Monday, April 25, 2022   
 
Mississippi State's meteorology program trains one third of on-air meteorologists
Melissa Meeder, a second-year graduate student in Mississippi State University's meteorology program, stood in front of a green screen Wednesday afternoon in the on-campus broadcast studio to deliver a mock forecast for Lincoln, Nebraska -- the city in which she'll soon be working. The 23-year-old Lockport, Illinois, native will graduate next month with a master's degree in Geosciences with an emphasis in broadcast meteorology. On May 31, she'll start a job as weekend meteorologist at the KOLN news station. Meeder said MSU's meteorology program has given her a solid foundation in both the broadcast and science sides of meteorology. "Our meteorology classes really hone in on the science and forecasting," Meeder said. "We go over all parts of the country, how to forecast that, so even if you don't end up in the southeast, you're still well-prepared to go anywhere else in the country." That, paired with plenty of practice on the green screen, sets students up for landing a job upon graduation, Meeder said. It's why Mississippi State's program has grown to be one of the leading meteorology programs in the country. One third of broadcast meteorologists working in local news markets have had some education there, whether that be undergraduate, graduate or online studies. Mike Brown, Mississippi's state climatologist since 2013 and a meteorology professor of 20 years, said it was now-retired professor Mark Binkley who saw the opportunity to offer training specifically in broadcast meteorology. "He recognized that there were a lot of people on TV who were doing the weather who were not trained in meteorology," Brown said. "They were very good in front of the camera, but they weren't necessarily scientists. So he saw a need and he reached out to a few folks, and they embraced his idea."
 
MSU teams up with SOCSD to bring students interactive weather station
Children excitedly gathered around a large wooden box, chattering away and pointing inside at the many instruments the box held. Because of Mississippi State University Department of Geosciences, students at the Partnership Middle School within the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District are now able to help participate in research data for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, a volunteer network of amateur weather observers. "This is really cool and fun," Michael Townsend, a student at PMS, said. "I'm excited to use this for class." The box is fitted with a barometer, hygrometer, thermometer, compass and graphs explaining weather conditions and predictions. It also contains a clear circle with moving parts to predict the next day's weather based on the readings of the instruments inside. Outside of the box there is a rain gauge, and there will eventually be a wind vane. Sarah Lalk, assistant clinical professor with MSU Department of Geosciences, headed up the project with her colleague Barrett Gutter, also an assistant clinical professor in geosciences. Lalk got the inspiration for the weather box from Tremont Institute for Environmental Education in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Lalk and Gutter both have experience in middle school classrooms, and they saw this as an opportunity to get the PMS students involved and interested in science. The box is completely funded by the MSU Department of Geosciences. "We built this ourselves in my driveway," Lalk said, noting some materials were salvaged -- the doors came from her attic.
 
Mississippi State Geosciences opens new weather station on MSU campus
A daily weather report is just steps away from the Starkville Partnership School. Tucked away inside a large cabinet, this interactive weather station was designed and created by instructors with Mississippi State Geosciences. Young scientists can monitor daily conditions using a thermometer, a rain gauge, barometer along with other tools for measuring weather and weather data. Department Head Dr. John Rodgers says learning about weather means learning about the world around us. "It's important for many reasons. For one it is important that the students understand about the weather, earth atmosphere and sciences, how they interact with society and so by being able to come out here, they are able to get a better understanding of weather and how weather data is connected and it is good for them to be able to understand weather to relate things like weather forecasting," said Rodgers. The station is based on one at the Tremont Institute in the Smoky Mountains.
 
Lifestyles Briefs: Theatre announces deadline for scholarship applications; MSU exhibit 'Press Any Key' showcases seniors
Application deadline for Starkville Community Theatre's Robert G. and Mary Eleanor Anderson Scholarship is Friday, Scholarship Committee Chair Paula Mabry announced in a press release. SCT began the scholarship in 2006 to honor Dr. and Mrs. Anderson, charter members of SCT and retired faculty at Mississippi State University. The scholarship is for person entering college as freshmen or already enrolled in college as an undergraduate. Applicants must major in theater performance, technical theater or theater education and must be a resident of Starkville or Oktibbeha County. Application materials may be obtained at the main desk at the Starkville Public Library or by emailing Mabry at paula.mabry@gmail.com. ... A thesis exhibition featuring the work of 19 graduating seniors majoring in graphic design at Mississippi State University is on display through Tuesday at the Cullis Wade Depot Art Gallery. The show, titled "Press Any Key," is the culmination of student work completed within MSU's Department of Art under instructors Claire Gipson and Cassie Hester, assistant professors in MSU's College of Architecture, Art and Design. The exhibition is about "starting a new creative journey and how technology has influenced each graduate's life."
 
New Mississippi law bans COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Mississippi is enacting a new law that says state and local government agencies cannot withhold services or refuse jobs to people who choose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The ban applies to state agencies, city and county governments and schools, community colleges and universities. COVID-19 vaccination mandates have not been widespread in Mississippi, but some lawmakers said they were acting against the possibility of government overreach. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Friday that he had signed House Bill 1509, and it became law immediately. "Government shouldn't be in the business of forcing Americans to choose between the COVID-19 vaccine & putting food on their tables, sending their kids to school, or visiting a small business," Reeves said on Twitter. The Mississippi law specifies COVID-19 vaccinations cannot be required for children to attend school or day care. It does not change Mississippi's other childhood vaccination requirements, which are some of most stringent in the nation. The law also specifies anyone in Mississippi can cite "a sincerely held religious objection" to avoid a public or private employer's COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
 
Gov. Tate Reeves vetoes bill easing Jim Crow-era voting restrictions
Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed a bill intended to make it easier for some people who lost their voting rights as a result of a Jim Crow-era provision of the state's 1890 Constitution to regain their right to vote. The constitutional provision, originally written to keep Black Mississippians from voting, prohibits those convicted of certain felonies from being able to vote unless their suffrage rights are restored by a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the Legislature or by a gubernatorial pardon. House Judiciary B Chair Nick Bain, a Republican from Corinth who drafted the language that was vetoed, said during the session many courts already are restoring voting rights to those whose crimes are expunged. He said he believes that was the original intent of the legislation, and the bill he offered during the 2022 session, simply "clarified" that all judges should be granting the rights to vote to those whose crimes are expunged. But Reeves vetoed the "clarifying" language on Friday. "Felony disenfranchisement is an animating principle of the social contract at the heart of every great republic dating back to the founding of ancient Greece and Rome," the Republican Reeves wrote in his veto message, which was filed with the Legislature on Friday. "In America, such laws date back to the colonies and the eventual founding of our Republic," Reeves continued. "Since statehood, in one form or another, Mississippi law has recognized felony disenfranchisement."
 
