| Tuesday, January 11, 2022 |
| Education news: MSU sets new record for research expenditures | |
 | Mississippi State University's research and development efforts continue to reach record heights as MSU reported $280 million in R&D expenditures in Fiscal Year 2020, placing it among the National Science Foundation's top 90 research universities. The land-grant institution's research expenditures ranks No. 88 nationally, up four spots from No. 92 in FY 2019, in the latest NSF Higher Education Research and Development Report. With $280.4 million in expenditures, MSU accounts for 55.4 percent of Mississippi's total R&D expenditures ($506.6 million). MSU now ranks No. 59 among public universities as it moves toward a long-term goal of being a top 50 public university nationally. MSU's 6 percent increase in research expenditures from FY 2019 is well above the national average of a 3.3 percent increase. "This year's NSF survey affirms what I have seen throughout my tenure as president -- MSU is a force for research and innovation in Mississippi and beyond," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "MSU researchers are making a difference in our state and our world and putting our students at the leading edge of their fields. Our research also supports vital Mississippi economic sectors such as agriculture, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, autonomous technologies and more." MSU's research enterprise contributes to the university's $1.8 billion annual economic impact in Mississippi by employing more than 4,000 research personnel, creating opportunities for spin-off and start-up companies, and attracting private sector partners in key industries. |
| Luckyday Foundation increasing scholarship support at Mississippi State through 2025 | |
 | The Luckyday Foundation of Jackson announced they will boost the program to 45 scholarships at Mississippi State University (MSU) for the fall 2022 semester. This is an increase of 25 students above the 10 recipients in each of the 2021 and 2020 classes. The growth in support will continue to increase to 95 total scholarships for fall 2023, 160 scholarships for fall 2024, and in 2025, the Luckyday Foundation will provide funding for a total of 230 Luckyday scholars at MSU. "We are proud of the very productive partnership we have with the Luckyday Foundation as we work together to ensure that promising students have the resources they need to earn a college degree and develop valuable leadership skills. And now with this significant expansion, we can connect even more students with the financial and academic support they need," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. Students selected for the program are awarded $6,000 per year for a total of $24,000 over four years. "We are very pleased about expanding our relationship with Mississippi State University," said Jamie Houston, Luckyday Foundation board chair. |
| Mississippi State University to require masks inside all buildings including indoor athletic facilities | |
 | Mississippi State University will require all students, faculty staff, and visitors to wear masks in all buildings, including indoor athletic facilities beginning on Jan. 10. The information comes from the university's website. The site states that the decision was made in response to the major outbreak of COVID-19 omicron cases across the country. The mask requirement extends to MSU classrooms, labs and studios during scheduled class times. MSU employees may require masks to be worn inside their personal offices -- and employees may remove masks in their personal offices. On Feb. 1, the decision will be reevaluated as the university receives guidance from the Mississippi State Department of Health and federal public health officials. |
| Mississippi agriculture reaches record high | |
 | High commodity prices in 2021 pushed Mississippi agriculture to a sharp increase in total value -- a record estimated $8.33 billion -- despite a huge decline in government assistance aimed at coronavirus relief. Agriculture's estimated value is up 19% from 2020. Ag value is back to the high levels seen in 2012-2014. Commodities alone, without considering government payments, reached a record high of $7.88 billion, a 27% increase. Poultry, soybeans and forestry continue to rank first, second and third, respectively, in the state's agricultural economy. Will Maples, agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said high prices were matched by mostly good yields. Strong exports added to the positive picture. "The main cause of the increase we saw in commodity values this year was much better prices across the board," Will Maples said. "It was a much better year for farmers, but we're coming off some years with pretty low prices." |
| Northeast Mississippi counties sit on ARPA nest egg | |
 | With almost $100 million in America Rescue Plan Act money floating in county coffers, no county officials are ready to pull the trigger on spending, some noting fears of changing guidance and others holding out for the possibility of loosening guidelines. In the 16 counties that make up Northeast Mississippi, no county board of supervisors has made a move on their ARPA allocation though most have something they would like to do with the cash, all administrators and chancery clerks over the boards said they were waiting on more guidance. "Everybody is in limbo because we don't have any idea what to do with the money," Calhoun County Chancery Clerk Romona Tillman said. While many officials played their cards close to their vest, about a third of the responding counties said water projects were on the table, including Benton, Clay, Monroe, Tippah and Oktibbeha counties. Oktibbeha County's board was considering hiring a consultant to help make heads or tails of what to do with its $4.5 million, County Administrator Delois Farmer said. She said her board was looking into making upgrades to Oktibbeha Lake, noting that under the interim final rule, counties can put money into tourism projects if it was affected by the pandemic. |
| Mississippi Hills accepting grants program applications | |
| The Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area is again offering grant money for its dues-paying members to help them promote their communities. It is the seventh consecutive year for the grant program, which has awarded more than $1.135 million since 2016. Applications for the 2022 Community Grants Program will be accepted through Jan. 28. The Grant Committee will review and rank the applications in February, and will contact successful applicants in March. MHNHA offers grants for projects that will help accomplish the goals and objectives defined in its Management Plan. The program is designed to "provide strategic investments in heritage sites, events, programs and other projects of cultural, educational and recreational value within the boundaries of the MHNHA." The federal funds for the program are provided to MHNHA through the National Park Service and require a 1:1 match. MHNHA funds projects that contribute to the mission of preserving, enhancing, interpreting and promoting the cultural and heritage resources within the Mississippi Hills. The Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area is one of only 49 National Heritage Areas designated in the U.S., and one of only three in the state. The Alliance includes all or parts of 30 counties bordered by Tennessee, Alabama, Highway 82 and Interstate 55. |
