| Thursday, April 21, 2022 |
| Cleveland honored as MSU's National Alumnus of the Year | |
 | Mississippi State University is honoring Randy J. Cleveland with its highest alumni honor. In a campus ceremony on April 29, the longtime Fort Worth, Texas, resident will be recognized formally as the university's 2022 National Alumnus. A 1983 petroleum engineering graduate and Newton County native, Cleveland was a successful leader in the oil and gas industry for more than 35 years. He began his career with Exxon in 1984 in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he held a variety of technical and planning assignments for the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Coast region. His progressive career positioned him at the helm of operations across the company, enabling him to lead at locations throughout the U.S. and abroad. At MSU, Cleveland has a strong history of support and service. He is a member of the MSU Foundation board of directors, where he leads the fundraising committee as chairman, and also serves on the dean's advisory council for the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering. "We are proud to salute Randy Cleveland on behalf of Mississippi State University for his success in industry and for his loyal lifelong connection with his alma mater. He is an excellent role model for current and future generations of the Bulldog family, and his outstanding professional and personal achievements serve as a primary example of the success MSU inspires each of its graduates to attain," said Jeff Davis, executive director of the MSU Alumni Association. "Of more than 155,000 living alumni, Randy is a distinguished selection for this honor." |
| MSU included in Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Honor Roll | |
 | Mississippi State University (MSU) is once again included in Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society's Transfer Honor Roll for supporting community college transfer students to ensure a smooth pathway into the university. Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them grow as scholars and leaders. PTK includes more than 3.8 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 10 nations. This past fall marked the university's seventh consecutive year of enrollment growth, including nearly 2,000 students who transferred to the university. Colleges were selected for the PTK Transfer Honor Roll based on 40 key metrics related to the support and success of transfer students, including college cost and financial aid, campus life for transfer students, admission practices and bachelor's degree completion. The Transfer Honor Roll is chosen from among the top 25 percent of highest-rated colleges and universities. |
| USDA secretary in Mississippi to discuss rural initiative | |
 | U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Mississippi on Wednesday to announce a program meant to help rural communities get federal funding to create jobs, build infrastructure and improve their economies. Vilsack and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice traveled to the Mississippi Delta cities of Clarksdale and Greenwood to discuss the USDA-led Rural Partners Network with community leaders. The initiative, which is part of President Joe Biden's push to improve infrastructure, will help groups in rural communities navigate federal programs and access resources and funding to strengthen their economies long-term, the USDA said in a news release. Federal staff will be hired and placed in more than 25 rural communities in multiple U.S. states, Tribal Nations and territories, the USDA said. Staff will identify challenges preventing rural communities from getting federal support, the USDA said. The initiative is set to first launch in Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and New Mexico. "The Rural Partners Network will help communities get funding for investments that create long-lasting benefits for their communities, especially those that have been overlooked in the past," Vilsack said in a statement. |
| Mississippi selected for new program connecting rural communities with federal resources | |
 | Federal government officials, together with Congressman Bennie Thompson, traveled to the Delta Wednesday to announce a new program aimed at connecting rural communities with more resources. The Rural Partners Network will give rural communities a local point person to help them access resources from 13 government agencies, including funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. These agencies will also have designated employees focused on rural issues who will be responsible for assisting local officers and improving collaboration between agencies. "If Greenwood is the gateway to the Delta, we want places like Greenwood to have a gateway to the federal government so they can access the resources they need to thrive," said White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice. Mississippi was selected as one of five states for the pilot program of the Rural Partners Network, with an initial emphasis on Delta communities. The other states are Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky and New Mexico. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said this program presents an opportunity to express appreciation for rural communities, whose people provide most of the country's provide food, water, energy, recreational spaces and military service. He also credited Thompson for bringing attention to the need for inter-agency collaboration that this program hopes to address. "For far too long we have been siloed in the federal government, and this is a new day," Vilsack said. |
| Feds find 'severe, systemic' problems in Mississippi prison | |