Mississippi set to become final state with equal pay law
Mississippi will become the final state with a law requiring equal pay for equal work by women and men. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 770 on Wednesday, and it will become law July 1. A 1963 federal law requires equal pay for equal work, but Mississippi has the only state without its own law since Alabama enacted one in 2019. The Mississippi law says a lawsuit must be filed within two years of when a worker "knew or should have known" about pay discrepancies. If the pay discrimination lawsuit is successful, the employer would have to increase wages of the lower-paid worker rather than decrease wages of the higher-paid one, said House Judiciary A Committee Chairwoman Angela Cockerham, an independent from Magnolia who pushed for the legislation. The law says businesses with at least five employees must pay equal wages to women and men who work full-time jobs that require "equal skill, education, effort and responsibility" and that are done "under similar working conditions." Several exceptions are allowed, including seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production and "any factor other than sex," including salary history and whether there was competition to hire an employee.
 
Nancy and Zach New plead guilty to multiple charges in state welfare scheme
A mother and son duo involved in the largest welfare fraud case in the state's history have pleaded guilty to multiple state charges, just a day after they pleaded guilty to charges in federal court. Friday, Nancy and Zach New filed petitions to enter guilty pleas in Hinds County Circuit Court. Zach New has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of bribery of a public official, two counts of fraud against the government, and five counts of wire fraud. Nancy New also is pleading guilty to four counts of bribery of a public official, two counts of fraud against the government, six counts of wire fraud, and one count of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The state recommends that Zach New be sentenced to 75 years in prison, with 17 years to serve. State prosecutors are also recommending the court sentence Nancy New to 99 years in prison with 25 to be served. Additionally, it is recommended that all sentences run concurrently with federal sentences and that all time served will be in federal prison. However, the state is asking the court that no sentences be handed down until the two are sentenced in federal court, documents state. On top of potential jail time, Zach and Nancy New will each be required to pay $3,656,000 in restitution and "fully cooperate with the state in the prosecution of my co-defendants." The petitions come a day after the two pleaded guilty to numerous charges in federal court.
 
Congress returns to battles over spending as inflation looms
With inflation on the rise and coronavirus cases once again climbing, lawmakers are set to return to Washington this week and confront pitched fights over the financial and physical health of the country. For Democratic leaders, the list includes a need to confirm a slate of nominees for the Federal Reserve, finalize about $10 billion in stalled pandemic aid and refashion the White House signature social spending initiative, which has been bogged down for more than a year. Each of the debates promises to train attention on the vexing state of the economy. Unemployment is low, yet labor needs remain high. Wages have grown while prices are on a steep incline. National gauges for inflation alone reached their highest levels in four decades last month, a spike that left lawmakers hearing an earful from voters in their states and districts during the recess. Much of the economic tumult stems from a pandemic that remains impossible to predict and the evolving aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The dynamic nonetheless offers fertile ground for fresh political squabbles between Democrats and Republicans, just over six months before Americans head to the polls in the 2022 midterm elections. "My sense is this is a make or break moment," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said about the fate of the Democratic spending agenda. "This will be the moment people have to look at each other, eyeball to eyeball, and make a determination of whether we'll move forward." For now, the immediate task in the Senate involves the future composition of the central bank. The chamber is set to vote as soon as this week on four nominees for the Federal Reserve: current chairman Jerome H. Powell, Davidson College professor Philip Jefferson, board governor Lael Brainard, and Michigan State University professor Lisa Cook, who would become the first African American woman on the board.
 
Republicans, Democrats push dueling economic narratives ahead of midterms
In an economy that's seeing both surging growth and debilitating inflation, Democrats and Republicans are telling very different stories about the overall economic picture ahead of midterm elections later this year. For Republicans, the message is simple: inflation, inflation, inflation. Consumer prices have risen 8.5 percent since last year, with wholesale prices climbing more than 11 percent, and Republicans are hammering the point home. Data released this week by analytics company Quorum shows that in nearly 10,000 mentions of inflation in official statements from lawmakers since the beginning of this year, Republicans used the term nearly eight times as often as Democrats. It also shows that the ten lawmakers who use the term most frequently are all from the GOP. Leading the pack are Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) with 148 mentions, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) with 118 mentions and Jason Smith (R-Mo.) with 113 mentions. Democrats, meanwhile, are focused on the red-hot rebound of the economy following the onset of the pandemic, which has led to an increase in nominal wages and some of the highest levels of employment since the late 1960s. The Biden administration has also drawn on employment data to paint a picture of a robust and speedy recovery following the near-total private-sector shutdown caused by COVID-19. Despite high levels of employment and good conditions for workers and job seekers, Republicans are quick to point out that inflation is eating into wages.
 
'Kevin is in very good shape': House Republican shrugs off McCarthy audio controversy
Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Sunday said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy enjoys "very strong" support from his Republican colleagues after audio released last week showed that McCarthy wanted then-President Donald Trump to resign in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Asked whether McCarthy can still lead the House Republican Conference, McCaul (R-Texas) told "Fox News Sunday" in an interview: "Absolutely. I think Kevin is in very good shape. In fact, [Trump] came out saying that this is not going to endanger his relationship with Kevin, that he's strongly supportive." In his defense of McCarthy, McCaul repeatedly referenced Trump's comments in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last Friday, during which the former president indicated he was not upset with McCarthy and other prominent Republicans who rebuked him after the insurrection but ultimately still sought his political support. "I think it's all a big compliment, frankly," Trump said. Invoking Trump's statements on Sunday, McCaul signaled yet again that Republican lawmakers' response to the controversy would have little to do with the content of McCarthy's remarks or his lies about the conversations, and would instead be predicated on the reaction the released audio elicited from the former president. "President Trump said yesterday that he fully supports Kevin McCarthy for speaker, as do I," McCaul said. McCaul also emphasized the "context" of McCarthy's remarks in the released audio. "This was literally right after Jan. 6. It was a very dark day. It was a very shocking day. A lot of emotions flying high," he said.
 