| Tourism boost despite COVID surge | |
 | The Omicron variant is taking a toll on tourism around the nation as cases rise. Meridian saw a boom in people coming to the city last year but how has this new surge affected attractions and businesses? Lauderdale County Tourism Executive Director, Dede Mogollon said Meridian was second behind the Mississippi Gulf Coast once COVID subsided in 2020. "All of our facilities are well versed in how to handle that. And we've continued to see growth throughout it. So I'm very proud of Meridian and visitors know that they can come to Meridian safely," said Mogollon. Now, she said weekly occupancies are holding steady and we're seeing more people coming in for events and conventions than in 2019, despite the new covid surge. "We're very pleased with how Meridian is handling its market share. We were very close to the Gulf Coast this summer. We backed off just a little bit. But we're still competing and hanging in there for visitors. The events through the fall and the holidays were strongly attended. It seems as if everyone is learning to live with it a little bit more. January is one of our slowest months of the year but we're not really seeing any change, or anything canceled just yet," said Mogollon. |
| Parmida Cuts Ribbon at Indianola Facility | |
| Parmida LED Technologies is open for business in Indianola. Gov. Tate Reeves was on hand on Monday morning to dedicate the new 100,000-square-foot distribution facility located at the former Modern Line building in Indianola. Surrounded by Parmida principals Matt Mahrou, Peyman Mahrou and Parmida Mahrou, along with dozens of other local and regional dignitaries, Reeves cut the ribbon on the facility, with shelves of the company's LED product serving as the backdrop. "The Delta is Mississippi and Mississippi is the Delta," Reeves said during his address prior to the ribbon cutting. "That's why it is so important that we continue to invest in the Delta. With today's ribbon cutting, we mark the beginning of new business, new jobs and new opportunities for the residents of this region." Based in southern California, Parmida's journey to the Mississippi Delta began more than two years ago with Delta Strong's aggressive business recruitment strategy. Parmida founder Matt Mahrou said he received a call from a Delta Council representative who expressed a desire to fly to Los Angeles to meet with the company about its expansion plans in the eastern part of the United States. "That meeting caused us to come here," Matt Mahrou said. Peyman Mahrou said the business climate in Mississippi and the region's proximity to Memphis, a transportation hub, made the pull toward Mississippi even stronger. |
| Mississippi tax revenue jumps during 1st half of budget year | |
 | Mississippi government collected more money during the first half of this budget year than it did during the same period a year earlier. With the robust collections, legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Tate Reeves say they want to approve some sort of tax cut during the three-month session that ends in early April. But, they are far from agreeing on details. Discussions about a tax cut disintegrated last year when the Senate rejected a House plan, even though both chambers are led by Republicans. State budget years begin July 1. New figures from the Legislative Budget Office show overall state revenue increased nearly 11% from July through December, compared to the same six months in 2020. Corporate tax collections increased 26%, and sales tax collections increased nearly 22%. Tax collections on gambling were up, but those from tobacco, liquor, beer and wine were down. Tax collections from car tags decreased, possibly reflecting a drop in the sale of new vehicles during the economic uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has not said whether he will agree to eliminating the income tax. Hosemann said during a speech Monday that the Senate Finance Committee chairman, Republican Josh Harkins of Brandon, is working on a tax cut proposal. Hosemann did not say when Harkins will release details. "I believe that we'll have a tax relief package that will be very attractive to Mississippians," Hosemann said. |
| Senate unveils 2-year, $210M plan for Mississippi teacher pay raises | |
 | Roughly $210 million in raises for teachers over two years could make their way through the Mississippi Legislature this year, lawmakers said Monday. Senate Education Committee Chair Sen. Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann unveiled a plan to raise salaries an average of $4,700 for all teachers over two years. The proposal is expected to cost $166 million the first year and $44 million in year two. "The reason we're doing that is because all of us recognize the work teachers do for our children," Hosemann said. The lawmakers released their proposal at a press luncheon organized by Mississippi State University's Stennis Institute of Government. The plan, formulated after several committee hearings, would give larger raises than expected. For comparison, Gov. Tate Reeves proposed in November a plan to raise teacher pay $3,300 over three years. "We're grateful for the Senate's work on this and optimistic at this further momentum for a meaningful teacher pay raise this year," Reeves said in a statement to the Clarion Ledger. "Teachers deserve it." DeBar worked closely with education committee Vice-Chair Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, to develop the proposal. Originally, the Senate planned to offer a smaller teacher raise proposal, but after several hearings and teacher input, lawmakers opted to double the proposal. The education committee received comments from more than 200 teachers. |
| Senate leaders unveil historic plan to significantly increase teacher pay | |
| Senate leaders on Monday unveiled a proposal to give Mississippi teachers an average raise of $4,700 over two years and restructure the way teachers are paid to provide them higher salaries in the long-term. The proposal -- which, if passed, would represent the largest teacher pay increase since at least the early 2000s -- was announced on Monday by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Senate Education Chair Dennis DeBar of Leakesville. The aim, Senate leaders said, is to structurally address Mississippi's teacher salaries, which by several metrics are the lowest in the nation. "This pay plan will make us more competitive with our neighbors," DeBar said. "Hopefully, this will entice or provide some incentive, some motivation for teachers to stay in the profession as well as stay in Mississippi." The Senate's proposed restructuring of annual changes to teacher pay is aimed at retaining mid- and early career teachers, who often leave the state or the teaching profession altogether because of low pay. The plan was unveiled Monday during a Capitol press corps luncheon meeting of the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute of Government where Hosemann, the presiding officer of the Senate, was scheduled to speak. Unannounced, Hosemann asked DeBar, who was in the audience, to join him at the podium where they outlined the plan. |
