| Monday, August 3, 2026 |
| McCurdy Named Head of Ag. Science | |
 | Jay McCurdy has become the new head of Mississippi State's Department of Agricultural Science and Plant Protection. The multidisciplinary academic unit in MSU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences offers an undergraduate degree in agricultural science, and master's and doctoral degrees in entomology, plant pathology and weed science. "Dr. McCurdy's enthusiasm, productivity and leadership make him the ideal department head for Agricultural Science and Plant Protection. His ability to unite faculty across disciplines while advancing excellence in teaching, research and Extension will strengthen the department for years to come," said Darrell Sparks, CALS acting dean and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station acting director. "I am confident in his ability to lead this outstanding team." In addition to a new head, the department is adding weed science faculty, creating new opportunities for collaboration and growth. |
| Giving ordinary things a voice | |
 | Over the month of July, walking into the Old Main Gallery at Mississippi State University meant you were greeted with dozens of works -- either suspended, balanced or wall-mounted. The show, titled "Background: Abstraction and Assembly," featured large, atmospheric mixed-media works by Jamele Wright Sr. that stretched across the space, almost appearing to float. Minimalist wood sculptures by Jason Swift had guests contemplating their meaning, while oil paintings from local artist Taggert King had them take a pause. Wright and Swift, Georgia-based sculpture artists with a mutual affinity for found objects, said these works weren't just individual, they were collaborative. And on Thursday, during a public sculpture workshop hosted by MSU Galleries, Wright and Swift discussed their individual work, their visions and what it means to create together despite their different styles -- all while guiding participants on making a "found object" sculpture of their very own. "Think of it this way," Swift said as he offered advice to participants. "Don't make 'art.' Just play. Just put things together. One of the things to think about is staying open, but if you find something isn't working ask yourself, 'what does it tell me? What does it need to work?'" |
| Mississippi State addresses admissions application outage, protects housing priority | |
| Mississippi State University is reassuring prospective students after technical issues disrupted its undergraduate admissions application system. In a statement posted Sunday, the university apologized for the outage, saying it affected the undergraduate admissions application process. To ensure students are not penalized because of the technical problems, Mississippi State announced that housing priority will be determined by the timestamp of when a student first logged in to begin their admissions application, rather than when the application was successfully submitted. University officials said students who accessed the application before the outage will have their original login timestamp honored for housing priority purposes. "We sincerely apologize for the technical issues that affected the Mississippi State undergraduate admissions application," the university said in its statement. "We appreciate your patience and understanding while we resolve this issue." |
| Generous gift to give Starkville library long-awaited facelift | |
| A $1 million private donation has made possible a long-awaited renovation to the downtown branch of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Public Library. Architect Thomas Stewart presented renderings of the planned updates Friday during a board of aldermen work session at City Hall. Final designs should be finished by December, with construction complete by next summer, said Sandra Sistrunk, Ward 2 alderwoman and city budget chair. Renovations will include a new facade, updates to the children's room, additional office space, new flooring and furniture. "The library needs to be renovated and Alderman Sistrunk has been ... pushing that for probably a year or two," Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dispatch after the work session. "And so fortunately, I found someone who was willing to see that as a good public venture and a good use of his funds." The benefactor plans to stay anonymous until more of the project is complete, officials said. |
| Dining out: Restaurants adapt to 'new normal' six years after pandemic | |
| As Jamie Cater envisioned her restaurant's grand opening and set the date for March 2020, she wasn't planning on COVID-19 cases climbing high enough to cause a worldwide lockdown that same month. Initially, Cater feared what the pandemic would mean for her restaurant's third and newest location in Starkville. When restaurants became limited to offering takeout orders, she realized the pandemic could help her business. "Because my business model is very much based on to-go -- gourmet to-go, prepared foods -- it really went great (during) the pandemic," Cater said. "That was already my business model. I was fortunate because I already had all that in place. ... I had the containers, the menu that already explained it all. I wasn't reinventing the wheel. I was just doing what I already did, but on a larger scale." The timing of Cater's Market's launch wasn't ideal -- yet, conditions created by the pandemic actually helped it survive. But the pandemic fundamentally changed the way other restaurants in the Golden Triangle operate. Six years later, dining rooms have long been reopened, but things still look a little different. |
| 15-mile section reopens on Natchez Trace Parkway as 24-mile detour begins | |
 | The National Park Service will reopen a 15-mile section of the Natchez Trace Parkway on Monday, Aug. 3 and begin the next phase of a major road rehabilitation project, requiring a detour around a 24-mile section between State Highway 16 (milepost 135) and State Highway 19 (milepost 159.5). Work on the this section is expected to continue through late 2026 as part of the three-phase rehabilitation effort, which is scheduled for completion in mid-2027. As construction advances, the park will reopen the section between state route 12 (milepost 165) and state route 413 (milepost 180). Funded through a $100 million investment from the Great American Outdoors Act's Legacy Restoration Fund, signed into law by President Trump in 2020, and a $50 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration's Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program, this project will improve roadway conditions, enhance visitor safety and preserve critical infrastructure along one of the nation's most scenic historic routes. |
| Mississippi startup brings military-tested tech to footwear made in state | |