Trump Says McCarthy Relationship Not Damaged
Former President Donald Trump said Friday evening his relationship with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy remains good, after a recording emerged of Mr. McCarthy telling other top GOP lawmakers that he would advise Mr. Trump to resign, several days after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Mr. Trump said he wasn't pleased to learn of Mr. McCarthy's comments in the House leadership call, but he said the California Republican ultimately never advised him to quit. He said that Mr. McCarthy quickly changed his stance "when he found out the facts," and embraced him fully, a few weeks after the Jan. 10, 2021, call. "He made a call. I heard the call. I didn't like the call," said Mr. Trump. "But almost immediately as you know, because he came here and we took a picture right there -- you know, the support was very strong," Mr. Trump said, pointing to a spot in the room where Mr. McCarthy had taken a photo with the former president in late January, an image seen as formalizing their rapprochement and confirming Mr. Trump continued dominance of the party. "I think it's all a big compliment, frankly," Mr. Trump said of Mr. McCarthy and other Republicans who criticized him after Jan. 6 and then said they would still back him. "They realized they were wrong and supported me." Asked whether he still supported Mr. McCarthy for speaker, Mr. Trump didn't answer directly. "Well I don't know of anybody else that's running and I think that I've had actually a very good relationship with him," Mr. Trump said. "I like him. And other than that brief period of time, I suspect he likes me quite a bit."
 
Hunter Biden is prime target if Republicans win Congress
Intelligence officials had gathered to brief select members of Congress on future threats to U.S. elections when a key lawmaker in the room, No. 3 House Republican Elise Stefanik of New York, tried to move the discussion to a new topic: Hunter Biden's laptop. Stefanik, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, asked the officials during the April 1 briefing whether they had any evidence of Russian involvement in the release of Biden's laptop to the news media in the fall of 2020 -- a possibility floated by high-ranking former government officials in the weeks before the presidential election. Intelligence officials told Stefanik the question would be better answered by law enforcement. Stefanik's query, shared with The Associated Press by a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting, reflects a widespread sentiment in the GOP that questions about the financial dealings of President Joe Biden's son remain unanswered. And they say they intend to do something about it. As Republicans prepare for a possible return to power amid rising hopes of winning the House and the Senate in the November elections, they are laying the groundwork to make Hunter Biden and his business dealings a central target of their investigative and oversight efforts.
 
Former Utah Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, who helped shape health and tax policy, dead at 88
Former Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, who served in the Senate from 1977 through 2019 and who retired as president pro tempore as the most senior member of his party, died Saturday at age 88. Hatch was among the most accomplished legislators of his generation, with his last legacy item an overhaul of the tax system when he was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Hatch announced he would not seek reelection on Jan. 2, 2018, less than two weeks after then-President Donald Trump signed the tax bill that Hatch helped spearhead. "When the president visited Utah last month, he said I was a fighter," Hatch said in a statement announcing his retirement. "I've always been a fighter. I was an amateur boxer in my youth, and I brought that fighting spirit with me to Washington. But every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves. And for me, that time is soon approaching." Hatch stepped aside with the hope and expectation that Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential nominee and governor of Massachusetts, would succeed him in the Senate, with the thinking being that Romney's national profile would help blunt the loss of decades of Senate seniority. While he was a steadfast Republican, particularly on social issues, that didn't stop him from forming close working and personal relationships with Democrats, including Kennedy, with whom he was quite close. "Working with the other side is not only politically necessary, but actually beneficial for everyone," Hatch said in his autobiography.
 
He Fuels the Right's Cultural Fires (and Spreads Them to Florida)
Christopher Rufo appears on Fox News so often that he converted a room in his Pacific Northwest house to a television studio, complete with professional lighting, an uplink to Fox in New York and an "On Air" light in the hall so his wife and two children don't barge in during broadcasts. "I'll do 'Tucker' and then pop out and have dinner," Mr. Rufo said recently at his home in Gig Harbor, Wash., thousands of miles from the nation's media and political capitals. Mr. Rufo is the conservative activist who probably more than any other person made critical race theory a rallying cry on the right -- and who has become, to some on the left, an agitator of intolerance. A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a right-leaning think tank, he has emerged at the front of another explosive cultural clash, one that he sees as even more politically potent and that the left views as just as dangerous: the battle over L.G.B.T.Q. restrictions in schools. On Friday, Mr. Rufo appeared with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida at the signing of a bill known as the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, which bars teaching in workplaces and schools that anyone is inherently biased or privileged because of race or sex. Mr. Rufo, who consulted on the bill, warned Disney that an in-house program it had run that urged discussion of systemic racism was "now illegal in the state of Florida." The signing was the culmination of Mr. Rufo's long campaign to short-circuit corporate and school efforts at diversity and inclusion training.
 
DeSantis tests limits of his combative style in Disney feud
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' deepening feud with Walt Disney World is testing the limits of his combative leadership style while sending an unmistakable message to his rivals that virtually nothing is off limits as he plots his political future. The 43-year-old Republican has repeatedly demonstrated an acute willingness to fight over the course of his decadelong political career. He has turned against former aides and rejected the GOP Legislature's rewrite of congressional maps, forcing lawmakers to accept a version more to his liking and prompting voting rights groups to sue. He's also leaned into simmering tensions with Donald Trump, which is notable for someone seeking to lead a party where loyalty to the former president is a requirement. But DeSantis' decision to punish Disney World, one of the world's most popular tourist destinations and one of Florida's biggest private employers, took his fighter mentality to a new level. In retribution for Disney's criticism of a new state law condemned by critics as "Don't Say Gay," DeSantis signed legislation on Friday stripping the theme park of a decades-old special agreement that allowed it to govern itself. To critics, including some in his own party, such a raw exercise of power suggests DeSantis is operating with a sense of invincibility that could come back to haunt him. Others see an ambitious politician emboldened by strong support in his state and a mountain of campaign cash grabbing an opportunity to further stoke the nation's culture wars, turning himself into a hero among Republican voters in the process. DeSantis is up for reelection in November. But in the wake of his scrap with Disney, he will introduce himself to a key group of presidential primary voters this week when he campaigns for Nevada Senate candidate Adam Laxalt. The appearance marks his first of the year in a state featured prominently on the presidential calendar, although DeSantis aides insist it is simply a trip to help out a longtime friend.
 
