| Friday, March 25, 2022 |
| MSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach helps students launch companies | |
 | Mississippi State University students who work with the Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach don't get college credits. The E-Center programs help students with innovative ideas design and build their own companies, meaning some students walk across the graduation stage into an investment-backed company of their own. "At any given time, we are working with around 100 possible startups," said E-Center Director Eric Alan Hill. "Our primary mission is encouraging students to use their ideas to found their own companies. I would say in the past five years, there have been many cases of that, and eight cases where they have raised six-digit investment rounds, at least. It is exciting because not only are they creating a job for themselves but, in most cases, they are creating jobs for others. There are roughly 35 employees under the age of 30 working across those companies." The program directly targets the brain drain that occurs when college graduates leave the state for better career opportunities elsewhere. In addition to helping students to launch a startup company, it provides experience preparing students for jobs working for other businesses. Hill always tells participants of their program that even if their idea fails, they still end up learning much more than they would otherwise about operation, finance, marketing and sales. |
| Mississippi State students' start-up company Glo now valued at nearly $20 million | |
| Glo, a company based in Starkville, started when Hagan Walker, CEO and co-founder, and Anna Barker, co-founder and vice president, were students at Mississippi State University working with the MSU Center of Entrepreneurship and Outreach. The company that now does business with the likes of Sesame Street recently completed a $1.72 million capital raise, bringing the value of the company to nearly $20 million. Initially they started with a product called Glo Cubes, a liquid-activated light-up drink accessory. They experienced early success with selling these to bars and restaurants across the U.S. "In 2017, a customer reached out to let us know that she found Glo Cubes in a restaurant and took them home for her son, a 4-year-old with autism who was terrified of bath time," Barker said. "The light-up technology was used as a calming tool to help him process the overstimulation that many children with autism experience. His story influenced the development of the Glo Pals, a line of children's sensory products, and our purpose: to nurture imagination, encourage development, and support learning through playtime." Barker said the company has sold more than 4 million Global Pals to customers in 36 countries. The products are available in 1,400 retailers throughout North America. The influence of the autism community eventually led to them partnering with Sesame Workshop to create an exclusive line of Glo Pals featuring the iconic Muppets. The collaboration launched in April 2021 with the release of Elmo and his new friend, Julia, Sesame Street's first autistic Muppet. |
| Marco's Pizza in Starkville is now open, Tupelo location set for June 1 opening | |
| The first of many Marco's Pizza locations for franchise owners Mark and Angela Clegg is now up and running, with the couple's first store in Starkville opening. Located at 385 College View St. Suite 25, the store is overseen by the Clegg's long-time family friend and business partner, Katie Bostick, who is the Director of Operations. The team plans to open 20 to 25 locations in the next 10 years. The Tupelo Marco's Pizza, located next to Car Wash USA on West Main Street, is set to open June 1. The Tupelo store occupies about 1,800 square feet, and a rental space next to it occupies another 1,600-1,700 square feet. "We were attracted to Marco's Pizza because of the quality ingredients and growth opportunities the brand could offer us," said Bostick. "We are excited to be so close to Mississippi State University and bring our fresh products, quality service, and plenty of jobs to the students and locals in the Starkville area." Marco's Pizza was founded in 1978 near Toledo, Ohio, by Italian immigrant Pasquale Giammarco. Today there are some 1,000 stores in 34 states. |
| Fertilizer prices rise due to war, other supply-chain issues | |
 | It's going to cost more green to get green this summer, local farm and garden supply managers say. "Fertilizer prices are the highest I've seen in probably 10 years," said Dan Shipp, general manager at the Oktibbeha County Farmers Cooperative. "It's about double what it was last year," said Jeff Hays, manager at the Lowndes County Co-op. "I've noticed that people are price-shopping more, trying to find something cheaper," said Mary Tuggle, manager of Walton's Greenhouse in Columbus. From home gardeners to cattle ranchers and row crop planters, customers have seen the cost of fertilizer increase incrementally over the past year, an increase only exacerbated by inflation, fuel costs, transportation and most recently, a railroad strike in Canada and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "I originally thought that the prices would start to come down in June once the row crops are planted," Hays said. "That's what usually happens. But with the conflict in Ukraine going on, I really don't see an end to the price increases." The Russian invasion, which has stopped shipments from Russia, is compounded by the Canadian railroad workers strike, which began Monday, and interruptions in supply due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk for Hays and Shipp is how much stock to purchase. "For Dan and me, the problem is you don't want to overstock at these higher prices and then get stuck with when the prices go down," Hays said. "We saw that back in 2007-2008." |
| Mississippi will see big investment in EV infrastructure | |