 | At 26, Paul Thomas had options. A Hattiesburg native, Millsaps College graduate and recent Columbia Business School MBA, Thomas could have remained in New York, pursued opportunities with established companies or joined the growing list of young professionals building careers outside Mississippi. Instead, he chose to come home. "The bottom line is Mississippi is home. I believe in it and how this business can build from here," Thomas said. "We still have a ways to go, but we are on the right track, and I think others see the promise of our product and our state." Thomas' entrepreneurial journey began well before business school. While attending Millsaps College, he was involved with the ElseWorks, where he gained firsthand experience working with startups and entrepreneurship programs. The experience helped shape his interest in building companies and laid the groundwork for his eventual return to Mississippi as a founder. Today, Thomas is helping lead Numadx, a startup developing air-pressure-based insoles designed to reduce strain on people who spend long hours on their feet. |
| SpaceXAI removing temporary turbines from Southaven data center | |
| Elon Musk-founded SpaceXAI is removing all of the temporary mobile turbines being used to power a $20 billion data center in DeSoto County, the company announced. The move comes as SpaceXAI, formerly SpaceX and xAI, has reached an agreement with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to begin the process of removing the 69 turbines, which will begin in August and conclude in July 2027. Once the turbines are gone, the company will rely on a permanent 1.2 GW power plant it is constructing in Southaven with clearance from a Clean Air Act permit. The data center and its turbines have been the subjects of public outcry, with local residents suing SpaceXAI over alleged noise disruptions. The NAACP sued over potential environmental and public health ramifications the data center and power plant could yield, though the Justice Department has sought to have that lawsuit dismissed. In the interim, SpaceXAI is seemingly addressing complaints about its presence in north Mississippi. Company officials said they are equipping the mobile turbines with advanced technology to reduce any environmental impact, while simultaneously monitoring the air quality to avoid exceeding EPA standards. |
| Senate finalizes funding patch that would block Trump's grant overhaul | |
 | Senate appropriators released text Sunday of a stopgap funding bill to avert a shutdown come Oct. 1 and punt broader government funding negotiations until after the midterms. Under the bipartisan plan, federal agencies would be funded through Dec. 11 at current levels, with some exceptions. Senate leaders have set an initial procedural vote for Monday night and want to pass the bill by the end of the week -- just before senators are scheduled to leave town for a five-week recess. When lawmakers return to the Capitol in September, House Republican leaders must then decide whether to take up the Senate funding patch, which contains a significant rebuke of President Donald Trump -- a temporary ban on finalizing the White House proposal to put political appointees in charge of approving grants. Senate Democrats wanted that addition, and top Republicans -- including Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins of Maine and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski --- publicly voiced support for blocking the regulation the White House is working to finalize for the new fiscal year. |
| Senate's funding patch adds Trump requests but blocks grant rule | |
 | Senate appropriators announced a bipartisan deal Sunday to fund the government into early December, while temporarily blocking a contested Trump administration rule that critics say would politicize the awarding of federal grants. The draft continuing resolution, unveiled Sunday afternoon, would extend current funding through Dec. 11 -- a week later than House Republicans proposed in their recent stopgap measure. Senate leaders plan to hold a procedural vote, to limit debate to take up the legislative vehicle for their funding extension, on Monday evening, with hopes of passing the measure before the Senate adjourns at week's end for its August recess. The Senate's CR amounts to an expanded version of the bill the House passed last month, with many of the additions sought by the Trump administration to address critical needs, particularly on defense. But it also includes a few notable curbs on the administration's authority. In a contentious provision that had held up a deal last week, the bill would block a federal rule requiring grants to be approved by senior political appointees -- a proposal that triggered an avalanche of public criticism. |
| Cornyn reaches deal on 'anti-weaponization fund' to allow Blanche nomination to advance | |
 | Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has reached a deal with the Justice Department to end the $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund for President Trump's allies, paving the way for Cornyn to vote to advance Todd Blanche's nomination to serve as attorney general. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Blanche's nomination on Tuesday, and Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), two members of the panel, were threatening to vote "no" because the administration wouldn't agree to clarify a settlement with Trump to permanently end the proposed $1.8 billion fund. "Sen. Cornyn has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice, which will be issuing a formal order permanently terminating the anti-weaponization fund and making clear in a binding written document that the scope of the audit settlement is limited to only the plaintiffs, including the President, and the IRS," said Cornyn spokesperson Natalie Yezbick. Blanche posted a signed memo on social media late Sunday night formally rescinding the fund as well as an unsigned statement from the Justice Department clarifying the terms of a settlement with Trump and his family granting them immunity from audits related to past tax returns as well as a second memo that granted Trump, his family and their businesses broad immunity from any government investigation into their past conduct, including from audits related to past tax returns. |
| Trump Pivots Back to Diplomacy as Iran Victory Eludes Him | |
 | After days of threats to launch a new offensive against Iran, President Trump is once again trying to achieve through diplomacy what he has yet to accomplish through war. The question is whether Trump's Gulf partners can make enough headway in the days ahead to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, at least temporarily, and lay the groundwork for eventual nuclear talks. Previous efforts on both fronts have failed for months, though there were initial signs of progress Sunday on reopening the waterway. Oman and Iran noted they were making progress. Trump told reporters Sunday that the U.S. would engage in talks beginning Monday afternoon. He said that he had been prepared to launch the biggest military attack since World War II but had been talked down by U.S. allies. "We were all set to go, but when the allies asked to call it off, you got to sort of say, 'well, let's see,'" he said. Still, if talks falter as they have in the past, Trump could once again fall into a familiar cycle of reviving his military threats shortly after he shelved them. |
