| Tuesday, March 1, 2022 |
| Columbus-based Operation Ukraine pleads for donations | |
 | Trying to get in touch with Kathy Cadden during the past six days has required patience. For every call she's taken, it seems she's missed two more. "It's been pretty much nonstop since the first bombs started falling," said Cadden, founder of Operation Ukraine, a nonprofit she started in Columbus in 1999 to provide medical supplies/equipment and clothing to the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Over the years, her nonprofit has expanded to provide humanitarian aid both here in the U.S. and abroad, especially Haiti. But the crisis in Ukraine that began with Russia's military assault on the country Feb. 24 represents, by far, the biggest challenge and opportunity in Operation Ukraine's more than two decades of service. Support for the people of Ukraine has come from all across the globe, but with more than 500,000 Ukrainian refugees having already left their homes for Poland and other European nations, timing is of the essence. "We have two cargo containers of supplies in Poland now," Cadden said. "One of the containers we packed months ago, and it arrived the day before the bombing started. When the bombing started, we started securing warehouse space and apartments in Poland. The other container has medical supplies that we were going to send into eastern Ukraine before the bombing. We had to reroute those supplies to a town in western Ukraine. We'll be providing supplies to both refugees and people who are still in Ukraine." Cadden's group is also ramping up donations of items for family buckets -- containing everything from nonperishable foods to personal items a family might need -- for future transports. Operation Ukraine is partnering with the National Church of Christ to solicit bucket donations, which drives currently being held in Alabama, Tennessee and here in Mississippi. |
| Fourth man charged with shooting death of Starkville child | |
 | A fourth person has been arrested and charged with the death of a 9-year-old Starkville boy killed in a Jan. 5 drive-by shooting. The Starkville Police Department arrested Christopher Perkins, 30, on the morning of Feb. 25 and charged him with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault. During his initial court appearance, Friday, a Starkville Municipal Court Judge set Perkins' bond at a total of $3 million -- $2 million on the murder charge and $250,000 each on the aggravated assault charge. Perkins remains in the Oktibbeha County Jail. A pair of drive-by shootings took place in Starkville on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 5. Lasang Kemp Jr., 9, was a passenger in a car targeted in the second incident. He was struck by at least one bullet and died. Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard said Kemp was an innocent bystander. The following day, police arrested Barron "B-Man" Hubbard, 29; Tabyron "Tayy Tayy" Fisher, 21; and Dellveon "Dez" Lindsey, 19. All three were charged with one count of murder and six counts of aggravated assault. Based on the charges, Perkins was not involved in the initial drive-by, only the second fatal incident. Since there is a murder charge and the underlying felonies of aggravated assault, the charges could be upgraded to capital murder. Since all four men are over 18, they could face the death penalty. The decision to upgrade the charges is normally made by the District Attorney or the grand jury. |
| Economist: Federal money boosted Mississippi income in 2020 | |
 | Employment in Mississippi decreased during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but personal income in the state increased during that time because of federal payments that were intended to head off a steep decline in the national economy, an expert said Monday. "The Mississippi economy did suffer a shock ... from the pandemic in 2020, but that damage was considerably less compared to the economies of most states and the U.S. as a whole," state economist Corey Miller said. He spoke during a forum sponsored by Mississippi State University's Stennis Institute of Government and the Capitol press corps. At the beginning of his speech, Miller noted that more than 12,000 people in Mississippi have died of COVID-19. "There's no adequate way to measure the impact on our families and our society, that loss of life," he said. "I don't mean for my comments on the economy to diminish what is the real human toll of COVID-19 on our state and nation." Personal income in Mississippi increased 7.4% in 2020, compared to a 3.1% increase in 2019. Miller said that was the largest annual increase in Mississippi since 1994. "I think the transfers from the federal government probably lifted the Mississippi economy more than in most states," he said. |
| Mississippi House panel OKs limits on teaching about race | |
| A Mississippi House committee divided along lines of race and party Monday in advancing a bill that would limit how race can be discussed in classrooms. The short title of Senate Bill 2113 says it would prohibit "critical race theory." But the main text of the bill does not mention or define the theory, and many supporters of the bill also have said they cannot define it. The bill says no school, community college or university could teach that any "sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or inferior." The proposal passed the House Universities and Colleges Committee on a 14-9 vote Monday, with white Republicans in favor and Black Democrats opposed. When the bill passed the Republican-controlled Senate in January, all of the Black senators withheld their votes and walked out in protest. The bill moves to the full House for more debate in coming weeks. Republicans also hold a majority there, and Speaker Philip Gunn has said passing such a bill is a priority. Black Democrats said Monday that the bill could squelch honest discussion of history. Democratic Rep. Cheikh Taylor of Starkville said it is "troublesome" and "egregious." "In teaching history, do we sanitize it, or do we teach it as it was?" Taylor said. "Is this bill meant to throw red meat to the far right?" |
| Mississippi House committee passes anti-critical race theory legislation | |
| A House committee on Monday cleared the way for the full chamber to pass legislation that is being advertised as an anti-critical race theory bill. The House Universities and Colleges Committee voted to pass a bill that forbids public schools from forcing students to agree "that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion or nationality is inherently superior or inferior," which is not what proponents of critical race theory describe is the aim of the theory. The committee voted 14-9 to pass the bill. The Northeast Mississippi representatives who voted in favor of the bill are Mac Huddleston of Pontotoc, Shane Aguirre of Tupelo, Donnie Bell of Fulton, Randy Boyd of Mantachie, Clay Deweese of Oxford and Jody Steverson of Ripley. All of them are Republicans. The Northeast Mississippi representatives who opposed the bill are John Faulkner of Holly Springs and Cheikh Taylor of Starkville. Both of them are Democrats. After state senators in January passed the same bill claiming that it would prevent critical race theory from being taught, the House pivoted to try to describe the bill as an "anti-discrimination bill." The Senate in January passed the bill by 32-2 after Black lawmakers walked out in protest. The full House can now consider the bill. If the House passes the measure, it will head to Gov. Tate Reeves for consideration. |
| House committee advances anti critical race theory bill along racial lines | |
 | A bill titled "Critical race theory; prohibit" passed the House Universities and Colleges Committee Monday along racial lines with all African American representatives opposing the measure and all white House members supporting it. Senate Bill 2113 passed 14-9 with no changes from how it passed the Senate earlier this session. All those who voted in favor of the bill were Republican. If it passes the House in the coming days with no changes, it will go straight to Gov. Tate Reeves for his signature. "Why do we bring this egregious bill up when we all get along?" asked Rep. Greg Holloway, D-Hazlehurst. "We are all trying to work together." Instead of debating an issue that no one can identify as a problem in Mississippi, Holloway said, legislators could be working to solve issues actually impacting the state. Both Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn have been vocal opponents of critical race theory, though, they have not been able to identify any instances of the college-level academic framework being taught in kindergarten through 12th grade schools. Supporters of critical race theory, which is generally taught as a college level class, say it is designed to address issues of institutional racism that still exists in society. The text of the bill, as Rep. Joey Hood, R-Ackerman, who presented the bill to the committee pointed out, simply said no university, community college or public school "shall direct or compel students to affirm that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or that individuals should be adversely treated based on such characteristics." Tuesday was the deadline to pass the bill out of committee. |