| Mississippi has, per capita, the lowest number of electric cars registered of any state, according to U.S. Census and Department of Energy data, while the number of people driving electric vehicles is growing throughout the nation. The state's scarcity may be partly due to the small number of charging stations. That can change with funds from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. One portion of the act seeks to build a network of EV chargers to facilitate long-distance travel and provide convenient charging options. The bill invests $7.5 billion to build out the first-ever national network of EV chargers in the United States. Mississippi can expect to receive $51 million over five years to support the expansion of an EV charging network in the state. Mississippi will also have the opportunity to apply for the $2.5 billion in grant funding dedicated to EV charging in the bill. Currently the state has charging stations in Columbus, Greenville, Greenwood, Grenada, Gulfport, Jackson, John C. Stennis Space Center, Kiln, Meridian, Natchez, Oxford, Pascagoula, Pearl, Picayune, Southaven, Starkville, Tupelo and Vicksburg. Japanese car manufacturer Nissan announced it will spend half a billion dollars to upgrade its facility and workforce at its Canton plant with the goal of building two new all-electric models by 2025. The Mississippi Development Authority is also spending $50 million through grants on the project for building improvements, installing new equipment and training 2,000 of the 5,000 workers at the plant. |
| ERDC Celebrates National Women's Month with Panel of Distinguished Leaders | |
 | The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center held its monthly public panel discussion, ERDC Live, on Monday morning. In honor of Women's History Month, the program was titled "Women in Innovation: Leading a Better Tomorrow." The panel consisted of three high-profile female leaders at ERDC: Col. Teresa Schlosser, commander of ERDC; Dr. Beth Fleming, Deputy Director of ERDC and Patricia Sullivan, Associate Director of ERDC. The program was moderated by Shelley Tingle, a research engineer at ERDC. Six Vicksburg Warren School District students posed questions to the panel. The panel also discussed the changing role of women in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). "It is so exciting, the change that I've seen," Fleming said. "In ERDC and across all of the stem fields in terms of women and their participation, it has just been incredible." Schlosser noted the increased number of women in leadership roles in STEM fields and at ERDC. "As we watch more senior women leadership come in, it's because we started out all those years ago," she said. "It takes time to create leaders, so I expect to see more and more women leading in STEM." The panel also discussed opportunities available to STEM students at ERDC. "There are so many great opportunities for students here at ERDC," Fleming said. "From every level. Whether you're in the high school level, whether you're an undergrad or whether you're a grad student." |
| Mississippi gov says he's 'married' to income tax phaseout | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves insisted Thursday that legislators pass a bill to phase out the state income tax, but other Republicans who lead the House and Senate remained far apart on the issue. With a week and a half remaining in the three-month legislative session, Reeves unveiled his own proposal. He said Thursday that he wants the state to reduce the top income tax rate from 5% to 3.5% next January, then phase out the rest of the income tax over the following seven years. "I'm not married to this plan. I'm married to the elimination of the income tax," Reeves said at a Capitol news conference. Legislators face a Saturday deadline to agree on tax and spending bills for the budget year that begins July 1. House Speaker Philip Gunn has been pushing for more than a year to phase out the income tax in one of the poorest states in the nation. He says he believes it will spur economic growth. Asked about the governor's plan Thursday, Gunn told reporters: "While I appreciate him proposing something ... we've been asking for over a year now for a proposal. Here we are two days before deadline and we see the first proposal from the governor. My question is: Where are his votes?" |
| Gov. Reeves pressures lawmakers to pass more aggressive plan to eliminate income tax | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves on Thursday offered his own sweeping plan to eliminate the state income tax, potentially pressuring lawmakers to reach a tax cut deal on the tail end of an already tense legislative session. The governor called on lawmakers to do away with the 4% income tax bracket and reduce the top 5% income tax bracket to 3.5% during the first year of its implementation, which Reeves estimated would result in $600 million of revenue loss. The first-term Republican governor then called on lawmakers to reduce the 3.5% rate by half a percent each year until the tax is abolished, which would take about seven years after the initial reduction on the top bracket. "We are going to eliminate the income tax in Mississippi," Reeves said. "It is something that our people need, and it's something that our people deserve." Reeves and GOP lawmakers in the House have argued that if the state income tax were abolished, it would put more money back into the pockets of Mississippians and cause industries to locate in the Magnolia State. The governor's new plan comes right before a major legislative deadline and in the middle of intense brinkmanship between the House and Senate over competing tax cut plans. Lawmakers have until 8 p.m. on Saturday to file conference reports dealing with revenue. If no report is filed by then, the legislation would die on the calendar. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves jumps into bitter Capitol income tax fight | |
| Just two days before a key legislative deadline, Gov. Tate Reeves confidently stated that lawmakers would vote to eliminate the state income tax that generates about one-third of Mississippi's general fund revenue. Reeves, who has little legislative power during the regular session, stopped short of saying that he would call a special session or veto budget bills or other items if legislators do not send him an income tax elimination proposal. But those actions would be the governor's primary leverage in any battle with lawmakers. "I am prepared to do whatever it takes to eliminate the income tax in Mississippi," the first-term Republican governor said. "We are going to work together over the next several days to get this done ... We are going to eliminate the income tax in Mississippi." Reeves made his declaration Thursday during a press availability in his state Capitol office as legislators prepare to enter key negotiations on developing a budget and finalizing other major proposals. Work is expected to continue on the budget and other key bills through the weekend to meet key deadlines as the session's scheduled April 3 conclusion nears. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves indicates he will sign teacher pay raise bill into law | |