| A democratic socialist in the White House? Activists are thinking big. | |
 | Officially, the summit for democratic socialists across the country here in Chicago this weekend was taking place in a hotel conference facility. But on Friday night, the real action was at a corner bar two miles away, where dozens of members of the Democratic Socialists of America crammed into a patio in the middle of a summer storm. As the rain poured down, two DSA leaders put it bluntly: If they wanted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) to run for president -- and if they wanted the DSA to endorse her -- it was time to start now. "We're in the moment of the presidential question," Katie Sims, an electoral organizer in Ithaca, New York, said at the "DSA for AOC" gathering. "Doesn't it just make sense now?" That was, for many, the question looming over the Democratic Socialists of America's summit, right in the middle of the group's most consequential summer ever. A self-dubbed big-tent group that was essentially dormant a decade ago, the DSA has ballooned into one of the largest and most disciplined operations on the U.S. left. The Chicago summit hosted about 600 dues-paying members who flew in from across the country to attend workshops and swap organizing strategies as their group faces greater momentum -- and greater scrutiny -- than ever before. |
| 'Soul-Crushing': 170 Foster Students Denied Their Scholarships at Last Minute Across Mississippi | |
| The State of Mississippi is denying 170 Mississippi foster students full-ride scholarships to colleges across the state, with many would-be freshmen finding out only weeks before their move-in date. They now must face the fact that legislative budget decisions are suddenly blocking the key financial lifeline meant to help them transition out of the foster system and into adult life. With no ability to conjure additional funding for the program until the Legislature returns in January, the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid is now seeking accommodations with the state's various universities to try and fill the gap left by a gaping shortfall in the agency's funding from the State Legislature. But that assistance may come too late for the many dozens of first-time college applicants. State officials and foster parents alike worry those new college students may fall out of the system entirely. "It's heartbreaking," said Jennifer Rogers, executive director of the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid. "These are probably the most vulnerable students in the state, and we were not able to award them because the funding simply wasn't there -- and we're required by law to award in that fashion." |
| Mississippi students can get federal financial aid for workforce training programs -- but the options are limited | |
| Mississippi students seeking short-term workforce training can now qualify for thousands in federal financial aid to help cover their program costs. But, only a dozen programs are expected to be eligible by 2027, despite hundreds of courses being offered at community colleges across the state. Congress expanded the federal Pell Grant program, which helps low-income students pay for higher education, last year to cover certain short-term workforce training programs. The new Workforce Pell Grant program change took effect July 1. But, before institutions can offer aid to students, the state must approve eligible programs to qualify for the federal Pell Grant program. State officials finalized the formal program approval process at the end of June. The first programs may be available as early as January 2027, said Courtney Taylor, executive director of AccelerateMS, the state's workforce development agency. Instead, the state's workforce board is beginning with a group of high-demand fields such as construction, advanced manufacturing and healthcare to qualify for the federal aid. |
| Johnson family endows Ole Miss nursing school | |
| Students entering the University of Mississippi Medical Center's largest health science school by enrollment will get a boost with a new scholarship program in fall 2026. The Johnson Scholars program is part of an overall $5 million gift from Lisa and Michael Johnson of Madison, that provides both an endowment for School of Nursing's Oxford Center and a scholarship fund for Mississippi residents enrolling in the Oxford program. The gift is designed to help meet the critical needs in nursing and to retain the state's best and brightest in health care careers. Students in the accelerated BSN program at Oxford are also eligible. Growing Mississippi's health care workforce is a long-term goal for the endowment, Johnson said, one that should help businesses across all industries in the state attract and retain employees. |
| Shark Week: What species are swimming off Mississippi's coast? | |
| With Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" underway, many Mississippians might not realize just how many species are swimming off the state's coastline. During last year's "Shark Week," Dr. Jill Hendon with the Center for Fisheries Research and Development at the University of Southern Mississippi explained that the waters off Mississippi boast "some of the greatest diversity" in all the Gulf, even noting that white sharks can be occasionally pass through deeper waters before moving on. "We have been running a survey of shark species in the Mississippi Sound for well over 20 years now, and we routinely will find seven- or eight-foot -- sometimes nine-foot -- tiger sharks, great hammerheads, and scalloped hammerheads," she said. While a shark that large near Gulfport or Ocean Springs may be a startling sight, Hendon said those sharks are still far from full-grown. As they mature, they move farther offshore. |
| New students move into Jackson State University for the start of a new school year | |
| Summer break is officially over, as freshman and transfer students moved in for a new school year at Jackson State University. The dorm buildings were once again filled with boxes, luggage and students ready to start their year at JSU. Incoming students were greeted by campus volunteers as they headed into the one-stop shop, where they could complete registration, handle financial information, ask questions and more. That's where Vice President of Student Affairs Jonas Vanderbilt was, ready to welcome the new students. "We are feeling excited. It is summertime. The campus has been empty for a while; many people are missing that feel of students moving around. That's the heartbeat of our campus and so everyone's excited to see them come back," Vanderbilt said. He encouraged new students to get involved, attend events and do things to make the most of their college experience. |