| A Mississippi prison violated inmates' constitutional rights by failing to protect them from violence, failing to meet their mental health needs, failing to take adequate steps for suicide prevention and by relying too much on prolonged solitary confinement, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday. The department released findings of its two-year investigation of the state's oldest prison, Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. The probe started after an outburst of violence in late 2019 and early 2020. "The problems at Parchman are severe, systemic, and exacerbated by serious deficiencies in staffing and supervision," the department said in its report. It said the Mississippi Department of Corrections "has been on notice of these deficiencies for years and failed to take reasonable measures to address the violations, due in part to non-functional accountability or quality assurance measures." "Years of MDOC's deliberate indifference has resulted in serious harm and a substantial risk of serious harm to persons confined at Parchman," the department said. The department said it found "gross understaffing" and "uncontrolled gang activity." It also found that insufficient security gave inmates "unfettered access to contraband." |
| Department of Justice finds Mississippi prison conditions violate U.S. Constitution | |
 | The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced that it has found clear evidence that the conditions at the Mississippi State Penitentiary violate the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, the federal agency believes that the facility, also known as Parchman, fails to provide adequate mental health treatment to incarcerated people, subjects people to lengthy periods of solitary confinement and fails to protect them from routine violence. Kristen Clarke, the assistant U.S. attorney general, in a statement said that the U.S. Constitution guarantees that all people incarcerated in prisons should be treated humanely. "Our investigation uncovered evidence of systemic violations that have generated a violent and unsafe environment for people incarcerated at Parchman," Clarke said. "We are committed to taking action that will ensure the safety of all people held at Parchman and other state prison facilities." The DOJ first launched its investigation into the state's prison system in February 2020. The agency's findings now mark the third state agency that has been hit with allegations of inadequate services. The report does not mention that the federal agency will file a lawsuit against the state, but it does say that officials are continuing to work with state leaders to institute reforms at the prisons. |
| Mississippi violates Parchman inmates' civil rights, feds say | |
 | A federal investigation into prison conditions following riots in January 2020 at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman determined the Mississippi Department of Corrections violates prisoners' civil rights by not providing adequate mental health services and protecting inmates from physical harm, federal officials said Wednesday. Ten inmates died in less than a month, including eight at Parchman. Five were killed in the riots during a statewide prison lockdown and officials said some of the violence was gang-related. State officials vowed there would be changes made after touring the prison and seeing firsthand the inhumane conditions that allegedly sparked the riots. Mississippi Department of Corrections spokesman Leo Honeycutt said he was advised by attorneys against making a statement, deferring to Gov. Tate Reeves' office. Prison conditions at Parchman were allowed to deteriorate after federal courts ended oversight of the facility in 2011, according to an investigation by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica. Inmates described themselves as being prey to prison gangs who control the supply of contraband drugs and weapons, bedding, food and cellular phones, the Clarion Ledger reported in earlier stories. |
| Mississippi welfare agency ex-director faces new charges | |
| A former Mississippi Department of Human Services director has been indicted on 20 additional felony charges tied to allegations that he participated in misusing money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in the nation, including some spent to send a former pro wrestler to a luxury drug rehab facility. John Davis of Brookhaven has pleaded not guilty to the new charges of bribery, conspiracy and making false statements to the government. The indictments were unsealed this week, days after he entered the plea. In early 2020, Davis and five others were charged in what the state auditor called the largest public corruption case in Mississippi in the past two decades. Davis and some of the other defendants are still awaiting trial. Davis was a longtime Department of Human Services employee who was chosen to lead the agency in 2016 by the Republican governor at the time, Phil Bryant. Davis retired in July 2019. Like the previous charges, many of the new ones against Davis are connected to federal money from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, which the Department of Human Services paid to nonprofit education organizations run by mother and son Nancy New and Zachary New. The new indictments allege those organizations, with Davis' knowledge, paid $160,000 for drug rehabilitation in Malibu, California, for former pro wrestler Brett DiBiase; that Davis hired DiBiase for a Department of Human Services job that required a college degree, knowing DiBiase did not have a degree; and that the department paid DiBiase $48,000 for work he did not do. |
| Rep. Steve Hopkins will not seek a third term in Mississippi Legislature | |
 | District 7 State Rep. Steve Hopkins made a surprise announcement Tuesday that he will not run for a third term in the Mississippi legislature. Hopkins, who chairs the conservative Mississippi Freedom Caucus, broke the news on his Facebook page. Hopkins said he made a promise to voters that he would only serve two terms and is keeping that promise by not seeking re-election in 2023. "Over the holidays I was reminded by my kids that I made a promise," Hopkins told KWAM 990 AM Wake Up Memphis morning radio host Tim Van Horn. "They said dad, you believed in term limits so much so that you would term limit yourself. I've done two terms and I did indeed tell people at their front doors that I did believe in terms limits and that I would term limit myself. So I am sticking to that promise. I won't be running for re-election next year to be the representative of District 7." Hopkins was elected in 2015, defeating incumbent Wanda Jennings in the Republican primary, and re-elected in 2019. He made a name for himself in the legislature for his staunch anti-tax positions, which sometimes put him at odds with other Republican lawmakers and mayors in his own district. Hopkins voted against teacher pay raises and found himself at odds with Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite and Horn Lake Mayor Allen Latimer over his opposition to renewing those city's one cent tourism tax which they used to fund park and quality of life improvements. |