| Mississippi's public K-12 teachers will likely receive a significant pay increase soon, based on public comments from Gov. Tate Reeves. The first-term Republican governor on Thursday told reporters that he intends to sign a bill into law that would, on average, increase salaries for educators by around $5,100. In addition to the average pay increase, the bill also includes a new pay scale containing between $400 to $600 bumps each year, depending on the educator's certification level. The pay scale in years five, 10, 15 and 20 allows educators to receive between $1,200 and $1,350, depending on certification level. The legislation also gives teacher's assistants a $2,000 pay raise. "I have every intention to sign that bill into law," Reeves said. The deadline for Reeves to decide to sign the bill into law, veto the legislation or let it become law without his signature is March 30. |
| Senate approves bill banning state agencies, officials from using private money on elections | |
| Using private money for paying for voter outreach and election-related expenses could soon be illegal in Mississippi. Thursday, the Senate passed the conference report for H.B. 1365, which bans local governments and government officials from seeking or using private dollars to fund elections, election outreach, voter education, and the like. Senators approved the measure on a 49-2 vote, with 1 senator absent or not voting, the Mississippi Legislature's website states. The measure now must be voted on by the House. If approved, it will go to the governor's desk for his signature. If approved, Mississippi would join more than a dozen states that have passed similar bills in the wake of the 2020 election and the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill also comes as three people in Hinds County face a litany of felony charges related to the misuse of an elections grant provided by the Center for Tech and Civic Life. The Hinds County Election Commission received nearly $1.9 million in grant monies to help protect voters and workers during the 2020 election. However, three people, including one election commissioner, were arrested on embezzlement, bribery, and other charges in connection with improperly using about $300,000 of that grant money. |
| Censure of Politician Did Not Violate First Amendment, Supreme Court Rules | |
 | The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that elected bodies do not violate the First Amendment when they censure their members. The case concerned David Wilson, a former elected trustee of the Houston Community College System and an energetic critic of its work. In addition to airing his concerns in interviews and on a website, Mr. Wilson sued the system's board, orchestrated robocalls and hired private investigators to look into whether another trustee had lied about where she lived. He was, a federal appeals court judge wrote in a dissent, a "gadfly legislator." In 2018, Mr. Wilson's fellow board members issued a formal verbal reprimand against him in a censure resolution. "The board finds that Mr. Wilson's conduct was not only inappropriate, but reprehensible, and such conduct warrants disciplinary action," its resolution said. He sued, saying the punishment violated the First Amendment by retaliating against him for things he had said. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, writing for the court, said Mr. Wilson misunderstood the nature of the national commitment to free speech. "In this country," he wrote, "we expect elected representatives to shoulder a degree of criticism about their public service from their constituents and their peers -- and to continue exercising their free speech rights when the criticism comes." "The only adverse action at issue before us is itself a form of speech from Mr. Wilson's colleagues that concerns the conduct of public office," Justice Gorsuch wrote. "The First Amendment surely promises an elected representative like Mr. Wilson the right to speak freely on questions of government policy. But just as surely, it cannot be used as a weapon to silence other representatives seeking to do the same." |
| Parties close arguments over Supreme Court pick | |
 | The Senate Judiciary Committee put Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on the path to confirmation to the Supreme Court after closing her nomination hearings Thursday with character witnesses and outside experts. Senators used the fourth and final hearing day to bolster their arguments about Jackson's qualifications through questions to more than a dozen witnesses. Democrats have so far remained united on the nomination of the federal appeals court judge and, because they control the Senate, do not require Republican support to confirm her. Many of the witnesses emphasized the historic nomination of the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, despite what Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, called "bad faith efforts" to undermine Jackson. "We are going to confirm a Black woman not because she is Black, but because she is qualified," Beatty said in her testimony to the committee. Earlier this week, committee Republicans frequently confronted Jackson with issues that have played prominently in broader party politics, such as critical race theory. They also questioned whether the judge would be lenient on criminal defendants. But D. Jean Veta, a member of the American Bar Association's evaluation committee, said the organization examined whether Jackson showed a bias toward criminal defendants during its assessment. The ABA rated Jackson as "well qualified," said Veta, an attorney at Covington & Burling LLP. "Notably, no judge, defense counsel or prosecutor expressed any concern in this regard and they uniformly rejected any accusations in this regard," she said. |
| Jackson faces growing GOP opposition on Supreme Court | |
 | Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is facing a shrinking pool of potential GOP supporters for her Supreme Court confirmation as Republicans harden their opposition. Democrats can confirm Jackson without any Republican support if all 50 of their members are united and Vice President Harris breaks a tie. But they are hoping to peel off at least one GOP "yes" vote. Though Jackson avoided the type of misstep that would sink her nomination, GOP senators say the hearing did little to win over their members. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) formally announced his expected opposition to her nomination after the hearings wrapped. Democrats and the White House remain hopeful that they will pick up Republican support for her nomination. "We're going to get some GOP support. ... I feel like we're going to get some folks," former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who is helping guide Jackson's nomination through the Senate. Republicans are saying they won't boycott her vote in the Judiciary Committee, a hardball tactic they've used on other panels to try to bottle up Biden's nominees, including a recent high-profile fight over Sarah Bloom Raskin's Federal Reserve nomination. But Jackson appears increasingly likely to face a tie vote in the Judiciary Committee, which is evenly split 11-11. A tie vote in committee doesn't sink Jackson's nomination, but if Democrats are required to move to discharge her nomination from the committee to the full Senate, it adds an extra procedural step and hours of time onto the Senate's actions. |
| Hawley's attacks on Ketanji Brown Jackson fuel a surge in online conspiracy chatter | |
 | A misleading line of attack from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., helped fuel online discussion, some of it violent, linking Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to concerns about pedophilia, according to an analysis of data from Pyrra Technologies, a threat-monitoring company that tracks alternative social media platforms. Hawley used much of his question time during Jackson's confirmation hearings this week to distort her sentencing record in cases related to child pornography. He previewed that line of questioning last week with a long Twitter thread in which he painted Jackson as sympathetic to child pornography defendants. Fact-checkers and some conservative legal experts have labeled his claims misleading and note that his comments are tied to conspiracy theories, including the far-right QAnon. The White House referred to his rhetoric as an "embarrassing QAnon-signaling smear." Hawley responded: "If they want to dismiss parents' concerns about their children's safety and they want to dismiss concerns about crime as a conspiracy theory, take that argument to the polls." His office didn't respond to NPR's requests for an interview. Welton Chang, Pyrra's CEO, warned there's danger that conspiracy theories that marinate in online forums can lead to real-world consequences. In late 2016, a North Carolina man opened fire in a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant, saying that he was "investigating" claims that the restaurant was the center of a child sex ring involving top Democrats, in a conspiracy theory known as Pizzagate that was a precursor to QAnon. |
| Ginni Thomas, Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, exchanged texts with Mark Meadows about efforts to overturn 2020 election | |
 | Virginia Thomas, a conservative activist married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, repeatedly pressed White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in urgent text exchanges in the critical weeks following the vote, according to copies of the messages obtained by CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa and Bob Woodward of The Washington Post. Those messages -- part of 29 total messages obtained -- reveal an extraordinary pipeline between Virginia Thomas, who goes by Ginni, and then-President Donald Trump's top aide during a period when Trump and his allies were vowing to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to subvert the election results. The messages, which do not directly reference Justice Thomas or the Supreme Court, show for the first time how Ginni Thomas used her access to Trump's inner circle to encourage and seek to guide the president's strategy to overturn the election results -- and how receptive and grateful Meadows said he was to receive her advice. Among Thomas' stated goals in the messages was for lawyer Sidney Powell, who promoted incendiary and unsupported claims about the election, to become "the lead and the face" of Trump's legal team. |
| 'Too big to fail': White House careful not to target food companies as it pressures Putin | |
 | A growing global food crisis is forcing the Biden administration to balance its crushing economic campaign against Russia with a gentler approach to major U.S. food and agribusiness companies still operating there -- and contributing tax dollars to Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for all foreign companies to pull out of Russia as punishment for Putin's bloody invasion of Ukraine, calling out some individual conglomerates by name, President Joe Biden has been extremely careful not to pressure any specific company to leave Russia or allow U.S. sanctions against Russia to affect food flowing in or out of the country. In a prominent example, neither the administration nor Democratic lawmakers have critiqued agriculture shipping giant Cargill Inc., the country's largest privately held company, which is still operating what it says are "essential food and feed facilities" in Russia. The White House even hosted Cargill CEO David MacLennan earlier this week as part of a meeting with corporate leaders to discuss the conflict with Ukraine and its effect on already-strained global supply chains. During the meeting, top Biden economic officials thanked the companies that had pulled out of Russia for doing so, but officials didn't make any mention of scaling down Russian operations, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions. Instead, they focused on how food companies could stave off further disruptions to the global supply. |
| Biden arrives in Poland; U.S., E.U. plan to reduce Europe's reliance on Russian fuels | |
 | The United States and the European Commission announced a new joint task force Friday to reduce Europe's reliance on Russian fossil fuels, as the West looks to further punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States will work with international partners to deliver additional liquefied natural gas for the European market in 2022 and beyond, the White House said. President Biden later flew to Rzeszow, Poland, a city 60 miles from the Ukrainian border, for a humanitarian briefing and to greet U.S. troops stationed there. The visit, another show of Washington's solidarity with its transatlantic allies, follows a U.S. pledge to accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and a vow to respond "in kind" if Russia uses chemical weapons. In Ukraine, the battle for the capital, Kyiv, rages on as the war enters its second month, with counterattacks forcing Russian troops into defensive positions, according to U.S.-based military analysts. While addressing European nations Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "grateful" for sanctions against Russia but that they came "a little too late." He pleaded with them to expedite Ukraine's application to join the European Union. |