| DSU's GEOINT Program Recertified | |
| Delta State University and the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation have announced the reaccreditation of Delta State's Geospatial Analysis and Intelligence (GAI) Certificate Program and Bachelor of Applied Science in Geospatial Analysis and Intelligence through June 2031. Following a comprehensive review process conducted between summer 2025 and spring 2026, USGIF awarded the programs a full five-year reaccreditation after determining they continue to meet the organization's published standards and criteria for geospatial intelligence education. The evaluation process included an initial application review, assessment by three independent subject matter experts from the geospatial intelligence community, and a final review of documentation and feedback by USGIF leadership. The reaccreditation reinforces Delta State's position as a national leader in geospatial intelligence education. The university's Bachelor of Applied Science in Geospatial Analysis and Intelligence remains the only USGIF-accredited bachelor's degree program in the nation, while its GEOINT certificate program is among the longest continuously accredited programs in the field. |
| Meridian Community College launches Mississippi's first data center workforce training program | |
 | Compass Datacenters and Meridian Community College have launched Mississippi's first Mechanical, Electrical and Information Technology Data Center Pathway Program, offering local residents a path to high-paying technical careers without a college degree. The 14-week MEI Data Center Pathway Program provides hands-on training on the same power, cooling and technology systems used in operating data centers -- the facilities that support cloud computing, streaming services and artificial intelligence tools. No degree or prior experience is required to apply. Compass is funding full-tuition scholarships for the inaugural cohort of 12 selected students, who begin this fall. Leaders say graduates could earn 30 to 50 percent above local median wages, with pathways into six-figure careers. "There will be a form available on the website that will allow people to show an interest in the program and then they'll have opportunities to come to orientations and meetings and learn and then there will be a selection process," said Dr. Tom Huebner, president of Meridian Community College. "This is something that we know is going to be life changing for a lot of students." |
| Retired Mississippi teachers can return to classroom under new law, but some say incentive falls short | |
| For the first time, retired Mississippi teachers can return to the classroom without giving up their retirement benefits. But some educators say the state's new incentive doesn't go far enough. Retired educators from across the state gathered Friday at the Mississippi Association of Educators' Retired Membership Assembly at the Mississippi Library Commission in Jackson, and a new state law was on everyone's mind. House Bill 4073, which took effect July 1, creates a pathway for retired teachers to return to work while continuing to draw their retirement checks for up to five years. The waiting period to return dropped from 90 days to just 30. The previous law came with significant strings attached. Retired teachers could only return to districts the Mississippi Department of Education had designated as having critical teacher or subject-area shortages. And when it comes to pay, returning teachers will be eligible for up to 80% of the position's salary while continuing to draw full PERS retirement benefits. Other public retirees, such as police officers and clerks, can also earn that same percentage of their salary under the new law. |
| Mississippi financial literacy mandate increases economic knowledge statewide | |
| Mississippi educators are preparing for new financial literacy, computer science and civics requirements under Senate Bill 2294, a wide-ranging education law that took effect July 1. Many of the classroom requirements of the Mississippi Math Act will be phased in over the next several years. The bill incorporates the J.P. Wilemon Jr. Financial Literacy Act, which failed to pass as a standalone measure in previous legislative sessions. Beginning with the 2027-28 school year, Mississippi public schools will be required to provide financial literacy instruction for students in grades 6-8. The curriculum will cover topics including income, budgeting, financial services, postsecondary education financing and consumer rights. The law also establishes new computer science and civics education requirements that will be implemented on separate timelines. Heather Morrison, director of P-20 Partnerships for the Mississippi Department of Education and the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, said the department is working with partners across the state to prepare educators. |
| Trump Administration Plans to Upend Head Start by Deregulating It | |
 | The Trump administration is preparing a major rollback of federal requirements for Head Start, a change that supporters of the child care program fear could gut its longstanding antipoverty mission. The proposed changes would remove most of Head Start's 133 pages of requirements for math and literacy curriculums, class sizes, medical screenings, home visits and even a requirement that children brush their teeth after meals, according to three people with knowledge of the plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations. Administration officials say the changes will streamline a heavily regulated program while giving states and cities more control over how it is run. But Head Start advocates say that erasing regulations serves as a backdoor way to dismantle a program the administration does not like. The White House last year called Head Start "radical" and tried but failed to freeze spending on it. The program, which today serves about 700,000 children under 6, has for decades attracted bipartisan support. That has now changed dramatically. But some Republican lawmakers -- notably Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Susan Collins of Maine and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi -- have remained firm in their support of the program. |
| After nearly a decade of growing enrollment, LSU gets more selective | |
 | Across her college career, LSU senior Rachel Kashimawo has spent hours circling campus in her RAV4, searching for a parking spot even though she always buys a permit. The parking space was only the first obstacle in navigating the campus of a jam-packed flagship university that has seen record-breaking freshman class sizes for the years Kashimawo has attended. In lecture halls, especially early in her time on campus, Kashimawo said she watched while some students stood for class because all 200 seats were filled. "There's a lot of people in every aspect, not even just classes -- game days, trying to get tickets, parking," Kashimawo said. "It's just a lot of people, and even though we're a big campus per se, we don't have that much space for that many people." Concerns about campus capacity and a push to become a more selective institution overall have led LSU to ease off the gas in enrollment for the first time in nearly a decade. "If we're committed to excellence both in the classroom and in the student experience, then part of that calculus does have to involve maybe not growing beyond what the campus capacity is," Emmett Brown, vice president for enrollment management, said. |
