| Friday, May 13, 2022 |
| Mississippi State Athlete Engineering Summit brings latest in sports science to pros on and off the field | |
 | Wednesday, Mississippi State launched its inaugural Athlete Engineering Summit on the latest developments in technology meant to advance the field of athletics and beyond. The goal of the summit hosted at East Mississippi Community College's Communiversity, was to bring together experts in professional sports, medicine, the military and manufacturing to discuss how the same data used to monitor a pitcher's throwing shoulder can help a factory worker on the job. The concept of using sports science data in industries other than professional sports is what prompted MSU to put the event together. "Whether you're in an industry like the military or athletics or medical, we really all want the same thing, which is happy and healthy and effective workers and team members," says Reuben Burch, Associate Director of Human Factors in Athlete Engineering at MSU. Many of the guest speakers and technology on display revolved around wearable technology for performance monitoring as well as the use of virtual reality to collect cognitive data. "We're essentially all trying to solve the same problem," Burch says. "Which can be handled with data and technology and the advancements of wearables and machine learning." NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills, a Mississippi State alum, was one of the speakers. |
| Meridian dad, son and daughter graduate together at MSU-Meridian | |
 | MSU-Meridian held its spring commencement Thursday. For a trio of Meridian natives, it truly was a family affair. Commandre Cole, his son, Ja'Coby Cole, and daughter, Iesha Gully, all received their diplomas in education. Iesha currently works at Northeast Elementary. Ja'Coby works at Oakland Heights Elementary and Commandre is employed by Northwest Middle School. "This is a big accomplishment for our family," said Iesha. "Just to keep driving and keep going forward and to lead by example and to show my younger siblings and the rest of my family that we can do it. We started strong and we finish strong." "I wouldn't say it was planned because I started out playing sports," said Ja'Coby. "I never thought I'd become a teacher just right away. I knew I'd have to have a backup plan so I thought about my mom, my dad's and my sister's footsteps. They're all educators and I thought it'd be best for me to follow their footsteps." "Really my wife, she already has her specialist," said Commandre. "She said you might as well go back to school with the kids. I decided to go back with them and we accomplished this and we're all walking together." In all, 153 students, including 35 honor graduates, received their diplomas during ceremonies at the MSU Riley Center. MSU President Dr. Mark Keenum delivered the commencement address. |
| Mississippi State University-Meridian graduates | |
 | Photo and list of graduates: Commandre Cole (right) was joined by his children, Ja'Coby Cole and Iesha Gully during MSU-Meridian's commencement exercises at the MSU Riley Center in Meridian on Thursday. Ja'Coby Cole teaches at Oakland Heights Elementary, Gully teaches at Northeast Elementary and Commandre Cole teaches at Northwest Middle School. |
| Starkville man expected to plead to COVID fraud charges | |
 | A Starkville man is set to plead guilty Monday to defrauding the government by misusing more than $6 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Christopher Paul Lick, 46, initially pleaded not guilty in federal court after he was indicted in May 2021 on 16 charges, including wire fraud and money laundering. The jury trial was set to begin Monday, May 16, at 9:30 a.m. at the U.S. Courthouse in Oxford in front of U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson. But on Tuesday, Lick's attorney filed notice that there will be a change of plea hearing Monday at 10 a.m. in the very same courtroom. According to court documents, Lick was the manager and owner of four companies: GTR Holding, Aspen Lake Online, Aspen River Candle Company and Grassroots, a Natural Company. The federal indictment says between April 2020 and September 2020, Lick devised a scheme to file false Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to gain money through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) act. He reportedly lied about the number of employees he had and the average monthly payrolls. "Rather than use the fund for his business to cover payroll and other permissible expenses, Lick converted most of these funds for his personal use, including purchasing an expensive home, vehicles and other personal items," the indictment reads. "Lick also used a significant portion of these funds for his own personal financial investments, including buying and selling stocks." |
| A wicked Witch Dance: Exploring the Natchez Trace's most mysterious mile marker | |
| Ever felt that indistinguishable chill run up your spine? Some describe the feeling as the hair on the back of the neck standing up. Others might say they get a gut feeling, warning them that something just isn't right. One Mississippi legend evokes those suspicions with just its name: Witch Dance. The legend of the Witch Dance mile marker off of the Natchez Trace Parkway has long circulated throughout North Mississippi and all along the parkway. For those unfamiliar with the Natchez Trace, the 444-mile stretch of road has been used by travelers for hundreds of years. The miles of Tennessee/Mississippi landscape span from Nashville to Natchez. Witch Dance gets its moniker from a legend that insists local witches gathered at the site to perform rituals. As they danced, the grass beneath their feet died. To this day, some say that there are patches of dead grass that will never again be verdant because of the supernatural creatures who once touched it. Even after 220 years, the chilling legends of the Mississippi parcel continue to surround the spooky mile marker. Area locals will advise those traveling to avoid stopping at Witch Dance at night for fear of encountering supernatural forces. Many have claimed to hear cackling and other witchy noises once the sun sets. However, as a Park Ranger for the Natchez Trace Parkway, Jane Farmer says that she's encountered nothing otherworldly while visiting Witch Dance. Farmer said that she actually finds Witch Dance to be a calm area to picnic. The sinister legends might prevent some visitors from taking a gander through the area, but as far as Farmer is concerned, there's nothing scary about the trail. |