| Aid to restaurants, businesses faces Senate headwinds | |
 | The Senate may soon test the bipartisan limits on pandemic spending as Democratic leaders prepare to bring a small-business aid package to the floor containing provisions that have independently enjoyed support from both parties. But the collective $48 billion package faces strong headwinds in an inflation-fueled election-year environment where Republicans are loath to support any new federal spending that isn't fully offset. That was the GOP demand on a separate $10 billion bill to appropriate more money for COVID-19 therapeutics, testing and vaccines, which has stalled amid a dispute over a pandemic-related border policy that could snag the small-business package, too. The business aid package, led by Small Business Chair Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has only $5 billion in offsets -- from unspent funds in the now-lapsed Paycheck Protection Program -- barely one-tenth of the total spending. That program offered small businesses forgivable loans to keep workers on the payroll during shutdowns. While more than a dozen Senate Democrats say they support the bill, not a single Republican besides Wicker has committed to backing it. Not including Cardin and Wicker, CQ Roll Call contacted 70 senators -- 46 Democrats, 23 Republicans and one independent -- who have co-sponsored at least one previous business aid bill on which the new package is based. |
| Biden's dismal poll numbers imperil Dem Senate control | |
 | Democrats' path to saving their narrow Senate majority comes down to defending four states this fall. And in all of them, President Joe Biden is underwater in the polls. Biden's drag on swing-state incumbents is emerging as a pivotal factor in the midterm Senate elections, where the loss of just one Democratic-held seat in November could put Republicans in control. Acutely aware of the need to get distance from the president, the four most endangered Democratic incumbents -- Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan -- are increasingly taking steps to highlight their independence from the president and underscore their differences. Their public pushback against Biden's plan to lift the Trump-era border restriction known as Title 42 is the most visible expression of the effort to get distance from the president. But the four Democrats are also finding other ways of signaling to voters. They've visited the border wall and blocked his nominees. A month before a Trump-appointed judge struck down Biden's mask mandate on mass transit, three of the four voted in favor of a Republican bill to do just that. On social media, where they shy away from praise of the president and instead focus on their efforts to prod the White House to action, it's hard to tell they've voted in line with Biden no less than 96 percent of the time. |
| Bernie Sanders 'has not ruled out another run for president' if Biden doesn't | |
 | Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is open to running for president in 2024 if President Biden declines to seek reelection, according to a campaign memo a top political adviser distributed to allies on Wednesday that was shared with The Washington Post. "In the event of an open 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Sanders has not ruled out another run for president, so we advise that you answer any questions about 2024 with that in mind," says the memo from Faiz Shakir, a close Sanders adviser who was his campaign manager when he ran in 2020. The memo was shared by a person with direct knowledge of its contents on the condition of anonymity because it was not released publicly, and confirmed by a second person with direct knowledge of the contents. "While it's frustrating this private memo leaked to the media, the central fact remains true, which is that Senator Sanders is the most popular officeholder in the country," said Sanders spokesman Mike Casca, when asked for comment. Casca and the memo based that assertion on a recent poll. Still, many Democrats see Sanders as a polarizing figure whose socialist label and association with Democratic candidates could hurt in the general election, particularly in swing areas, dragging down candidates. The memo also provides an update on the senator's endorsement and travel plans. "Sen. Sanders is interested in endorsing more candidates and we'd love your help identifying potential target races," says the memo. It also welcomes recommendations on where to travel. |
| Mortgage Rates Continue to Rise | |
 | Mortgage rates jumped again heading into the year's busiest stretch for home sales. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.11%, mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday. The rate hit 5% last week for the first time since 2011, up from 3.22% at the beginning of 2022. The Federal Reserve's pullback from the mortgage-bond market has helped drive up interest rates on home loans in recent months. So too has its posture on interest rates. The Fed is expected to raise its benchmark rate again at its meeting early next month, and it has signaled that more increases are likely this year. That has driven up yields on the 10-year Treasury note, to which mortgage rates are closely tied. The combination of rising rates and record home prices has started to weigh on demand. Sales of existing homes dropped 4.5% in March from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. Purchase mortgage applications last week fell 3% from the prior week and 14% from a year earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. "While springtime is typically the busiest home buying season, the upswing in rates has caused some volatility in demand," Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said in a statement. |
| Bird flu drives free-range hens indoors to protect poultry | |