| Lawmakers preview criminal justice policy in 2022 legislative session | |
 | Last year, Governor Tate Reeves signed new parole reform into law. This year, state senators and representatives say they hope to keep this momentum around criminal justice policies. Republican Senator Daniel Sparks, vice-chairman of the Senate Corrections committee, said lawmakers have more ideas about parole reform in 2022 going into the second week of the session. "It is the commitment that we made in that parole bill that we were going to find a better solution and hopefully reduce recidivism and give opportunity and hope to those that are incarcerated," Sparks said. Under last year's law, about 600 prisoners became eligible for parole. There are over 19,000 people incarcerated in the state. Senator Sparks said the committee plans to focus on re-entry partnerships between prisons, community colleges and workforce development programs. "We're looking for partners because when people come out of incarceration, there's some difficulties there. If we're going to offer parole and base it on metrics of completing training, have we actually provided that," Sparks said. "I think at times, we have failed to provide those properly and in good quantity." In the other chamber, Democratic Representative Carl Mickens, vice-chair of the House Corrections committee, says he looks forward to working with his fellow lawmakers on solutions to combat Mississippi's high prison population. "We're trying to relieve the prison system and not just release people out in society that shouldn't be," Mickens said. |
| Three bizarre bills from the legislative session's opening week | |
| Medical marijuana, congressional redistricting, and a teacher pay raise are at the forefront of most lawmakers' minds but apparently, not all of them. Below, you'll find three bizarre bills that were introduced during the first week of the 2022 Mississippi legislative session. Getting rid of the state income tax in Mississippi is a hot topic currently. It's actually something that Governor Tate Reeves, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann, and Speaker of the House Philip Gunn all agree needs to be done. And SB2065 would eliminate the income tax, but only for people 100 years or older -- less than 1 percent of the state's population. Filed by Senator Joey Fillingane, SB2025 has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee. It's no secret that pecans are a big deal in Mississippi, and pecan farmers across the state are tired of their harvest being stolen. SB2071 would place tougher penalties on those who steal pecans. Current law caps the punishment at a $100 fine and 30 days in jail. This bill would change that to up to $10,000 and imprisonment of six months to 10 years. When you were a child, did you make sure to get a business permit before setting up your lemonade stand? Oddly enough, only 14 states as of 2019 allowed unpermitted lemonade stands. Senator Kevin Blackwell wants to make sure Mississippi stays one of them. SB2025 would ban local governments from requiring a license or permit for a business operated occasionally by a minor. |
| Question for Fed: Has it waited too long to fight inflation? | |
| With inflation surging, unemployment falling and wages rising, some economists are warning that the Federal Reserve may have waited too long to reverse its ultra-low-rate policies -- a delay that could put the economy at heightened risk. On Wednesday, the government is expected to report that consumer prices jumped 7.1% over the past 12 months, which would be the steepest such increase in decades. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is sure to be grilled on the issue during a Senate hearing Tuesday on his nomination for a second four-year term. Inflation has become the most serious threat to the economy, a growing worry for the financial markets and a major political problem for the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress. While Powell has many defenders who applaud the Fed's willingness to keep interest rates low to help reduce unemployment after the pandemic recession, Friday's U.S. jobs report for December raised alarms. It showed another sharp drop in the unemployment rate, an unexpectedly large increase in hourly pay and chronic labor shortages. Though lower joblessness and higher pay benefit workers, they can also fuel rising prices. The jobs report led many economists to forecast more interest rate hikes this year than they had previously predicted as the Fed scrambles to manage a rapidly shifting economy. The Fed is now widely expected to begin raising rates in March -- action that would, in turn, raise borrowing costs for many consumers and businesses. Many past recessions have been caused by aggressive Fed rate hikes that were intended to combat or prevent inflation. |
| Powell Faces Senate Questions Over Fed Plans to Contain Inflation | |
 | Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to win a second term leading the central bank but must first face a grilling Tuesday at his Senate confirmation hearing after pivoting recently to tighten policy to combat inflation. When annual inflation readings began to rise above 4% last summer, Mr. Powell told lawmakers that it would be a mistake to raise interest rates in response to one-time increases in certain prices, like for air travel and used cars, whose prices were surging due the bumpy reopening of the U.S. economy. By the Fed's December policy meeting, after several months of rising inflation, Mr. Powell and his colleagues had penciled in three quarter-point rate increases this year. And over the past week, they have signaled they could start moving in March. While Mr. Powell's ultimate confirmation isn't in doubt, Senate Banking Committee members at the hearing will want him to explain why the Fed has shifted course and how he plans to contain inflation, said Andrew Olmem, who was deputy director of the White House National Economic Council under President Trump. At an economics conference this past week, some economists from both sides of the aisle warned that the Fed may have waited too long to raise rates, particularly after congressional Democrats and the White House last March approved $1.9 trillion in fiscal stimulus. Engineering a so-called soft landing in which the Fed slows the job market enough to cool down inflation but not so much as to trigger a downturn "will require the Fed to be both lucky and smart," said Glenn Hubbard, a senior economic adviser to President George W. Bush. |