| Younger: Effort to make Black Prairie WMA private 'dead issue' | |
| State Sen. Chuck Younger's (R, Lowndes County) hope of returning the Black Prairie Wildlife Management Area back to private ownership is now a "dead issue," he said. After lengthy discussion and much pushback from residents and members of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors took no action at its public hearing Monday, which discussed the possibility of moving the 6,000-acre land out of county and public hands. With nearly 50 attendees at Monday's meeting, the board heard arguments from both sides of the matter and received more than 2,200 online and written responses to the potential sale, with the majority of those responses not in favor of turning the land over. The board ultimately decided not to choose one position or the other on the topic. "The men and women that are here today are a testament to the value of this property as a wildlife management area," MDWFP Wildlife Bureau Chief Russ Walsh said who attended Monday's meeting. Younger, who also attended Monday, said it's unlikely he would push the issue further, but he thought the public hearing provided a needed opportunity for MDWFP to review how it manages its land. "I just thought the cage needed to be rattled, and it's rattled," Younger said. |
| Proposed legislation could expand scope of public defense system | |
| Lawmakers are considering legislation that could potentially expand the scope of the state's public defense system and give impoverished defendants more access to attorneys. The Mississippi Legislature is considering House Bill 360, which would allow the Office of State Public Defender to provide direct assistance to defendants in criminal and youth court matters, however the state office will not take over any local defense system. Instead, the legislation de Gruy is backing would allow counties to accept money from the state office to subsidize the county-managed public defense programs. "We're going to be dependent on the local authorities establishing a program and the state assisting with the funding," de Gruy said. If passed, de Gruy said that he and his office would like to establish pilot programs in three different areas in Mississippi -- one in the north, central and southern portions of the state, with the state office helping to fund these pilot programs. But if counties accept the money from his office, the funds would come with certain conditions: defendants must receive counsel as early as possible, defense attorneys must have reasonable caseloads and attorneys must make a similar amount as prosecutors. |
| Auditor White announces 'Stay in the 'Sip Fellowship' aimed at keeping accounting students in Mississippi | |
 | State Auditor Shad White joined Y'all Politics on Tuesday to discuss his office's announcement of the new "Stay in the 'Sip Fellowship." He says it is an effort to fight "brain drain" and attract talent to the Auditor's office. The fellowship pays for college tuition, books, and fees of accounting students for up to three years. In return, the students agree to work at the Office of the State Auditor after graduation for a period of time. All accounting students at Mississippi colleges and universities are eligible to apply for the fellowship, which also includes a paid internship. Aside from tuition, books, and fees, 'Sip Fellows will have access to health insurance and other workplace benefits while part of the program, even as a student. Before applying, undergraduate students must have completed at least 58 college credit hours toward a degree in accounting. To participate as a graduate student, applicants must have been accepted into a Master of Accountancy program at a Mississippi college or university. All students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA to apply and participate in the fellowship program. Participants must also commit to working at the State Auditor's office for at least two years after graduation. |
| Former home of Edgar Ray Killen destroyed by fire | |
| A fire that destroyed the home once occupied by the now late Edgar Ray Killen, the mastermind behind the 1964 civil rights murders, is being investigated as an arson, the authorities said. The fire that consumed the structure on Road 515 was reported last Wednesday morning after a neighbor saw a small black pickup in the driveway, Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark said. "We are currently in the middle of an investigation into the fire," Clark said. "We are looking to see if there was any accelerant or anything indicating arson." Clark said that a small black truck was seen on the property and was stuck in the mud briefly before it was able to get free. Clark said the fire was reported a short time after the truck left the property. In June of 2005, Edgar Ray Killen was convicted on three counts of manslaughter for his part in the conspiracy to commit the June 21, 1964, murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. Killen, a part-time Baptist preacher and sawmill operator, died in prison in 2018 at the age of 92. The trio was ambushed at House after being released that night from the Neshoba County Jail on trumped-up speeding charges, driven back to Road 515, or Rock Cut Road, and shot at point-blank range not far from the Killen home. While testimony never placed Killen at the murder scene, the conspiracy was established. |
| Rural America shrinks over decade for first time | |
 | The number of Americans who live in rural areas declined in the last decade, the first time in history that the nation's rural population dropped between one U.S. census and the next. A new report from Kenneth Johnson, a demographer at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire, finds the number of Americans who live in rural communities dropped by 289,000 over the last decade, or just about 0.6 percentage points, not much more than a rounding error among the 46 million people who live in rural areas. But it marks a significant slowdown from recent decades, when rural America added population. Between 1990 and 2000, rural communities added 3.4 million residents; those same areas added 1.5 million residents between 2000 and 2010. "The actual size of the loss isn't a particularly big deal," Johnson said in an interview. "The fact that it actually happened, that rural America as a whole lost population, reflects a significant change. The question is, is it just a short-term thing, or is it a longer-term thing?" The blame for the unprecedented population loss, Johnson said, is a confluence of factors, many of which stem from the Great Recession a decade ago. The long hangover from the recession that has cost rural America hundreds of thousands of residents caused overall growth across the United States to slow to levels not seen since the wake of the last massive economic crisis, the Great Depression almost a century ago. Johnson said many communities will now struggle to rebound over the long term. |
| House Passes Bill to Make Lynching a Hate Crime | |
 | The House on Monday overwhelmingly approved legislation that would make lynching a federal hate crime, moving to formally outlaw a brutal act that has become a symbol of the failure by Congress and the country to reckon with the history of racial violence in America. Passage of the anti-lynching bill, named in honor of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black teenager brutally tortured and murdered in Mississippi in 1955, came after more than a century of failed attempts. Lawmakers estimated they had tried more than 200 times to pass a measure to explicitly criminalize a type of attack that has long terrorized Black Americans. This bill was approved 422 to 3, and was expected to pass the Senate, where it enjoys broad support. Democrats and Republicans alike hailed the action as historic. Representative Andy Biggs, Republican of Arizona and one of the House's most conservative members, made a point of requesting a recorded vote, saying all members should have their positions memorialized "for posterity, and for all Americans to know and recognize that the United States House of Representatives can come together as yet." |
| State of the Union address will seek to revive dormant budget reconciliation bill | |
