| Monday, January 31, 2022 |
| Monday Profile: MSU art professor puts renowned sculptor 'on the mail' | |
 | You may soon be getting some big news about Mississippi State art professor Alex Bostic in the mail. Check that. Bostic's news is on the mail, not in it. On Wednesday, Bostic -- a New York native who has now been on the MSU College of Architecture and Design faculty for 11 years -- traveled to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. for the dedication of the U.S. Postal Service's Edmonia Lewis commemorative forever stamp, based on Bostic's portrait commissioned by the USPS. The Edmonia Lewis stamp is now available in sheets of 20 at usps.com/shopstamps. It is one of several new stamps being issued this year and is the 45th stamp in the USPS Black Heritage Series, which recognizes the achievements and contributions of Black Americans. "Growing up in New York, I grew up during the Martin Luther King era and all that was happening then, and civil rights and the history of Black Americans was something I was always interested in," Bostic said. "So it was a great honor to be selected for this project." Bostic was well-suited to the project. An artist for 40 years, this is not the first experience Bostic has had with creating portraits to be used as a postage stamp. "I had done some stamps before, most notably a stamp for the 75th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but this was the first stamp I've made for the United States, so it was a special honor," Bostic said. Bostic began work on the project in July. |
| School briefs: MSU senior named semi-finalist in design competition | |
| A Mississippi State senior is one of five semi-finalists in the 2021 national Steelcase Student Design Competition, NEXT. Molly P. Taylor's project, "NEXT: Self-Expressive Skincare," was selected through an anonymous judging process out of 995 entries representing 67 interior design programs from across the nation. The assignment was to design a corporate office using Steelcase furniture for a beauty company with an emphasis on clean, organic products. The Eads, Tennessee, native said she was especially passionate about this project because the assigned building space was located in New York, where she hopes to intern this summer. Taylor will join fellow honorees from Maryville University, Kansas State University and California State University at the Steelcase headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to present her project. A winner will be announced Feb. 25. |
| Starkville's Rotary Classic Rodeo back Feb. 11-12 | |
| The annual Rotary Classic Rodeo is back at the Mississippi Horse Park Feb. 11 and 12, featuring contestants from across the country. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event begins at 7 p.m. each night. Children 12 and under are admitted free on Friday; children 3 and under are admitted free on Saturday. On Saturday, attendees can enjoy pony rides and a petting zoo on the arena floor from 5-6:30 p.m. Adult tickets are $15 at the door or $12 in advance. "The Rodeo" began 18 years ago at the Horse Park and is the Starkville Rotary Club's largest fundraiser. Proceeds from the rodeo support humanitarian, educational and community service activities. The Horse Park is a division of Mississippi State University Extension and is at 869 East Poor House Road. Sponsors include CSpire, Clark Beverage Group, Oktibbeha County Co-Op, Parker Ram, Rick's Café, the Starkville Convention and Visitor's Bureau, Tractor Supply Co. and WCBI. "The committee has been working very hard to plan and prepare for this great rodeo," said John Forde, Starkville Rotary Club president. "We want to thank our sponsors supporting this community event. We'll also have dozens of our members working in volunteer roles each night of the rodeo. It's a true team effort that has a substantial impact on our local economy." |
| Starkville renews contract with retail recruitment company | |
| Starkville will continue to contract with Retail Strategies for an additional three years for retail recruitment services. The city has contracted with the Birmingham-based company since 2016, tasking it with creating opportunities to attract retail for Starkville. The cost of the contract extension is $30,000 with the city paying $15,000 and the Starkville Visitors and Convention Council and the Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority covering the remaining costs. Retail Strategies President of Downtown Strategies Jennifer Gregory and Downtown Strategies Community Development Specialist Jeremy Murdock updated the Starkville board of aldermen on their company's intentions and goals for the city at the board's work session Friday. Bringing a new retailer into the city requires an approximate year and a half process, involving several different entities and individuals, Murdock said. A corporate retailer will work with a real estate director to find locations in specific regions of the county and then possibly enlist the help of a local tenant representative. Investors, developers and property owners also work to create new retail locations. "Our job is to connect the dots," Murdock said. "Sometimes it's following the process all of the way through and connecting the dots all of the way down the process... Our goal is to make sure all of the roles get connected." Triangle Crossing Shopping Center, a new retail shopping center developed by Mark Castleberry and Rise Partners, will have several new retail businesses, including Aldi Grocery and Ulta Beauty Supply. Castleberry hired a local tenant representative who worked with Retail Strategies to find retailers for the development, according to Gregory. |
| Safety upgrades planned on I-20 in Meridian | |
 | After more than two years of planning, Lauderdale County, City of Meridian and state officials broke ground Friday on a $24.4 million safety improvement project for Interstate 20. Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons said the project was an effort to improve the safety of the interstate system through Meridian and enhance travel throughout the entire state of Mississippi. "This project is about safety and enhancing this interstate system, one that connects Mississippi on the eastern side and the southern part of the state of Mississippi with the two interstates connecting here in Meridian and Lauderdale County," he said. Mississippi Department of Transportation District Engineer Neil Patterson said the safety project would make multiple improvements along I-20 in Meridian including three bridge projects and full lighting replacements along the length of the interstate. Jason Henry, president of Key Construction Company, which was awarded the project, said crews would be working around the clock to finish the project with as little disruption to the community as possible. However, Henry said, with large projects like this, there will be disruption. He asked residents to stay alert when traveling and use caution to keep both themselves and construction crews safe through the process. "I just ask for your respect and your assistance as we build the job," he said. "I promise we'll be pursuing getting it complete and getting out of your way as soon as possible." If all goes according to plan, Henry said, the project is scheduled to be completed in about 18 months. |
| 'This is nuts': Senators debate giving Secretary of State election audit powers | |
