| Thursday, February 17, 2022 |
| COVID restrictions changing as case numbers decline | |
 | COVID restrictions are loosening at various places across the country, including some spots here in Mississippi. As of Monday, Delta State says they're only requiring masks at the health center. Mississippi State and Ole Miss have dropped the requirement except in instructional spaces. The Department of Health posted the latest CDC guidance for college and universities on February 7. We're told agency leadership had a conversation with IHL and it was to communicate/send the new guidance to all of the campuses throughout the state. Mississippi State University notes that they'll keep closely watching the data but believed adjusting the restrictions was the right move. "So, balancing the numbers with that growing COVID fatigue," described MSU Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter. "And if you look around the country, we certainly were not trailblazers in reducing the mask requirement, but we do feel like we're in a safe position. That is our intention. Dr. Keenum has said repeatedly that our goal is to return to normal operations as soon as possible." |
| Mississippi Farm Bureau honors Dr. Reuben Moore with award | |
| If you were to characterize a career spanning nearly four decades in just a few words or phrases, Dr. Reuben Moore's career at Mississippi State University could be described with the words hard work, leadership and service to others. He attributes being able to live out these words to his childhood, where he learned the meaning of these traits and more on his family's dairy farm. "From the time I was old enough to walk to the barn, I had chores to do," Reuben said. "We had chores before school, after school, and of course, on Saturday and Sunday. Before we could go to church on Sundays or anywhere, really, we had to take care of the chores around the dairy." Even though his dairy farm roots were deep, Reuben choose to pursue a higher education at Mississippi State University with the intent of growing all areas of agriculture. "Growing up, I watched my dad get involved in various farm organizations," he said. "His example and my passion to make life on the farm better propelled me in all that I did in my career and all I continue to do in my current leadership positions." From Dairy Extension Specialist to Vice President of Mississippi State University's Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine to Neshoba County Farm Bureau President, over his career Reuben became a voice for agriculture, focusing on agriculture research and education, all with the goal of improving life on the farm. Today, while technically retired, Reuben still has work to finish. “He’s still up at 5 a.m. every morning, ready to roll,” wife Fay Moore said. “He always has something going on.” |
| MSU Extension Service leads sea-level rise project | |
 | Mississippi State University's (MSU) Extension Service published short videos that discuss ways to prevent or avoid sea-level rise in Gulf Coast regions. The videos were created as part of the Resilience to Future Flooding project. Extension Service associate and project coordinator Mikaela Heming said the project is important because it's important for coastal decision-makers to understand how sea-levels will rise. She said the project illustrates what the options are for addressing impacts of sea-level rise. "These communities are leading the effort, and we offer their case studies as a way to provide new ideas to other communities and inspire the next projects," said Heming. Various communities surrounding the Gulf of Mexico participated in the video project. |
| Intentionally burned dog released from Mississippi hospital | |
 | After 10 months of burn treatments, including skin grafts, a dog that had been intentionally set on fire by a child has been released from the hospital. The Tunica Humane Society said Buddy, a yellow Labrador retriever mix, was discharged from Mississippi State's veterinary hospital on Tuesday. He had been there since a 12-year-old boy set fire to him last April. "This is the day we prayed for," the humane society said in a Facebook post Tuesday. "Today, Buddy stepped back into life and a kinder, gentler world awaits him. "We have celebrated every obstacle he has conquered along the way. His courage and determination to survive has inspired us all." His doctor, Dr. Betsy Swanson, has agreed to foster the dog temporarily until a forever home is found for him. "What better place for Buddy to live out his life than with the extraordinary doctor that fought so hard to heal him," the humane society said. Buddy was set on fire by a child in northern Mississippi last year and underwent a series of skin grafts and has new skin on his snout. Because of his age, the child could not be prosecuted. |
| MSU Offering Federal American Rescue Plan Act Funding | |
| Mississippi State University aims to assist students with expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic during the upcoming spring semester via the Federal American Rescue Plan Act. The U.S. Department of Education uses the program to disburse funding to help students experiencing financial need or emergency costs including tuition, food, housing, healthcare and childcare. Students who applied for ARP funding during the fall 2021 term do not need to reapply again for this spring semester and will automatically be considered, a release from MSU says. For students who did not apply during the fall, the online application deadline is Feb. 22, at which point MSU officials will review eligibility and begin working to distribute awards. To comply with guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education and the ARP legislation, students must certify on their application that they have experienced financial need or have emergency costs due to the pandemic. Only students enrolled for the current spring semester are eligible to receive monetary awards, with amounts varying by student. Receipt of the funds will be through direct deposit or paper check, or students can choose to apply them to their MSU accounts to cover any outstanding balances. |
| Starkville moves forward with Main Street redesign | |
