win against Ole Miss over the weekend as it ventures back out onto the road. The Diamond Dogs meet Alabama State in Montgomery tonight at 6 p.m. at Riverwalk Stadium, home to the Rays' Double-A affiliate Montgomery Biscuits. From there, MSU will travel to Auburn for an SEC weekend series. Tonight marks the first meeting between the Bulldogs (17-16) and Hornets (17-13). Mississippi State will send Houston native and sophomore right-hander Denver McQuary (0-1, 6.19 ERA) to the mound while the Hornets counter with senior southpaw Ivanniel Vazquez (1-3, 4.71). |
| Bulldogs get easy win over Braves in softball | |
| Mississippi State softball coach Vann Stuedeman wanted to get a good look at her team on Tuesday night. With a non-conference game against Alcorn State sandwiched in between big Southeastern Conference matchups against Texas A&M and Ole Miss, it was an opportunity for Stuedeman to put certain players in a specific position to see how they would respond. Stuedeman liked what she saw as the Bulldogs produced 11 runs on 11 hits in an 11-0 five-inning victory over the Braves at Nusz Park. MSU travels to Ole Miss for a Saturday, Sunday and Monday series in the SEC. |
| Mississippi State's Malik Dear back up and running after injury | |
| Last spring was one that Malik Dear would like to forget. The Mississippi State slot receiver was lost for the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last March and left him feeling helpless when games got under way in the fall. "It's the worst feeling ever," Dear said. "I've never felt so bad. I'd always watch those guys and watch the film. It was hard watching them and knowing that I couldn't do anything. That experience of not being on the field gave me more passion." Dear was progressing with his rehab and held out hope that he would be able to play in 2017. The 5-foot-9, 220-pounder even dressed out for the SEC opener against LSU but he didn't feel good during warm-ups and told former head coach Dan Mullen he wanted to redshirt the remainder of the year. "The competitor in me wanted to get out there but I knew I wasn't ready," Dear said. |
| Samford hands Auburn baseball 4th consecutive loss | |
| Not even a midweek game against a Southern Conference opponent could rescue Auburn from its most recent skid. Fresh off getting swept at Arkansas, the Tigers trekked to Homewood on Tuesday and suffered a 12-3 loss to Samford, which is their fourth straight defeat and sixth in their last seven games. "It's less about who you're playing right now with our club, but about ourselves," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. "Credit Samford for swinging the bats." Auburn will look to snap its losing streak Friday when it opens a three-game series against Mississippi State at Plainsman Park. "We're in the middle of a grind right now, and this is huge, being back at home and getting an opportunity in another SEC series to try to get something going," Thompson said. "This is long enough trying to find ourselves again." |
| No. 5 Ole Miss responds to rough weekend with rout of No. 13 Southern Miss | |
| Ole Miss didn't let its first series loss of the season linger into an important week. The Rebels quickly built momentum and never relinquished it Tuesday as No. 5 Ole Miss eased past No. 13 Southern Miss 11-3 at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Ole Miss swept the season series from the Golden Eagles after taking the teams' first meeting March 27 in Oxford and improved to 10-0 in the midweek. Two days after finishing with 16 hits and producing 21 baserunners but squandering most of those chances in an extra-innings loss to Mississippi State, Ole Miss finished with 14 hits against six Southern Miss pitchers and went 10-for-20 with runners on and 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Ole Miss will stay on the road this weekend with a trip to Nashville to take on No. 18 Vanderbilt. |
| Why won't Ole Miss support Shea Patterson? Pettiness, 'pure spite' | |
| Columnist Dan Wolken writes for USA TODAY: "There are two reasons, and two reasons only, why Ole Miss would oppose a waiver request from its former star quarterback Shea Patterson to be eligible immediately at Michigan after he transferred there this winter. The first is pettiness, a tradition ingrained into the college football consciousness as marching bands and bowl games. The second, though is mind-boggling: Even after getting kicked in the gut by the NCAA for lots of rules violations and mocked nationally for its bungled, years-long campaign to blame its cheating habit on Houston Nutt, women's basketball and track, Ole Miss still doesn't believe it did anything wrong." |
| Washington switches to Adidas; How does it compare to Alabama's Nike, Auburn's Under Armour deals? | |
 | The University of Washington has announced a new 10-year agreement with Adidas worth roughly $12 million a year. The Seattle Times reports the deal is one of the most lucrative in college athletics. The Huskies ended a 20-year partnership with Nike, which paid roughly $3.5 million a year. With the news, it begs the question how it compare to the Alabama contract with Nike and the Auburn contract with Under Armour? In 2015, Auburn -- which opens the 2018 football season with the Huskies -- announced a 10-year deal with Under Armour worth more than $78.1 million at the time. In 2010, Alabama -- which has been with Nike since 1994 -- agreed to a seven-year contract extension with Nike. Like Washington this week, at the time, the Tide's deal ranked as one of the largest apparel deals in college sports. |
| Tom Crean on building his UGA coaching staff, recruiting and being away from family | |
 | The Georgia Center has served as the temporary home for Tom Crean since he dove into his new job several weeks ago. Of course, the Georgia men's basketball coach has spent less time in his room there then on the road recruiting and over at the nearby basketball offices. Crean was on day No. 25 Tuesday since his introductory news conference. He's spent considerable time getting to know his new players and their games and hasn't seen much of his wife and kids. They visited him once in Athens and he got a chance to get back to their home the past year of Bradenton, Fla., where he saw son Riley pitch for IMG Academy. Crean's recruiting travels have taken him to Atlanta, South Georgia and near Augusta. "Not for the golf tournament, but to recruit," Crean said. |
| Kansas and North Carolina State Named in New Federal Charges | |
 | Federal prosecutors handed down a new indictment Tuesday further detailing how an Adidas executive arranged to pay star basketball players to persuade them to attend universities sponsored by the apparel giant. The superseding indictment includes not only Louisville and Miami, which had already been implicated, but also North Carolina State and Kansas, one of college basketball's most prominent teams. The former Adidas executive Jim Gatto, along with others, worked to funnel money to the father of a burgeoning N.B.A. star whose description matches that of Dennis Smith Jr. to attend North Carolina State, prosecutors said, though Smith was not named. They did the same with the mother of a star player who had committed to Kansas and the legal guardian of another Kansas player who had originally taken illicit money to attend a school sponsored by an Adidas rival or to play for a different team sponsored by an Adidas rival, prosecutors said. |
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