| Investors Face a World Where Stocks No Longer Reign | |
 | For years after the 2008-09 financial crisis, interest rates were so low that many investors argued that to get a decent return, you had to put a hefty chunk of your portfolio in the stock market. That conviction was so popular that Wall Street gave it a name: TINA, short for "there is no alternative" to stocks. Sure, the stock market was riskier than, say, government bonds that are guaranteed to pay out coupons every year. But returns on stocks were so much better than practically everything else in the markets that investors saw few viable alternatives for where to put their money. The Federal Reserve has turned that dynamic on its head. The central bank, determined to rein in inflation, has begun what could be its most aggressive campaign of interest-rate increases since the 1980s. Investors expect the Fed to bring rates to around 3% by early 2023 from near zero at the start of 2022. Once-loved stocks, as a result, have tumbled to multiyear lows. The shift is inflicting pain on markets and investors of all stripes as losses mount for hedge funds, day traders and the funds that manage more than $4.5 trillion in retirement savings for U.S. firefighters, police officers, teachers and other public workers. Investors are moving their money out of stocks and into ultrasafe assets that had largely been unloved for the past decade -- such as cash, Treasury bills, certificates of deposit and money-market funds. The good news for some of these investors is that conservative bets are now starting to provide more bang for their buck. |
| Fed Chair Jerome Powell: 'Whether we can execute a soft landing or not, it may actually depend on factors that we don't control.' | |
 | After steering the U.S. central bank through an unprecedented series of challenges from the pandemic, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the Federal Open Market Committee face another critical test: controlling the highest inflation in decades without tipping the economy into a recession. Last week, the Fed announced the biggest interest hike in 22 years and plans for reducing the Fed's nearly $9 trillion balance sheet. "What we can control is demand, we can't really affect supply with our policies," Powell told Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal in an interview Thursday. "And supply is a big part of the story here. But more than that, there are huge events, geopolitical events going on around the world, that are going to play a very important role in the economy in the next year or so. So the question whether we can execute a soft landing or not, it may actually depend on factors that we don't control." The following is a full transcript of the interview. |
| Fed's Powell secures a second term as inflation rages | |
 | The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly voted to give Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell a second term, keeping him atop the world's most important central bank as he wages a risky battle against the highest inflation in 40 years. Powell has already kicked off a campaign of interest rate increases designed to rein in spending and slow growth in the hopes of taming surging prices, a move that many fear will tip the economy into recession. But the central bank has faced heat for being slow to react even as inflation showed signs of broadening across the economy last fall. Still, senators continue to support the Fed chair, approving him for another four years in a bipartisan 80-19 vote. Indeed, the central bank was not alone among professional forecasters last year in expecting inflation to begin to cool sooner, based on inaccurate projections that supply chain snarls would subside more quickly. Those pandemic-induced problems have been made even worse by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and lockdowns in China. Even in the absence of a contracting economy, the job market will likely suffer from higher rates, which could mean layoffs and pay cuts -- undercutting a once-in-a-generation job market before workers have the chance to fully enjoy its benefits. But Powell has argued that it's possible to lower demand for workers without hurting those who are currently employed because there are already more job openings than workers to fill them. |
| Mississippi State Fairgrounds to have its own Crime Command Center | |