| These two LSU teams are exploring ways to implement AI tools into nuclear, energy research | |
| Two LSU research teams will join the U.S. Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, a national project using artificial intelligence in nuclear research. Working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory, LSU professors and graduate students will help tackle challenges faced by modern physicists. The research teams, led by LSU Department of Physics and Astronomy faculty members Jeffery Blackmon and Phillip Sprunger, were among 278 projects selected for funding nationwide. Other professors from LSU, the University of Kentucky and scientists in national labs collaborated and shared resources to create two substantial proposals submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy. "This initiative has been compared to the Manhattan Project. So being part of it, it's amazing," said Kristina Launey, associate professor of physics. "It's an amazing achievement from LSU, which means what we do, the research here, brings LSU to the national level." The Genesis Mission unites government, industry, academic and scientific leaders to continue the U.S. Department of Energy's efforts to develop AI systems working to efficiently solve defense and energy problems faced by the U.S. |
| U. of Tennessee just hired these 8 'rock star' professors | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville is redefining its research and academic status by hiring top minds across multiple disciplines. It is finding success in its first group of recruits. The university has hired eight scholars -- including a Chancellor's Excellence Professor and three UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor's Chairs -- who have already started or will start soon. UT aims to become a top research destination in higher education while fostering a collaborative academic environment, according to Deborah Crawford, vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development. "A lot of building our national prominence is around the kind of communities of faculty that we can put together in certain domain areas," Crawford told Knox News in an exclusive interview, "and the preeminent hiring initiative is allowing us to sort of think very strategically about that and to really encourage our colleges to work together to do that." |
| 'A dream come true': Inside UGA's inaugural School of Medicine class | |
| Monday marks the start of medical school for 64 students and a new chapter for the University of Georgia as its School of Medicine welcomes its inaugural class. "Making history right here in Athens only happens a handful of times," Shelley Nuss, founding dean of the School of Medicine, said. Founded in 2024, UGA's School of Medicine received preliminary accreditation in February. As one of only two public medical schools in Georgia, it began receiving applications that month, with final decisions released in April. The inaugural class was selected from more than 2,000 applications during a two-week admissions cycle, according to a UGA press release. School of Medicine officials interviewed 235 students before extending offers of admission. Meghan Blitchington, who graduated from UGA in 2024 with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and sociology, is one of seven first-generation college students in the inaugural class. "I was one of the first ones admitted on the day that Dean Nuss called everybody," Blitchington said. "I didn't see the call because I was at work, so I got a lovely voicemail." |
| Texas universities rethink required college courses for all students | |
| Texas has long agreed that students at all public universities should graduate with the same foundational knowledge, no matter their major. Every college student at a public Texas university has to satisfy 42 prescribed credit hours before graduating. The required hours are meant to ensure all students get a solid background in topics like history, mathematics and writing. Right now, students can choose from thousands of courses to satisfy those mandates. But this fall, foundational courses are in a state of upheaval as university systems work to comply with a new law that limits what classes qualify for core curriculum requirements. Senate Bill 37, a 2025 state law reforming higher education, charged university systems with reviewing all courses that satisfy core education requirements by 2027. Colleges can only keep classes deemed foundational, civic-focused, broad and necessary for the workforce. |
| Texas A&M, Space Force set to keep officer learning program in College Station | |
| Texas A&M University and the United States Space Force are working to expand a program that sent Space Force officers, known as Guardians, to College Station for four weeks. The course, known as the Captain's Leadership Course, was started as a pilot program in January. It is designed to have Guardians come to College Station for four weeks of space and joint military education. The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents voted unanimously at a special meeting Monday to allow Chancellor Glenn Hegar to enter into an agreement with the Space Force to extend the partnership through 2036. "We had done the course as a precursor they really liked so now they'd like to do a 10-year contract with us," Regent Chairman Robert Albritton told The Eagle. "I think it has tremendous upside for the Space Force. I think the Space Force would really like to have a lot of their operations here in College Station and down at NASA [Johnson Space Center] in Houston." The university and Space Force are working out a 10-year agreement that will keep the course in College Station. |
| U. of Oklahoma to build 5-story parking garage by North Greek, Goddard | |
| The University of Oklahoma Parking and Transportation Services announced Friday a new $25 million parking garage will be built at the intersection of College Avenue and Cruce Street. The five-level parking garage will be west of Burton Hall and Goddard Health Center, and is expected to have over 650 parking spaces, according to an email from Parking and Transportation Services. The email states construction is expected to begin next year, but that it is still early in the design process. "Because the project is still in the early design process, final timelines and facility renderings are not yet available," the email reads. Alexaviar Thompson, a meteorology major, said the parking garage would be beneficial but the university should continue efforts to increase parking spaces. "I think OU finally starting to increase their parking is a really good thing. I know specifically from what I've been told from (my) friends, it's really hard to find parking here," Thompson said. "Even though there's a new parking garage coming, OU still needs to maintain efforts to create parking spaces for more students." |