| Biden to call for changing the filibuster in major voting rights speech | |
 | President Biden will throw his full support Tuesday behind changing the Senate filibuster to ease passage of voting rights bills, using a major speech in Atlanta to endorse a move increasingly backed by Democrats and civil rights activists seeking momentum on what has been an intractable issue. Biden, who was a senator for 36 years, resisted such changes for most of his career, but a White House official said the president now believes a change is necessary to ensure that "this basic right is defended." Biden has endorsed a so-called "carve-out" before -- that is, a one-time rather than permanent change to the filibuster, to allow for voting rights bills -- but Tuesday's remarks are expected to be his most extensive on the issue. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to bring a proposal to the floor before Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the rule changes. But at least two Democratic centrists -- Sens. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona -- have resisted the changes, making the prospects uncertain at best for an alteration to the Senate rules, a shift that would require all 50 Democrats to be on board. But party leaders have essentially concluded that the fight is worth it even if it falls short. Biden's remarks are the latest move in an increasingly bitter partisan fight over voting. Democrats are angry at an array of voting restrictions imposed by GOP-led states, including Georgia, where Biden will visit the crypt of Martin Luther King Jr. on Tuesday before making his speech. |
| Lawmaker lawsuits over Jan. 6 tested in Trump push to dismiss | |
 | A federal judge in Washington sounded likely Monday to allow lawsuits from Democratic lawmakers and Capitol Police officers to move forward against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta saved his sharper questions for lawyers for Trump and other defendants who want the judge to dismiss the lawsuits at an early stage, including Trump's former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks. At a remote hearing that lasted more than four hours, Mehta explored a variety of legal standards and legal questions that also reflected the greater legal fights to come about Trump's role in the events that day, from the speech at a rally near the White House to his tweets later that night. Three related lawsuits were at issue Monday. Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson sued Trump, Giuliani and others; California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell sued Trump and Brooks; and two Capitol Police officers sued Trump. The lawsuits at this stage bring up questions about presidential immunity for speaking on governmental actions, the First Amendment free speech rights of a president and whether a speech could be part of a conspiracy to incite violence that day at the Capitol. The lawyers for Trump and other defendants who asked to throw out the lawsuits have a more difficult case to make at this early point in the litigation. And Mehta often sounded skeptical of their arguments. |
| 'Everybody is getting it': Anxiety high as colleges start spring semester | |
| Across Mississippi, students and faculty are returning to campus for a spring semester they'd hoped would be close to normal. Officials at the Mississippi State Department of Health are warning they will bring high case numbers with them. "We do anticipate there will be numerous cases and transmission when college students return based on the current level of transmission we are seeing," State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said last week in a statement to Mississippi Today. "I appreciate that I can still go to school and be in person but it's like, I don't know what the risk is," said Izzie McAllister, a senior at Millsaps College who moved back into her dorm over the weekend. "Everybody is getting it. It might just be safer to stay at home even if we all want to go be with our friends." Other students feel more indifferent. At Mississippi State University, Hannah Blankenship, a senior who edits the campus newspaper, said her peers want as close to a normal semester as possible. "I feel like everyone is pretty tired of the whole COVID thing," she said. "For a lot of students it's not even on their radar." For the most part, Mississippi colleges and universities have held classes in-person since summer 2021. Toward the end of the fall semester, some schools, like MSU, even lessened their mask requirements for vaccinated students and employees. Over the weekend, MSU announced it will require masks inside all university buildings through Feb. 1. |
| Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Singing River partnering to provide free healthcare | |
 | As COVID-19 numbers continue to spike, one South Mississippi college is providing free healthcare for students and teachers. "Through our on-campus clinics, our employees, employee dependents, and students can be seen at no charge with our partnership with Singing River Health System," said Blythe King, dean of business services at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. "They can be seen for routine visits, sickness visits, vaccines, and routine blood work. All of this is at no charge to them on campus." King said the partnership will be a huge asset because, for many college students, there's a lapse in health insurance. As COVID-19 numbers continue climbing, the collaboration comes at an opportune time. "Through our on-campus clinics, we are offering COVID testing, so that will go a long way to provide service," she said. The college is also taking other precautionary steps to avoid an outbreak on campus, with classes set to resume Wednesday. "We're continuing with our high level of cleaning protocols in our classrooms, as well as on campus," King said. "Face coverings are required inside all buildings on campus now." |
| Mississippi graduation rate reaches all-time high as state reports historically low drop-out rate | |
 | The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) 2020-21 Superintendent's Annual Report was released on Monday. The data highlights historic academic gains in recent years as Mississippi students, teachers and school leaders persisted through the COVID-19 pandemic. "Despite some setbacks, Mississippi students, families, teachers and school leaders persevered through the most challenging school year of their lives, and I could not be more proud," said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. "As we continue to combat the pandemic, plans are underway to offer additional resources to teachers and students and ensure academic gains are achieved." In the 2020-21 report, the graduation rate reached an all-time high of 87%. The graduation rate of students with disabilities reached an all-time high of 55.4%, more than double the rate from 2014. The dropout rate in Mississippi fell to a historic low of 8.8% and the Advanced Placement exam passing rate for 2021 reached an all-time high of 37.4% for an entire school year. Statewide assessments also resumed with 97% of students participating, close to the 98-99% rates of previous years. The 2020-21 Superintendent's Annual Report notes that the average teacher salary in Mississippi is $46,682, and the number of classroom teachers in the state is 31,856. When compared to the fall of 2019, 4,345 fewer kindergarteners enrolled in school in fall of 2020. Homeschool enrollment increased to 25,489 in fall 2020. |