 | The city of Starkville has approved moving forward with the redesign and redevelopment of Main Street. After approving a proposal from Kimley Horn in November to lay out next steps for the city's Main Street transformation, aldermen approved a nine-step plan to adequately find the proper design for Starkville's downtown area. Kimley Horn Landscape Architect Henry Minor presented a conceptual design to the board at its Oct. 15 work session, which would prioritize the pedestrian experience on Main Street by eliminating turning lanes from City Hall to Jackson Street and creating larger sidewalks. Kimley Horn will conduct a traffic study and survey, identify case studies and compare other designs similar to what the board is looking for, go through the design process and help the board with construction consultation. "We want to take the analysis from the traffic study, present it to everyone and say, 'Here are the implications of what that would do, not only to what the city looks like today but to future growth and future development,'" Minor said. Ward 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty expressed concern for the removal of turning lanes, saying Starkville's downtown is different from that of Athens, Georgia, or Auburn, Alabama, where downtown is steps away from their respective universities, rather than a mile away as downtown is to Mississippi State University. Beatty ultimately voted in support of the redesign. "If our downtown sat by the bridge on university, students would spill off from campus to downtown, but we've got a distance," Beatty said. |
| Downsized Winter Furniture Market gets under way | |
 | For the first time in 18 months, the Tupelo Furniture Market hosted vendors and buyers looking to do business. The Winter Market kicked off Wednesday and will wrap up on Friday. It's an abbreviated take on the trade show that traditionally ran for five days. But market officials determined a small, shorter show was needed in the wake of the pandemic, which has caused supply chain issues and bottlenecks in manufacturing. Only a handful of upholstered furniture companies were on hand at Wednesday's market opening. Bedding manufacturers, lamp and lighting vendors and accessories dealers filled the other spaces in Buildings IV through VI, although only a handful of spaces in IV and VI were filled. Most exhibitors were in Building V. Despite the smaller, truncated event, participating vendors seemed pleased during opening day. "We weren't sure what to expect after not having a show in a year-and-a-half, but we had heard from some retailers that said they were ready to come see us and buy from us," said Graham Taylor of Haleyville, Alabama-based Kith Furniture. "We opened our doors this morning and we've been pleasantly surprised." The market, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, will not feature its biannual National Buyer's Award or Manufacturers' Representative Award this year because of the shortened schedule. |
| Mississippi Economic Council shares plan to grow workforce in state | |
 | Hundreds of skilled labor jobs are available across Mississippi, but experts say there are not enough workers to fill those positions. The Mississippi Economic Council has proposed a plan that would incentivize new workers, and potentially draw more businesses into the state. "It is education workforce development skills training, it is talent retention and attraction. How does our infrastructure play a role? Economic development business climate, and then of course healthcare," says Scott Waller, President and CEO of MEC. Waller says a new report incorporates findings from 51 focus groups spread across 18 counties. "Every one of those has some factor of having an impact on our workforce, having an impact on our economy." Mississippi lawmakers previously passed a bill to create the Office of Workforce Development, also known as Accelerate Mississippi. The agency is working with community colleges and businesses across the state to foster programs that can train workers and fill jobs that are empty. Senator David Parker, who chairs the Economic and Workforce Development Committee, says addressing education can help work towards many of the goals put forth by the economic council. "Also the infrastructure incudes the proper training facilities for these trades to be taught," says Parker. "So if you have a place where you can train doctors, you can have more doctors. If you have a place and tools to train welders, you can have more welders. If you're just telling people that welding is a good job without a training facility to do that, then we're not really effectively getting the job done." |
| State chamber: Businesses are concerned with workforce, not state income tax | |
| While the state legislative leadership is consumed with cutting or eliminating the income tax, the state's business community considers lack of skilled workers, Mississippi's image and problems from the pandemic as far more pressing issues. "... The Mississippi tax environment was not high profile nor even discussed significantly as a priority," said a report released by the Mississippi Economic Council at the state Capitol on Wednesday, based on dozens of meetings and hundreds of surveys of business leaders across the state last year. "... A businessman raised the topic (at one meeting) and dismissed it as a bad idea (a distraction issue, but not really a hindrance to most businesses)." MEC released the report, "Securing Mississippi's Future," on Wednesday after it held 51 town-hall style forums with business and community leaders across the state and from numerous sectors from July through September of last year. The income tax issue didn't even come up at any meeting until the end of August, the report said. "There was the thought (eliminating the income tax) could drive other costs up and it could hurt the state budget and households," the report said. But state lawmakers at the Capitol have been focused on cutting or eliminating the state's income tax, and the House and Senate's Republican leaders have been battling over competing plans. The House wants a massive tax overhaul that would include elimination of the state income tax over about a decade, and an increase in sales taxes. The Senate has a more modest plan of small income tax cuts over four years. This isn't the first time business leaders have thrown cold water on the legislative income tax cut push. In summer hearings, MEC's president told lawmakers it was not a top business priority, but some fear it could have unintended consequences. Other representatives of industry sectors voiced concern or opposition at the time. |