 | A group of senators are deliberating legislation that, if passed, would give Mississippi's chief elections officer the power to examine election practices in every county and conduct manual recounts if he believes discrepancies exist in statewide elections. The Senate Elections Committee on Wednesday set Senate Bill 2610 aside for later discussions after Democratic senators passionately raised concerns about portions of the bill. "There are a lot of people who have concerns about the results of elections," Senate Elections Committee Chairman Jeff Tate said. "This bill will put to rest those concerns." But Democratic lawmakers feel that if the legislation advances forward in the Capitol, it would suppress votes even further in a state with some of the most restrictive voting laws in the nation. The legislation, as it's currently written, would allow Secretary of State Michael Watson and his office, to conduct a statewide "risk-limiting audit" during a statewide election after 2026 to examine if any discrepancies have occurred during an election. If any county or municipality shows that its election results do not match up with precinct-level data, they would be required to conduct a manual recount of the election results. The law would allow Watson's office to determine its own rules that trigger a risk-limiting audit. "I just don't understand what you're talking about with an audit of an election," Democratic Sen. Hob Bryan of Amory said. "There's been an election, they've counted the ballots and the votes have been certified. What exactly is it that you're trying to find with this audit?" |
| Should deer hunting with dogs be banned? Lawmakers likely won't answer that this year. | |
| A group of representatives abruptly ended a discussion and quickly exited a meeting after they had a contentious debate over allowing a state agency to create regulations on deer hunting with dogs and other hunting rules. The House Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee was in the middle of debating a bill when Democratic Rep. Tom Miles of Forest motioned to adjourn the meeting without taking any action on the legislation. Miles' motion passed by a large majority, ending the debate. "Thanks, that was a great discussion guys," Republican Rep. Bill Kinkade of Byhalia, who heads the committee, said sarcastically to his colleagues as they got up and left the meeting. The debate in question was over House Bill 1319, which would transfer the power to create hunting regulations from the Legislature to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and its commission. Hunting and wildlife policy is set currently by the Legislature, which is then enforced and carried out by the MDWFP. The rationale for opposing the measure ranged from lawmakers not wanting to cede power to a state agency to fearing this was a backdoor way to abolish hunting with dogs -- a volatile debate that has grown more intense in recent years. Mississippi is one of the few states in the nation that still allows deer hunting with dogs. |
| Senate bill could open door for Chickasaw emergency room | |
| A recent bill introduced by Sen. Ben Suber, R-Bruce, could potentially pave the way for Chickasaw County to get an emergency room. "SB 2735 will allow counties that do not have emergency hospital care to have a free standing Emergency Room," said Suber. "The ER must be open 24 hours a day. The ER also must be at least 15 miles anyway from the nearest rural hospital that has an ER." Suber said that there is similar legislation for one county in Mississippi, so he and Rep. Jon Lancaster, R-Houston, sought to introduce a bill that would open the door for other counties in need. "Rep. Lancaster and I have been working for the past two years with the current hospital to reopen the ER in the hospital, or negotiate a deal for someone else to use the old ER. Of all the issues needed in Chickasaw County and requested by the citizens of Chickasaw, a 24-hour ER was at the top of this list. In order for counties to grow, an ER is needed. "I think the legislation is a necessity. No person should lose their life because a private company is more worried about the bottom line over the needs of our citizens." Suber also said that this seems to be the consensus among other senators, and he looks for it to pass committee. The bill is not specific for Chickasaw County. It would allow any of the 10 counties in Mississippi that do not have an emergency room to utilize it. |
| Wicker: 'Not willing to wait' on Yazoo Pumps, calls Putin a bully during Vicksburg visit | |
 | U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said he wants to see the Yazoo Backwater pumps project moving ahead -- and he doesn't want to have to wait for the White House to change residents to make it happen. "I'm not willing to wait until we get another Republican president to try and get this approved," Wicker told Vicksburg Rotarians Thursday. "I surely am hopeful that we can get it through." The pumps were the final piece of the Yazoo Backwater Levee Project authorized by Congress in 1941 and were part of the Mississippi Rivers and Tributaries Project. The Environmental Protection Agency, however, vetoed the pumps project in 2008. When the Biden administration took office, the EPA in November 2021 reversed its earlier decision, saying the project is in fact prohibited by EPA's 2008 Clean Water Act Section 404(c) Final Determination. Wicker said it's time the federal government completed the long-delayed project. "This is a promise made to the state of Mississippi decades and decades ago and it is being turned down on basically misinformation," he said. "We're not trying to drain some wetland that's always been there. We're trying to make it fair to drain a part of a man-made wetland because of what we put in and what was promised us." The senator also discussed the problems in Ukraine, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is making overtures to invade the country. "Ronald Reagan said the Soviet Union was the Evil Empire," Wicker said. "If Ronald Reagan were president today, Putin wouldn't try anything." He said Putin is nostalgic for the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. |
| Senators spar over Biden's pledge to pick Black woman for SCOTUS seat | |
 | Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin on Sunday defended President Joe Biden's plan to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, despite blowback from Senate Republicans and new polling indicating most Americans want the White House to consider candidates regardless of race and gender. In an interview on ABC's "This Week," Durbin (D-Ill.) responded to Biden's critics by citing pledges from previous Republican presidents to select female nominees to fill Supreme Court vacancies. "I'd remind them to take a look back at history and recall that it was Ronald Reagan who announced that he was going to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court. And he did, Sandra Day O'Connor," Durbin said, invoking the first woman confirmed to the Supreme Court in 1981. "And it was Donald Trump who announced that he was going to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a woman nominee, as well," Durbin continued, referring to Trump's selection of Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020. "So this is not the first time that a president has signaled what they're looking for in a nominee." According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll published on Sunday, however, an overwhelming majority of Americans surveyed -- 76 percent -- believe Biden should "consider all possible nominees." Only 23 percent of respondents said Biden should "consider only nominees who are Black women, as he has pledged to do." Senate Republicans and conservative media also have criticized Biden's vow to nominate a Black woman, with Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) suggesting in a local radio interview on Friday that whomever the president picks will be a "beneficiary" of affirmative action. On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said on ABC that she "would welcome the appointment of a Black female" to the Supreme Court but accused Biden of mishandling and politicizing the process to select Breyer's replacement. |