| Medical students don 'cloaks of compassion' in white coat ceremony at U. of Missouri | |
 | Before the Class of 2030 can enter the medical field, they must first receive their white coats from University of Missouri School of Medicine. Between rain showers Friday, family members and supporters shuffled into Jesse Auditorium to watch as 136 first-year medical students, known as "M1s," received their MU branded white coats. "This is one of the highlights of our M1 orientation week, as students have spent the week here," Jill Wiggins, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, said. "We end it with this white coat ceremony, and it's such an exciting time. They've done a lot of work to get here." The MU School of Medicine's class size has expanded in response to a critical shortage of physicians. The school's Springfield campus was also expanded this year to promote growth in the medical workforce in Missouri. After wrapping up the week of orientation, the M1 students are set to officially begin classes on Monday. |
| Parents turn to AI as their kids weigh college selection | |
 | When Melissa Danielli's oldest child applied to college in 2022, her family worked with a hired college admissions counselor to find schools. For much of the public, artificial intelligence wouldn't enter their consciousness until the launch of ChatGPT that November. "He was basing a lot of his stuff on, 'I've heard about this school. It's a good school,'" she remembers of her son. "And we're just like, 'sure, apply and if you get in we'll go visit,'" says the Seattle-area mother. She and her husband are doing things differently for their daughter, Shiri, who will be applying to college in the fall. They divided the labor on two computers, one using the AI assistant Claude and the other ChatGPT. They created spreadsheets with tidbits of information and eliminated schools that didn't fit their criteria, or that AI concluded wouldn't be a good fit. "I think it's been great," Ms. Danielli says of using AI to pick a college. "It has its limitations. It definitely gave us some wacky ideas when we didn't give it more concrete information to build off, but we feel like it really gave us a lot of interesting ideas to look at." According to education consulting firm EAB, Ms. Danielli is not alone in her new-found reliance on AI to help navigate the college decision process. |
| At colleges, the AI boom means everyone wants to dabble in computer science | |
 | With no background in coding, Faith Maeba, a psychology major, was reluctant when her mother first suggested she enroll in classes on artificial intelligence. But the senior at Virginia Commonwealth University began to see it differently as she looked into graduate psychology programs that explore human behavior in the workplace, which is quickly being upended by machine learning. Maeba, 21, is now pursuing a minor in AI. "It's giving me an edge and standing out," she said. Hiring has cooled for entry-level software developers -- work increasingly done by AI agents -- and college enrollment in computer and information science programs has been declining. Yet at campuses across the country, many professors are finding themselves busier than ever teaching students from a range of majors about artificial intelligence. Colleges are responding to changes in student demand, but they also recognize that new graduates -- regardless of their field -- are facing questions about their AI skills from potential employers. "We have to democratize it," said Peter Stone, the chair of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin, who recently developed an introductory course on AI essentials for noncomputer science majors. "In the same way that everybody needs some degree of math, reading and writing, I think everybody needs a degree of AI literacy," he said. |
| AI scribes: Useful tools in medical education or a crutch that imperils learning? | |
| Hospitals have been quick to adopt artificial intelligence tools for automating note-taking during patient visits, saying they help lower physician burnout and increase revenues. Medical schools, though, are facing a vexing quandary over AI scribes. As much as educators want future physicians to be well-versed in the technology, they worry that letting students off-load the struggle of thinking through differential diagnoses to AI could do irreparable harm during the formative years of their medical training. "The process of deliberately crafting the note forces us to use our brains to really wrestle with what's happening," said Jaideep Talwalkar, associate dean of educational technology and innovation at Yale School of Medicine. "There's an importance in doing that with great repetition." |
| Moving Back Home After College? All Your Friends Are Doing It. | |
| When he hadn't landed a job a few months after graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz, two years ago, Tommy Balmat moved back to his childhood home in the San Francisco Bay Area. He figured looking for a job would be easier with fewer expenses to shoulder. And, perhaps no less important, he was still close with his parents, who were keen to have him back. "I communicate with my parents about every thought that goes through my head," said Mr. Balmat, who majored in literature and anthropology and had hoped for a job in book publishing. "They honestly really encouraged me to come back home if that's what I wanted." Mr. Balmat is hardly the only recent graduate to have accepted such an invitation lately. Data from the economists Stefania Albanesi, Rania Gihleb and Ning Zhang show that the portion of college graduates ages 23 to 27 living with their parents has returned to the high it reached during the Covid-19 pandemic. More than one-quarter did so as of last year, from a low of about 18 percent in 2001, according to updates to the paper that are not yet online. |
| Bipartisan group of senators introduce bill to ban legacy admissions | |
| A bipartisan group of Senate lawmakers reintroduced legislation last week that would ban legacy admissions after past efforts have failed despite cross-party support and sharpened public scrutiny of the practice. The Merit-Based Educational Reforms and Institutional Transparency Act would tie accreditation to colleges having admissions policies that don't give preferential treatment to applicants based on their relationships with alumni or donors. Lawmakers proposed similar legislation in both chambers last year, but those bills failed to gain traction. The Merit Act was previously introduced in the Senate in 2023. The Merit Act continues a debate in the higher education world about admissions fairness. That discussion has become all the more poignant in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ban on race-conscious admissions, the Trump administration's aggressive enforcement of that decision, and the university admissions bribery case that broke in 2019 known as the "Varsity Blues" scandal. Backing the new Senate bill are Republicans Todd Young, Tim Scott and John Kennedy, as well as Democrats Tim Kaine, Raphael Warnock and Andy Kim. |