| Biden Sticks With Longstanding U.S. Policy on Use of Nuclear Weapons Amid Pressure From Allies | |
 | President Biden, stepping back from a campaign vow, has embraced a longstanding U.S. approach of using the threat of a potential nuclear response to deter conventional and other nonnuclear dangers in addition to nuclear ones, U.S. officials said Thursday. During the 2020 campaign Mr. Biden promised to work toward a policy in which the sole purpose of the U.S. nuclear arsenal would be to deter or respond to an enemy nuclear attack. Mr. Biden's new decision, made earlier this week under pressure from allies, holds that the "fundamental role" of the U.S. nuclear arsenal will be to deter nuclear attacks. That carefully worded formulation, however, leaves open the possibility that nuclear weapons could also be used in "extreme circumstances" to deter enemy conventional, biological, chemical and possibly cyberattacks, said the officials. The decision comes as Mr. Biden is meeting with allies in Europe in an effort to maintain a unified Western stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and allied concerns that the Kremlin might resort to nuclear or chemical weapons. Mr. Biden's nuclear policy follows an extensive Nuclear Posture Review, in which administration officials examined U.S. nuclear strategy and programs. North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies have been particularly nervous about shifting to a "sole purpose" doctrine, fearing it could weaken deterrence against a conventional Russian attack on the alliance. Congressional Republicans had criticized Mr. Biden for considering a "sole purpose" doctrine. |
| Putin's war in Ukraine nearing possibly more dangerous phase | |
| President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine is approaching a new, potentially more dangerous phase after a month of fighting has left Russian forces stalled by an outnumbered foe. He is left with stark choices -- how and where to replenish his spent ground forces, whether to attack the flow of Western arms to Ukrainian defenders, and at what cost he might escalate or widen the war. Despite failing to score a quick victory, Putin is not relenting in the face of mounting international pressure, including sanctions that have battered his economy. The Western world is aligned largely against Putin, but there have been no indications he is losing support from the majority of the Russian public that relies predominantly on state-controlled TV for information. With the war's outcome in doubt, so too is Putin's wider goal of overturning the security order that has existed in Europe since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Putin demands that NATO refuse membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet states like Georgia, and that the alliance roll back its military presence to positions held prior to expanding into Eastern Europe. NATO leaders have rejected Putin's demands, and with uncharacteristic speed are bolstering the allied force presence in Romania, Slovakia and Hungary, which border Ukraine, and in Bulgaria, which like Ukraine sits on the Black Sea. |
| Cyber security experts needed to manage increasing threats | |
| President Biden called for companies to raise their cyber defenses this week as the risk of attack from Russian hackers increases. Of highest concern is critical infrastructure like communications technology and electricity. But in the digital age, pretty much every industry and company has some sort of vulnerability to cyberattacks, even if they might not know it. We've got a shortage of cybersecurity professionals in this country, including at the highest levels of many companies and the boards that oversee them, which can make for some big cyber blind spots. There are about 400,000 unfilled positions in cyber security in the U.S. according to the trade group ISC-squared, and that's likely an undercount, according to CEO Clar Rosso. "That is only the organizations that have prioritized cybersecurity staff," Rosso said. Many companies, particularly small and medium-sized ones, still don't know what they don't know. According to a report from IT service firm, Navisite, almost half of companies don't have a dedicated chief information security officer. They can be tough to hire, said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of the Computer Technology Industry Association. "They're probably already working for other people. So if you can't find someone in the market, nurture someone on your team into that role," he said. People in other tech leadership roles can be trained on cybersecurity fundamentals through certification programs. |
| University Hosting Campuswide 'Open House' for Mississippi Day | |
| University of Mississippi officials are inviting everyone to campus for a celebration of the state of Mississippi and the university's contributions to its culture, education, health care and economy on April 9. Mississippi Day brings together all the university's schools on the Oxford campus, with more than 70 departments offering an array of fun and family-friendly activities for all ages. Offerings include hands-on activities and demonstrations, inflatables, book signings and food, all under a theme of "Discover. Engage. Explore." Participating departments will have booths lining Lyceum Circle and extending along the Galtney-Lott Plaza. The free, four-hour event begins at 10 a.m. "Mississippi Day is a celebration of the ways our university enhances the life of our state: education, discovery, the arts, service and economic development," said Emily Ferris, associate director of outreach and continuing education who is chairing the Mississippi Day 2022 Committee. Besides academic units, departments participating in Mississippi Day include the university's Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Department of Campus Recreation, Ole Miss Esports, and the UM Museum and Historic Houses. |