| Is it OK for free-range chickens to not range freely? That's a question free-range egg producers have been pondering lately as they try to be open about their product while also protecting chickens from a highly infectious bird flu that has killed roughly 28 million poultry across the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that chickens be moved indoors to protect against the disease, but while some are keeping their hens inside, not everyone agrees. John Brunnquell, the CEO of Indiana-based Egg Innovations, which contracts with more than 50 farms in five states to produce free-range and pasture-raised eggs, said any of his chickens in states with bird flu cases will stay in "confinement mode" until the risk passes. But some, like Mike Badger, the executive director of the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association, are taking a different approach. Badger, whose Pennsylvania-based nonprofit group has about 1,000 members across the country, believes birds kept outdoors are at less risk of infection than chickens and turkeys raised amid thousands of others in large, enclosed barns. Research has not clearly proven significant immune system differences in chickens housed outdoors versus indoors. And Badger speculates that lower density of animals, air movement and less sharing of equipment and staff in pasture-raised operations may contribute to a lack of virus infections. |
| Check Hattiesburg's air quality with a new sensor at USM | |
| Hattiesburg neighbors can check the city's air quality with a new sensor that was installed at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). USM is one of three sites in the Mississippi with a PurpleAir sensor. The sensor is part of an air quality initiative with NASA. Dr. Sherry S. Herron, Associate Professor Emerita of Science Education at USM, collaborated with University of Toledo Professor Kevin Czajkowski to get the sensor installed on the Hattiesburg campus. Herron's assistance was sought through her work as USM's GLOBE partner, a position she has held since 2005. GLOBE.gov is the citizen-science and K-16 outreach for NASA. "With the launch of the NASA TEMPO satellite on air quality scheduled for December 2022, we are trying to engage more professors, K-12 teachers and students, and other citizen scientists across the United States in the project," said Herron. "When Dr. Czajkowski noticed that few air quality sensors were in operation in Mississippi, he reached out to me. The world can now see and use real-time data from Hattiesburg, and we can receive presentations from NASA scientists." The sensor uses laser counters to measure particulate matter in real time. A laser counter uses a fan to draw a sample of air past a laser beam. Any particles in the air will reflect some light onto a detection plate. |
| USM Symphony Orchestra hosts events for 'Social Justice Week' | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra has planned a series of events to raise awareness of social justice issues. The programming will feature musical performances, guest lectures, masterclasses and more. Both Thursday and Friday will include concerts featuring the guests, including composer Xavier Foley. Some of Foley's compositions, including For Justice and Peace, will be performed by the symphony orchestra with Foley joining. "Well, the students here are very talented, and I don't have to worry," said Foley. "The piece works itself out with this talented group here." "Yeah, it is great to hear my own music, but again, sometimes we can get a little too picky, so I try to just let them do their thing and everyone have fun." "It's very special, Xavier is a very special young man," said USM Director of Orchestral Activities, Dr. Michael Miles. "He's a composer. He's a beautiful artist, solo artist. "The impression that he makes on our young people is instantaneous and just huge for them, so he inspires them the minute he walks on the stage." |
| Qualifications for next U. of Arkansas chancellor include 'commitment' to bringing research to marketplace, academic leadership experience | |
| The next University of Arkansas chancellor should have "experience and commitment" to bringing research into the marketplace as well as a record of academic and executive leadership, a new position description states. A search site launched Wednesday lists 14 qualifications for UA's next top administrator and also gives a June 8 date for candidates to submit application materials for "best consideration." The search for a top campus leader at the state's largest university is the first since 2015, when the 10-member University of Arkansas Board of Trustees approved the hire of Joe Steinmetz, a career academic and former Ohio State University provost whose abrupt resignation last year left questions still unanswered following his departure. Charles Robinson has been interim chancellor since August. He previously has served as UA's top academic and student affairs officer. The listed qualifications for the next chancellor include several referring to general attributes for higher education leadership, such as "experience managing complex budgets" and being able to communicate effectively with various groups, including policymakers. The reference to research in the marketplace, however, follows a major gift to UA announced in July 2020. The Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation is providing $194.7 million to establish what's known as the UA Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research, also known as I3R. |
| Boyfriend acquitted in 2019 strangulation death of U. of Georgia entomology professor | |
| The boyfriend of beloved University of Georgia entomology professor Marianne C. Shockley was acquitted April 8 in her 2019 strangulation death at a friend's house east of Milledgeville. After hearing four days of testimony, a jury of four women and eight men deliberated for about 35 minutes before returning its verdict. Marcus Allen Lillard, 44, was found not guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct. He was, however, sentenced by Judge Alison T. Burleson to serve an eight-year term for violating his probation on a drug charge. How long he may be incarcerated was not immediately clear. Shockley, 43, and Lillard met decades earlier while both were students at Georgia College. That school's campus lies across the street from the Baldwin County Courthouse where last week four days of, at times, bizarre and lurid testimony in Shockley's death was heard by jurors. Shockley and Lillard had reconnected a year or so before her death on the night of May 11, 2019, the Saturday before Mother's Day. Shockley had planned to travel to Ecuador three days later, with Lillard tagging along as part of a study-abroad program that Shockley, a noted entomology professor, had organized for some of her students. |