| Are Loan Limits Driving Down College Costs? | |
 | When Republicans set new loan limits for graduate students last summer, they made it clear their intent was to drive down college costs and address the mounting student debt crisis. Now, as those limits take effect ahead of a new academic year, some are saying that goal is already coming to fruition. A new blog from the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank, says that graduate programs are "cutting tuition," citing 10 programs across the country -- seven of which are providing scholarships rather than directly reducing tuition. In many cases, the colleges making these changes pointed to the Republican loan limits, added Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at AEI and author of the blog. For example, Emory University announced in November that it would offer a $25,000 tuition scholarship to any student who applied for its online Doctor of Public Health, accelerated Master of Public Health, or hybrid Master of Health Administration programs by January. "In light of recent changes to graduate student loan programs, these funds will help students invest in their education while minimizing the burden of significant debt," said Kara Robinson, Emory's senior associate dean of enrollment management and student affairs, in the announcement. But not all colleges AEI cited explicitly tied the decision to the new loan limits. Still, "if you kind of read between the lines a little bit, that is probably something that is on their minds," Cooper said. |
| The Struggling Colleges Raiding Their Endowments to Pay the Bills | |
| When Natalie Strouse's husband of 20 years died of cancer, she honored his memory by creating a scholarship in his name at the college where she taught accounting. Each year, she helped select a student to receive a few thousand dollars at Notre Dame College, a small Catholic school outside Cleveland. But in 2024, the college closed. Strouse wanted to re-establish the scholarship at another institution. She asked Notre Dame for the $30,000 endowment, which under the terms of the gift could only be used to support the scholarship. Not possible, she said an administrator informed her. The money was gone. "She told me they used it to pay the bills," Strouse said. "I consider it theft." Ohio's attorney general last year filed a complaint against 14 trustees and officers of the college alleging they improperly used more than $2 million of restricted endowment funds outside donors' intended purposes. The defendants have denied allegations that they breached their fiduciary duties and failed to exercise proper oversight of the school. Higher education is in real financial trouble and Strouse's lost scholarship is one piece of the growing collateral damage. College leaders are cutting programs, laying off faculty -- and digging into endowments to pay operating expenses. |
| Crusade to obscure data undermines government integrity | |
| Columnist Bill Crawford writes: Former Gov. Phil Bryant once declared, "Transparency in government is critical to its integrity." He should tell that to his buddy in the White House. The Trump administration has embarked on a widespread crusade to hide, disguise, and deny access to public data. Even Republican leaders have criticized some aspects of this systematic effort to obscure government information, alter official records, and reduce public access across multiple agencies. Researchers estimate that well over 3,000 data sets have been removed from public access. |
| The age-old debate of election access vs. security is at center of current national debate | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: British jurist William Blackstone is cited with establishing the principle dating back to the 1700s that it is better for 10 guilty people to go free than one innocent person be incarcerated. That principle continues to be cited and debated. The debate even questions what would be the appropriate number of guilty people going free opposed to one innocent person suffering a conviction and punishment. A version of that principle also is at the center of a national debate about voting. Some politicians, led by Republican President Donald Trump, and backed by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, contend that the federal Congress should impose national voting standards that would reduce the chances of election fraud. Other politicians, primarily Democrats, say instances of voting fraud are rare, and studies seem to support that argument, while changes proposed by Trump could make it difficult for eligible voters to cast a ballot. Hence, the argument seems to be whether preventing what appears to be a few instances of voter fraud is more important than election access. How many people should be denied or hindered in their right to vote to prevent rare occurrences of voter fraud? |
SPORTS
| 2026–27 Bully's Kids Club Memberships On Sale Now | |
| Mississippi State Athletics has announced that memberships for the 2026–27 Bully's Kids Club, presented by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, are now on sale. Designed for Bulldog fans ages 12 and younger, Bully's Kids Club brings young Mississippi State supporters closer to the action throughout the year with exclusive experiences, special opportunities and kid-friendly benefits. Memberships are available for $55 and include free admission to all regular-season Mississippi State women's basketball, softball and baseball home games, along with select non-conference men's basketball games. Each member will also receive an official Bully's Kids Club Member Pack featuring a Bully's Kids Club T-shirt, pillowcase, custom-shaped keychain, sticker sheet and additional items courtesy of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi. Families are encouraged to purchase memberships by Aug. 31 to secure the lowest available price and receive their membership package before Mississippi State's home football game against Missouri. Membership pricing will increase on Sept. 1. |
| SEC and Big Ten agree to support college sports bill after weeks of negotiations | |