 | President Joe Biden will use part of his first State of the Union address Tuesday to revamp his pitch to Congress on passing his stalled social safety net and climate package, focusing on how the budget measure can lower costs for families and reduce the deficit. The messaging shift seems designed to appeal to a Democratic senator holding up the budget reconciliation package, West Virginia's Joe Manchin III, as well as a broader electorate worried about inflation driving up the cost of living. "The president will call on Congress to send him legislation that reduces the cost of everyday expenses that working families face and reduces the deficit by rewarding work, not wealth," a senior administration official told reporters Monday on a call previewing the economic portions of Biden's address. "He will lay out specific practical measures that would reduce costs for families right now, including prescription drug costs and health care premiums, child care costs and energy costs," an official added. "He will also point to the other ideas he has proposed on areas ranging from housing to care for seniors and people with disabilities to higher education affordability to direct tax relief for families." Those policy ideas are all part of a $2.2 trillion budget reconciliation package the House passed in November that Manchin is opposing. |
| Biden steps to State of the Union lectern at fraught moment | |
| Facing disquiet at home and danger abroad, President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address at a precipitous moment for the nation, aiming to navigate the country out of a pandemic, reboot his stalled domestic agenda and confront Russia's aggression. The speech Tuesday night had initially been conceived by the White House as an opportunity to highlight the improving coronavirus outlook and rebrand Biden's domestic policy priorities as a way to lower costs for families grappling with soaring inflation. But it has taken on new significance with last week's Russian invasion of Ukraine and nuclear saber-rattling by Vladimir Putin. Biden, in his remarks, planned to highlight the bravery of Ukrainian defenders and the resolve of a newly reinvigorated Western alliance that has worked to rearm the Ukrainian military and impose sanctions on Russia to cripple its economy. Biden will address a mostly full and mask-optional crowd in the House chamber, one sign of the easing coronavirus threat. But he'll also speak from within a newly fenced Capitol due to renewed security concerns after last year's insurrection. Rising energy prices as a result of Russia's war in Ukraine risk exacerbating inflation in the U.S., which is already at the highest level in 40 years, eating into the earnings of Americans and threatening the country's economic recovery from the pandemic. And while the geopolitical crisis in Eastern Europe may have helped to cool partisan tensions in Washington, it can't erase the political and cultural discord that is casting doubt on Biden's ability to deliver on his pledge to promote national unity. |
| Russia Targets Ukrainian Civilian Areas in Tactical Shift and Threatens Kyiv Strikes | |
 | Russian forces bombarded the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and warned of further strikes against the capital, Kyiv, as Moscow, frustrated in its plans for a quick victory, shifted to a new strategy of pummeling civilian areas in an attempt to demoralize Ukrainian resistance. On Tuesday afternoon, Russia's Defense Ministry said it would strike Ukrainian intelligence and communications facilities in central Kyiv that it said are being used for "information attacks" against Russia, and urged residents living nearby to leave for their own safety. Western diplomats took the warning as a signal that a massive strike on Kyiv's residential areas was imminent. Some of the remaining staff at foreign embassies left Ukraine's capital. Live-cam footage from Kharkiv's central Freedom Square showed a missile landing just outside the local government's headquarters at 8:01 a.m. local time, with a fireball charring nearby buildings and cars. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said two Russian cruise missiles caused dozens of casualties and that numerous children had died in other attacks. "A missile targeting the central square of a city is open, undisguised terrorism," Mr. Zelensky said. "It's terrorism that aims to break us, to break our resistance." Russia is facing growing international isolation and its financial system is reeling under the impact of Western sanctions imposed over the weekend. The ruble nosedived and Russia's central bank more than doubled its key interest rate to 20% on Monday in an attempt to prevent a run on Russian banks as sanctions curb their access to international markets. |
| Reading Putin: Unbalanced or cagily preying on West's fears? | |
| For two decades, Vladimir Putin has struck rivals as reckless, impulsive. But his behavior in ordering an invasion of Ukraine -- and now putting Russia's nuclear forces on high alert -- has some in the West questioning whether the Russian president has become dangerously unstable. In recent days, Putin has rambled on television about Ukraine, repeated conspiracy theories about neo-Nazism and Western aggression, berated his own foreign intelligence chief on camera from the other side of a high-domed Kremlin hall where he sat alone. Now, with the West's sanctions threatening to cripple Russia's already hobbled economy, Putin has ordered the higher state of readiness for nuclear weapons, blaming the sanctions and what he called "aggressive statements against our country." The uncertainty over his thinking adds a wildcard to Russia's war on Ukraine. Western officials must confront Putin as they also wonder whether he comprehends or cares about cataclysmic consequences -- or perhaps is intentionally preying on the long-held suspicions about him. Foreign leaders have long tried to get inside Putin's head and have been wrong before. And Putin in this crisis is showing many of the same traits that he has displayed since becoming Russia's leader. Putin has directed invasions of neighbors, unspooled conspiracy theories and outright falsehoods, and ordered audacious operations like interfering in the past two U.S. presidential elections. |
| An 'Unhinged' Putin Threatens Dangerous Escalation in Ukraine War | |
 | As Russia's new invasion of Ukraine nears its second week, Putin's war of choice seems set to enter a uniquely dangerous phase -- one that vastly increases the chances of global ramifications far beyond Eastern Europe. Western countries and alliances spent the weekend arraying a sweeping set of diplomatic and economic tools to punish and isolate Russia economically and individually target the institutions and people around president Vladimir Putin -- actions that led Putin on Sunday to threaten even further escalations. In just a matter of days, Russia has found itself transformed from a global superpower to a pariah state akin to North Korea or Iran. Putin has spent the last two decades seeking a return to what he sees as the glory days of the Soviet Union. He now finds himself under global pressure unlike anything he's ever faced -- more isolated and alone, atop a weaker country than he's ever led. It is a dangerous place for a man who has long aspired to be one of the great forces of history. "It looks to me like Putin has made a gamble of Napoleonic arrogance and has been proven wrong," says Kori Schake, the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and one of the leading observers of great modern power politics. "In an effort to collapse the liberal order, to show that Ukraine is not a real country, that NATO is feckless, that the West isn't willing to bear any burden for its values -- all of that has been proven untrue by Putin's own hand." The weekend of Western unity and action was a monumental -- and hardly predictable -- outcome. But with last week's Ukraine invasion, the West has gotten serious about combating Putin. |
| Demand for Science Lab Buildings Soars During Covid-19 Pandemic | |
| The rapid growth of life-science research during the pandemic is triggering a record boom in the development of new lab space and offices serving these companies. Development of buildings geared toward biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other laboratory firms was already on the rise before 2020. But demand for this space intensified as billions of dollars poured into research and development of a Covid-19 vaccine and other therapies for the virus. Life-science space has also been enjoying high occupancy rates because -- unlike traditional office buildings -- much of the lab work requires specialized equipment and building infrastructure that cannot be easily replicated at home. More than 31 million square feet of life-sciences space was under development in the fourth quarter of 2021, a new high in any quarter and up from about 19 million in the first quarter, according to real-estate firm CBRE Group Inc. Those projects included both ground-up construction and conversions of existing office buildings. Developers believe this demand will continue even with the Covid-19 infection rate declining. For one, government funding of life-sciences research shows no sign of ebbing. Venture-capital funding of U.S. life sciences, meanwhile, stood at more than $8 billion in the fourth quarter. It has grown more than threefold over the past five years, according to CBRE. Developers have been racing to meet the new demand not only in the traditional life-sciences hubs of Boston, San Francisco and San Diego but also in numerous markets where life-sciences ecosystems are growing near academic institutions and hospitals. Those markets include Los Angeles, Denver and Boulder, Co., Chicago and Houston. |