| State economists predict long-term revenue loss under House tax plan | |
| A new analysis from the state economists says that if lawmakers adopt a tax cut plan being pushed by House leaders, private employment would increase, but a large revenue shortfall would loom over state government. Corey Miller and Sondra Collins, two state economists , released an analysis on House Bill 531 predicting that the state's gross domestic product and private employment would increase but that net revenue and overall employment would fall sharply over the next 13 years. "The long term impacts to the economy were positive, but relatively small in terms of GDP and private employment and personal income," Miller told the Daily Journal. "We think it can have some positive effects, but those are relatively small because I would maintain Mississippi's income tax is not a particularly high tax." The analysis also predicts that the decrease in state revenue would lead to fewer state government jobs, leading to a decline in jobs, a net decrease in population and an overall loss in personal income. The House tax plan phases out the income tax completely, decreases the grocery tax and raises the sales tax. Senate leaders have argued the House plan would erode revenue and hamper some government services. Using data from the Mississippi Department of Revenue and historical trends, the analysis says the House tax plan would decrease net revenues by more than $278 million in the first year it goes into effect and around $679 million the second year. The deficit would continue to grow each year. The analysis notes that the state has $1.092 billion in its capital expense fund that it could use to plug the revenue gap, but legislators would have to agree to spend those dollars on general fund expenses. |
| MS04: Ezell, Palazzo camps trade accusations over campaign finances | |
 | On Tuesday, 4th Congressional District candidate Mike Ezell sent a letter to the U.S. House Ethics Committee requesting an update on the ethics inquiry under consideration by its members related to incumbent Congressman Steven Palazzo's use of campaign funds. The letter was signed by Ezell who identified himself on the letterhead and in the signature line as Sheriff of Jackson County. Jonathan Bailey, Ezell's campaign manager, told Y'all Politics on Wednesday that how the letter was signed is "completely irrelevant." "The questions posed to the Committee on Ethics are about the serious misconduct allegations against Congressman Palazzo, and the title of the person asking those questions is completely irrelevant," Bailey said. "Sheriff Mike Ezell's title is still the Sheriff of Jackson County while he's running for Congress, just as Congressman Steven Palazzo's title is Congressman while he's running for Congress." Palazzo's campaign manager, Justin Brasell, did not mince words when asked for a response to Ezell's letter. "In the 2020 election, desperate political opponents of Congressman Palazzo generated false allegations purely for their own political gain. They have zero credibility," Brasell said in a statement. "Our team has provided all the information requested of us and we look forward to resolving this matter in Congressman Palazzo's favor as soon as possible." Brasell went on to question Ezell's own campaign finance reporting. |
| Fed Eyeing Potential for Faster Rate Increases to Ease Inflation | |
 | Federal Reserve officials at their meeting last month discussed an accelerated timetable for raising interest rates, beginning with an anticipated increase in March amid greater discomfort with high inflation. They agreed that "if inflation does not move down as they expect, it would be appropriate for the committee to remove policy accommodation at a faster pace than they currently anticipate," said the minutes of the Jan. 25-26 meeting, which were released Wednesday. When the Fed raised interest rates between 2015 and 2018, it did so gradually---and never more than once every quarter. Under the economic outlook they judged most likely last month, most officials last month "suggested that a faster pace of increases...than in the post-2015 period would likely be warranted," the minutes said. The discussion indicated officials were prepared to raise interest rates at consecutive policy meetings, which occur roughly every six weeks, something they haven't done since 2006. That could set up a series of rate increases in March, May and June. The minutes indicated Fed officials were satisfied last month with how financial markets had interpreted their recent signaling around coming rate increases. But the Fed's debate over how fast to raise rates has intensified because of data released since then. The Labor Department earlier this month reported surprisingly big job gains in January despite a surge in infections due to the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Last week, the Labor Department reported that inflation rose to another four-decade high in January. |
| IG finds a familiar pattern of delay at USDA civil rights office | |