| Auburn University offering drive-thru testing for students, faculty, staff | |
 | As Auburn University prepares to begin spring semester classes Wednesday, it's also providing additional COVID-19 testing options for students, faculty and staff. The university announced Monday that it will offer drive-thru testing on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as next week on Jan. 19 and Jan. 20. Testing is available from 1-4 p.m. and is not open to community members. "Registration for this testing will be available through the pharmacy scheduling website, (and) appointments through Auburn University Medical Center also can be made by calling their COVID-19 line," the university said. The pharmacy scheduler site is available at aub.ie/ht and AUMC can be reached to register at 334-844-9825. Community members may find a list of other testing locations in the Auburn area on the university's COVID-19 Resource Center website. Auburn University asks any student, faculty or staff member to submit a self-report form whether they are tested on campus or elsewhere. |
| In-person classes and COVID-19 vaccine clinics: What to expect this spring semester at UT | |
 | The spring semester at the University at Tennessee at Knoxville is still a couple of weeks away, but the college is already setting expectations for students and staff for when classes start on Jan. 24. Colleges across the United States are trying to figure out how to start off the spring semester safely as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Some universities have already decided to offer the first weeks of the spring semester virtually. Duke University, for example, extended online classes until Jan. 18. Other universities, such as the University of Georgia, are committing to in-person classes as planned. As of right now, UT is planning to keep classes face-to-face when the semester starts. And while masks are strongly encouraged by UT Chancellor Donde Plowman to keep the campus community safe, state law currently prevents the university from implementing a mask requirement. "We expect everyone to protect others from the spread of COVID-19 and strongly recommend wearing masks in academic and administrative spaces," Plowman wrote in an update sent to faculty and staff last week. Plowman emphasized the importance of in-person instruction. "One of the things we have learned in the past two years is that face-to-face classes enhance student learning and reduce the sense of isolation that often accompanies virtual classes," she wrote. |
| Emory, other universities conspired to reduce student aid, lawsuit says | |
| Emory and more than a dozen of the nation's most prestigious private universities have worked to reduce the amount of financial aid they provided students, a class action lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit, filed Sunday in federal court in Chicago, says the universities have systematically favored wealthy applicants in making admissions decisions and overcharged many lower-income students over nearly two decades. "[W]e plan to vindicate the rights of more than 170,000 financial aid students and their families whom we believe have been overcharged by these elite universities," Robert D. Gilbert, one of the attorneys, said in a statement. Emory declined comment, citing the pending litigation. Many of the schools named in the lawsuit are members of the "568 Presidents Group," which agreed to award financial aid based on financial need. Emory left the group in 2012, according to the lawsuit complaint. Emory provides aid based on need to 60% of its undergraduate students, according to its website. Six universities named in the lawsuit are Ivy League schools. Other southern schools named as defendants include Duke and Vanderbilt universities. |
| U. of Memphis won't proceed with $3k offer for infusing equity into courses, governor says | |
 | The University of Memphis will not proceed with offering faculty $3,000 as part of a controversial program to infuse ideas like "equity" into their courses, Gov. Bill Lee, R-Tenn., reportedly said. The Washington Free Beacon reported on Saturday that Lee said the university "informed my office that the initiative will not move forward." "We welcome robust debate on college campuses, but taxpayer dollars should never be used to fuel a divisive, radical agenda," he added. Lee's comments came shortly after the proposal initially surfaced in the Beacon. The outlet had obtained an all-faculty email showing the university offering a $1,500 stipend after professors redesigned their curricula, with another $1,500 after teaching the redesigned course. According to the email, 15-20 faculty members were supposed to be selected for the program, which would have begun in spring 2022. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital last week that the program was an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds. "The university should be encouraging their students to be independent thinkers, expanding their world view, learning how to be lifelong learners and respectful of all," said Blackburn in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "Taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund a woke social justice agenda." |
| U. of Louisville threatens to discipline faculty who don't teach classes in person | |
| University of Louisville faculty, staff and students are in an uproar over the administration's refusal to allow classes to be taught remotely. As the new semester began Monday, more than 500 professors, staff, students, parents and other community members have signed a petition to allow courses to be offered online. One of the signers, an administrator in the Speed School, wrote the "wish for normalcy should not supersede the need for safety," while a graduate teaching assistant said, "Please be dedicated to BEING SAFE, not dedicated to being in person." Shannon Madison, a student, said, "I am three weeks from open-heart surgery and have to come to class in person with a collapsed lung." Faculty members also denounced the policy Monday afternoon at a meeting of the College of Arts & Sciences, the university's largest unit, with nearly 800 professors and staff. Citing a directive from Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez, Professor David Owens, the interim dean of arts and science, told department chairs Sunday that courses designated as in-person may not be moved online and "violations may result in discipline." He said Gonzalez made it clear there is "no wiggle room" on the policy. University spokesman John Karman on Monday affirmed the administration's stance on in-person classes. "Because the science shows that classroom learning is safe and more effective, we feel it is vital to provide the best educational experience possible for our students," Karman said in a statement. |