| Thacker Mountain Radio Hour returns live in March | |
| The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour returns to live shows on Thursday, March 24 at 5:30 PM at the Lyric Oxford. The show will be part of the Oxford Film Festival and will feature Oxford author and screenwriter Michael Farris Smith, the Stax Academy 926 Alumni Band of Memphis and indie R&B duo, Pink Palaces. On Thursday, March 31, the show will perform live at Harrison's 1810 Bar and Grill as part of the Oxford Conference for the Book. That show will feature National Book Award winner Jason Mott (Hell of A Book). Admission is free and both shows are open to the public. Leading up to March 26, the show will broadcast a series of in-studio programs beginning with Thursday, March 3 at 6 pm. Guests will include author Chris Offutt (The Killing Hills) and musical acts Eric Deaton and blues slide guitarist, Ghalia Volt. The show will perform live on Saturday, March 5 at 3 pm in Cleveland, MS on the campus of Delta State University. For the months of April and May, the show will broadcast from the Old Armory Pavilion on the corner of Bramlett and University Avenue. Admission is free to all shows and lawn chairs and picnics are encouraged. A signature cocktail will be for sale to benefit Thacker and the YAC arts council with food trucks expected to be added. The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour can be heard every Thursday at 6 pm on WUMS (92.1 FM in Oxford) and online: https://onlineradiobox.com/us/wums/ and every Saturday night at 7 pm on Mississippi Public Broadcasting (90.3 FM in Oxford) and online: https://www.mpbonline.org/. |
| UM is now the only school in SEC West to continue to require masks in classrooms | |
 | The University of Mississippi is now the only school in the Southeastern Conference Western Division that still requires masks in instructional spaces. The University of Alabama, Louisiana State University, Texas A&M and Auburn had previously scaled back their mask policies to not require masks in instructional spaces. Mississippi State University and University of Arkansas joined them on Feb. 28. The UM community was last informed of an update to mask policy on Feb. 11 via an email from Chancellor Glenn Boyce. Effective immediately, masks were only required in instructional and medical areas. "As we have done since the onset of the pandemic, we will continue to monitor the presence of the virus on our campus and adapt, if necessary, to uphold the health and safety of our community," Boyce said. "We remain committed to making the necessary adjustments and adaptations to ensure that we meet our mission and serve our students." By the following week, on Feb. 14, Mississippi State University had announced nearly identical protocols and Louisiana State University had lifted their mask mandate completely, with the exception of transit services. On Friday Feb. 25, MSU announced that they would make changes to their mask policy again, requiring masks only in the Student Health Center and on the Starkville-Metro Area Rapid Transit shuttles. UM's mask guidance from Feb. 11, requiring masks in instructional spaces, healthcare areas and transit services remains in place. |
| Jackson State Among Four HBCUs Digitizing Rare Photos Due to Getty Images Grant | |
| lack-and-white photos of Jackson State University homecoming queens bleed into colored photos as the collection moves from the early 1950s to the late 1960s and 1970s. Dormitories with shot-out windows appear in black-and-white photos that depict JSU's campus following the Gibbs-Green shooting on May 14, 1970. A more recent colored photo shows a JSU football player catching a pass during the Celebration Bowl against Florida A&M University in 2001. These photos make up just some of Getty Images' "Historically Black Colleges & Universities Collection." The Seattle, Wash.-based visual-media company selected Jackson State University as one of four recipients of the Getty Images Photo Archive Grant for HBCUs program to amplify the visual history of historic Black colleges and universities. The grant will help Jackson State digitize about 50,000 archival photos from its library, which will include images of activism, education, literary and performing arts, civil rights and police violence, and portraitures of women teachers. Jackson State University Interim Dean of Libraries Dr. Locord Wilson said each school will receive a quarter of the $500,000 grant. Digitization costs can be a very expensive and meticulous process, which is why Getty Images does not do it for everyone, Illidge said. "It is a meticulous process to make sure that you not only scan the photo, but you have to clean up the photo. Some photos are deteriorating, so it takes care, and it takes the right companies to do that," she said. "Once you scan the photo, then you have to figure out the process to actually preserve the original photo, so that's what we work with the schools to do." |
| SMCC in mourning after college official slain at home | |
| Southwest Mississippi Community College is in mourning after a college official was found shot dead inside his ransacked home in Holmesville on Saturday. Pike County Chief Deputy Brad Bellipanni said the wife of William Bryan Tucker, 62, had been out of town and arrived at the family's McComb-Holmesville Road home around 5:30 p.m. and discovered the crime. He said it appears someone forced their way into the home and rummaged through the family's belongings. It's unclear whether Tucker was home when that happened or if he walked in on a burglary. "We're looking at all angles of it," Bellipanni said. "It's just a tragedy. We just hope somebody knows something." White ribbons adorned SMCC's campus on Monday, and a bouquet of flowers was left outside the administration building where his office was located. "We're all still in shock hearing of Dr. Tucker's death and we're experiencing a lot of emotions around campus, a lot of sorrow, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of anger, disbelief," SMCC president Dr. Steve Bishop said. Tucker was in his early 40s when he left his job as a professor at Mississippi State University to run his family's Holmesville dairy farm. A published author, Tucker received his bachelor's and master's degrees from MSU in dairy science and a Ph.D. in dairy cattle nutrition from the University of Kentucky. He began teaching in 1988 at Oklahoma State University, where he held a dual appointment in teaching and research. In 1992, he returned to MSU to teach. "He was an intellectual gentleman," Bishop said. "He was a scholar -- very humble, very well-read in a lot of areas." |
| MCC, ECCC receive $1.4M grant to grow lineman programs | |
 | A joint effort between Meridian Community College and East Central Community College was rewarded Monday as the two schools received a $1.4 million grant through the Mississippi Office of Workforce Development, also called Accelerate Mississippi, to grow their utility lineman programs. Accelerate Mississippi Executive Director Ryan Miller said the purpose of his office is to identify industries that are both needed in the state and provide good jobs for Mississippians. Utility linemen, he said, are in demand throughout the state, and the service they provide to their communities is crucial. "We could look at the data, look at the statistics to show us that there is a great need for more electrical line workers in the state of Mississippi, but I want to challenge you to think about who those men and women serve and what they do to serve their community," he said. "These are first responders. These are men and women who put themselves in harm's way to make sure we have power, that we have connectivity. That is no small thing." Miller said his office will be working closely with both MCC and ECCC to make sure the two programs have the resources they need to grow and train the workforce utility providers need. MCC President Tom Huebner said community colleges in Mississippi have a long history of competing with one another. That time has passed, he said. "The old story that we don't work together is just that," he said. "It's an old story." East Central Community College President Brent Gregory said ECCC also was excited about the partnership and grateful for the opportunity to improve not only the college's lineman program but also the lives of those living in East Central Mississippi and Meridian. |