| U.S. House to take up bill next week on China competition, chips industry | |
| The U.S. House of Representatives will take up a bill next week aimed at increasing competitiveness with China and supporting the U.S. chip industry, including $52 billion to subsidize semiconductor manufacturing and research. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Friday that the House would vote on the 2,900-page bill, called the "America Competes" act, saying it would "make further strides in innovation, technology, and advanced manufacturing." The bill also authorizes $45 billion to support supply-chain resilience and manufacturing of critical goods, industrial equipment, and manufacturing technology. President Joe Biden's administration is pushing Congress to approve funding to subsidize chip production in the United States, as shortages of the components used in autos and computers have increased supply chain bottlenecks. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Friday the bill would "create thousands of jobs all over America. We need Congress to pass that bill in order to revitalize American manufacturing." The Senate passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act last year, which includes $52 billion to increase U.S. semiconductor production and authorizes $190 billion to strengthen U.S. technology and research to compete with China. The House bill has some differences with the Senate version. If it passes the House, leaders of both chambers will negotiate to resolve differences. |
| Trump Floats Pardons of Jan. 6 Rioters | |
 | Former President Donald Trump has said he would consider pardoning people convicted in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol if he runs for re-election in 2024 and wins, drawing a rebuke from some Republicans and plaudits from at least one GOP lawmaker. At a rally in Texas on Saturday night, Mr. Trump said, "If I run and I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly." He went on to say that "if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly." Mr. Trump was impeached last year on a charge of inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, but he was acquitted in the Senate, with 57 voting for conviction and 43 for acquittal. That fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict him, which would have allowed for a subsequent, simple-majority vote to bar him from holding office again. Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine), one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Mr. Trump, told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that "I do not think...that President Trump should have made that pledge to do pardons." She said, "We should let the judicial process proceed." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Mr. Trump's remarks were "inappropriate." "I don't want to reinforce that defiling the Capitol was OK," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday. "I don't want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future." The Justice Department has charged more than 725 people to date in the attack, in which Mr. Trump's supporters overwhelmed police officers and flooded the Capitol. |
| Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science has started recruiting | |
 | The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) in Columbus is recruiting students' right now. The instructors say it is the only school of its kind in the state. Any Mississippi student is elidable for admission if they meet the criteria. They are looking for students who have strong academic potential. If you are accepted into MSMS it is tuition free because it is completely funded by the state. There is a room and board fee because the students live on campus. March 1st is the final deadline but if you need more time, you can reach out to the coordinator of admissions. The application process is similar to a college application process which includes but is not limited to essays and letters of recommendations. |
| Three-speaker series will highlight Black History Month | |
| Shahara'Tova Dente has had plenty of time to think about Black History Month. After the pandemic halted her planning events for last year, Dente's vision will be realized next month with a three-speaker series that will include discussions about authors Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, the band Outkast and the history of hip-hop in the South. Ashley Burge, a scholar about Morrison, will kick off the series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Briana Whiteside, a scholar about Butler, will follow at 6 p.m. Feb. 7. Regina Bradley will wrap up the series with a discussion about Outkast and the history of Southern hip-hop at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24. "I thought this panel would afford The W and the community an opportunity to celebrate Black History month by reflecting on a rich history while also offering space to think forward black futures," said Dente, an assistant professor of English and women's studies and graduate director of women's leadership at Mississippi University for Women. "I'm not sure that this type of panel has happened here at The W, but I hope it won't be the last of its kind." In addition to the series, a virtual student panel will be held at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16. Dente said the panel will be made up of volunteers. It is open to students at The W and Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. Students will be allowed to present on any subject and in any medium (recitation, oration, original works, favorite works) that is related to Black history. Dente said students will be asked to notify organizers what they will present when they secure their commitments. |
| USM professor publishes breakthrough paper on bee research | |
 | During their brief lifespan, stingless bee soldiers face complex tasks as part of their social organization. Yet do they require larger brains to complete these duties? Dr. Kaitlin Baudier, assistant professor of ecology and organismal biology at The University of Southern Mississippi, sought to answer this question while conducting extensive research on stingless bees with a team of scientists from across the country. As fate might have it, Baudier teaches and works in USM's School of Biological, Environmental and Earth Sciences (BEES). What Baudier's team discovered is that the soldier bees in question did not possess larger brains to complement their bigger task repertoires. The research findings are available online at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cne.25273 and will be published soon in an upcoming issue of The Journal of Comparative Neurology. Baudier notes that a central question in neuroscience is how does our hardware (brains) allow us to run our software (behaviors)? And within that framework lies another query: How does brain size relate to cognitive demand? "Relative to other tissues in an animal's body, brain matter is very expensive to make and maintain," said Baudier, a member of the USM faculty since January 2021. "As such, it is expected that natural selection causes brains to only be as big as they need to be in order to get the cognitive job done. " |