 | Backlogs in processing civil rights complaints continued to grow in the Agriculture Department office responsible for handling allegations of unfair treatment over a three-year period, the USDA inspector general said Tuesday. Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong told the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight and Department Operations that the Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR) had long-standing issues persisting through the Trump administration. The IG found that a sample of 28 complaints out of 911 cases closed between Oct. 1, 2016, and June 30, 2019, took up to 799 days to process. "These challenges are not new. They will take concerted effort to address," Fong said. Over the years, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the Office of Special Counsel and the Government Accountability Office have identified persistent structural weaknesses that have diminished the office's effectiveness and stoked mistrust, in particular among Black farmers who say they received little help when they filed documented complaints of discrimination. Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr., who is chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, said pending House (HR 4502) and Senate (S 2599) bills propose increases for OASCR in fiscal 2022. The House bill proposes $35.3 million and the Senate version proposes $29.3 million. Both levels are more than the fiscal 2021 appropriations of $22.8 million. |
| More virus rules fall as CDC hints at better times ahead | |
| The nation's leading health officials said Wednesday that the U.S. is moving closer to the point that COVID-19 is no longer a "constant crisis" as more cities, businesses and sports venues began lifting pandemic restrictions around the country. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing that the government is contemplating a change to its mask guidance in the coming weeks. Noting recent declines in COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions and deaths, she acknowledged "people are so eager" for health officials to ease masking rules and other measures designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. "We all share the same goal -- to get to a point where COVID-19 is no longer disrupting our daily lives, a time when it won't be a constant crisis -- rather something we can prevent, protect against, and treat," Walensky said. With the omicron variant waning and Americans eager to move beyond the virus, government and business leaders have been out ahead of the CDC in ending virus measures in the last week, including ordering workers back to offices, eliminating mask mandates and no longer requiring proof of vaccine to get into restaurants, bars and sports and entertainment arenas. The efforts have been gaining more steam each day. |
| Applications now open for Mississippi Teacher Residency program | |
| Back in December, the Mississippi Department of Education announced it will be awarding five universities with almost $10 million through the Mississippi Teacher Residency (MTR) program. The funding will be distributed between Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, University of Southern University, and William Carey University. The MTR program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund and is for people who are seeking a graduate degree in elementary and secondary education. By April, the program will have up to 200 candidates and each will receive a full degree scholarship to one of the mentioned MTR-sponsored universities, waived test fees, mentorship stipends, and books. The MTR graduate program was made to help fill the teacher shortage in Mississippi and provide students with teachers that are highly educated, certified, and prepared. The application and complete list of qualifications are listed on MDE's website. Application submission closes on March 15. |
| Alumni share experiences at UM during Black History Month keynote | |
 | In celebration of Black History Month, the University of Mississippi hosted the annual Black History Month keynote on Feb. 16, titled "I Am UM," in the Gertrude C. Ford Student Union Ballroom. Alumni Donald Cole and Peggie Gillom-Granderson spoke on the disadvantages they faced as Black students at the university, and how the university should recognize and celebrate Black students, staff and community at Ole Miss. Cole was one of the Ole Miss Eight, a group of students who were arrested for peacefully protesting racial discrimination at the University of Mississippi in 1970. Cole attended the University of Mississippi just six years after James Meredith was admitted at the university in 1962. "The university didn't love me at first, but I kept on loving it," Cole said, "until it loved me." Cole was a professor of mathematics at the university, eventually receiving the position of assistant provost before he retired in 2018, leaving his legacy as a namesake on the Martindale-Cole Student Services Center. Holding the record of the all-time scoring and rebounding leader, Gillom-Granderson was a legendary player on the Ole Miss Women's Basketball team from 1976-1980. She then returned to the University of Mississippi to be the assistant coach of the women's basketball team in 2003. "I love Ole Miss, I've defended Ole Miss for pretty much all of my life," Gillom-Granderson said. "But there was Black and white, and it should never return to that." |
| A labor of love for HGTV star Napier: Ole Miss alumnus gives back | |
| Alumni give back to their alma maters in many ways, including contributing their time, money and expertise. That includes HGTV star and University of Mississippi alumnus Ben Napier, who has found unique ways to give back to the university through his skills and craftsmanship. Ben and his wife and co-star, Erin Napier, have made many trips back to campus in recent years to speak to different classes and groups and to lend their support for fundraising efforts for the university. In August, they delivered a handcrafted desk to the Department of English, with a special touch of it being built using materials from campus. "A friend of mine reached out to me explaining that he had gotten his hands on some wood from the campus at Ole Miss," said Napier, a 2007 UM graduate from Laurel. "There were two slabs of oak and the slab of cedar from Rowan Oak. "My original thought was to mill the slab down and build a bookcase, but eventually I decided to leave it whole and build a desk." Host of the popular HGTV series "Home Town," Napier had planned on building the desk, photographing it, auctioning it off and giving the profits to the university's creative writing program. But after he pitched the idea of featuring Wright Thompson on an episode of "Home Town: Ben's Workshop," the craftsman knew the desk needed to be gifted to the university. The desk is not the first piece Napier has made for the university. Last summer, McCormick's bar and grill in The Inn at Ole Miss received the finishing touch with the installation of a bar top handcrafted by Napier. |