| Vapes, some filled with THC carts, cause students to fall ill in Coast school district | |
 | Vaping is becoming a dangerous issue in the Hancock County School district, and the superintendent issued a video warning students about consequences of partaking in the illegal activity and pleading with parents for help. Students as young as elementary age up to teens at Hancock High are getting in trouble for vaping on campuses and on buses, school district Superintendent Theresa Merwin said in a video released on YouTube and the district website. Merwin outlined the different substances that students have been vaping which includes flavored nicotine known as e-juice, cannabis-based substances like CBD and THC and synthetic chemicals called spice. "What is happening in our schools is vaping with all of these products," Merwin said in the video. "It is producing physical, seizure-type conditions which are causing students to become very sick. We are experiencing episodes in the classrooms, bathrooms and buses." Merwin pleads with parents in the video to help schools fight the problem. "We cannot do this alone," she said. "You are the first line of defense. You control your home." Students who are caught vaping will face expulsion, Merwin said, adding that Hancock County Sheriff's Department narcotics deputies will be notified if the vapes are found to contain illegal substances. "My fear is not that your children will be expelled, but they may not recover from their experience," Merwin said. |
| College enrollment, TOPS participation is down in Louisiana. Here's why leaders are concerned. | |
 | Both enrollment and participation in TOPS are down at Louisiana public colleges and universities, setting off alarms among higher education leaders. The coronavirus pandemic and multiple hurricanes in 2020 and 2021 are likely culprits, but not necessarily the only ones. "It is hard to say that this is strictly pandemic," said Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed. "I think it is the result of multiple disruptions." Enrollment at public colleges dropped 2.6% for the fall of 2021, according to preliminary data presented last week to the state Board of Regents. That mirrors the national decline of 2.7% in the student count. In addition, 3.1% fewer students eligible for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, or TOPS, were paid last fall and 3.4% less when private and cosmetology schools are added. TOPS is also in line for its first standstill budget -- $330 million -- since the scholarship program was launched nearly a quarter of a century ago. "We cannot underestimate how the pandemic and disasters have impacted the lives of our students, but we do need to figure out how to get them back on track so we can develop the talent our state desperately needs to recover," said Collis Temple, chairman of the regents. |
| Texas A&M professor selected to National Academy of Engineering | |
 | Vijay Singh, a distinguished professor at Texas A&M, has received one of the highest professional engineering honors after being recently selected to the National Academy of Engineering. Singh is in A&M's Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. He is also a Regents Professor and Caroline and William N. Lehrer Distinguished Chair in Water Engineering at A&M. Singh was one of 111 new members and 22 international members elected to the NAE. According to a release, Singh was elected for his contributions to wave modeling and the development of entropy-based theories of hydrologic processes and hydroclimatic extremes. "I've received many awards and accolades over my career, but election to the NAE is pretty much a capstone," Singh said in a release. "We in academia do not work for awards but hope that our work has an impact on our profession and on society. Often awards follow what we do, though not always, but that should not deter us from the work that we have a passion for. "Not receiving an award in no way means the quality of work is not good. Sometimes it takes a long time for the work to be recognized by peers." |
| Power, speed and mobility: Mizzou engineering club builds tractors to be competitive | |
 | James Fischer knows what needs to be done as he sits in the driver's seat and stares down the dusty dirt track. The pressure is on for Fischer, who is competing in an international tractor-pulling competition where the machines are just quarter scale. He gets the green flag from the official. Time to go. He puts a heavy foot on the pedal and looks behind him at the sled. Goal number one is to avoid jerking the chain connecting the tractor to the sled, which weighs more than 1,100 pounds. Goal two? Get as far down the track as possible. Fischer is the vice president of Torq'N Tigers, a group of University of Missouri agricultural and other engineering students who design and build competitive tractors for power, speed and mobility. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the club meet in Room 132 of the Agricultural Engineering building. The sole purpose of the organization is to design and build a tractor to compete against other collegiate teams. The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers holds the international student pulling event, which judges the design, durability, maneuverability and performance of each tractor. Last year, 17 teams competed at the Expo Gardens Fairgrounds in Peoria, Illinois, some coming from as far as Canada and Israel. |
| Army adds $22M to Clemson autonomous vehicle partnership | |
 | The ongoing partnership between Clemson University and the U.S. Army expanded on Feb. 28 to include $22 million in additional funding towards research and design work on autonomous vehicles to modernize military forces. In 2020, the U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center, based in Warren, Mich., contributed $18 million to Clemson to create the Virtual Prototyping of Autonomy-Enabled Ground Systems Center at its International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) off Interstate 85 in Greenville. The full agreement includes a ceiling of $100 million across roughly five years. The Army's now $40 million committed is for the continued research towards developing "virtual prototyping tools for designing the next-generation of on- and off-road vehicles," according to a release. Since the establishment of the new center at CU-ICAR, 65 faculty and 74 master's degree and doctorate students have been selected, "with more to be included in the coming months and years," to participate in research. In an auditorium at CU-ICAR, Clemson President Jim Clements, members of Clemson's Board of Trustees, Sen. Lindsey Graham, various congressional staffers, community partners throughout Greenville County and economic development partners gathered for the announcement on Feb. 28. Chief Scientist of the U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center David Gorsich shared that, "it's really, really crucial that we modernize the forces." "The army has been in a war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we have not been modernizing as quickly as Russia and China have," Gorsich said. |
| 'Completely Unacceptable': Required Land Acknowledgment Comes Under Fire at San Diego State | |
 | Faculty members at San Diego State University will meet Tuesday to reconsider a policy that has raised eyebrows nationwide: a requirement that instructors include a land acknowledgment on their syllabi. Some faculty members say being forced to include the acknowledgment, which celebrates the legacy of the Indigenous Kumeyaay people on the land that makes up the campus, violates their academic freedom because it forces them to parrot a viewpoint they might not necessarily agree with. A committee of the University Senate has already recommended that inclusion of the acknowledgment on syllabi be made optional. In 2019, the Senate approved a resolution that created a land-acknowledgement statement recognizing that the university's campus exists on the ancestral land of the Kumeyaay. The next year, the Senate voted to require faculty members to include the land statement in their course syllabi. Some faculty members have objected to the requirement. Last week, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a national free-speech group, had contacted the university after one or more faculty members reached out with concerns over the policy. In a letter to the university, FIRE urged administrators to drop the syllabus requirement as it "imposes an institutional orthodoxy on its faculty that contravenes the university's strong commitment to freedom of speech." The January letter says the university is welcome to shape and "express its own aspirational values as an institution," but it can't force the faculty to profess those values. |