| Texas A&M architecture professor, distinguished alumnus Harold Adams dies | |
 | Harold Adams, Texas A&M Class of 1961 who was an A&M architecture professor and distinguished alumnus, died April 12 at age 82 after a short illness. Adams, a Palmer native, graduated from A&M with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1962. He was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of A&M in 2011 and joined A&M's College of Architecture in 2018 as a Professor of Professional Practice. Adams received an honorary doctorate of letters from A&M, endowed four professorships and one scholarship with the College of Architecture, and served as a member of its College Development Advisory Council. After graduating from A&M, Adams began working on building projects in Washington, D.C, including on Lafayette Square. He worked on several projects for President John F. Kennedy and his family, including an addition to Robert Kennedy's house in Virginia, renovations of homes at the Kennedy compound in Massachusetts, and discussed possible sites for Kennedy's Presidential Library and Museum. Adams was the project manager for Kennedy's gravesite memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. Adams joined RTKL in 1967 and later became president, CEO and chairman. RTKL's projects during Adams' tenure included rebuilding the Pentagon after 9/11; the United States Capitol Visitor Center; the renovation of Bancroft Hall at the U. S. Naval Academy; the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, D.C.; the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum; and master planning for Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. |
| U. of Missouri's longest-serving faculty member dies at 81 after long agriculture career | |
 | Eyes closed, Eldon Cole seemed to have fallen back asleep. His four children, knowing he probably wouldn't be with them for much longer, said their goodbyes and prepared to leave the nursing home. But as they were leaving, they heard a distinct noise ring out. It was Cole vocalizing three perfectly clear cattle calls, the kind a rancher might utter to gather livestock. They would be Cole's last calls. "We know that was his mic drop, and that it was time to go," said Scott Cole, his eldest son. He added that the cattle calls were the last sounds he heard from his father's voice. Cole, the University of Missouri's longest-serving faculty member with 58 years logged at MU Extension, died Sunday of heart failure after a brief stay at a nursing home rehabilitation center, family members said. He was 81 years old. "Eldon Cole is one of a kind," said Tim Safranski, professor of animal science and Cole's supervisor in a Show Me Mizzou feature about Cole's career published about two weeks before his death. "When MU Extension celebrated its 100th birthday, Eldon celebrated having worked for Extension for 50 years." In the eight years following that milestone, Cole's career dedication remained firm, and he continued working until days before his death. "No matter how old he got, and even in the last two weeks of his life when things were really going downhill, he was still trying to get into the office when he could," Cole's granddaughter Kayleigh McElveen said . |
| The Latest Campus-Safety Activists: Parents | |
 | The billboards are jarring -- bold white text in all caps laid over images of police tape and crime maps. "Tell me you go to Ohio State (without telling me you go to Ohio State)," announces one billboard showing a car with its tires missing. The implication is clear -- getting your tires stolen is part of attending Ohio State. The signs, located near the flagship campus, in Columbus, are the work of a group of Ohio State University parents that is trying to shine a spotlight on what they see as the university's failure to curtail off-campus crime. The group, Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State, started after a 23-year-old student, Chase Meola, was shot and killed at an off-campus residence in 2020. The organization is calling on the university to add lighting and cameras, send more-frequent crime notifications, and increase police patrols. Although the university has made improvements in those areas recently, group leaders say it has not done enough. At the same time, though, Ohio State is facing pressures to cut the police presence on campus. From Temple University to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, parents' groups are calling on colleges to increase public-safety measures on and off campus, as violent crime spikes nationwide. At the same time, the institutions face a tide of complaints from students, faculty members, and others on campus about unjust policing and racial discrimination. In this divided climate, colleges are working to preserve their stakeholders' trust, knowing their enrollment, reputation, and relationships hang in the balance. |
| Instructors revise syllabi to add supportive language | |