| Lots of Campuses Are Starting the Semester Online or Late. Here's Why Some Aren't. | |
 | With the more-transmissible Omicron variant driving record Covid-19 case counts across the country, many colleges have opted to start the spring semester online or delay the date at which students, staff, and faculty members should come back altogether. Those campuses have grabbed headlines this month, but most colleges are still planning to forge ahead with their spring-2022 plans and are at various stages of opening up for an in-person semester or quarter. Last week, Dartmouth College started its semester in person, though as The Dartmouth reported, some other private residential colleges had switched to remote classes. In its late-December announcement about the decision, Dartmouth officials cited mental- and community-health concerns. Younger adults, the traditional college age, have experienced a particularly acute mental-health crisis during the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Administrators at campuses around the country are weighing mental health and other concerns with the characteristics of the new variant. Some have expressed a need to change expectations once again and encourage their communities to accept that even as cases rise higher than ever, many patients are experiencing a milder illness than in the past. These administrators echo the opinions expressed recently by several former advisers to President Biden's Covid-19 transition team, who have urged the White House to shift its pandemic strategy to one that accepts Covid-19 as part of a "new normal." "We have to learn to live with this," said Donna J. Petersen, senior associate vice president at the University of South Florida and the leader of the university's Covid-19 task force. "As much as we keep hoping for the end, I don't see the end. I see yet another infectious disease that's difficult to fully suppress." |
| Some colleges require medical-grade masks instead of cloth | |
 | Facing the surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, some colleges are upgrading their face-masking requirements for the spring semester. They say cloth masks will no longer be sufficient and are mandating KN95s or other medical-grade masks instead. The University of Southern California announced last week it is requiring "medical grade masks, which at minimum are surgical masks and may also include higher grade respirator masks (N95, KN95, or KF94)" in all campus locations where masks are required, including indoor common spaces, public areas, classrooms, libraries, offices and laboratories. The University of Arizona also adjusted its masking requirement to require surgical or higher-grade masks in all indoor campus spaces. President Robert C. Robbins said during a discussion of the university's COVID policies Monday that masks will be available at the entrance of classrooms and buildings and that staff and faculty members can obtain them from a building manager. Cornell University also announced cloth masks alone will no longer meet its masking requirement and said it will "provide high-quality (e.g., N95, KN95) masks to campus community members who need them." Gerri Taylor, co-chair of the American College Health Association's COVID-19 task force, said the association is waiting for updated guidance for higher education institutions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before it recommends one type of mask over another. "Although the data is out there that really pretty much proves that the KN95s, the N95s, the KF94s are all much preferable to the cloth masks," Taylor said. "If we want to be safe about this, we really should be wearing those." |
| Student Information System Difficulties Frustrate Universities | |
| Shock rippled through higher education technology circles last month when the Ohio State University announced it would drop a key facet of its partnership with the software vendor Workday, abandoning plans to become a high-profile early adopter of the company's cloud-based student information system product, Workday Student. Outside analysts and university chief information officers pegged the likely sunk costs for Ohio State to be in the tens of millions of dollars and described the severed partnership as just the latest example of challenging and high-stakes efforts to upgrade student information systems (SIS). While Ohio State officials declined to comment on the costs or specifics of the project, industry leaders called it a closely watched experiment because of the intricacies embedded in creating next-generation cloud-based student information systems -- particularly for tier-one research institutions -- as well as the vital need for more advanced cloud-based student information systems sectorwide. If Ohio State can't do it, the thinking goes, then perhaps no tier-one research institution can. University leaders want to offer Amazon-level cloud-based personalization to every student, explaining courses they should consider based on what they've previously taken, for example, or managing dozens of iterations of class registration preferences based on prerequisites and graduation year. But the road to erecting such a personalized system is long -- and marked by expensive potholes. |
| National Endowment for the Humanities Announces $24.7 Million in New Grants | |
 | A "living history museum" based on the life of Dred Scott, digitization of books and manuscripts dispersed from the Philippines in the 18th century, a Cherokee translation effort, and an exhibit on the history of jazz and hip-hop in Queens, N.Y., are among 208 projects across the country that are receiving new grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grants, which total $24.7 million, support individual scholarly projects and collaborative efforts, including initiatives and exhibitions at cultural institutions ranging from local history sites to behemoths like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The awards are part of the agency's regular cycle of grants. Last year, the agency also distributed more than $140 million of additional grants supported by funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. A grant of $20,000 will support digital upgrades at the Chapman Center for Rural Studies at Kansas State University, which aims to highlight the history of Great Plains communities at risk of being forgotten. There are also a number of grants to historically Black colleges and universities, including roughly $130,000 to Oakwood University in Huntsville, Ala., to create the living museum dedicated to Dred Scott, the enslaved man whose lawsuit seeking freedom resulted in the infamous 1857 Supreme Court decision stating that African Americans could never be citizens. Other awards include nearly $45,000 to the University of Virginia, toward the creation of a database of 18th- and 19th-century North American weather records, including the detailed daily reports made by Thomas Jefferson between July 1776 and the week before his death in July 1826. |