| Happy Days Are Here Again for Higher Ed Budgets | |
| Gretchen Whitmer wants to give colleges and universities a lot more money. In her budget proposal, Michigan's Democratic governor calls for raising higher education support by nearly $300 million. That's a big turnaround from the type of higher ed cuts that have been typical in the state for years. "The higher education community is over-the-top elated," says Daniel Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities. "I don't think we'll ever see again a higher education budget proposal of this magnitude or significance." If colleges and universities have reason to celebrate in Lansing, they're not alone. Across the country, higher education is seeing major proposed increases from states that are flush with cash at the moment. That's on top of the $76 billion in federal money for campuses and students from the American Rescue Plan Act and other emergency measures enacted over the past two years. In the current fiscal year, state support for higher education topped $100 billion for the first time, increasing by 8.5 percent, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). Six states -- California, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon and Texas -- increased their higher ed budgets by more than 10 percent. In his current budget, California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes increasing funding for universities by 5 percent per year -- for the next five years. It's a much rosier picture than university presidents could have predicted at the start of the pandemic, when campuses were closing and state revenues went into a tailspin. "We were expecting to see a trend like in 2001 and 2008, with higher ed budgets cut more than other expenses," says Sophia Laderman, a senior policy analyst with SHEEO. Instead, states can afford to be generous. Flush with cash from improved revenues and federal aid, states are able to think about cutting taxes while increasing spending on higher ed and other programs. |
| Grants aim to save history at Black colleges, universities | |
| A national nonprofit organization is giving more than $650,000 in grants to help five historically Black colleges and universities to help preserve their campuses. The National Trust for Historic Preservation this week announced the grants through its HBCU Cultural Heritage Stewardship Initiative. The Washington-based trust aims to help the institutions develop campus preservation plans, which it called "a roadmap for preserving and celebrating the historic and hallowed places important to their institutional legacy." "There are 105 HBCUs across the country, and their infrastructure needs are increasingly urgent," the National Trust for Historic Preservation said in announcing the grants. "These campus-wide plans help keep legacy as an essential part of any future improvement, development, or maintenance." The grants are going to Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida; Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi; Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C.; Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina. |
| When colleges defraud students, should the government go after school executives? | |
 | In a shocking investigation, the U.S. Senate declared the federal student loan program "plagued by fraud and abuse." Its report heaped scorn on for-profit trade schools for serving 22% of federal student loan borrowers but accounting for 44% of defaults. "The school keeps the student aid money ... and the student is left holding the bag with a poor credit rating, no job and no income to repay the student loan," U.S. Rep. Marge Roukema, R-N.J., declaimed in her crusade against for-profit "bad apples." Sound familiar? This clamor for accountability erupted back in 1991, more than two decades before the epic collapses of Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute cost students and taxpayers millions of dollars in wasted loans and worthless degrees. More recently, in February, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would erase more than $70 million in student loans for former DeVry University students who had been misled by the school's false advertising. Believe it or not, back in 1992, in response to all this hand-wringing about for-profit colleges, Congress gave the education secretary a nuclear option: the power to hold leaders of fraudulent colleges -- including executives and investors -- personally liable for their wreckage. The problem is that 30 years later, the department has yet to use that power. Now, some lawmakers, higher education experts and department officials argue: It's time. |
| How U.S. higher ed is reacting to Russia's invasion of Ukraine | |
| Russia's invasion of Ukraine is reverberating in U.S. higher education and highlighting the sector's global ties. Colleges' actions show the different roles institutions large and small fill during moments of global conflict. Higher ed institutions shape international relations, even as they are affected by them. Their faculty members attempt to help the public understand crises, and their leaders have a unique bully pulpit that allows them to discuss current events and values that are bigger than any one organization. A group of more than 500 college presidents, called the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, asked the federal government to issue Temporary Protected Status and Special Student Relief for Ukrainians living or studying in the U.S. The moves would offer protection against deportation and give flexibility to Ukrainian international students, stopping them from potentially losing their visa status. More than 1,700 Ukrainian international students were studying in the U.S. in 2020-21, according to data from the Open Doors report. The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities called Russia's attack on Ukraine "an attack on democracy" and a threat to higher ed in Ukraine. The association condemned the invasion and "Russia's misinformation campaign to justify" its actions. |
| Students rally to support Ukraine | |
 | Ukraine native Khrystyna Pelchar, a graduate student at West Virginia University, watched with mounting dread as Russia launched an attack on her home country Wednesday night. She feared for her sister, who lives in eastern Ukraine. "I was in shock," Pelchar said. "I did not leave the house. I was just crying. I was checking an interactive map in Ukraine, and I was checking if my sister's still alive, because there was an explosion next to the city she was in." To raise awareness of what was happening in her homeland, Pelchar decided to organize a rally Monday at WVU's Mountainlair building, a student union. She and the other organizers handed out more than 100 fliers informing bystanders about the invasion of Ukraine and provided a QR code that people could scan to find organizations accepting donations to help Ukrainian civilians. The leaders of a number of scholarly associations and research centers have spoken out against Russia's attack on Ukraine, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced Friday that it was ending its program in Russia with the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology. At colleges and universities across the U.S., students, too, have joined in the antiwar effort, participating in rallies on and off campus. They wave blue-and-yellow flags and march with signs bearing messages such as "No war, save Ukraine" and "Stand with Ukraine." Students have also taken up collections for organizations such as the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Revived Soldiers Ukraine fund. |
| Expel Russian Students? A Controversial Idea Gets Panned | |
| Higher-education groups are among nearly 200 organizations calling for special protections for Ukrainian students at American colleges -- while some members of Congress are advocating for the expulsion of their Russian classmates. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced it was cutting ties with a Russian university it helped found, one of many ways the war in Ukraine is reverberating across American higher ed. In an interview on CNN, Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat and a member of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, proposed "kicking out" Russian students at American colleges in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. "Frankly, I think closing their embassy in the United States, kicking every Russian student out of the United States -- those should all be on the table," he said. In a text-message exchange with a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle, Swalwell, a Democratic hopeful in the primaries for the 2020 presidential election, stood by the controversial idea, which he said came from current and former intelligence-community members. "If their people feel isolated from the world, the opposition inside the country will grow," Swalwell said. About 5,000 Russian students were enrolled in American colleges in the 2020-21 academic year, according to the Institute of International Education. |