 | A new tool kit that launches today aims to help college instructors revise their syllabi to include more supportive language and resources, in an effort to put students at ease and create a more welcoming learning environment. The First Day Toolkit, developed by the Student Experience Project -- a collaborative of university leaders, faculty, researchers and national education organizations dedicated to tackling student inequities -- provides a revision module and guide for instructors to re-evaluate their syllabi. The module includes video demonstrations, sample syllabi and a instructor to lead professors through the revision process. The goal is to promote equity, belonging and growth from the moment an instructor hands out the syllabus on the first day of class, said Samantha Levine, associate director of Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU), a member organization of the Student Experience Project. "One way in which the tone in the classroom is set is on the first day of class," Levine said. "And so much of that comes from the course syllabus, the way that the instructor talks about the course to students on the first day of class, and how they talk about expectations around coursework." The online tool kit also aims to make syllabus revisions easier for instructors so they can complete their revisions on their own time, Levine said. And for instructors who want to work collaboratively, the tool kit provides a guide for conducting workshops using different discussion prompts and activities. Additionally, it offers a list of first-day practices for professors, such as framing the discussion about coursework expectations with student success in mind. |
| Why Students Quit College During Covid | |
| Students cited emotional stress, health concerns, and financial worries as some of the biggest barriers to staying in college during the pandemic, according to a new report on a survey by the Lumina Foundation and Gallup. Even among students who persisted, more than one-third of those seeking bachelor's degrees and 40 percent of those seeking associate degrees reported that it was difficult to stay enrolled in the 2021-22 academic year. The study, conducted last fall, expanded on a 2020 Lumina/Gallup survey that explored students' concerns about the shift from in-person to remote learning. The number of students who considered dropping out of college in 2021 stayed about the same as in 2020. As undergraduate enrollment has declined by about 8 percent during the pandemic, many colleges across the country have stepped up recruitment efforts and tried to help former students who never graduated get back on track. Recruiting adult learners -- students over the age of 25 -- has become a focus for many institutions. But colleges have had to contend with a range of barriers. More than half of the people surveyed who were not enrolled in college said the cost of tuition was a reason for not continuing their education. That group included people who had enrolled before or during Covid and dropped out, as well as those who had never enrolled. |
| To Get Into the Ivy League, 'Extraordinary' Isn't Always Enough These Days | |
| Kaitlyn Younger has been an academic standout since she started studying algebra in third grade. She took her first advanced-placement course as a freshman, scored 1550 on her SATs as a junior at McKinney High School near Dallas and will graduate this spring with an unweighted 3.95 grade-point average and as the founder of the school's accounting club. Along the way she performed in and directed about 30 plays, sang in the school choir, scored top marks on the tests she has so far taken for 11 advanced-placement classes, helped run a summer camp and held down a part-time job. "She is extraordinary," said Jeff Cranmore, her guidance counselor at McKinney High School. Ms. Younger, 18 years old, was cautiously optimistic when she applied to top U.S. colleges last fall. Responses came this month: Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of California, Berkeley, and Northwestern all rejected her. "I expected a bunch wouldn't accept me," she said. "I didn't expect it to be this bad." The responses are part of a wave of rejections swamping top students who applied to many highly selective schools during the most competitive year on record. Now, students have until May 1 to let schools know where they will attend. A reason applications were so inflated is because more than three-quarters of colleges and universities have stopped mandating entrance exams. With that barrier removed, more students tried their luck at selective schools that placed greater emphasis on grades, academic rigor and racial and socio-economic diversity. |
| Texas and Florida take steps to limit professor tenure at state schools | |
 | Two state Republican leaders are pushing to make it more difficult for educators at their state's public colleges and universities to retain tenure in what they say would de-politicize the classroom. New Florida legislation alongside legislative proposals from the Texas Lt. Gov. are among the latest attempts by the GOP to put its stamp on education, as well as a slew of other hot-button political issues, including voter redistricting and book bans. A recent report on the latter concluded that more than 1,500 book bans or restrictions were implemented in the last year. Both Florida and Texas were ranked among the top five states where the most restrictions occurred with Texas leading the way at 713. But education came to the fore again on Tuesday as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that would put teachers up for review by the board of directors every five years -- including tenured faculty. Tenure was originally designed to block political influence in employment decisions before taking on another role of protecting the Civil Rights of teachers. A spokesperson for DeSantis told Changing America in an email the bill aims to hold the faculty at state institutions to the highest standards while guarding against "bad behavior" in the classroom. The tenure plan in Texas takes a decidedly different track with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick vowing in February to put forward legislation that would end tenure for all new faculty at state colleges. Patrick, who oversees the state senate, said a priority of the next legislative session will be to make the teaching of Critical Race Theory a cause for a tenured professor's dismissal. |
SPORTS
| Diamond Dawg Gameday: at Ole Miss | |