Ukraine Sounds Alarm on Chinese Drones, Opening Skies to U.S. Startups
Hovering in the sky above Ukraine are hundreds of small drones from U.S. startups, searching for survivors in war-pummeled cities and Russian hide-outs in the scarred landscape. Those startups, including Seattle-based BRINC Drones Inc. and Silicon Valley's Skydio Inc., are rushing to fill a gap in Ukraine after government officials called out products supplied by Chinese company SZ DJI Technology Co., the world's largest commercial drone maker, as a security risk for Ukraine's military and civilians. Ukrainian officials have called for limiting the use of DJI drones, saying technical glitches in the company's products may have been intentional by DJI to sabotage the country's defense. They have also raised concerns about Russia's successful use of DJI equipment. DJI denies allegations it is aiding Russia's assault or meddling with Ukraine's products. BRINC since last month has donated 10 drones to Ukraine and sold approximately 50 more to aid the country's defense. The startup has a team working full time to supply Ukraine with drones. The U.S. startups are keen to showcase their technology in active conflict to drum up more business, venture-capital funding and U.S. government support after years of taking a back seat to DJI's dominant sales in the civilian drone market, which has left little room for another player, say drone industry leaders and consultants. More than a half dozen U.S. startups said they have donated or sold their drones and drone-defense systems to Ukraine, aiding in the country's defense with reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and capturing images of war crimes. U.S. drone startups, which have found most of their customers in the military and public-safety agencies, say their drones have superior security.
 
Ukraine marks Orthodox Easter with prayers for those trapped
The sun came out as Ukrainians marked Orthodox Easter in the capital, Kyiv, on Sunday with prayers for those fighting on the front lines and others trapped beyond them in places like Mariupol. St. Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kyiv was ringed by hundreds of worshippers with baskets to be blessed. Inside, a woman clutched the arm of a soldier, turning briefly to kiss his elbow. Other soldiers prayed, holding handfuls of candles, then crossed themselves. An older woman slowly made her way through the crowd and stands of flickering candles. One young woman held daffodils. Outside the cathedral, a soldier who gave only his first name, Mykhailo, used his helmet as an Easter basket. He said he didn't have another. "I hope I'll only have to use the helmet for this," he said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a service elsewhere in Kyiv urged Ukrainians not to let anger at the war overwhelm them. "All of us believe our sunrise will come soon," he said. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I spoke Saturday night in Istanbul during midnight Mass. With the Orthodox church split by the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, some worshippers hoped the holy day could inspire gestures of peacemaking. "The church can help," said one man who gave only his first name, Serhii, as he came to a church in Kyiv under the Moscow Patriarchate.
 
State Board of Education approves seven new early learning collaboratives
Seven new early childhood education pre-K programs for four-year-old students were approved by the Mississippi State Board of Education on Thursday. The programs, called early learning collaboratives (ELC), are expected to better prepare over 2,000 Mississippi preschoolers for kindergarten. The new ELCs are Jackson Public Schools-Hinds Early Learning Collaborative, Noxubee Early Learning Collaborative, Senatobia Early Learning Collaborative, Holmes Early Learning Collaborative, Leland Early Learning Collaborative, Long Beach Early Learning Collaborative and Pontotoc Pre-K Partners Early Learning Collaborative (City of Pontotoc only). A total of $15.4 million in grants from state funds for the 2021-2022 school year were given for the expansion of ELCs, a large increase from the prior year's $8 million. With the newly approved programs, a total of 35 additional classrooms will be added to the 72 existing classrooms that use ELCs, bringing the total amount of ELC students to 6,000. State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carey Wright commented on the seven programs, saying that the expansion is the largest since the program was established in 2013. "Early learning collaboratives have proven to be successful, and they continue to give Mississippi's youngest students access to a quality early childhood education, positioning them for greater academic achievement," Wright explained.
 
Auburn trustees raise tuition by 3% for 2022-2023
Despite an increase in state funding to the University, the Auburn University Board of Trustees approved a 3% increase in tuition for the upcoming fall semester to meet the University's rising operating costs. Kelli Shomaker, Auburn University chief financial officer and vice president for business and finance, presented the proposal to the board at its meeting on Friday at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Shomaker said that effects from the pandemic, inflation and rising construction costs led made the increase in tuition necessary. However, she said that this increase was not abnormal compared to previous increases. "We've typically done tuition increases in the 2-3% range," Shomaker said. "Coming out of the recession of 2008 and 2009 we actually had 8-and-12% increases, but getting funds from the state is helping us as well." The increased tuition costs will take effect in the fall and will be in place for 12 months once enacted. Currently, Alabama-resident student tuition and fees cost roughly $11,826 over a typical fall and spring semester. With the proposed addition, that total increases to $12,176. Along with the increase in tuition is a $51 million increase in state appropriations for Auburn, the largest increase in the last 10 years. AUM will also receive one-time funding of $14.3 million toward renovating the school's Science Laboratory Facility. Despite these increases in funding, Shomaker noted that they still do not meet the rising operating costs of the University. The increase in tuition was proposed to help ease these costs.
 
Auburn paid former pharmacy dean $350,000 after resignation following sexual harassment claim
Auburn University paid a former pharmacy school dean $350,000 days after he resigned from the university following a sexual harassment complaint. In February, The Plainsman, Auburn's student newspaper, published a report about a Title IX complaint against Richard Hansen. According to the complaint, Hansen harassed a student at an off-campus bar. He stepped down from his role as dean shortly after the Plainsman's reporting. According to public payroll records, Hansen typically received about $27,000 in a monthly salary check. His final regular paycheck was in February. On March 15, he resigned his faculty position at the university. On March 18, the university paid him $350,000. The one-time payment totaled more than Hansen's annual compensation, which in FY2021 was $311,610, according to public records. A spokesman for the university confirmed the payment but declined to describe the nature of the payment. "Auburn University does not comment on personnel matters. The university's relationship with Richard Hansen was resolved by mutual agreement," the spokesman, Preston Sparks, said.
 
Ford announces $16.5 million partnership with U. of Tennessee
Ford Motor Co. will invest $16.5 million for stream and wetland restoration at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture's Loan Oaks Farm, its latest investment in the state. The Michigan-based company made the announcement Friday morning at the 2022 Memphis International Auto Show during a panel discussing the new partnership between Ford and the University of Tennessee. UT Extension is developing Lone Oaks, a 1,200-acre facility, into a 4-H and STEM (science, technology, education, and math) education center in Middleton, about 45 miles east of Memphis and near Ford's future Blue Oval City campus in Haywood County. "Every year, UTIA provides valuable life skills as well as STEM education opportunities to nearly 112,000 students across Tennessee," said UT President Randy Boyd in a statement. "Ford's investment in Lone Oaks will ensure our 4-H programs will be able to expand STEM education to Tennessee students for years to come." Ford was required to invest in a significant stream restoration project because of the size of Blue Oval City due to the Clean Water of Act of 1972. The act requires that any impact on streams and wetlands from development projects, such as buildings and roads, be offset by restoring and permanently protecting an equivalent amount of habitat elsewhere. While education programs at Lone Oaks serve about 5,000 K-12 students each year, the new facility will allow the program's continued growth and offer overnight STEM programs and camps.
 