| Indian, Algerian students killed in Ukraine; others stranded during Russia's invasion beg for help | |
 | From Nigeria to Ghana and Iraq to India, tens of thousands of students studying abroad in Ukraine are desperately calling for support from their governments as Russia's invasion escalates. At least two students -- one from India and another from Algeria -- have been killed in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, which witnessed some of the war's heaviest shelling Monday. Arindam Bagchi, India's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in a tweet: "With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family." Bagchi added that the Indian foreign secretary is calling on the ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine to help ensure "urgent safe passage for Indian nationals" stuck in Kharkiv and other conflict areas in Ukraine. Algeria's foreign ministry confirmed that a citizen was killed in the fighting in Kharkiv over the weekend and that Algeria would work to repatriate his body. His family told the al-Araby TV channel and news site that Mohammed Talbi, who is in his 20s, had been studying engineering in Ukraine and had just graduated a few months ago. They described him as someone who was "ambitious" and "loved life." His father said that during the fighting, he had been hiding in a shelter with other international students. An estimated 10,000 students from across the Arab world are enrolled at Ukrainian universities, Agence France-Presse reported, and Africans reportedly make up 20 percent of international students there. Many are attracted to Ukraine for its affordable education, while others choose Europe as a haven from violence and other troubles at home. |
| Controversial U.S. China Initiative gets new name, tighter focus on industrial espionage | |
| University scientists and civil rights groups in the United States are offering qualified praise for the federal government's decision last week to rename and revise the China Initiative, a controversial, 3-year-old law enforcement campaign intended to prevent the Chinese government from stealing U.S.-funded technologies. "Dropping the name is good," says Steven Pei, an electrical engineer at the University of Houston who has been a prominent advocate for reforming an initiative critics say has unfairly targeted U.S.-based scientists of Chinese origin and improperly subjected researchers who made paperwork errors to criminal prosecution. "But the real issue is how the new policy will be implemented." But Pei and other observers worry the China Initiative has already done lasting damage to international research collaborations. The same suspicions that fed the initiative, they say, are driving Congress toward adopting tougher disclosure rules for U.S. researchers working with foreign partners and banning certain collaborations altogether. Since its launch in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, the China Initiative has resulted in criminal charges against some two dozen academic scientists, typically for failing to tell U.S. funding agencies about their financial ties to Chinese institutions. Most of the defendants were of Chinese origin. Although several pled guilty and were sentenced to prison terms, prosecutors dropped other cases and only one scientist, Harvard University chemist Charles Lieber, has been convicted by a jury. |
SPORTS
| Diamond Dawg Gameday: Grambling & Southern Miss | |
| No. 9 Mississippi State (4-3) will close out an eight-game homestand this week as the Diamond Dawgs host Grambling in non-conference action at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, at Dudy Noble Field. MSU will then hit the road for the first time this season to face off against Southern Miss on Wednesday, March 2, at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. between the Diamond Dawgs and Golden Eagles. Tuesday's home game against Grambling will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Both midweek contests will be carried on the Mississippi State Sports Network powered by Learfield along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/plus. The Tigers opened the 2022 season at the MLB Andre Dawson Classic in New Orleans and ended the weekend with a 2-1 record. This past weekend, Grambling fell to 2-4 on the season after being swept in three games by Florida A&M. The Tigers opened the series on Friday (Feb. 25) with a 7-3 loss before dropped both games of a doubleheader on Saturday (L, 5-7; L, 2-6) to close out the weekend. The Golden Eagles are coming off a series victory over Jacksonville State at home and enter the contest with a 5-2 record overall on the young season. Like the Diamond Dawgs, Wednesday's game in Pearl will mark the first time in 2022 the Golden Eagles are playing away from their home ballpark. Southern Miss opened the campaign by sweeping North Alabama before losing to South Alabama (Feb. 22), 6-5, in 13 innings last week. |
| Mississippi State Women's Golf, Julia Lopez Ramirez Capture 2022 Westbrook Invitational Titles | |
| Mississippi State women's golf is coming back to Starkville with two new trophies after capturing both the team and individual titles on Monday in the Westbrook Invitational. Following up a strong first two rounds on Sunday, State picked up right where they left off Monday morning. The Bulldogs continued to build their lead early on Sunday lowering their score from 9-under to 12-under after 4 holes on Monday. After 12, State sat at 11-under before getting hot down the stretch late to secure the victory shooting 13-under (282) for the event. This is the first tournament win for MSU since 2020 as they have now captured back-to-back Westbrook Invitational titles (The event was canceled in 2021). "This win has been so special," head coach Charlie Ewing said. I know for the rest of my career and the rest of my life this one will be special as it is my first win as a head coach. You always see what the team does behind the scenes and how they invest themselves academically and on the athletic side of things and it is truly special to see their hard work pay off in a big way." Also going back-to-back is Freshman Julia Lopez Ramirez who captured her second consecutive individual title on Monday after securing the Paradise Invitational title to begin the spring season. Lopez Ramirez delivered three straight rounds in the 60s throughout the tournament including two straight rounds of 68 to secure the title shooting 11-under (205). Lopez Ramirez now has five top-8 finishes out of the seven tournaments she has competed in so far in her young Bulldog career. Lopez Ramirez is the first Mississippi State player to win both an individual title and team title in the same event since 2014 when Ally McDonald, now Allie Ewing, did it twice (Schooner Fall Classic and Old Waverly Bulldog Invitational). |
| With millions on the line, Mississippi lawmakers disagree on Outdoor Stewardship Fund | |
 | Bills in the Mississippi Legislature call to create a fund for parks and trails, improving hunting and fishing opportunities and protecting clean water. However, if differences in the bills aren't ironed out by the House and Senate, the state will continue to leave tens of millions of dollars in federal matching funds on the table. There are two bills in the House outlining the Outdoor Stewardship Conservation Fund. Representative Scott Bounds, R-Philadelphia, is the primary author of HB1064. House Bill 606 was introduced by Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia. Bounds said the bills are basically identical, with the exception of minor differences dealing with parks. In the Senate, Sen. Neil Whaley, R-Potts Camp, is the primary author of SB2495. While both House and Senate versions aim to create similar funds with no new taxes, where the money comes from differs. In the House, it's a mechanized diversion. "The Outdoor Stewardship Fund would be a diversion of taxes on sporting goods only," Bounds said. "I think it's 30-plus states have some sort of mechanism for an Outdoor Stewardship Fund. Other states have done it and been very successful with it." Bounds said in the first and second years, about $10 million would be diverted into the fund and $12.5 million in following years. Bounds said if the fund accrues more than $20 million, the excess would go into the general fund. Through matching federal funds for approved projects, $20 million could grow significantly. |
| Courts prevent Conference USA from entering into arbitration with Marshall, Southern Miss over exit | |