| JSU gives back during annual Crop Drop | |
 | Jackson State University (JSU) held its annual Crop Drop on Saturday, January 29. This year, the Drop created longer lines. Students, faculty and volunteers said they felt good making a difference in their community. "It has a huge impact on the community. There is a lot going on right now. The prices are up, the cost of living is up and people need a little bit of relief to help things move forward. Knowing the school is willing to come out and help and relieve the pressure of buying groceries, that's a major impact for the community," said JSU student Lee Payton. JSU gave out over a thousand bunches of greens, bags of sweet potatoes and canned goods. |
| Belhaven University named College of Distinction for 12th year in a row | |
 | Colleges of Distinction, a online guide for college-bound students nationwide, has awarded Belhaven University with three awards for academic excellence and dedication for higher education. Belhaven was named as both a national and Mississippi College of Distinction, as well as a Christian College of Distinction, in the latest report released Wednesday. The university has received the national-level honor for the past 12 years. "This award recognizes the strengths of our Belhaven University faculty as they create an eagerness to learn which ultimately translates into an engaged community of scholars," said Kevin Russell, vice president for enrollment and marketing for Belhaven. "We are excited to see our legacy continue with these national awards." Colleges of Distinction bases its awards on four criteria: engaged students, great teaching, vibrant community, and successful outcomes. Each institution's freshman experience, general education program, strategic plan, alumni success, and satisfaction measures. Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and Tulane University in New Orleans also received national awards this year. |
| Mississippi parents concerned proposed social studies standards water down U.S, state history | |
 | Dozens of parents and community leaders voiced concerns about the perceived erasure of state and national history in newly proposed K-12 social studies standards during a Mississippi Department of Education public comment meeting Friday. The Sparkman Auditorium at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson was near capacity during the three-hour meeting. A panel of representatives from the state Department of Education attended the meeting and listened to nearly 60 residents, but provided no comment. Some of the changes outlined in the proposed curriculum eliminate mentions of specific historical figures or events, such as civil rights leaders such as Fannie Lou Hamer, until higher grade levels. Other changes, including a standard requiring kindergarteners to identify what makes a good citizen and to talk about ways to be a good citizen at home and in the classroom, were removed entirely. Several members of the community also expressed concern about the presentation of Black history, especially in the state of Mississippi, under the new standards. Akemi Stout, president of the Jackson Federation of Teachers, said core events in Mississippi history, like the desegregation of Cleveland High School in Bolivar County, were in danger of being whitewashed or removed entirely. Controversy surrounding the standards arose in December when the revised standards were presented to and passed through the initial phases of approval by the state board of education. Community members noticed the changes, which sparked several questions aimed at the state Department of Education. |
| Critical race theory fears cloud MDE's social studies standards hearing | |
 | It was a packed auditorium on the morning of Jan. 28 at the Mississippi Agricultural Museum in Jackson. That's where the state department of education held a public hearing on the proposed revisions to the state's social studies standards. Changes to Mississippi's social studies standards were in the works before critical theory became a polarizing buzz word in politics, but when the Mississippi Department of Education published its proposed revisions to the standards, residents across the state responded strongly. This caused the department to schedule an open hearing, where they quickly walked back some of these revisions. "The content examples that were initially identified to be moved from the standards to a separate instructional planning guide, those are going to be retained in the standards," MDE counsel said at the hearing. The committee first began discussing changes in 2020. In February 2021, they started the nine-month revision process. It all led up to this hearing, where 66 registered speakers took to the podium to voice their concerns. Many people talked about critical race theory and the erasure of history from the social studies standards. Lawmakers also spoke at the hearing, like Republican State Senator Michael McLendon, who authored legislation to prohibit critical race theory from being taught in public schools and colleges in Mississippi. "Does the Mississippi Department of Education accept the concept that a child is inferior or superior to another," McLendon said. "If not, then should any curriculum, material, school district convey to students that they are inherently superior or inferior to another?" |
| Hundreds show up to discuss Mississippi's social studies standards | |
| Hundreds of people gathered at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum on Friday morning to share their opinions on potential changes the Mississippi Department of Education is making to the state's social studies standards. The pushback was so strong that the department announced it was walking back much of the proposed changes. Last month the State Board of Education began the process to revise Mississippi's K-12 social studies standards and received passionate feedback on social media. The department periodically updates the standards following feedback from teachers, with the last revision occurring in 2018. MDE said teachers felt some standards needed more clarity while others had excessive examples, leading to the 2021 revisions. The proposed changes remove many specific names, events and details in lieu of more broad descriptions. Some people were concerned by the removal of the names of specific civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Medgar Evers, and others felt the new standards incorrectly referred to the United States's model of government as a democracy instead of a constitutional republic. At the beginning of the hearing, MDE officials said based on the feedback they had already received, they would not be removing the lists of examples from the standards, including lists of names, organizations, and legislation and court cases. "I have been really disgusted today because I have seen and heard so much hatred," said Ivory Phillips, dean emeritus at Jackson State University, who has been teaching since 1963. " I was hoping that we were coming more and more together." |
| Supporters, opponents of critical race theory air viewpoints at hearing | |