Jury slaps U. of Kentucky with $1.75M verdict in former executive's firing case
A jury returned a $1.75 million verdict against the University of Kentucky on Wednesday, finding UK HeathCare wrongly dismissed its former chief financial officer, Sergio Melgar. After a three-day trial, a jury deliberated for only 45 minutes, according to Melgar's attorney, Robert Abell, who said UK's last offer to his client was only $50,000. UK President Eli Capilouto testified at the trial. Melgar is now CFO and executive vice president at the University of Massachusetts. In a lawsuit, Melgar who is Hispanic and of Guatemalan descent, alleged that despite his effectiveness, in eight years of employment he was consistently paid less than what was appropriate for his position and less than American-born individuals. The suit said he was promoted a number of times during his employment, including to his final role, senior VP for health affairs and CFO. By 2012, he made $479,000. He said that when he filed a complaint over the pay issue, he was fired and UK failed to pay him substantial sums owed. In a statement about the verdict, university spokesman Jay Blanton said, "We respectfully disagree with the decision reached yesterday, but will need time to further review before making any substantive comment."
 
Mizzou's Ukrainian students stressed, angry about intensification of Russian attacks
The week saw Vlad Sazhen's hometown Kharkiv further battered by intensified Russian attacks. Sazhen is a Ukrainian exchange student at the University of Missouri. "This is Russians shelling my home district," Sazhen said, showing a video on his tablet computer. "This is about 10 kilometers from my house." That's about six miles. He showed photos and videos of a market seven minutes from his home by foot that was destroyed by Russian missiles. "This was a relatively new market," Sazhen said. Then other photos of a damaged building in Kharkiv. "This is my girlfriend's house," Sazhen said. "You can see the rocket here completely destroyed the roof." And another view, showing a rocket sticking out of his girlfriend's building. His girlfriend, Alina, is in Poltava with her father. It's also where Sazhen's parents and sister are. MU is trying to raise money and make arrangements for Sazhen to remain at MU as a degree-seeking student and for Alina to also come here as a student. MU now has set up a webpage for the Ukraine Emergency Fund. There was nothing new to report on the effort this week, Sazhen said. "I'm waiting for Alina," he said. "A lot of people here are very supportive." He feels bad that he can only save one person, he said.
 
While other schools struggle, Hillsdale College enrollment has surged during COVID-19
The first fall semester of the COVID-19 pandemic saw mixed enrollment results for Michigan liberal arts colleges. Overall, Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities schools saw a 4% decline from fall 2019 to 2020, according to vice president Colby Cesaro. At Hillsdale College, first-year enrollment very slightly decreased by less than 1% during that timespan, according to data provided by the college. It was typical of the last decade, which has been up-and-down for the traditionally white, Christian college in rural Hillsdale County. First year enrollment never went above 391 students and bottomed out at 361 in 2020. But that trend changed in a big way the next year, as enrollment surged by 16% in fall 2021 at the school of 1,500. That was buoyed by a 53% increase in applications during the same timeframe. Students cite two reasons for their interest in Hillsdale College: less stringent COVID-19 policies and a classical education curriculum that sets the college apart from its peers. Support for these policies was reinforced in a January blog post by sophomore Jane Kitchen on former New York Times op-ed editor Bari Weiss' platform Common Sense. She detailed her transfer to Hillsdale from the Pennsylvania-based all women's Bryn Mawr College. "I've been at Hillsdale for three weeks, and life here is blissfully normal," Kitchen wrote. "I have sorority sisters. We get together and study and play board games. The student union and dining hall are packed. No one asks anyone else's vaccine status. There are no mask mandates, and no mandatory COVID testing. You'll see an occasional student in a mask but no one thinks anything of it." These thoughts remain in the minds of prospective Hillsdale College students today, including Ella Klein, a Nashville, Tennessee high school senior. "People are really looking for the in-person experience and it's just so important," she said. "It's definitely made it attractive during these times."
 
U.S. appeals court slams speech policy at U. of Central Florida
A three-judge federal appeals court ruled unanimously Thursday that two speech policies at the University of Central Florida likely violate the First Amendment. While the ruling is not a final decision about the case, it grants an injunction to bar the university from using the policies and strongly condemns them. "Given the discriminatory-harassment policy's astonishing breadth -- and slipperiness -- we think it clear that a reasonable student could fear that his speech would get him crossways with the university, and that he'd be better off just keeping his mouth shut," wrote Judge Kevin C. Newsom in the decision. "That sort of 'objective chill' suffices to give the affected students ... standing." The suit was brought by Speech First, a conservative group that in addition to opposing many speech codes also opposes spending by colleges on diversity and on critical race theory. The policies the suit attacked are on "discriminatory harassment" and on "bias-related incidents." The university issued a statement Friday that said administrators were reviewing the decision. "We wholeheartedly agree universities should be a place for civil discourse and the free exchange of ideas. We remain fully committed to encouraging differing viewpoints, free speech and free expression -- and we recommit to ensuring our policies are consistent with those ideals. The university continues to work to ensure the related policies are reviewed and are consistent with our commitment."
 
Few Black, Hispanic, and Native Researchers Are Getting Published
While it's widely known that scholars of color are underrepresented in STEM fields, a new study paints an even more troubling picture: Between 2010 and 2020, there was virtually no change in the representation of Black, Hispanic, and Native American researchers among authors of scientific publications. That's according to the Institute for Scientific Information, which looked at the authors of research papers in the U.S. in four fields -- biochemistry, mathematics, medical research, and computer science -- and compared that diversity to census data. The Institute for Scientific Information is an arm of Clarivate, an analytics company that maintains an authoritative database of research citations called Web of Science; the study's authors used that database to conduct their research. According to the study, the majority of published papers in those fields were authored by white scholars. Representation of Asian and Pacific Islander authors increased more than expected over the 10-year period, especially in computer science. But Black, Hispanic, and Native American authorship remained stagnant -- and in some cases actually decreased. "Since scientific publications are the ultimate product of the scientific endeavor, the fact that we have not seen more ethnic diversity in authorship in the past decade should be worrying," said Gali Halevi, director of the Institute for Scientific Information and a co-author of the study.
 