| The war against crime in Jackson has begun -- that's what Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson said now that he will have a Crime Command Center on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds. The plans come two weeks after the shooting at the Mississippi Mudbug Festival. "Every soldier who fought for our freedom in World War II came through here, the Old National Guard Armory. There was a new war to be fought, and it's the war against crime in the capital city," Commissioner Gipson said. The historic National Guard Armory on the state fairgrounds will be gaining some purpose once again. But this time, as a Crime Command Center. "It's gonna be a multi-agency task force. It'll saturate this area with officers and make sure criminals who mean ill against the people of this city and against the visitors here, they're gonna go to jail," Commissioner Gipson explained. The center will host both permanent and contracted law enforcement officers from the Jackson Police Department, Hinds County Sheriff's Department, Capitol Police, and more that will work in and around the fairgrounds to protect those visiting. So how much will it cost? Commissioner Gipson says about $6 million, which will come from grants through Homeland Security and other agencies. Commissioner Gipson said he's confident that with the help of other agencies and a home base on the fairgrounds, crime in Jackson wouldn't be impacting future events again. |
| Judge Carlton Reeves nominated to become first Black chair of National Sentencing Commission | |
| U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves of the Southern District of Mississippi has been nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Reeves will be the first African American to serve as chair of the group that was created in the 1980s to reduce sentencing disparities and promote transparency in criminal sentencing. Reeves, who has presided over several monumental civil rights cases at the federal level, previously served as a Mississippi Supreme Court clerk, as chief of the civil division in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi and in private practice for multiple years. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi's sole African American and Democratic member of Congress, praised the appointment this week on social media. "I support the appointment of Judge Carlton Reeves on being named head of the United States Sentencing Commission," Thompson said. "It is a pleasure to witness the first Black judge to be appointed chair of the commission." Reeves is the second African American appointed as a judge in the Southern District of Mississippi. He was nominated in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama. |
| Wicker raises importance of flood control solution for the Yazoo Backwater Area in hearing | |
 | On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing in which Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory discussed the work the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is doing to improve the health of the environment. During the hearing, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) highlighted the ongoing environmental and economic devastation resulting from severe floods in the Mississippi Delta and the need to work quickly to advance a flood control solution. The Mississippi Senator mentioned the severe economic conditions that could be alleviated by making progress on a flood control solution. Wicker also emphasized that the devastating flooding in the South Delta is primarily manmade. The president has made environmental justice central to his environmental and climate agenda, and I understand you've been asked about that earlier," Wicker said to Mallory. "But would you agree that the statistics that I have read to you argue strongly for looking at this proposed project in terms of environmental justice?" Mallory agreed with Wicker's assessment of the severity of the flooding in the South Delta, noting that it is indeed a manmade problem. She also said that it is high on her list to follow up on this project because she hasn't had a chance to talk to the communities or even community leaders. "I will say Senator that is actually one of the things that's high on my list of follow-up on this project because I have not yet had a chance to talk to the communities or even community leaders about either the project or just their own situation," Mallory said. |
| House GOP leader McCarthy, four other Republicans subpoenaed by Jan. 6 panel | |
 | The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot issued subpoenas to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and four other members of his conference, demanding they appear for a deposition -- a move that comes after they refused to voluntarily sit for interviews. Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., sent subpoenas to McCarthy and Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Mo Brooks of Alabama. He directed them to sit for depositions at the end of the month. All of those members dismissed opportunities to meet voluntarily with the special panel. Thompson's significant action comes as the committee is gearing up to hold public hearings in June and amounts to a dramatic turn in its probe of what happened before, during and after the attack by a pro-Donald Trump mob. When asked by Capitol Hill pool reporters if he intends to comply with the subpoena, McCarthy did not answer directly. "I have not seen the subpoena. I guess they sent it to you guys before they sent it to me," the California Republican said, adding that his view that the panel is "not conducting a legitimate investigation" has not changed. |
| Biden to urge local leaders to boost public safety spending | |
 | Mayors, police chiefs and other local officials were invited to the White House on Friday to share with President Joe Biden how they are spending money from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on policing and public safety programs. In turn, during an afternoon event in the Rose Garden, Biden will highlight some of these efforts and urge cities to spend even more of their coronavirus relief money on public safety, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the president's plans on the condition of anonymity under terms insisted upon by the White House. Biden will encourage communities to spend more on public safety and crime prevention before the summer months, which typically bring a spike in violent crime. The Democratic president has been under pressure from Republicans and others to bring down violent crime across the country, one issue among many that could complicate his party's chances of retaining control of Congress in the November midterm elections. The 2021 relief package included $350 billion for state, local and tribal governments, money that could go to police departments. Following the killings of several Black Americans by law enforcement officials, some Democrats and civil rights activists have urged cutting police budgets. Republican lawmakers have criticized Biden amid rising violent crime, even though the president has said he believes the police need the money. "The answer is not to defund the police," Biden said in his State of the Union address in March. "It's to fund the police. Fund them. Fund them." |