| WCU Scholarship Dinner to feature Ben Carson as speaker in Biloxi | |
 | This year's speaker at William Carey University's Tradition Campus Annual Scholarship Dinner is a big name in politics and medicine, so WCU officials are planning for a large crowd. The Scholarship Dinner will feature Dr. Ben Carson, a one-time presidential hopeful and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in President Donald Trump's cabinet. The university anticipates the April 26 event at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, will be sold out, said Jenifer Freridge, WCU Tradition Campus advancement officer. More than 1,000 tickets will be available. "We really wanted to reach out to Dr. Carson because of the event being a medical event and he being one of the greatest surgeons we've ever had," Lynne Houston, WCU associate vice president for university enhancement said. The event will honor health care workers and the challenges they have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Houston said. Carson, who sought the Republican nomination for president but dropped out in March 2016. He served in Trump's cabinet from 2017 to 2021. Carson also is considered a pioneer in the field of neurosurgery. When he became director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in 1984, the 33-year-old was the youngest chief of pediatric neurosurgery in the U.S. |
| More states are requiring high schoolers to complete financial aid application | |
| There's a growing trend to make filling out the FAFSA, the application for financial aid for college, a requirement of high school graduation. More than a dozen states either have laws in place that make it a mandate or are considering one. The push comes as FAFSA, or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, completion rates are declining. Last year, only 54% of high school seniors filled out the FAFSA, down from 61% five years ago. That means students are missing out on billions of dollars in free money from the federal government and states, which use a version of the FASFA application to help determine who is eligible for its own grants. According to the National College Attainment Network, eight states have FAFSA mandates: Louisiana, Texas, Illinois, California, Alabama, Colorado, New Hampshire, Maryland. According to a count by the National Conference of State Legislatures, seven states are considering adding one: Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York and South Carolina. One reason students aren't completing the application? It can be really awkward. It asks students a lot of personal questions, like how much their parents make. "In the United States, we're just not accustomed to talking with other people about how much money we earn," said Pamela Bennett, who studies education as an associate professor of public policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She's also the co-author of "Parenting in Privilege or Peril: How Social Inequality Enables or Derails the American Dream." Bennett said those conversations are especially hard for kids who are the first in their family to go to college. Schools can make them easier, she said, by creating dedicated FAFSA hotlines that students can call or text with questions or by holding FAFSA nights, where parents and students can come in to get assistance completing the application. |
| Conservative student group appeals U. of Alabama in Huntsville free speech case | |
 | A conservative student group is continuing a legal case that argues the University of Alabama in Huntsville's pre-registration requirement for free speech events is too strict and violates state law. Young Americans for Liberty and student Joshua Greer filed a lawsuit in July 2021 to challenge a campus policy that requires students to request a permit in advance for many free speech events and restrict most events to certain areas. The suit was dismissed in Madison County Circuit Court earlier this month, and the group has appealed to the state Supreme Court. According to the students, UAH's policy violates a 2019 state law that requires students at public institutions of higher education to be free "to engage in protected expressive activity in outdoor areas of the campus, and to spontaneously and contemporaneously assemble, speak and distribute literature." In court filings, UAH has responded that students are still able to gather spontaneously, at a "multitude" of designated locations and in response to news events; that students can request an expedited permit to protest outside of designated areas; and that campus officials consider different points of view and requests equally. Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the UAH student, filed an identical suit against the University of Alabama in May 2021. The group requested to dismiss the suit several months later, saying the Tuscaloosa students' "circumstances had changed." |
| 'Scientists need to be open': Journalist Michael Specter to speak at U. of Tennessee on science denial | |
 | Journalist Michael Specter has a lot of knowledge about pandemics -- and those who deny they exist. The award-winning journalist for New Yorker magazine covers health, infectious diseases, biotechnology and science. He is the author of the 2009 book "Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives." This year, Spector has been invited to give the annual Hill Lecture at the University of Tennessee on Tuesday. The Hill Lecture brings prominent science journalists to UT to share their thoughts on science, society and the mass media. Knox News sat down with Spector for a Q&A before the lecture. It has been edited for brevity and clarity. |
| Purdue president missteps in comments on 'missing' college men | |