| The Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten --- the country's two most powerful college athletics conferences -- agreed Friday night to support a sweeping Senate bill that would impose new federal rules on college sports. The conferences have been wrangling with the Senate Commerce Committee for weeks over details of the bill -- which would limit how large conferences could expand to and how much money they could spend compensating student athletes -- as they said various iterations of legislative text fell short of addressing their outstanding concerns. The development could clear the way for Majority Leader John Thune to tee the bill up for fall action before the Senate adjourns for August recess, as Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has long hoped. But it remains unclear if the Senate floor calendar will allow quick action -- or if the bill will be able to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the chamber. |
| SEC, Big Ten vote to support Congressional college sports bill after mad scramble | |
| The Big Ten and SEC have struck a deal with federal lawmakers over legislation to regulate the college sports industry. Each of the league's presidents and chancellors voted Friday evening to swing their support behind the Protect College Sports Act in a stunning and about-face development that thrusts the legislation forward. The two conferences announced the deal via a joint statement on Friday night. Days of negotiations between U.S. senators and conference executives over the bill reached a crescendo on Friday, as league executives hurriedly scheduled meetings with their stakeholders in a shocking 11th-hour move. The scramble comes a day after the conferences missed, for a second time in as many days, a deadline set by lawmakers to determine their position on a revised bill and follows aggressive involvement from the White House. U.S. president Donald Trump engaged with stakeholders through intermediaries on Thursday evening, stating his intent to publicly condemn Big Ten and SEC leaders for opposing the bill, presumably through a social media account followed by millions. |
| SEC, Big Ten Support PCSA as Judge Issues NCAA Eligibility Injunction | |
| In two stunning orders late Friday, U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney certified a nationwide class of Division I college athletes who began college play in 2022–2023, completed four years of eligibility by this past spring and are barred from a fifth season. She also issued a preliminary injunction barring the NCAA from preventing them from playing a fifth season. Later in the evening, the SEC and Big Ten said they now support the Protect College Sports Act, a bill that would, among other things, grant the NCAA antitrust immunity on eligibility matters. Their support increases the odds the U.S. Senate will vote on and pass the bill, which has the support of President Donald Trump but would still need the approval of the House of Representatives. These developments are separate and involve different branches of government, but are connected: if the PCSA becomes law, antitrust-based eligibility lawsuits would be rendered moot. But it might take months before the PCSA could become law, and by that point college rosters for football and basketball will be largely set. |
| Florida Atlantic University Names Josh McCowan as Vice President and Director of Athletics | |
| Florida Atlantic University has named Josh McCowan as its next Vice President and Director of Athletics, bringing an accomplished collegiate administrator with a deep track record of revenue generation and strategic leadership to Boca Raton. McCowan, who brings more than 15 years of high-level athletic administration experience, will be officially introduced during a press conference next Friday at the Schmidt Family Athletics Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence. McCowan comes to Owls athletics after serving as Deputy Athletics Director, Chief Revenue Officer, and CEO of The Bulldog Club, Inc. at Mississippi State. Recognized in 2026 as one of the Top 100 Future Athletics Directors by Silver Waves Media, McCowan directed MSU to the three highest fundraising years in school history after joining the program in 2023. During that three-year span in Starkville, Mississippi State generated over $173 million in fundraising -- including a 121% jump from 2024 to 2025. |
| Women's Flag Football Gains Traction in the NCAA | |
| Raia Brown grew up with four brothers who played football, and her dad is the running back coach at the high school she attended in California. So when the school created a girl's flag football team her junior year, she knew she wanted to join. She played for two seasons and quickly developed a love for the game. But then she matriculated to Sacramento State, which had no flag football program, and found herself missing the sport and the community that came with it. "We created these lifelong friendships, where even today we still meet up with each other to train together, just to keep going and keep on," Brown said. "Flag football just really means a lot to me, and it's something that I just knew I couldn't give up so easily." So she asked herself, "Why not just bring it here?" Brown repeatedly emailed Sacramento State's athletics director and university president, and finally got a response from president Luke Wood. He told her "'to create the petition' so he could see the interest," she said. "And I just went right to work." Her petition garnered over 360 signatures. The effort paid off: Last month, Sacramento State announced it will launch a club women's flag football team for this academic year. For 2027–28, officials plan to transition the program to an NCAA Division I sport. The team will have plenty of competition. Women's flag football is among the fastest growing collegiate sports. |
| Op-Ed: College Athletics' Forgotten Assets: Why Yesterday's Memorabilia Could Help Fund Tomorrow's Programs | |
| As the doors close on the 46th National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, Ill., this weekend, the immense scale of the modern memorabilia industry is impossible to ignore. Over the past five days, more than 100,000 fans, collectors, auction houses, and investors have packed a space six times larger than the NACDA vendor hall to buy, sell, and trade millions of dollars in alternative assets, proving that sports collectibles have evolved far beyond a niche hobby. As college athletic departments search for new revenue opportunities, the booming market on display exposes a major blind spot for our industry: without a deliberate collectibles strategy, universities are leaving significant revenue on the table. The appetite for authentic sports history has never been larger, yet many programs have never evaluated the assets sitting right down the hall. Walk into the storage rooms of almost any athletic department, and you will likely find shelves lined with boxes that haven't been opened in years. Inside are decades of institutional history like stacks of unused ticket stock, media guides, publicity photographs, press credentials, and championship decorations. To most people, they are simply old boxes. To fans and collectors, they represent a highly valuable piece of sports history. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