Mask mandates return to US college campuses as cases rise
The final weeks of the college school year have been disrupted yet again by COVID-19 as universities bring back mask mandates, switch to online classes and scale back large gatherings in response to upticks in coronavirus infections. Colleges in Washington, D.C., New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Texas have reimposed a range of virus measures, with Howard University moving to remote learning amid a surge in cases in the nation's capital. This is the third straight academic year that has been upended by COVID-19, meaning soon-to-be seniors have yet to experience a normal college year. "I feel like last summer it was everyone was like, 'Oh, this is it. We're nearing the tail end,'" recalled Nina Heller, a junior at American University in Washington D.C., where administrators brought back a mask mandate about a month after lifting it. "And then that didn't quite happen, and now we're here at summer again, and there's kind of no end." Mandates were shed widely in the wake of spring break as case numbers dropped following a winter surge fueled by the omicron variant. But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, as the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant continues to rapidly spread throughout the U.S.
 
College life isn't always Ramadan-friendly. Some schools want to change that
This Ramadan is Talha Rafique's first away from home. He says one of the things he misses most is his mother's food for suhoor, the sunrise meal that begins each day's fast. "I was pretty much going to have eggs every single morning," says the University of Southern California sophomore. Then USC announced a new Ramadan initiative: Students can now pick up to-go boxes from a dining hall for the morning meal. "That's super useful, especially for students on the meal plan, because we're already paying regardless," Rafique says. As Muslim students across the country began fasting for Ramadan, colleges have stepped up efforts to make them feel more included. USC, Loyola University Chicago, Utah State University, Northeastern University and Emerson College are among the schools that have launched new initiatives this year. Shafiqa Ahmadi at USC's Center for Education, Identity and Social Justice studies students' sense of belonging on college campuses and teaches workshops on how colleges can be more inclusive. "We do have administrators and faculty and staff who are listening now," she says. "Obviously, there's a push for DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and belonging and mattering." This year also marks the first time in over a decade that Ramadan has fallen squarely during the traditional school year, and that school year hasn't been disrupted by the pandemic.
 
Gunn hopes favorable ruling on GOP closed-door meetings provides second Ethics Commission win
Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: Close attention will be focused on the normally low-key Mississippi Ethics Commission when it considers and rules on whether members of the House Republican Caucus, led by Speaker Philip Gunn, violate the state's open meeting law when they meet behind closed doors. The open meetings case might be the most high-profile issue to be considered by the Ethics Commission since 2013 -- another case involving the Mississippi House and Speaker Gunn. In that case the Ethics Commission, in a 5-3 vote, reversed previous rulings to find in favor of Gunn. The case involved whether House members who worked for health care providers could vote on funding for Medicaid, which provides the largest chunk of revenue for many health care providers in Mississippi. For years, based on Ethics Commission rulings, legislators who worked in the health care profession did not vote on Medicaid funding bills because of the perceived conflict of interest. This became an issue in the 2013 session when House Democrats blocked the Medicaid bill, demanding a vote on expanding Medicaid to provide health care coverage to primarily the working poor. Gunn and the Republican majority opposed expanding Medicaid, but for various reasons did not want to vote on it. The problem was that the state Constitution requires approval from a majority of the membership, instead of just those voting, to pass a budget bill. In other words, 63 yes votes were needed in the 122-member House. With House members not voting based on the Ethics Commission ruling, the vote of a majority of the membership could not be garnered to approve the Medicaid appropriations bill.


SPORTS
 
Mississippi State takes decisive series finale against Ole Miss
Mississippi State's success on the diamond against its state rival continues. The Bulldogs, for the sixth year in a row, have won a weekend series against the Rebels – taking the finale 7-6 in 11 innings on Saturday. It's the third-consecutive series win for MSU in Oxford. The afternoon started with what became routine this weekend: a home run from Ole Miss in the first. Jacob Gonzalez sent one out to put the Rebels on top 1-0. But State didn't take long to respond. The Bulldogs evened the game in the third before scoring three in the fifth and a pair on the sixth. Hunter Hines' three-run blast in the fifth provided a major lift for State for the second-consecutive night. Cade Smith threw 5 1/3 innings for MSU -- five of which were strong frames. He started to lose command of his pitches in his sixth inning of work, resulting in a pair of runs for Ole Miss. The Rebels pushed across four runs to Smith's name, but struggled against the Bulldog bullpen. Jackson Fristoe weathered the storm behind Smith and one batter faced by Cam Tullar. He threw two scoreless innings before Pico Kohn stepped in for a pair of crucial outs in the eighth. However, Kohn's success didn't follow in the ninth. Gonzalez sent a 1-2 pitch to right field for his second home run of the game --- this one tying things up. KC Hunt came in for State to settle the wave. He escaped the ninth before pitching a perfect 10th and keeping MSU alive. That allowed for Brad Cumbest to step up in the 11th and launch a towering solo shot to left. Hunt pitched a perfect bottom half to seal the win.
 
Mississippi State finds toughness in win while delivering crucial blow to rival Ole Miss
Brad Cumbest's struggles to find what to say are few and far between. He didn't hesitate in the preseason to hype up Mississippi State's expectations -- claiming this team's offense could be better than the one from last season's national championship run. There was little hesitation in his sharing of his hatred toward Ole Miss after Saturday's series-clinching 7-6 win -- where Cumbest's solo shot in the 11th proved to be the game-winner. He said all the right things postgame, as he typically seems to do, but in a brief moment he couldn't find the words when asked what this series win means for an MSU team scratching to get back into the postseason picture. "Uh, woof," Cumbest exhaled. "Words can't describe what this means for this team. The way we competed last weekend and rolling over to this weekend, man, it's something we need to carry over weekend to weekend." Mississippi State did itself few favors in the three-game set against Ole Miss. The Bulldogs had a crucial first-inning error in the series opener which led to a three-run home run. Preston Johnson allowed back-to-back-to-back home runs to open Friday's game. And after leading for four innings, a two-run home run off the bat of Jacob Gonzalez in the ninth sent the finale into extra innings. But across an SEC season, mistakes are plenty. Good teams find ways to battle through them. Teams such as Ole Miss have found ways to lose, even in a crucial series against rivals. "We just keep playing the game," Cumbest said. "Toughness. Coach (Chris) Lemonis talks about it all the time. Toughness wins."
 