| USM to host science, engineering fair | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) will host the Mississippi Science and Engineering State Level Fair. Participants will include those who won 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in each of 13 research categories from Mississippi's seven science fair regions. The projects will be presented for judging. One of the seven regions host the fair each year. The last two in-person fairs were canceled due to COVID-19. This year, Region I (Hattiesburg) and Region VI (Gulf Coast) will partner to host the fair. Each regional science fair chooses one project that will be entered into the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held each May. The selected students receive an all-expense paid trip for a week in Atlanta, Georgia. One project from this years state fair will be selected to be entered in ISEF. The event will be held April 1 at the Payne Center. |
| Family, friends gather at U. of Alabama to celebrate Autherine Lucy Foster's life | |
 | More than 200 family, friends, University of Alabama alumnae, faculty, staff and students gathered Thursday morning in Foster Auditorium to celebrate the life of Autherine Lucy Foster, a tribute filled with laughter, exhortations to the spirit, charges to follow her path and an element of old-school gospel. Foster, who died March 2 at 92, just days after attending the ceremony re-naming the Quad-facing education building in her honor, was the first Black student to attend classes at UA on Feb. 3, 1956. Racist riots broke out; UA suspended her, amid fears for her safety. After years teaching and raising a family out of state, Foster returned to complete her master's degree in education, in 1992. UA was among the institutions that later awarded her an honorary doctorate, decades after she was driven off campus. Following dulcet selections from a string trio comprising School of Music faculty members, UA's Afro American Gospel Choir raised fervent spirit in the auditorium, where once George Wallace made his infamous "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door," trying to block the admission of Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood, the next Black students who followed Lucy's endeavors. UA President Stuart R. Bell noted in attendance Foster's family, and members of her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, who had gathered out front of in Malone-Hood Plaza, site of the Autherine Lucy Clock Tower, to sing hymns. He remarked on Foster's joyful presence, her messages of love, at the Feb. 25 renaming of the education building, formerly Bibb Graves Hall, to Autherine Lucy Hall. |
| Florida Legislature Ushers in a New Era for Tenured Faculty and Higher Education | |
| Dr. Larry J. Walker worked as a congressional staffer before he became an assistant professor on tenure-track in the department of educational leadership and higher education at the University of Central Florida (UCF). By watching governments in Wisconsin, Georgia, and Texas discuss making big changes to tenure, Walker said he saw bill SB 7044 coming. The bill calls for many adjustments to higher education across the state of Florida, including classroom materials be submitted to the state Board of Governors; that institutional accrediting bodies must change every five years, and the Board of Governors can review tenured faculty accomplishments, productivity, research, and evaluations every five years. The controversial bill passed the Florida legislature early this month and is now on its way to Gov. Ron DeSantis's desk. Walker's not panicking -- yet. "I have a wait and see approach, not just in terms of seeing the bill passed but how state higher education and universities glean from it, what they believe is the intention of the policy," said Walker. But Walker is concerned that this bill will make it harder for institutions in Florida to remain competitive by recruiting and retaining leading academic voices as faculty. Higher education scholars in Florida agree with Walker, and some express concern that this bill could portend greater government control over academic freedom. The consequence of the five-year review may make it more difficult for places like the University of Florida to maintain its status as a leading public university, said Dr. Justin Ortagus, an assistant professor of higher education and policy, and the director of the Institute for Higher Education at UF. |
| America's next union battlefield may be on campus | |
| On paper, Asia Leeds had the perfect career. As an assistant professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, she could focus on her passion of studying Afro-Latin American culture. In reality, she felt like she was doing at least seven jobs -- teaching, research, writing, applying for grants, advising students, running a minor, serving on committees -- while getting paid for one. The stereotype of the highly paid professor who delivers an occasional lecture and spends the rest of the time reading books "is an idea that for 90 percent of people doesn't exist," Leeds said. "It's this fantasy you're sold because it was what your professors were doing when you went to college." Now, not long after they were recognized for helping keep their universities and colleges running during the pandemic, faculty are coming under new pressure to prove their value while dealing with attacks on job security, demands for greater productivity and criticism over what and how they teach. They're also squaring off to fight back. A planned affiliation of two labor unions promises to expand their bargaining positions by uniting full-time professors with part-time adjunct instructors, graduate assistants and others. In a significant move largely unnoticed outside of academia, the governing councils of the Association of American University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers this month agreed to a formal affiliation that would unite nearly 316,000 academic employees. If it's approved by the memberships of both unions, the deal promises to accelerate labor organizing on campuses. |
SPORTS
| Diamond Dawg Gameday: vs. Alabama | |