 | This academic year has seen a flurry of news articles about the widening gender gap on college campuses, with women now outnumbering men by about three to two. These articles apparently caught the attention of Purdue University president Mitch Daniels, who sandwiched a discussion about them somewhere between COVID-19 numbers and innovation plans in his annual winter letter to "the people" of Purdue. "Assuming one agrees that this is a problem, Purdue is playing a part in addressing it," Daniels wrote in his letter. "Our historic average of about 57 percent men in the undergraduate population has held remarkably steady, even as many other schools saw that share drop to the low 40's or even lower. There is no intention behind this against the trend position, and no mystery about the reasons. Young men and women select into various disciplines at very different rates, and the STEM subjects which are relatively predominant at Purdue tend to attract men." Daniels's attempt at joining the gender gap conversation landed with a thud. Some 1,200 engineering professors, students and alumni, plus supporters in other fields, have since signed a letter opposing Daniels's "disheartening" take on the long-term underenrollment of women in engineering. The letter, first signed by 58 female Purdue professors of engineering, doesn't question Daniels's right to discuss the problem of missing college men. Rather, the focus is on how Daniels discusses it -- saying that Purdue's 57 percent male undergraduate population, driven by in large part by its 74 percent male engineering student population, is helping "address" the assumed problem. |
| DeVry University misled students. Now, the federal government is erasing their debt | |
 | Nearly 16,000 federal student loan borrowers who were misled by for-profit colleges will have $415 million in debts erased, according to the U.S. Department of Education. These borrowers -- who attended DeVry University, ITT Technical Institute and other schools -- will receive relief through a legal provision known as borrower defense, which promises loan relief for defrauded borrowers. With this announcement, the Biden administration says it has approved roughly $2 billion in loan relief for more than 107,000 borrowers through borrower defense. Wednesday's news stands out not only for the borrowers it will help, but because this is the first time the department has said it will grant borrower defense claims -- acknowledging students had been defrauded -- while a school accused of defrauding them, DeVry University, remains open for business and still enjoys access to millions of dollars in federal student loans. According to the department, approximately 1,800 former DeVry students will receive more than $70 million in loan relief after the department "determined that the institution made widespread substantial misrepresentations about its job placement rates." The department also said that it expects the number of approved claims from former DeVry students to rise and that it "will seek to recoup the cost of the discharges from DeVry." |
| Giving to colleges grew by 7 percent in fiscal 2021 | |
| Charitable giving to U.S. colleges and universities increased by nearly 7 percent in fiscal year 2021, according to the latest Voluntary Support of Education survey by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Total giving to U.S. institutions grew to $52.9 billion, up from $49.5 billion the year prior---a 5.1 percent increase after adjusting for inflation. The survey, released Wednesday, includes information about charitable gifts and grants to higher education institutions from private sources during fiscal year 2021, which began on July 1, 2020, and ended on June 30, 2021. More than 860 institutions participated in the survey, representing 27.2 percent of U.S. colleges and universities but 83.8 percent of total voluntary support for higher education during that year. Combined, donations from foundations and alumni accounted for 56.3 percent of higher ed giving in fiscal 2021. Alumni donations rose by 10.8 percent. "This period covered the depths of the pandemic, so you hope that people are thinking that key institutions are very important. They're remembering formative parts of their lives and want to support institutions," said Amir Pasic, dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. "That's something to watch -- the alumni pattern -- because that is, in many ways, the future indicator of giving." Alumni giving for capital purposes -- which includes gifts for endowments; gifts of or for property, buildings and equipment; gifts to loan funds; and "irrevocable deferred gifts" -- grew by 23.4 percent. Gifts to endowments, which often pay for scholarships, made up the largest share of that increase. |
| The Overbuilt Campus: After a yearslong surge in construction, colleges retrench and retool. | |
 | Gary Ward has worked in facilities management at public colleges for 35 years and seen it all. During stints at the University of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania State University, and now as vice chancellor for operations and chief operating officer at the University of Missouri, he's watched enrollments surge and construction cranes proliferate as part of a decades-long building boom. He's also seen what those decades of expansion have wrought: campuses with a few sparkling new buildings sitting alongside many aging ones that are expensive to maintain. In the past decade, increased competition and demographic shifts have suppressed enrollments at many colleges, leaving some with more space than they need or can afford to keep running. The cumulative physical capacity of American colleges grew by 26 percent between fiscal years 2009 and 2019, according to federal data compiled for a report released last year by EY-Parthenon, a consulting company, while enrollment increased by only 3 percent. The annual cost to colleges of carrying the resulting three million to five million excess seats, the report's authors write, could be as high as $50 billion. That excess might have remained a simmering problem for colleges, but the advent of Covid-19 accelerated conversations about campus space, forcing leaders to ponder new enrollment levels, new classroom configurations, and new office routines. |
| Biden administration promised bankruptcy reforms. So why is it still fighting student loan borrowers in court? | |