| Mississippi State will open up the second half of SEC play by traveling north to face off against in-state rival Ole Miss in a three-game league series beginning at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, April 21, at Swayze Field in Oxford. The series opener will air nationally on SEC Network, while Saturday's finale will be televised on ESPN2. All three games will be available on SEC Network+. 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. Mississippi State enters the weekend with a 22-16 overall record through 38 games, including a 6-9 record in SEC play following last weekend's series win at home over No. 16 Auburn. Mississippi State and Ole Miss will meet for the 474th time to open a three-game series on Thursday in Oxford. The Diamond Dawgs own a 260-208-5 edge in the all-time series. The first meeting came in 1893 and resulted in a Mississippi State win in Starkville. State is 16-3 in the last 19 meetings against the Rebels (dating back to 2016), including a 6-0 record in Oxford over that stretch with sweeps in 2017 & 2019. Ole Miss enters the weekend with a 21-15 overall record and 5-10 mark in SEC play. The Rebels have lost seven of their last nine games and are currently on a three-game skid. The Rebels are 14-8 in games played at Swayze Field this season, but are still in search of their first SEC win at home after dropping their first six league home games. |
| 'It means a little more': Mississippi State seeking continued success against Ole Miss | |
| Chris Lemonis knows the rivalry as well as anyone. He was a newborn in Starkville while his father was a Mississippi State student. His dad instilled MSU into him, and Lemonis has furthered his knowledge of the rivalry against Ole Miss by living it. Lemonis is in his fourth season at the helm of Mississippi State. He has a national championship under his belt, but entering this weekend series at Oxford -- starting tonight at 6 p.m. -- the trophy offers little assistance. But the success and wealth of experience in the rivalry does. "When you get in these rivalries, you wanna beat them so bad you end up pressing or doing a little too much," Lemonis said. "Our guys have played well in this. Getting guys out there -- we have a lot of experience in our clubhouse." Rivalries get fans juiced up. Regardless of records, fans will pack Swayze Field and create a hostile environment for their Starkville enemies. Lemonis has a team he admits has tried to do too much in various moments this season -- typically looking to hit home runs when it doesn't need one. But as MSU has found a groove in winning four of its last five, the team's experience has shined. The Bulldogs (22-16, 6-9 SEC) have been patient at the plate, found productive outs and taken a step forward with their starting pitching. |
| These next 4 games against Mississippi State are absolutely must-win for Ole Miss baseball | |
| Ole Miss baseball hasn't earned the right to play win-or-go-home games yet. The next series feels more like win-or-stay-home matchups. The Rebels (21-15, 5-10 SEC) host rival Mississippi State for a three-game series starting Thursday (6 p.m., SEC Network) and then meet the Bulldogs again for a fourth game on Tuesday at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Ole Miss enters this series having lost three games in a row and 11 of its last 16 games after starting the year 16-4 and earning a No. 1 ranking. Mississippi State is 16-3 against the Rebels since 2016. Ole Miss hasn't even won home a game against the Bulldogs since 2015. Now the Rebels have to reverse that streak following one of their most lopsided midweek losses of the century, a 13-3 defeat against SEMO Tuesday. "This was bad," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. "Miserable. I just said on the radio I don't want to take anything away from SEMO. Andy does a good job and they've got a good club. But we were awful. We were awful in everything." Ole Miss is starting to run out of time to turn things around. It's not because the issues are unsolvable. The Rebels have 15 SEC games left and realistically will need to win at least nine to have a shot at the postseason. That works out to winning two out of three games every weekend series. Historically, SEC teams that finish 14-16 in league play or better and finish with an RPI around 30 or better can work their way into the NCAA Tournament on name recognition and strength of schedule. |
| What will it take for Mississippi State baseball to make the NCAA tournament? Here's what recent history says. | |
 | If the 2022 NCAA baseball tournament started Thursday, Mississippi State would likely not be in it. The Bulldogs were not in the D1Baseball.com projected field of 64 on Wednesday -- nor even among the first four out. With a 6-9 Southeastern Conference record and a 22-16 overall mark, the defending national champions would miss out on a chance at a repeat title. But the season doesn't end halfway through conference play. With five SEC series and the conference tournament remaining, MSU has plenty of time to get back toward the top of the league and secure a postseason berth. And while results are mixed, history shows the Bulldogs have a respectable chance to do exactly that. The Dispatch examined the records and postseason outcomes of 21 SEC baseball teams over the last three full seasons -- 2018, 2019 and 2021 -- that finished the first half of conference play within two games of Mississippi State's 6-9 mark. That included three teams with 8-7 records, five with 4-11 marks and even one (Missouri in 2019) sitting at 7-7-1 because of a tie. Eleven of the 21 teams made the NCAA tournament, but 10 were left at home. Here's what the data show about MSU's postseason case -- and how far the Bulldogs could go. |
| Coming off 'miserable' performance, Ole Miss hosts rival Bulldogs in pivotal series | |
| Losers of three in a row and seven of the last 10 games, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco admits he doesn't have all the answers at the moment. The Rebels (21-15, 5-10 SEC) fell to Southeast Missouri State 13-3 at Swayze Field on Tuesday on a night where nine pitchers combined to walk or hit 13 Redhawks batters. The Ole Miss offense was stymied despite racking up 10 hits. The Rebels left nine runners on base and also committed three errors. "When you look at the score, it kind of looks weird, right? Twelve hits to 10 hits, and you lose by 10," Bianco said. "And then we can't make a play. We can't make a play to help ourselves." Ole Miss was the top-ranked team in college baseball less than a month ago. The Rebels now find themselves on the outside of the rankings looking in as archrival Mississippi State (22-16, 6-9) comes to town for a pivotal three-game series starting tonight. First pitch is 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network. Midway through the SEC regular-season slate, Ole Miss finds itself at a critical juncture. Following Tuesday's loss, Bianco wasn't sure what had to be done to get his team ready for the Bulldogs. "That's a good question. And I don't have that answer right now. This is too fresh, I think, in our minds. This was bad. Yeah, miserable," Bianco said. "I don't want to take anything away from SEMO ... they have a good club. But we were awful. I mean, we were awful in everything." |