| Mississippi State Baseball is set to host Alabama in its first SEC home series of the season beginning at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, March 25, at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville. The first two games of the series will be broadcast on SEC Network+, while the series finale will air nationally on SEC Network with John Schriffen and David Dellucci on the call. The series will also be carried on the Mississippi State Sports Network powered by Learfield along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/plus. For the series opener, fans are encouraged to join Mississippi State's new head men's basketball coach Chris Jans at 5 p.m. in Adkerson Plaza for autographs and photos. Jans will also throw out the ceremonial first pitch at 5:50 p.m. on Friday. The series opener on Friday will mark the 423rd time Mississippi State and Alabama have met on the diamond in a series that dates back to 1896. Last season, Mississippi State swept Alabama in a three-game series in Tuscaloosa. State won the opener, 4-2, while the Diamond Dawgs shut out Alabama, 7-0. In the series finale, MSU secured the series sweep with a 7-3 victory over the Crimson Tide. Alabama is still searching for its first road win of the season after posting an 0-5 mark thus far. |
| Kamren James, Mississippi State offense heating up heading into series against Alabama | |
| The Mississippi State offense is clicking, and there are few tweaks worth making heading into this weekend's series against Alabama. Kamren James says there's little the offense can do better at the moment unless it had a perfect day from everyone in the batting order. Having scored an average of 11 runs the last six games, it's hard to disagree. But perhaps the final piece in the offense's puzzle came from the man taking the podium after State's 14-5 win on Wednesday against Southern. James is tied with Brad Cumbest for the team lead in batting average (.342). It's no surprise Cumbest, at 6-6 and 235 pounds, is taking his hits over the outfield walls. But James has some pop in the bat, and that's an aspect of the game MSU has yet to consistently see from its No. 2 hitter. Fans got to see it for just the second time this season at Dudy Noble Field against Southern after watching him hit 12 home runs last season. Where could that power come from? As has been the case with the rest of the team, it comes from not trying to hit home runs. "We've played on some nights where the wind has been blowing out," Chris Lemonis said. "We're built for that a little bit right now. We've got some big guys. If they hit it, it'll go a long way. I don't think anyone's trying hard. I think it's just natural." |
| Alabama Baseball Drops Third-Straight Midweek Game | |
| A change of scenery at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham didn't do Alabama baseball any favors on Wednesday evening as the Crimson Tide fell to the UAB Blazers by a score of 5-4. The Crimson Tide has now lost three-straight midweek games, and is now just 1-4 against its last five non-conference midweek opponents. "We didn't do enough to win," Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon said after the game. "We're not a very good offensive team right now, and when you're not very good offensively you're going to be in a lot of tight games. That's a lot of pressure to play really clean." "We gave up five runs tonight," Bohannon said. "In the first inning we walked the second batter, the third batter hits a home run. We made two errors in the infield to the first batter in the inning and both of those runners end up scoring and when you're not as good as you need to be offensively, you can't make mistakes like that." With the loss, Alabama drops to 13-9 on the season. UAB rises to 14-5 with the win. Up next, the Crimson Tide will play a three-game weekend series at Mississippi State, with the first game taking place on Friday evening (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+). |
| Mike Leach: Bulldogs more consistent than expected in first spring practice | |
| Mike Leach's first press conference of the spring featured a three-minute verbal tour of Las Vegas and a five-minute sojourn about treehouses in Utah. The third-year Mississippi State coach was, if anything, consistent after years of prior humorous rants. In Thursday's practice at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex, Leach said his team shared his dependability. "I thought we were more consistent than I thought we'd be," Leach said. "I hoped we'd be consistent, but a lot of times you're not the first day." Maybe it's a good sign that the Bulldogs, who finished the 2021 season at 7-6, bucked that trend in their first official practice of the spring. Mississippi State returns a glut of starters from last season's team, and they didn't miss a beat Thursday. At least, not as many beats as Leach might have expected. "Sometimes it's hard to tell without the pads, but we did get really good work in and we did a pretty good job of being full speed without full contact," Leach said. "Both sides looked like they executed some things pretty well, and there weren't any lapses in the practice, I didn't think." |
| Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach's top priorities for 2022 | |
| Three position groups are at the top of Mississippi State coach Mike Leach's priority list during spring practice. "I think solidify the secondary and solidify the offensive line, that would be two of the big ones," Leach said Thursday on the first day of spring practice. "And then try to get the receiver roster kind of a little clearer than it is right now. I think it's a little clouded. I think most of the jobs out there at receiver are wide open and we've got some reasonably good guys, but they've got to separate themselves and give us a reason why we should play them instead of the other guy." Mississippi State will lose key players at all three positions. Offensive lineman Charles Cross, who is projected as a high first-round pick, declared for the NFL Draft in December. Multiple teams are looking at wide receiver Makai Polk as a possible second day selection, according to ESPN's Matt Moore. Defensive back Martin Emerson Jr. ran 4.53 second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and had an even better time at pro day this week. Leach said Albert Reese getting more snaps at right tackle if he keeps trending in a positive direction. "He kind of closed in on guys at the end of last year," Leach said. " You could make the argument that maybe should have been in there last year. It would be a close call I think, but he certainly gained a lot of ground on the starting five. I can definitely see him being one of those guys if he keeps improving." Leach also offered some praise for Percy Lewis, a juco offensive tackle transfer who was listed at 6-foot-8, 345 pounds last season. |
| A little football, a lot of sidetracks for Leach after first spring practice | |