 | The Education Department's handling of requests for bankruptcy discharges from federal student loan borrowers is raising new questions about the Biden administration's commitment to overhaul its restrictive policy. It's been nearly four months since Richard Cordray, chief operating officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid, told Congress the agency was working with the Justice Department to revise its approach -- a pledge that consumer advocates believed would usher in a new era. Many assumed the Education Department would soften its stance in pending cases, but the agency has continued to contest claims. pair of recent appeals filed by the department resulted in a public backlash. In one case, the department tried to fight a court-approved discharge of $100,000 in federal student loans held by Ryan Wolfson, a 35-year-old in Delaware who had never made payments on the debt. The judge concluded that Wolfson, who suffers from epilepsy, could not afford his basic needs without the support of his father and there was no evidence to suggest his plight would improve. The other case involved Monique Wheat, a 32-year-old single mother of three in Alabama whom the court granted cancellation of $111,000 in federal students loans. Wheat earns less than $22,000 a year and, as the primary caregiver for her ill daughter and mother, could only work weekends. The Trump administration fought her request to discharge the debt, arguing that her teenage son should get a job to contribute to the household. The courts ruled in Wheat's favor in January, yet the Biden administration appealed the decision. |
| Biden to tap Francis Collins, OSTP deputy to split role of science adviser | |
| President Joe Biden is replacing a top science adviser who resigned under a cloud with two individuals who will split his duties on an interim basis. Biden is tapping a deputy in the White House science and technology office along with the recently retired director of the National Institutes of Health, according to a personal familiar with the president's plans. Biden was expected to elevate Alondra Nelson, currently the deputy director for science and society in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to become the temporary director of the office. Biden was also expected to name Francis Collins, who retired in December from his job as longtime director of the NIH, to be the president's top science adviser, according to the person, who requested anonymity to discuss the plans before a formal announcement, likely this week. Eric Lander, who had served in the dual roles of Biden's chief science adviser and head of the science and technology office, resigned last week after the White House confirmed that an internal investigation had found credible evidence that he mistreated staff. |
SPORTS
| 'We are still celebrating': Mississippi State faithful reflects on memorable national title run | |
| There's certain days or moments you just never forget. Life is filled with days that seem to blend together until, boom, you're treated with a 24 hours you'll never forget. For Mississippi State fans, a new, unforgettable memory was added to the brain's filing cabinet last summer. Vanderbilt's Parker Noland pushed a bunt to third base. Kamren James fielded it and launched the ball over to Luke Hancock at first base. "He's out. What a way to end it," ESPN's Karl Ravech was saying as Bulldogs spilled out from the dugout and onto the field. "And what a way to end a drought. Mississippi State: the national champions, destroying Vanderbilt nine-nothing." As Mississippi State prepares to defend its title beginning Friday against Long Beach State, the Daily Journal asked nine Bulldogs to share their favorite memory. Mark Keenum took the field in Omaha as any university president would following their baseball program's first national title. As he looked out at the sea of Mississippi State coaches and players who made the moment possible, his mind went back in time. He thought of the former players and coaches who developed the culture of a now nationally-prominent program. Many of them coached for or played on MSU baseball teams that were more talented than the one that actually got it done last season. But as a university president, Keenum understood what that moment meant for so many more than those standing on the field or collecting dirt from the infield. "Today, seven months later, we are still celebrating," Keenum said in an email to the Daily Journal. |
| Mississippi State's lineup was strong in 2021. This year, it could be even better. | |
| Brad Cumbest realizes what he's about to say might not sound all that convincing. Mississippi State won the 2021 College World Series, after all. How could this year's Bulldogs top that? Well, the senior outfielder thinks, they just might -- hitting-wise, at least. "I think we can be better than last year's team," Cumbest said Feb. 1. "You probably think I'm crazy, but we never played our best baseball last year." On its face, that assessment does seem a little strange. Mississippi State was dominant throughout the College World Series, scoring a total of 22 runs in the final two games to come back and beat Vanderbilt in the best-of-three championship series. But the numbers don't lie. All in all, the Bulldogs fell solidly in the middle of the pack offensively in the Southeastern Conference. They were seventh in the 14-team league in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage and ninth in slugging percentage. Of course, catcher Logan Tanner said Mississippi State's true performance couldn't be measured by those statistics -- especially not as MSU played for a championship at TD Ameritrade Park. "I think we're a lot better hitting team than the numbers said," Tanner said. "We got hot at the right time, and the lineup was grooving during that time in Omaha. I think that we got hot at the right time. That's all that really matters." |
| Mississippi State 2022 projected lineup and batting order | |
| Chris Lemonis anticipates a hitter-heavy season in the SEC as some premier pitching has left since last season but most teams return a lot of offense. State lost a pair of big bats, though, in Rowdey Jordan and Tanner Allen. But key pieces such as Logan Tanner, Brad Cumbest and Luke Hancock are back along with a collection of young talent sure to have a couple players rise as consistent bats. Here's a look at the Daily Journal's projected starting lineup for Mississippi State this season. |