| Critics and supporters were able to let their voices be heard at a hearing held Friday at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum over the state's proposed new social studies standards that critics say incorporate critical race theory. Opponents of the new standards say they will add critical race theory to what students are taught. This doctrine teaches that race is a social construct and that racism is embedded in the nation's legal systems and policies. Sixty-six speakers (not all of whom showed up) signed up for three minutes in front of the near capacity crowd at Sparkman Auditorium. Some supported the changes to the social studies standards. "How can student actually learn to resolve issues without learning about our past issues?" said former teacher Kathy Bryant. "We cannot heal as a nation if we don't cover those things that have happened in the past." She also said that citizenship education and social justice education needed to be embedded in the curriculum to teach students how to be productive citizens. Many of the critics who spoke Friday were particularly distressed that students would be taught that the nation's founding documents, the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, were no longer important and were relics of an earlier, less enlightened time. |
| Cyberattacks increasingly hobble pandemic-weary US schools | |
 | For teachers at a middle school in New Mexico's largest city, the first inkling of a widespread tech problem came during an early morning staff call. On the video, there were shout-outs for a new custodian for his hard work, and the typical announcements from administrators and the union rep. But in the chat, there were hints of a looming crisis. Nobody could open attendance records, and everyone was locked out of class rosters and grades. Albuquerque administrators later confirmed the outage that blocked access to the district's student database -- which also includes emergency contacts and lists of which adults are authorized to pick up which children -- was due to a ransomware attack. Cyberattacks like the one that canceled classes for two days in Albuquerque's biggest school district have become a growing threat to U.S. schools, with several high-profile incidents reported since last year. And the coronavirus pandemic has compounded their effects: More money has been demanded, and more schools have had to shut down as they scramble to recover data or even manually wipe all laptops. Precise data is hard to come by since most schools are not required to publicly report cyberattacks. But experts say public school systems -- which often have limited budgets for cybersecurity expertise -- have become an inviting target for ransomware gangs. The pandemic also has forced schools to turn increasingly toward virtual learning, making them more dependent on technology and more vulnerable to cyber-extortion. |
| UA System lobbies new bill with state legislature in response to critical race theory | |
| The University of Alabama System collaborated with the state legislature to create legislation that protects Alabama universities' freedom over their curricula. The joint effort between the state legislature and the Higher Education Alliance resulted in a new piece of legislation in response to legislators' concerns about critical race theory in higher education. Faculty Senate members spoke out in October after House Bill 8 and House Bill 11, which seek to prevent universities from teaching critical race theory and related concepts, were prefiled in the legislature. Clay Ryan, senior vice chancellor for external affairs for the UA System, said a new piece of legislation is in the works that will satisfy legislators' goals while maintaining professors' integrity in the classroom. "If we have a piece of legislation that allows the teacher to teach what they know, and allows the student to consider it, be knowledgeable about it, but not agree with it, that is an intellectually honest and sound position to arrive at," Ryan said. Ryan said that he was encouraged that legislators understand the importance of universities' academic freedom. The new bill cannot be introduced until the state legislature exits the current special session on distributing COVID-19 relief funds. Ryan did not share the language of the bill. |
| U. of South Alabama: Leaders look at hopes, challenges ahead | |
 | There's a theme that keeps coming up, when you talk to leaders at the University of South Alabama. "I think the thing we haven't done very well is tell our story," said Jimmy Shumock, chair of the board of trustees. "We need to do a whole hell of a lot better job telling our story." "We've got a great story to tell, we've just got to do a better job of getting out and telling it," said Jo Bonner, the former congressman recently installed as USA's fourth president. Dr. John V. Marymont, vice president for medical affairs and dean of USA's College of Medicine, and Owen Bailey, CEO and senior associate vice president for medical affairs at USA Health, readily agree that getting the word out is a real need and that Bonner is the man for the job. "We're very excited about Jo and looking forward to working with him," said Bailey. "I think he will be excellent in helping tell our story." "You hear this here and there but the University of South Alabama is truly a hidden gem," said Grace Sekaya, president of the Student Government Association. USA has been building, and its growth no doubt could set the stage for opportunities. But it, like every other university in the country, faces a looming problem. When a deep economic downturn set in back in 2008, people started having fewer babies. That inevitably means that starting in 2025 or 2026, there will be fewer 18-year-olds starting college. The "demographic cliff" won't affect every region and every type of institution the same way, but it's a nationwide issue. |
| President Jere Morehead lauds UGA community's service in State of the University address | |
 | University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead delivered the annual State of the University address this week. Morehead, president of UGA since 2013, delivered his address Wednesday via a stream on the university's Youtube page. Morehead thanked the UGA community for its dedication, service and perseverance in the face of a challenging year. Several initiatives were announced during the address, including a five-year effort to "expand active learning." Morehead pledged $6 million for that effort. "Active learning is the process through which instructors guide students who actively construct knowledge to think about what they are learning as they are learning it rather than merely absorbing facts," said Morehead. Another $1 million will go to mental health support, paid for through private funds. The ALL Georgia program will also be renewed for six more years. The program was established in fall 2018 and is geared toward supporting rural students attending UGA. Morehead also announced the launch of a "Connected Resilient Communities" program. The program, piloted in McDuffie County, is intended to help Georgia communities with economic and community development plans. |
| Lawmakers introduce bill to help refugees attend Georgia colleges | |