KC Hunt bears down, Brad Cumbest powers up as Mississippi State wins road series at Ole Miss
Chris Lemonis came to Swayze Field for Saturday's series finale thinking right-handed reliever KC Hunt was off limits. Hunt threw 54 pitches in Friday's 10-7 Mississippi State win over Ole Miss, so Lemonis didn't think Hunt would be able to make back-to-back appearances for the Bulldogs. But the New Jersey native was the first MSU hurler to approach pitching coach Scott Foxhall before the game. "I'm good," Hunt assured Foxhall. "I feel good. I'm ready to go." Hunt showed that Saturday, carrying Mississippi State (24-17, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) through a perilous stretch in a wild, 7-6 win over Ole Miss in 11 innings to give the Bulldogs a critical series victory. "I knew I wanted to go back out there after last night," Hunt said. "I just wanted to put it on the line for the boys a little bit." Hunt entered with one out in the ninth after a tying two-run home run by Ole Miss' Jacob Gonzalez as Mississippi State missed out on a chance to shut the door. But the Bulldogs still got it done. Hunt shut the Rebels down for eight huge outs, and Brad Cumbest homered in the top of the 11th to provide all the offense MSU needed. "Words can't describe what this means for this team," Cumbest said. Cumbest took a hanging slider out to left with one out in the 11th, putting MSU back in the lead. The senior left fielder followed a four-hit night in Friday's comeback win with the key hit Saturday. He helped Mississippi State notch its sixth straight series win against Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are 18-4 against the Rebels since 2015.
 
Three things we learned as Mississippi State wins sixth series in a row against Ole Miss
For the second weekend in a row, Mississippi State baseball won a series that ended in dramatic fashion. But this time, the late-game heroics in the final game went in the Bulldogs' favor. Brad Cumbest knocked in the go-ahead run with a solo home run in the 11th inning, giving MSU (24-7, 8-10 SEC) a much-needed win 7-6 over rival Ole Miss (22-17, 6-12) on Saturday in Oxford. As the defending national champions look to overcome a sluggish start in SEC play, they've been able to string together a pair of series wins that allow them to continue to cling to hopes of making the postseason. Mississippi State has now won six series in a row against Ole Miss. The two teams will play Tuesday in Pearl in a game that won't count in the SEC standings. Both teams are at the bottom of the SEC West standings, and will have to pick things up substantially for any hope at making the NCAA Tournament. MSU still has big series against Tennessee and Florida on its schedule, but success against Ole Miss could be a confidence boost as the Bulldogs enter the stretch run. No matter what, at least the Bulldogs can say they beat their biggest rival.
 
Mississippi State's linebackers 'better be ready' because DeShawn Page is coming for more snaps
If you're wondering which Mississippi State linebacker had the biggest breakout performance of spring football, DeShawn Page is at the top of defensive coordinator Zach Arnett's list. "There's three veteran linebackers in Bookie (Nathaniel Watson), Tyrus (Wheat), and Jett (Johnson) who better be ready because DeShawn is ready to take some reps away from them with the way he's playing right now," Arnett said Saturday. Page, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound redshirt junior, originally signed with Marshall. He transferred to Mississippi State in 2020 after spending a pair of seasons at East Mississippi Community College. He was ranked top-five nationally among junior college inside linebackers when he signed with MSU. Last season, he posted 11 total tackles. But the progress he's made this spring puts him in position to play a much bigger role this year. Arnett said an advantage of having experienced linebackers allows MSU to focus on some of the younger players. "When you have guys like Bookie, Tyrus, and Jett, you've played that many snaps, they don't need a million reps in the spring. That allows you to saturate more reps with those young guys who need to develop," Arnett said.
 
Clegg Repeats as SEC Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete
Mississippi State senior Ford Clegg was named the SEC Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second straight season, the conference office announced on Friday. Clegg is the seventh men's golfer in SEC history to win back-to-back Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. "I am so proud of Ford [Clegg] for winning this award for the second straight year," head coach Dusty Smith said. "I know he deserves it and is a great example of what a student athlete truly is. Ford takes his golf and studies very seriously. It is great to see him rewarded for his hard work." Clegg will graduate this May from Mississippi State University with a degree in finance, posting a cumulative 4.0 GPA, and has been named a Presidential Scholar in every semester of collegiate career. He has maintained leadership in the classroom and on the course as he was named team captain this year. On the course, Clegg lead the Bulldogs in stroke average (72.19) entering the SEC Championship. He started in every tournament this season and has shot par or better in 14 rounds with 10 rounds in the 60's. The Birmingham, Alabama, native won the individual title at the 2021 Steelwood Collegiate where he shot 11-under overall this fall. In his career, Clegg is a two-time SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a 2021 First-Team All-SEC selection. Last spring, he was one of two Division I men's golfers in the country to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American and the only one to receive first team honors.
 
For Mississippi State and college athletes, crowdfunding companies aim to take the 'I' out of NIL
Ben Hubbard remembers the old days. Back when Hubbard first started attending Mississippi State women's basketball games at Humphrey Coliseum, the Bulldogs weren't the established power they came to be. Instead, MSU struggled. Games were a family affair with maybe 500 people in the stands. Then Vic Schaefer built on the success of Sharon Fanning-Otis, helping make Mississippi State into a national powerhouse. The Bulldogs made the national championship game twice and even beat UConn in the Final Four in 2017. ll of a sudden, those cheap seats vanished. "You had 10,000 people showing up and a scramble to get (tickets)," Hubbard said. Hubbard, a Mississippi native and MSU graduate, and Dr. Douglas Tucker -- an anesthesiologist based in Jackson -- saw an opportunity. Last July 1, when the NCAA permitted college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL), the two developed a plan. In November, they launched CrowdPush, which offers crowdfunded NIL deals to college athletics programs. For example, Mississippi State fans can contribute to a campaign for the football team, and the total pool of donations will be spread evenly throughout the active roster. It's an interesting strategy, one started in early 2020 by Denver-based StudentPlayer.com in advance of any NCAA NIL rules. For devoted fans, there's plenty of upside. Mississippi State executive senior associate athletic director for compliance Bracky Brett called NIL an "ever-changing" space. "I don't know that it's any riskier than anything else out there," Brett said of crowdfunded NIL deals. "The risk is, 'How is it administered and who's in charge of running it?' That is the risk."
 