| Marshall and Southern Miss have temporarily succeeded in their attempt to push back on Conference USA's demand for arbitration as both schools, along with Old Dominion, attempt to leave the conference. Old Dominion filed a similar injunction on Monday, and the first hearing is set for Tuesday morning. The Cabell County Circuit Court (West Virginia) granted a temporary restraining order Thursday, preventing C-USA from proceeding with arbitration against Marshall. The Circuit Court of Forrest County (Mississippi) also granted a temporary restraining order in favor of Southern Miss on Friday. Both are enforceable until March 7. Last week, C-USA sent the three schools a demand for arbitration, in which a third party would make a ruling on their ability to leave the conference by July 1. C-USA also requested an immediate injunction to prevent them from leaving the league. The demand was filed in Dallas, where C-USA is headquartered. Marshall responded by filing this lawsuit in West Virginia, claiming that it has sovereign immunity as a public institution and an arm of the state. Southern Miss filed a similar request on the same grounds, also noting that the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is not part of C-USA. The Forrest County Circuit Court ruled in favor of the motion and noted that C-USA "will not suffer any harm from a brief delay in the arbitration action." Southern Miss' next hearing date is scheduled for March 7, while Marshall's is scheduled for March 16. |
| Old Dominion files for injunction against Conference USA | |
| Old Dominion has filed for an injunction against Conference USA in Norfolk Circuit Court as the Monarchs look to depart the league without going through an arbitration process. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at 10:00 AM, according to the Virginia Courts Case Information website. "Conference USA has filed improper arbitration demands against three departing member Universities seeking to litigate the Universities' withdrawal from the conference in C-USA's hometown of Dallas, Texas," ODU said in a statement. "The arbitration demands are unlawful for several reasons and ODU is seeking relief in Norfolk Circuit Court in order to stay and enjoin the proceeding. Once a stay is in place, the parties can discuss any remaining issues related to ODU's move to the Sun Belt Conference. Last week, Courts in West Virginia and Mississippi issued temporary restraining orders against similar C-USA actions against Marshall University and the University of Southern Mississippi." On February 11, Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Mississippi announced that they would leave Conference USA on June 30 of this year, one year ahead of schedule. All three accepted invitations to join the Sun Belt Conference in October. The league responded by threatening legal action against any institution that left before its contract with the conference expired on June 30, 2023. Conference USA released its football schedule two weeks ago, which included the three departing schools on it. |
| Southern Miss releases football schedule with Sun Belt conference games, not Conference USA | |
 | Southern Miss released its football schedule Monday, and the conference games are against Sun Belt schools, not Conference USA schools. Southern Miss announced that it plans to leave Conference USA for the Sun Belt on June 30. Since then, the C-USA still opted to put Southern Miss on its 2022 schedule and said it would take legal action if USM doesn't play the games. Old Dominion and Marshall are also leaving the C-USA for the Sun Belt, and are in a similar situation to Southern Miss. Marshall responded by suing the C-USA, and a judge granted an injunction in Marshall's favor, temporarily allowing the school to avoid arbitrating the case in Dallas where C-USA is headquartered. Southern Miss has not said whether it plans to take legal action. But for now, it has released its football schedule without any C-USA member schools on it. The Golden Eagles' home opener will be against Liberty on Sept. 3. Then Southern Miss will travel to Miami (Florida) on Sept. 10. Northwestern State and Tulane round out the non-conference schedule. Southern Miss will host defending Sun Belt champion Louisiana for a Thursday night game on Oct. 27. Other conference matchups include a home game against Georgia State on Nov. 5, and game at Coastal Carolina on Nov. 12. It will be the first time Southern Miss has played either school in football. |
| Lee-way To Success: Lifelong Vanderbilt student, player and leader Candice Lee utilizes her role as AD to bring athletic growth, create new storylines and inspire diversity change | |
| When Candice Lee was named Vanderbilt's athletic director in 2020, the prevailing perception was that the private SEC school had hired "more of the same." Lee had been an athlete, an academic adviser and a longtime administrator -- all at Vanderbilt. Why expect anything new or different? But in her two years guiding the Commodores -- first as the interim for three months, and subsequently as the full-time AD -- Lee has firmly established her vision for Vanderbilt athletics, and it's clearly not more of the same. She's made impactful front office hires from outside of Vanderbilt; she has endeared herself to Vandy's most successful coaches, like baseball's Tim Corbin; and she has undertaken the most aggressive facility improvement in the school's athletic history, a $300 million series of projects that will help transform football and basketball venues as well as practice areas on the Nashville campus. When talking about Vandy United, the overarching name for these athletic projects, Lee uses phrases such as a "new era" and a "new direction" for the Commodores -- not what most expected from a Vanderbilt lifer. "That commitment to new leadership and a new vision for the future reflect the high expectations that exist all across that campus," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. "Candice has made some changes, and it's all about setting up the next chapter in Vanderbilt athletics." As one of just three Black women to hold an AD job in the Power Five, along with Virginia's Carla Williams and Duke's Nina King, and the first in the tradition-heavy SEC, Lee's journey into leadership at one of the nation's most elite universities is its own story to tell, complete with discouraging setbacks of a different type. |
| UGA police investigating report of fraud by Bulldog Club impostor | |
 | University of Georgia police are investigating a report that someone has committed fraud by pretending to be a top UGA employee to solicit money through The Georgia Bulldog Club. The complaint was filed Feb. 1 by Ford Williams, executive associate athletic director and executive director of The Georgia Bulldog Club. The police report states that an unknown person unlawfully represented themselves as Ford by using his name and electronic signature to solicit donations via email. Ford works out of the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall on campus. University police would not say Monday if a suspect has been identified or how much money is involved in the scheme, according to UGA spokesman Rod Guajardo. Information was also not made available on how the alleged fraud was uncovered. The Georgia Bulldog Club, according to its website, is the multimillion dollar fundraising arm of the Athletic Association that provides funds for student-athlete scholarships, the university's athletic facilities and the operation of its 21 varsity sports programs. |
| Art Briles resigns as Grambling State offensive coordinator four days after being hired | |
 | Four days after announcing Art Briles as Grambling State's new offensive coordinator, the embattled former football coach at Baylor resigned. A Grambling State spokesperson told the News-Star on Monday that Briles had resigned but offered no details. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of your coaching staff at Grambling State University," Briles said in a statement. "Unfortunately, I feel that my continued presence will be a distraction to you and your team, which is the last thing that I want. I have the utmost respect the university, and the players." Briles was confirmed as the offensive coordinator on Thursday by Grambling officials. Head coach Hue Jackson and his foundation put out a statement Monday morning supporting the new hire. Briles has not coached in college since being fired at Baylor in 2016 after an internal investigation into the Texas university's handling of an extensive number of sexual assault accusations, including those against players on the football team during Briles' tenure. An NCAA investigation cleared Briles in August 2021 of any NCAA violations but was critical of Briles' actions at Baylor. Briles' history at Baylor resurfaced again in 2019 after he was targeted for Southern Miss' offensive coordinator position. Then-coach Jay Hopson lobbied for Briles to be added to his staff but was overruled by the university's president and interim athletics director, according to reports. |
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