| 'Invest in ourselves': JSU's strategic plan a roadmap to success | |
| Jackson State University President Thomas Hudson writes for The Clarion-Ledger: During moments of uncertainty like the COVID-19 pandemic and the omicron variant have presented, it can be difficult for universities to maintain the status quo, especially for those with low-income and under-served communities that are struggling to make ends meet. The pandemic has created a perfect storm of challenges, from exposing the disparities in access to technology during forced distance learning, to pushing health care inequities into the public spotlight, to testing the limits of everyone's mental health. But, in times like these, institutions like Jackson State University have a responsibility to advocate for our students and to prepare for the future. In September 2021, we launched JSU Elevate, a five-year strategic plan to guide the university's expansion and improvement. While we developed and debuted our strategic plan during a global health and financial crisis, we knew it was an opportune moment to invest in our growth and development. We will always prioritize fiscal responsibility, but we also have to make strategic investments in our students and our aging infrastructure. According to a 2018 report by the United State Government Accountability Office, public HBCUs have an average of $67 million in deferred maintenance backlogs or delayed repairs. Private HBCUs garnered an average $17 million backlog. At JSU, the list of needs includes upgrades to HVAC systems, restoring roofs, enhancing Wi-Fi capabilities and renovations for residence halls. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State reinstitutes campus mask mandate, including Humphrey Coliseum, until Feb. 1 | |
| As the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to rise, Mississippi State announced a mask requirement in all campus buildings --- including Humphrey Coliseum for men's and women's basketball games. The mask requirement went into effect Monday and continues until Feb. 1. Fans must wear a mask unless actively eating or drinking. In October, the university encouraged fans to wear masks to basketball games but didn't require the use of one. The university had temporarily required masks during on-campus indoor activities at the beginning of the 2021 fall semester before those mandates were relaxed. Students have been on winter break since late December, and classes are set to resume Jan. 18. Mississippi State is one of the first SEC schools to reinstitute a mask mandate this month, although other universities never relaxed those requirements. Vanderbilt, for instance, requires proof of vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours to attend games at Memorial Gymnasium this season. Kentucky has also required masks all season. |
| Mississippi State athletics to follow school's lead, require masks indoors in January | |
| Mississippi State announced Jan. 7 that masks are required indoors on campus again. Athletic facilities such as Humphrey Coliseum will follow suit, according to a statement released Monday. The 2021-2022 academic year started with this policy before requirements were relaxed late in October. The reinstatement comes as classes resume Jan. 18 for the first time since most students left for winter break following final exams the week of Dec. 6. Oktibbeha County has had 585 new positive COVID-19 cases in the last week, according to the CDC. That, despite students being out of town, is a 303 percent increase. |
| Amid 3-point struggles, Iverson Molinar still productive for Mississippi State men | |
| Iverson Molinar attempted four or more 3-point shots in seven of Mississippi State's first nine games. The junior point guard even tried seven or more 3s in three straight contests --- seven against Lamar, 11 against Minnesota and seven against Colorado State. Since that final game, a loss to the Rams in Fort Worth, Texas, Molinar hasn't attempted four triples in a single contest. He's gone five games and counting with three or fewer 3-point attempts. Against Ole Miss on Saturday in Oxford, he took just one shot from beyond the arc. Molinar, touted as the Bulldogs' best returning player, seems to have lost confidence in his 3-point stroke. He is 7 for his last 28 from deep and has made just 17 of 59 (28.8 percent) on the season. He's made three 3s in a game just once this year. Undoubtedly, Molinar is struggling from deep. But he's finding alternative ways to produce for Mississippi State. As a junior, the Panama City native has stepped up his game in several key areas. Molinar has made a jump in his 2-point shooting. He's become a better passer while turning the ball over less often. He's getting fouled more often and has become a better free-throw shooter. So while Molinar's 3-ball is under repair, the Bulldogs must hope their star guard's improvements will make up for it. |
| Former MSU coach among 18-member College Hall of Fame Class for 2022 | |
| Former Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom is part of an 18-member class of players to be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation announced Monday. Croom was hired at MSU in 2004 to replace Jackie Sherrill and became the first African-American coach in SEC history. A native of Tuscaloosa, Croom played collegiately at Alabama from 1972-1974. He earned All-America honors as a center. He played one NFL season with the New Orleans Saints before returning to Alabama to begin his coaching career. He enters the Hall for his playing career. Three coaches will also be enshrined. Croom compiled a 21-38 record in five seasons with the Bulldogs. His best season was in 2007 when MSU finished 7-5 and defeated Central Florida 10-3 in the Liberty Bowl. The season included back-to-back wins at No. 14 Kentucky and at home against No. 21 Alabama. |
| College Football Playoff leaders fail to agree about expanding field, will meet again to discuss in coming weeks | |