| Spring practice provides a chance for head coaches to look at their new imports from the transfer portal, test players in positions of need and prepare for another rugged season in the SEC. For Mike Leach, it's a chance to see how a young but tested unit has grown through the offseason. In Day 1 of practice Thursday, he felt he saw more consistency than anticipated. But in the shuffle of discussing his team's on-field product, Leach demonstrated how he is in midseason form. Entering his third season at the helm of the Bulldogs, Leach spent 15 minutes speaking to reporters following his team's first spring practice. Six minutes were spent talking football. The remaining nine minutes were filled with rants worthy of the many he has collecting millions of views across the internet. Mississippi State is entering this season with junior college transfer Percy Lewis as its left tackle after Charles Cross declared for the NFL Draft. The likely top-10 pick was part of State's pro day Tuesday, which Leach did not attend. When asked if he'd be attending the draft in Las Vegas, Leach said he likely wouldn't but said many staff members would be supporting Cross from afar. Then, in typically Leach fashion, he shared his thoughts on the Sin City. "I'm not a big Vegas guy," Leach said. "That's like being in a mall the whole time. Unless you're really into gambling, which I get bored with that. It's like being in a mall. Maybe they don't have shoes, T-shirts and perfume, but it's just a mall that clinks a lot. I'm not a big mall guy. It's fun for the short run and there is great food in Vegas." |
| Bulldogs Return Home Against Alabama | |
| After back-to-back road trips with matches in four different states, Mississippi State's men's tennis team returns home to face Alabama on Friday at 3 p.m. It will be the 33rd-ranked Bulldogs first match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in 19 days. MSU leads the overall series against the Crimson Tide 36-25, including a 17-12 record in Starkville. The Bulldogs have won 11 of the last 12 in the series including the last meeting 4-1 at the 2021 SEC Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. State enters the match against the Crimson Tide with an 11-8 overall record and a 1-5 record in Southeastern Conference play after falling on the road to last week's No. 1 team, Florida. The Crimson Tide have already visited Starkville once during dual match play, participating in the ITA Kickoff Weekend but did not square off against Mississippi State. Alabama went 0-2 at that event, losing 4-0 to both Kentucky and Arkansas. |
| Southern Miss expecting new video board to be running before May | |
 | Pete Taylor Park is getting a much-needed upgrade before the end of the 2022 baseball season. A new video board is expected to be installed and operational by late April, according to athletic director Jeremy McClain. The school used its official baseball account to hint toward a new structure on Thursday, posting a picture of the empty space behind the left field wall where the old scoreboard once stood. Construction is expected to begin in the next couple of weeks. The new board will be ready well in time for the Conference USA tournament hosted in Hattiesburg from May 25 to May 29. The new structure will be 30 feet by 50 feet, a significant expansion from the old 49-foot by 15-foot setup. The old electronic board is going on 17 years old and showing signs of wear. Along with the new board, USM is expecting to have its TrackMan technology set up before the end of the year and will be integrated with the video board. Southern Miss will release an official announcement next week. |
| How a Small, Little-Known College Is Seizing Its Moment of Fame | |
 | In the hours before the Saint Peter's University basketball team departed for the third round of the NCAA men's tournament on Wednesday, the tiny Jesuit campus thrummed with energy. Outside the student center, students clad in the college's colors streamed over a bed of cherry-blossom petals freshly shed from the trees. A video screen overlooking a busy street in the middle of campus broadcast inspirational messages: "sweet history," "Jersey City tough," and "shining bright, Peacocks win!" Peacocks -- the university's unusual mascot -- dangled as jewelry from the business-school dean's ears. In the cafeteria, members of the basketball team ate lunch as on any other day -- even as they became household names online for their shocking wins last week over the University of Kentucky, one of the nation's most storied college-basketball programs, and Murray State University. It's a story that's been told before: the "Cinderella" college making a deep run into March Madness and seizing a moment of fame. But the moment feels especially striking at Saint Peter's, which ranks 279th in athletics spending among the 353 teams in the NCAA's Division I. Some colleges bet big on sports to try to set themselves apart; Saint Peter's wasn't exactly trying to get here. Amid the excitement, Saint Peter's leaders are grappling with how to leverage the attention in a way that'll benefit the university for years to come. While the short-term buzz is captivating, enrollment experts said, sustaining that momentum is easier said than done. |
| America's Business Challenge Can Be Told in Two Words: Disc Golf | |
| The most famous shot in the history of disc golf was thrown in Ogden, Utah, on June 26, 2021. James Conrad launched a disc an arcing 247 feet to the basket on his way to besting the five-time winner in the final round of the world championships. What fans call "the Holy Shot" was the best and worst thing ever to happen to MVP Disc Sports, Mr. Conrad's new sponsor and maker of the yellow-and-blue Electron Envy disc he threw that sunny Saturday. "He made the shot, and all of us were like, 'Yay!' then, 'We're screwed,' " said Steve Hollaway, MVP marketing manager. To understand the state of American business, look no further than disc golf, a niche sport that has blossomed into a real business with a cult following. There is the morphing disruption in the supply chain, the crush of the labor market, the constant competition. Companies must adjust to pandemic-driven shifts in behavior and the demands of consumers trained to want what they want when they want it. The sport, which mimics traditional golf but is played with airborne discs, got a boost during the pandemic. It can be played by almost all ages and is socially distanced by definition. But companies in the market are finding it tough to take advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime, while navigating a business environment that is the most challenging of their lifetime. |
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