Ex-Vols coach, AD Phillip Fulmer 'concerned about our game' with transfer portal, NIL
Phillip Fulmer has his concerns about the transfer portal. He also has his concerns about name, image and likeness deals. "One is bad enough. Both together, I don't know how you do it as a coach unless you have a great collective behind you," Fulmer said Friday. "It is all roster management now. It always was to some degree." The former Tennessee football coach and athletics director hosted the 22nd Annual Phillip Fulmer Golf Classic on Friday in support of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley. Fulmer is enjoying life as a grandfather to nine grandchildren, serving on the boards of a couple companies and attending as many UT functions as possible. But when the national title-winning coach looks at college football, he is uneasy regarding the changes with the transfer portal and NIL. "It makes me concerned about our game," Fulmer said. "I like the amateur part of it. The fact that an 18-year-old can come in and earn his stripes. Basically, come in an adolescent and young man and leave ready for life because of those four years. You earn your way." Fulmer, who coached UT from 1992-2008, said his concern with the transfer portal is players choosing to leave instead of fighting through the challenges that go with being a college athlete. "If they aren't happy, they leave," Fulmer said. "That is not life. Real life is being determined and finding a way. Not just jumping from company to company or job to job. It doesn't happen that way."
 
1Oklahoma Announces $50k NIL Collective for Oklahoma Student-Athletes
Oklahoma has entered the NIL game. A collective called 1Oklahoma, headed by Hall of Fame football coach Barry Switzer, announced on Friday the formation of a collective that will "deliver the most comprehensive and impactful NIL offerings in the country" to OU student-athletes. According to a press release, Switzer said 1Oklahoma will change the NIL game for OU student-athletes in every sport. "We changed the game in 1981 at the university of Oklahoma by being a pioneer for schools to negotiation their own (TV) contracts and generate additional revenue," Switzer said, referring to the landmark Supreme Court case in which OU and Georgia led a charge to deregulate college football games on TV, which led to a 1984 decision by the Court that put negotiation power in the hands of the schools and, by proxy, conferences. "We are changing the game again with 1Oklahoma Collective," Switzer continued in the release. "Through NIL, every OU football player will have an opportunity to earn between $40,000-$50,000 a year while positively impacting the community." 1Oklahoma is a 501(c)3 non-profit that will work with and serve other non-profits throughout the state and will leverage the NCAA's new rules on student-athletes monetizing their name, image and likeness. The collective will operate "through generous donations and volunteer service," per the release.
 
KU AD Travis Goff says changing landscape of college athletics creates challenge as Big 12's search for new commissioner heats up
The Big 12 Conference on Thursday announced that it has secured the services of powerhouse search firm TurnkeyZRG to help find the conference's next commissioner. Turnkey, which has been a leader in the industry for years, recently assisted the University of Kansas in its search for both a new athletic director and head football coach. With college athletics veteran Bob Bowlsby announcing earlier this month that he plans to step down as Big 12 commissioner later this year, the conference is a new leader capable of bringing the Big 12 into a new era in terms of both membership and leadership. "The Big 12 is pleased to be working with TurnkeyZRG," Lawrence Schovanec, President of Texas Tech University and Big 12 Board Chairman, said in a news release. "They understand how to run a comprehensive, inclusive search process, and how to maintain confidentiality throughout such a critical search." In the season release, Turnkey CEO, Len Perna said the goal of this particular search was to identify "an innovative leader for the Big 12." Asked recently about Bowlsby's departure, second-year KU Athletic Director Travis Goff offered his thoughts on what the Big 12 might be searching for in its next leader. "That individual needs to be all things to all people," Goff told the Journal-World. "I think that's the hard part about those roles." In the past three years alone, the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 all hired new commissioners. Even SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, who is by far the longest tenured power-conference commissioner, has only been in his role since 2015. The challenges facing the new commissioner, whoever it ends up being, are immense. Not only will he or she have to navigate the departure of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC -- along with the addition of BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston at the same time -- but the new boss also will have to be ready and able to renegotiate the conference's media rights deal starting in 2024.
 
Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick says total Division I realignment is 'inevitable'
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told Sports Illustrated that he believes the breakup of college sports at the NCAA Division I level is "inevitable," and puts a potential target date on that seismic change as the mid-2030s. Swarbrick also said there are "so many" schools trying to leave their current conferences, but they're handcuffed by existing contracts. In a wide-ranging interview with SI, the only athletic director who is part of the College Football Playoff Management Committee said the fracture lines within the 130-member FBS could leave two disparate approaches: schools that still operate athletics within a traditional educational structure, and those who tie sports to the university in name only. "There's always been sort of a spectrum -- and I want to stress that everything along the spectrum is valid; it's not a criticism," Swarbrick said. "On one end of the spectrum, you license the school name and run an independent business that's engaged in sports. The other end of the spectrum, you're integrated into the university in terms of decision making and requirements, and some follow that. I think both can produce great athletic competition. But it's really hard to get there given the contractual obligations that already exist." And when those contractual obligations begin to run out, that's when big changes could occur. "Absent a national standard, which I don't see coming, I think it's inevitable," Swarbrick said. "Mid-30s would be the logical time."
 
Supreme Court takes up case of a coach and his prayers on 50-yard line
Almost everyone agrees it should not require two trips to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the case of a high school football coach who wants to pray at the 50-yard line. Maybe former Bremerton High School assistant coach Joseph Kennedy could have conceded that his postgame prayer of gratitude could take place somewhere other than midfield, or discouraged what one judge called a "spectacle" of stampeding supporters and politicians who rushed after one game to kneel beside him on the gridiron. Maybe the school district could have offered an accommodation that didn't require Kennedy to climb to the stadium press box, or retreat to a janitor's office in the school, to offer his prayer. Instead, it prohibited him from any "demonstrative religious activity" that is "readily observable to (if not intended to be observed by) students and the attending public." Nonetheless, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District arrives before the justices Monday. It brings vexing questions about the ability of public employees to live out their faith while on duty and the government's competing responsibility to protect schoolchildren from coercion and to remain neutral on the subject of religion. The case offers a court that has recently been overwhelmingly protective of religious rights the chance to transform decades of Supreme Court jurisprudence that started 60 years ago with the admonition that government cannot organize and promote prayer in public schools. Four justices sympathized with Kennedy a couple of years ago when the case first reached the Supreme Court, but it was deemed premature for consideration. Now, it pits red states against blue ones, some professional football players against others, divides constitutional experts and has drawn more attention -- 57 friend-of-the-court briefs -- than any case at the Supreme Court this term, except for the controversies over abortion and gun control.



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