| EXCLUSIVE: WLBT obtains JSU Stadium Feasibility Study showing top picks for new stadium site | |
| More state lawmakers are speaking out about a failed bill that would have allocated $40 million to Jackson State to build a new stadium. Tuesday, we told you a senate bill died in committee due to a location dispute. While just about about everyone agrees that the Jackson State Tigers need a new stadium, where to put it has been up for debate. A recent disagreement over the location was a main cause for the funding bill to die. 3 On Your Side recently obtained the JSU Stadium Feasibility Study the state paid a quarter-million-dollars for to find out the results. Four locations were identified and examined: Three in the downtown area and the other near the western edge of the central business district. According to the recent study, the riverfront location near the Pearl River and Jefferson Street came in as the number two pick for a future stadium site. Some of the reasons include: the convenience, direct visibility from Interstate 55, and it is a gateway into the downtown area and Jackson State University. The research shows that additional funding will be needed to connect the site through downtown into the JSU campus, and there could possible be land acquisition and environmental challenges. "From what I understand, it has some history of flooding, it's in a flood zone, and also some environmental issues from what I understand talking with someone that previously worked with the city," Sen. Sollie B. Norwood. Norwood and Sen. Hillman Frazier say some lawmakers are pushing for a downtown stadium. |
| Chest bumps for charity: Vols coach makes best of suspension | |
| A University of Tennessee fraternity used baseball coach Tony Vitello's suspension for chest-bumping an umpire as a chance to raise money Wednesday for an organization serving active military members and veterans. Vitello offered a chest bump to anyone who had $2 to donate to the Wounded Warriors Project. The popular coach already was scheduled to appear at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon event on campus where participants could throw at a dunk tank as well. "After what transpired last weekend, we thought it would be kind of a funny gag if he gave some chest bumps to students," said fraternity chapter secretary and event organizer Gerard Tavoleti. "He thought it was a funny little gag, so he obliged to our request." The NCAA suspended Vitello for four games for chest-bumping third-base umpire Jeffrey Macias during a confrontation in the first inning of the Vols' game against Alabama last Saturday. Vitello will return to the dugout Sunday at Florida. Vitello chest-bumped about 10 students during the 10-20 minutes he was at the event and successfully dunked a fraternity member --- though it took him more than one throw. Football coach Josh Huepel needed just one throw to do the same. The chest bumps and dunk tank raised more than $1,000. |
| U. of Florida Athletic Association partnering with a family-owned sausage company | |
 | The Florida Gators have the meats. Well, smoked hickory sausage meat anyway. The University of Florida's Athletic Association on Wednesday announced it is now partnering with Conecuh Sausage, a family-owned business that has been in operation since 1947. The Alabama-based company, known for its popular hickory-smoked sausage, now has a "brand visibility" deal with UF's football, baseball and softball teams for the upcoming seasons. The move shouldn't anger the SEC rival Alabama teams, as the company previously announced in 2019 that it was the "official smoked sausage" of the Crimson Tide, the Tuscaloosa News reported. The multi-year agreement with UF will begin July 1 and will allow the brand to receive exposure in official UF print and digital channels. The company will also have in-game promotions on the Gators Sports Network. "We're grateful for the new support by Conecuh Sausage," said UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin. "Our sponsor commitments are vital to our overall athletics programming in Gainesville and creating great experiences for our student-athletes. We appreciate them backing the Gators." |
| Bad Behavior Drove a Referee Shortage. Covid Made It Worse. | |
 | The 13-year-old soccer players in Cincinnati had been pulling at their opponents' jerseys all game. Rhiana Garcia raised her flag again and again, signaling fouls. But a coach took issue with her officiating that October night in 2020. The insults he directed at Rhiana, who was 14 at the time, intensified throughout the match; she said that he had accused her of being colorblind and had shouted expletives and a racial slur at her. Before the final whistle blew, the coach had been kicked off the field. And Rhiana, holding back tears, texted her boss, "I don't know if I can do this anymore." Such unruly behavior is the driving force, referees say, behind a nationwide shortage of youth sports officials. The shortfall has persisted for years, as rowdy parents, coaches and players have created a toxic environment that has driven referees away and hampered the recruitment of new ones, referees say. The pandemic only made things worse: The cancellation of games and entire seasons over the last two years hastened an exodus of older officials who decided that they didn't want the low pay, angry shouting -- or potential infection. Now as youth games return, many referees are deciding that they will not. From 2018 to 2021, an estimated 50,000 high school referees -- roughly 20 percent -- quit, said Dana Pappas, the director of officiating services for the National Federation of State High School Sports. "This is a nightmare across all sports," Ms. Pappas said. |
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