| Members of the Georgia House rolled out legislation earlier this month that would boost refugees' access to public higher education in the state. House Bill 932 seeks to extend in-state tuition rates to refugee students at the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia as soon as they settle in the state. Under U.S. law, refugees are people who must relocate from their home country because of humanitarian concerns. HB 932 would similarly extend immediate access to in-state tuition to Afghan citizens who have humanitarian parole, as well as to Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) recipients. These are individuals who have worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government in Afghanistan or Iraq. Benefiting from any of the aforementioned immigration programs means recipients are living in Georgia lawfully. Currently, they must abide by a one-year waiting period after settling in Georgia to establish residency and qualify for the lower in-state tuition rates, which are roughly three times smaller than their out-of-state counterparts. "They've still got to get admitted, but they wouldn't have to wait a year for the tuition rates to go down," the bill's main sponsor, Rep. Wes Cantrell, R-Woodstock, said. "Why not give them a little bit of a hand up to try to get their schooling started right away so that hopefully they can become a productive member of our state?" HB 932 is the first piece of legislation to come out of a bipartisan House study committee that met last year to examine workforce development issues among foreign-born Georgians, including barriers to education and professional training. |
| Tennessee's university leaders lobby Congress to make Pell Grants relevant again | |
| University leaders across Tennessee have come together to urge Congress to make higher education more accessible for students. More than 65 university presidents and chancellors -- including Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd -- asked members of Congress to double the maximum federal Pell Grant award to nearly $13,000. They say the current level is far below what's necessary. The maximum Federal Pell Grant award was $6,495 for the 2021-22 award year, and not all students receive this much. The amount a student receives is based on their expected family contribution, the cost of attendance at their school, whether they are full- or part-time, and if they plan to be enrolled the entire academic year. One of the most significant investments Congress made in the Pell Grant program was in the 2009-10 stimulus package when leaders used $15.6 billion in tax funds to increase Pell Grants from $4,731 to $5,350. But the "purchasing power" of the grant continues to decrease. In 1976, a year after all undergraduates were eligible to receive the grant, the maximum Pell award covered more than 70% of the average cost of attendance for a four-year college, including tuition, fees and living expenses. Now, it's worth less than 30%, according to the American Council on Education. |
| 'History come alive.' U. of Kentucky students design park to honor historic Black community | |
 | Groups of University of Kentucky landscape architecture students have been working with Woodford County to help recognize and honor a historical Black site in the area. Huntertown was originally established as a community for African Americans in Versailles in 1871. Fifty acres of land were sold to former enslaved African Americans. The Huntertown community included a school, businesses and houses, and by the 1940s, there were approximately 200 people living in the area. However, the community was built on wetlands and in 2000, in part because of lengthy issues with flooding and sewage in the area, land was bought from the remaining residents and they relocated, said Sioux Finney, a former social studies teacher and community member helping lead the project. UK students, along with community members, have designed a park to honor the location's history. Developing the Huntertown Community Interpretive Park will revitalize the area for the community while honoring Huntertown, Finney said. She first got involved when she was teaching in Woodford County, and assigned her students a research project on Huntertown. "This project and this community just grabbed my heart," Finney said. The park has been funded by several grants, including a Woodford County Community Foundation grant and a UK Sustainability Challenge grant. Two cohorts of UK students have worked to develop master plans for what the park will eventually look like. |
| U. of Missouri professor will look 12 million years into the past on Webb telescope | |
 | Some of the biggest news of University of Missouri physics professor Aigen Li's year arrived with a small ding on his phone. Sitting at his desk from home, Li saw an email from NASA saying his proposal to use the James Webb Space Telescope was accepted. "You can imagine that observation time is very precious," Li said, speaking of the powerful telescope that recently reached its orbit nearly 1 million miles from Earth. By this summer, the telescope could begin sending back never-before-seen images of the universe. "If you simply get one hour of observation time, in this industry it's lucky," Li said. "So we're really looking forward to it." Li and his collaborator, postdoctoral student Jianwei Lyu from the University of Arizona, won $150,000 and 10.2 hours with the James Webb Space Telescope, which reached its final orbit around Earth on Monday. Li, who is the principal investigator for the project, plans to study the M82 galaxy. "We're very proud of Aigen and all of our astronomers in our department," said Paul Miceli, University of Missouri physics and astronomy department chair. "His observation time from NASA with this new telescope will be a great benefit to Mizzou and to our students." |
| Florida State professors say their building is killing them | |
 | Florida State University has temporarily closed a campus building following a report linking the facility to eight cancer cases among faculty members and former students within 10 years. Three of the eight have died. Two of the dead scientists worked side by side for years in one particular lab. In addition to cancer cases, the faculty-initiated report links the Sandels Building to three diagnosed autoimmune disorders and seven cases of allergies, pneumonia and other chronic conditions. Some affected professors say their symptoms flare up when they're in the building; one longtime FSU professor diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome and fibromyalgia in 2017 is quoted as saying her symptoms and her constant allergies decreased significantly when she was working from home during COVID-19. Faculty members in the health and human sciences have reported concerns about their building to Florida State for at least two decades, according to the explosive, 100-plus-page dossier submitted this month to President Richard McCullough. (The report was first covered by Florida Politics.) Beyond concerns about excessive humidity and mold, professors working in the building have flagged black particles and chunks of debris on classroom, laboratory and office surfaces. These faculty reports have been concentrated on the fourth floor of Sandels -- as have the cancer cases. This is not the first time that an apparent cancer cluster has been linked to a university. Alumni of both Auburn and Susquehanna Universities have reported them since 2000. In both cases, investigations found no conclusive evidence that the cancers were linked to a particular site or source on or off campus. The Florida State case is already different, however, in that apparent hazards have been observed in specific locations in real time, over time. |
| Virginia Attorney General Says Public Colleges May Not Require Student Vaccinations | |