| Mississippi State 2022 projected pitching rotation | |
| Chris Lemonis is in a familiar spot heading into his fourth season at the helm of Mississippi State baseball: his pitching rotation has uncertainty. It's hard to believe with the run State's rotation had in the postseason last year en route to the program's first national title that the season started in a spot similar to now. Lemonis says MSU has about six or seven arms who could make their way into the starting rotation this year. Landon Sims will move from his closer spot to become the Friday night guy, but there is added importance to this year's nonconference slate to determine who will rise behind him. Here's the Daily Journal's projection of the MSU's 2022 rotation. |
| Mississippi State softball evens record after doubleheader sweep of Alabama State | |
| The Mississippi State softball team only hit two home runs in its home-opening doubleheader Wednesday against Alabama State at Nusz Park. But small ball carried the day for the Bulldogs (3-3) as they swept the Hornets with relative ease to even their record on the season after a tough opening weekend. MSU lost on the run rule to No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 UCLA before falling Sunday to Loyola Marymount to wrap up a 1-3 start. But the Bulldogs came out strong Wednesday with no trace of their early struggles. "We're just looking for confidence in themselves and the team, and the goal is that that comes out on the field," coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought they did a good job of that today." Mississippi State claimed Game 1 on Wednesday by a 10-4 score and run-ruled Alabama State in six innings 8-0 in Game 2. The Bulldogs had 17 hits between the two games, but their pitchers were arguably more impressive. But Mississippi State will have a more difficult challenge ahead this weekend in the Bulldog Kickoff Classic. MSU brings Southern Illinois, Central Arkansas and Georgia Tech to town, beginning with a matchup with the Salukis at 3 p.m. Friday. "We have another tough weekend," Ricketts said. "Obviously not No. 1 and No. 3 in the country, but it's three very solid teams that we need to be ready for." |
| Mississippi State flushing its frustrations, turning focus toward No. 11 LSU | |
| Mississippi State fans have embraced their women's basketball team as it has battled through obstacles since before the season began. State's players were met with a standing ovation following a close loss against No. 17 Florida last week just as they were following an 11-point win over rival Ole Miss. Through wins and losses, State fans have been understanding of the situation interim head coach Doug Novak and his team are navigating. But it's easy to forget at times the competitive mindset collegiate athletes and coaches have. Moral victories are rare with them, as was the case following Tuesday's collapse for MSU at Kentucky. "It was high, and it should be high," Novak said of his team's frustration level postgame. "When you have a chance and you kinda control the game for the long portion and then to have it slip away like that, it's gonna hurt. There's gonna be some frustration." Novak encouraged the emotions, so long as his players and coaches can flush it in a timely manner. That means State doesn't have much time as it returns to action Thursday night at 6 in Humphrey Coliseum to face No. 11 LSU. |
| Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats ejected vs. Mississippi State | |
 | Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats was ejected after getting his second technical foul during the second half against Mississippi State. The second technical foul occurred with 8:37 left in the second half and while Alabama was trailing 58-57. The Bulldogs made both free throws and kept possession. Oats seemed upset after Charles Bediako had an and-1 dunk and was accessed the second technical foul after some animated discussion with the officials. The first technical occurred a minute earlier when he argued Bulldogs guard Iverson Molinar committed a double-dribble and thought Keon Ellis was fouled on a 3-point shot. The Bulldogs also made both free throws after the first technical foul. Oats said some parting words to his team as the crowd started to chant "Nate." The ejection gave his players and the crowd a spark; Alabama went on a 10-2 run to take the lead a couple minutes later. The ejection is Oats' first of the season. |
| Florida baseball: Will new stadium bring crowds for 2022 season? | |
| Florida's baseball season begins Friday, and fans will no doubt be psyched for the first pitch. It will be delivered by the football coach. The school's baseball coach has given Billy Napier some advice. "I told him not to check any videos on YouTube because there are some awful first pitches," Kevin O'Sullivan said. "Might as well not get that in his head." No worries. Napier could throw like Mariah Carey (hide that video from any aspiring Cy Youngs in your house), and his performance would go over well in this town. But as O'Sullivan begins his 15th season at UF, one uncertainty lingers. Will baseball ever go over big in Gainesville? The current answers are, "We don't know," and "Does it really matter?" When it comes to baseball hotbeds, Gainesville has always been lukewarm. Part of that was where the home team performed. McKethan Stadium wasn't a dump, but it had enough problems (bleacher seats, scarce shade) to give students and the general public an excuse to stay home. That was supposed to evaporate last year with the opening of Florida Ballpark. It had all the creature comforts $65 million could buy. It also had COVID-19 attendance restrictions, which made it impossible to gauge its impact on Gainesville's baseball mindset. McKethan's capacity was 5,500 at the end, and the Gators drew standing-room-only crowds for NCAA Regionals. Average attendance was 3,500 to 4,000. "We've had great supporters," O'Sullivan said. Well, yes and no. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