| The leaders of the College Football Playoff again failed to come to an agreement about expanding the current four-team field, but they didn't entirely rule out the possibility it could still happen before the end of the current 12-year contract, which runs through the 2025 season. Beyond the number of teams, there continues to be disagreement in the room about revenue distribution, bowl games and whether the Power 5 conference champions should be given automatic bids. Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, the chair of the CFP's board of managers, said the commissioners presented the 11 presidents and chancellors with a 12-team proposal, but the presidents did not take an official vote. Still, he said he remains optimistic about expansion, and said the commissioners will meet again in a few weeks to continue their discussions. "I think we're going to get there," Keenum said. "I think that there's a commitment on the part of our commissioners that we're going to move forward to come up with an expansion for college football. And you know, time is something that we recognize that we need to move as quickly as we can. ... We still have four years remaining, but we obviously want to make a decision well before that. And I know that everyone had arrived here in hopes that we could come to a decision here at this meeting, but we still have some more work to do." |
| CFP talks stall, dimming hopes of expansion before 2026 | |
| College Football Playoff expansion talks remain stalled and the possibility of implementing a new format by the 2024 season dimmed Monday after three days of meetings failed to produce an agreement. "We have entrenched issues that are no closer to be resolved, " Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said. While Bowlsby said it looked increasingly unlikely that an expanded playoff would come before the end of the current CFP contract that expires in 2026, it was not ruled out altogether. "We're going into overtime," Executive Director Bill Hancock said, hours before No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia played for the College Football Playoff national championship. Everybody involved supports expansion, but they are hung up on the how and when. Mississippi State President Mark Keenum, who heads the Board of Managers that has final say over the College Football Playoff, said he remains optimistic an agreement can be reached in time to add playoff spots by the 2024 season. "I think we'll get there," Keenum said. |
| Push to Expand College Football Playoff Stumbles | |
| The College Football Playoff's ambitions for expansion stalled on Monday, when the sport's leading power brokers proved unable to agree on a plan almost seven months after some of them publicly proposed a 12-team format. The playoff, which features four teams each season, could still grow in the coming years and annually inject hundreds of millions of dollars more into the richest conferences in college sports. But the addition of games as soon as the 2024 season is increasingly unlikely after months of turmoil, with the negotiations complicated at different moments by disputes over potential compositions of the playoff field, fears of protracted seasons and mistrust that flowed from a surprise round of conference membership shuffles. Three days of meetings in Indianapolis, where the playoff's 11-person management committee convened ahead of Monday night's national championship game between top-ranked Alabama and No. 3 Georgia, ended hours before the game without the unanimity required to make significant changes to the playoff. Most commissioners and college leaders left through alternative exits or brushed past reporters, directing them to speak with Bill Hancock, the playoff's executive director, and Mississippi State President Mark Keenum, the chairman of the playoff's board of managers. Asked what it said about the process that an agreement on something as simple as a playoff format could not be reached, Keenum, the Mississippi State president, said it was not simple. "For the average layperson, if you will, the sports fan, yeah, why not?" Keenum said. "Twelve teams. Sixteen teams. Thirty-two teams. Whatever teams. How big a deal is that?" But, he noted, there were complex matters to be resolved. "It's not just one school or one conference," he said. "You've got schools across the country that have a stake in this." |
| Data analysis company adding extra edge to Texas A&M men's basketball game planning | |
 | In the world of college basketball, data points tend to only mean games that the NCAA tournament selection committee can analyze to make the field of 64 teams. For the Texas A&M men's basketball team, every time a player touches a ball it can be a data point thanks to the integration of HD Intelligence insights, which the Aggies added during the offseason. The data analysis company provides analytics into A&M's program as well as scouting information into other programs -- an edge head coach Buzz Williams said couldn't come soon enough. "I was a little hesitant," Williams said. "I was aware of the company and I knew the people and they came in visited. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been as hesitant, because I think it's really good. I think, five years from now, every program at this level will be doing it." Colton Houston and Matt Dover, a pair of Harvard graduates, started the company three seasons ago with the goal to provide the same level of deep mathematical analysis to college basketball programs that are available to NBA teams. The difference is professional teams have in-house teams that produce analytic reports for their coaches and players. Between men's and women's college basketball, HD Intelligence has a clientele of 35 programs, including several in the Southeastern Conference. In fact, the SEC's top three last season -- Alabama, Arkansas and LSU -- all utilized the service. |
| IOC major sponsors mostly muted in runup to Beijing Olympics | |
| The Beijing Winter Olympics are fraught with potential hazards for major sponsors, who are trying to remain quiet about China's human rights record while protecting at least $1 billion they've collectively paid to the IOC. That could reach $2 billion when new figures are expected this year. Sponsors include big household names like Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Visa, Toyota, Airbnb, and Panasonic. The International Olympic Committee's so-called TOP sponsors are being squeezed by a diplomatic boycott led by the United States, the economic power of 1.4 billion Chinese -- and the fear of retaliation by China's authoritarian government. China, itself, was part of a full-fledged boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. "They (sponsors) are trying to walk a fine line between trying to get the best exposure, but also not trying to be perceived as too close to the actions of the Chinese government," Mark Conrad, who teaches sports law and ethics at Fordham University's Gabelli School of Business, said in an email. The IOC created the strain by returning to a country whose rights abuses were well documented in the runup to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. They now rival the pandemic for attention with the Winter Games opening on Feb. 4. The Associated Press contacted most of the major Olympic sponsors, but was met largely with silence about their plans, or told the focus was on the athletes. |
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