 | Attorney General Jason S. Miyares of Virginia issued a legal opinion Friday morning saying that public colleges in the state may not require students to be vaccinated against the coronavirus as a condition of enrollment or in-person attendance. In the three-page opinion, Miyares says Covid-19 vaccination cannot be required because the state's General Assembly, which controls the colleges, has not enacted a statute requiring vaccination for in-person attendance. He notes that the legislature has amended other statutes to deal with the pandemic, but has not granted institutions of higher education the power to require such vaccination. The opinion is the latest move by Virginia's new Republican leadership to roll back Covid protocols at the state's public colleges, many of which require students to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, and some of which require booster shots. On his first day in office, January 15, Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin signed an executive directive rescinding the Covid-vaccination mandate for state employees, including faculty and staff members at public colleges. Spokespeople at public colleges around the state said they had seen the attorney general's opinion and were reviewing it. It's unclear how much of an impact the opinion will have, though, with colleges like UVA, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Tech all reporting vaccination rates of more than 95 percent. Peter McDonough, vice president and general counsel for the American Council on Education, said an opinion by Virginia's attorney general is just that -- an opinion. He said that the colleges' vaccination requirements had not been challenged in court, and that it seems the college leaders don't share Miyares's opinion. |
| 'Little Things Like This': What MacKenzie Scott's Millions Have Meant to HBCUs | |
| In October, Madison Byrdie checked her financial-aid statement and noticed something had changed. A $1,500 credit had been applied to her tuition bill overnight. Just the week before, the sophomore at Xavier University of Louisiana had talked to her mother about getting another job -- she already worked as a resident assistant -- to help cover some of her school bills. It had been a stressful semester, what with hunting for scholarships, applying for paid internships, and organizing campus events, all while maintaining a 3.75 GPA. Looking ahead, she knew she didn't have enough money to pay for two more years of college. But then came the good news. In the fall, Xavier gave 60 students $3,000 need-based scholarships, to be distributed over the course of the academic year. The funds came thanks to a historic windfall: the philanthropist MacKenzie Scott's $20-million donation to the university. It's been a little over a year since Scott announced that she had added nearly three dozen colleges -- many of them historically Black -- to the previously short list of institutions upon which she planned to bestow billions from her fortune. In that time, most of them have begun putting the money to work. They're using it in a myriad of ways: need-based scholarships for students, improving the working conditions for faculty and staff, and adding programming in STEM fields and the arts. How these colleges have used the money reveals what happens when chronically underfunded institutions get access to large unrestricted gifts. This transformation has come at institutions that are typically overlooked, places like Bowie State University, in Maryland, and Voorhees College, in South Carolina. "I don't think we've ever seen that amount across several institutions," said Steve D. Mobley Jr., an assistant professor of higher education and administration at the University of Alabama. "There are some HBCUs that are often cherry-picked to get a lot of money." |
| How the Ed Department is preparing for student loan payments to resume | |
| As the U.S. Department of Education prepares to end the pandemic-induced freeze on federal student loan repayments and interest accrual, the agency plans to smooth the process by providing targeted outreach to certain borrowers and offering them flexibility for when repayment restarts. That's according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office that in part reviewed how the Education Department plans to address potential hurdles for borrowers when student loan repayment resumes in May 2022. About half of all borrowers are estimated to be at increased risk for becoming delinquent, the GAO report said. The report found 42.3 million borrowers are covered by the student loan repayment freeze, which began in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. About 26.6 million loans will be reentering repayment in May, 7.2 million are in default and 9 million won't require payments yet because their borrowers enrolled in classes or are in a grace period. By the time federal student loan repayments resume in May, payments and interest accrual will have been suspended for more than two years. Ed Department officials expect that long period of inactivity will make it difficult to motivate borrowers to make payments again. That's partly why the Ed Department is communicating directly with borrowers about resuming payments -- a change from traditionally relying on loan servicers to contact them. Officials are planning to communicate with borrowers each month through several outreach methods, including emails, public messages on the department's website, social media and text messages. |
| New group looks to redefine rural higher education policy | |
| Five researchers met on Twitter in 2020 and came up with a goal: Define what it means to be a rural-serving college. Months later, they launched an advocacy and research organization that's challenging Capitol Hill leaders to rethink how they evaluate and fund rural and regional colleges. They want rural colleges to be front of mind year round -- not just during campaign season -- when lawmakers decide how much money to give institutions. Outside of election years, the institutions "have not been a primary focus" when it comes to policy, according to the new Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges, which launched in 2021 when it published its first report. The Higher Education Act, for example, mentions development grants for rural-serving colleges, but it "still has no funding appropriated," said Andrew Koricich, executive director of ARRC, which is based out of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The key legislation that governs how federal higher education programs are administered "has no definition of what it means to be rural-serving, and so if we're not using existing policy mechanisms to actually help these campuses, then talk is cheap," Koricich said. On Monday ARRC unveiled a first-of-its-kind metric to determine rurality beyond a college's location and push the future architects of HEA reauthorization to allot more money to rural-serving institutions. ARRC, which is not membership based and aims to plug the research gap on what is known about the institutions, is considered the first research and advocacy group that solely focuses on rural and regional colleges. In the organization's second report, published Monday, ARRC identified 1,087 rural-serving institutions, often called RSIs, in a tool that uses a new metric to define the institutions. The report, first given to POLITICO, also shows the intersectionality of RSIs: One-third of historically Black colleges and universities, 18 percent of high Hispanic-enrolling institutions, 93 percent of Tribal colleges and universities, and 94 percent of high native-enrolling institutions are rural-serving. |
| Is there room for everyone on Gov. Tate Reeves' love boat? | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: Welcome to the looooove boat, M'issippi style! "I want to tell all of you -- anyone who needs to hear it -- that you are loved." That came from Gov. Tate Reeves in his 2022 State of the State address. He continued, "You are valued. Your life has purpose, and your life has meaning. Your state needs you. Even if you don't know it, your life is a blessing to others. We are glad that you are here, living and with us." Hmmm. What he particularly loves, though, is data. He said so: "You all know how fond I am of data. I love it. I swim in it. It's what I do for fun." Hmmm. So what does his speech tell about this abounding love. |
| No action yet on Mississippi ballot initiative fix, but that's about to change | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: Three days after the Mississippi Supreme Court's landmark May ruling striking down both the initiative where voters approved medical marijuana and the entire ballot initiative process, House Speaker Philip Gunn urged Gov. Tate Reeves to call a special session. Importantly, the Republican speaker wanted the special session specifically to reenact the initiative process. He said nothing about medical marijuana in the statement. "We 100% believe in the right of the people to use the initiative process to express their views on public policy," Gunn said on May 17, 2021. "If the Legislature does not act on an issue that the people of Mississippi want, then the people need a mechanism to change the law. I support the governor calling us into a special session to protect this important right of the people." Reeves, of course, did not call a special session. And it wasn't until this past week, early in the regular session, that the Legislature passed a medical marijuana bill. It is now a governor's signature away from being the law of the state. Nearly one month into the session, legislators in one chamber or the other also have voted on teacher pay, critical race theory, vaccine mandates, equal pay and a host of other issues. But it has been nothing but the sound of crickets on reinstating the initiative to allow people to bypass the Legislature and gather signatures to place an issue on the ballot. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State women's basketball fends off Texas A&M, Carter injured in win | |
| A season filled with unfortunate twists added another chapter Sunday afternoon for Mississippi State's women's basketball. Freshman Denae Carter -- a 6-footer forced into playing as a center on an undersized, shorthanded team -- went down with a knee injury in the third quarter at Humphrey Coliseum against Texas A&M. Carter went to the trainer's table where she appeared emotional with a towel over her face. Later, she was seen heading to the locker room with crutches. Former head coach Nikki McCray-Penson stepped down a month before the season due to health concerns. Doug Novak took over as interim head coach less than two months since being named an assistant. Injuries and COVID-19 cases left MSU shorthanded in crucial January games. Rickea Jackson, the SEC's leading scorer, entered the transfer portal Jan. 24. Now Carter -- not the team's best player but perhaps its most valuable -- has gone down. And Mississippi State, as it has done all season, chugged along en route to a 78-58 win against a Texas A&M team ranked in the top 25 entering the season. "Nobody bats an eye," Novak said. "They just lean into it --- instead of cowering, instead of (asking) 'Why us?'" |
| Hot-shooting Mississippi State women roll past struggling Texas A&M | |
| Anastasia Hayes led five players in double figures with 22 points, while JerKaila Jordan scored 18 on 8-of-9 shooting as the Mississippi State women's basketball team handed Texas A&M a 78-58 defeat on Sunday at Humphrey Coliseum. The prolific offensive play the Bulldogs showed Thursday against Missouri was in evidence again as they outworked a physical Aggies team and proved again they can find ways to fill the scoring hole left when leading scorer Rickea Jackson entered the transfer portal. "Nobody bats an eye. They just lean into it. Instead of cowering and asking, "Why us?" they just keep leaning into it," interim coach Doug Novak said. "They care deeply about each other. They always want to honor each other by playing hard. It sure seems like that is what we do." The Bulldogs improved to 13-7, 4-4 in the Southeastern Conference, while Texas A&M fell to 11-9, 1-7. It was the first time since Nov. 22 against Bethune-Cookman that the Bulldogs had five players in double figures, and they enjoyed one of the best shooting days of the season. MSU shot 58 percent from the floor, hitting 9 of 13 shots from 3-point range. The Bulldogs go back on the road to face Auburn on Thursday before having a week off before returning home to take on Florida on Feb. 10. |
| Mississippi State women's basketball loses Denae Carter to injury but blows out Texas A&M | |
| After all the adversity the Mississippi State women's basketball has faced, it was dealt one more blow in the third quarter Sunday -- a painful reminder of just how thin the Bulldogs' roster is, and how one absence can have a rippling effect. Forward Denae Carter planted her leg. The knee buckled, she collapsed and was carried off the court. As her teammates played on against Texas A&M, Carter laid on a table near the locker room tunnel, a towel over her face, an athletics trainer feeling her knee. Mississippi State was thin before this week began. But then forward Rickea Jackson entered the transfer portal, removing the SEC's top scorer from its ranks. And when Carter eventually left the trainer's table and headed back to the locker room on crutches, it left the Bulldogs without a critical frontcourt piece on an undersized team. And yet, Mississippi State still beat Texas A&M, 78-58, in Starkville because that's what they've done this season -- hit with an unfortunate circumstance, the Bulldogs (13-7, 4-4 SEC) have persevered. "So many people, it's a hard word to define, toughness," interim coach Doug Novak said. "Everybody thinks it's a fist fight and it's a physical thing. But it's as much of a mental aspect as anything else, and I think our mental toughness and our ability to lean into all situations -- good and bad -- is the best thing we're doing." |
| Garrison Brooks thankful for new experience, new role at Mississippi State | |
| Garrison Brooks wasn't going home. Brooks and the Auburn High School basketball team trailed their rival, Central Phenix City, by a point in the elite eight of the 2017 Alabama Class 7A playoffs. During a timeout with 11.5 seconds left, Brooks -- the Tigers' senior leader -- made a simple demand. "Coach," Brooks said, "give me the ball." He got his wish. Brooks caught the inbound pass, made a spin move and scored with 8.2 seconds on the clock. Central missed its last-second shot, and Auburn moved on to the final four with a 50-49 win. "When you've got that caliber player, that's what you want: somebody who wants to make the big shot," said Auburn head coach Chris Brandt, then an assistant under legendary coach Frank Tolbert. That was Brooks during a decorated high school career. That was Brooks in four seasons playing for one of college basketball's elite programs. Now, Brooks is at Mississippi State, playing under his father -- assistant coach George Brooks -- as a graduate transfer. He's helped lead the Bulldogs to a 13-6 start as of Thursday, including a strong 4-3 SEC mark. "I think it's been a really good experience for me," Brooks said. And he's still willing to take on that closer role for the Bulldogs -- or any position Ben Howland and his staff might need. |
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