| Medical scans are latest casualty of China supply chain breakdowns | |
 | Doctors in the United States are prioritizing only the most critical patients and hospitals are rationing supplies of a crucial drug after a covid lockdown in China temporarily closed a GE Healthcare factory that is a vital source for a key ingredient in medical imaging. The shutdown of the facility in Shanghai in April halted production of contrast media, an iodine solution that medical staff inject into blood vessels to allow a device such as a CT scanner or fluoroscope to see inside the body. Contrast media, also known as dye, is used virtually every hour in hospitals across the country to help measure arterial blockages around the heart, guide placement of stents in catheter labs, diagnose and treat strokes, and more. Oncologists use contrast to monitor cancerous tumors. But with contrast supplies dwindling because of the manufacturing shutdown halfway around the world -- part of stringent Chinese covid policies that kept workers at home and forced factory closures -- doctors at many U.S. health systems are scrambling. They are prioritizing the most seriously ill patients and postponing more routine tests for those who can safely wait until contrast stocks are replenished. The disruption, which began to unfold in the past two weeks, reveals once again how overseas, poorly diversified supply chains are vulnerable to a global health crisis. Shortages have crippled the U.S. health system again and again in the past two years. |
| UMMC to host walk-up nursing, respiratory therapy job interviews | |
| If you are a nurse or respiratory therapist who wants to work for the University of Mississippi Medical Center, keep reading. UMMC is hosting walk-up interviews on Monday, May 16 for these positions. No appointment is necessary for an interview from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower of UMMC, on Woodrow Wilson Avenue. Parking is available in Garage C next door to Sanderson Tower, which houses many services offered by Children's of Mississippi. Interviews especially target new graduates of nursing schools. Registered nurses may apply for any of the Medical Center's RN openings. It's not required, but the process can be expedited by applying online first. UMMC asks that you bring a copy of your resume and a greeter will take you to the interview area. You can also bring your parking stub for validation. |
| After appeal denied, Hinds County educator Toby Price to continue fight for job | |
 | It has been about two months since Toby Price was fired as an assistant principal of a Hinds County school for reading a children's book titled "I Need a New Butt!" to second graders during a Zoom call for Read Across America Week. He had been appealing his termination with the school district through hearings, testimony and, most recently, an April 28 appearance before the Hinds County School Board before it went into a closed session to discuss his employment. On Monday while Price was watching a performance of a play his daughter wrote, he received the news about his employment in a 12-page order: the board agreed with the superintendent's decision to fire him. "I was asked to read ... and here we are," Price said Thursday. "I'm just really sad. I don't think it had to happen this way." Price, who has been an educator for 20 years in the Hinds and Rankin County public schools, had been at Gary Road Elementary School in Byram for three years before his dismissal. Although the appeals process with the district is over, Price plans to keep fighting for his job through the courts. Price's attorney, Joel Dillard, warned the Hinds County School Board on April 28 that upholding the superintendent's decision could push Price's case into court. Price plans to pursue a wrongful termination case in Hinds County Chancery Court. |
| Samford University receives $100 million gift | |
 | Samford University today announced it will receive a gift of $100 million, the largest single gift ever made by a donor to a university in Alabama. The gift is funded by the estate of Marvin Mann, a 1954 graduate of what was then known as Howard College, now Samford University. The college moved from East Lake to Homewood in 1957. Mann began working for IBM in 1958, became CEO of its product division, and in 1991 became CEO of Lexmark, an IBM spinoff company. The $100 million will be added to Samford University's endowment and with its earnings will be able to offer an additional nearly $4 million in scholarships annually. "This would bring our endowment up to about $470 million," up from about $370 million previously, Samford University President Beck Taylor said. "That puts Samford, frankly, in a new category of institutions, that celebrate and benefit from endowments that are in that half-billion-dollar range," Taylor said. "When those funds are fully invested it will generate just under $4 million in new funds that will enable us to give scholarships to graduate and undergraduate students," he said. "We want to use those funds to attract students for whom a college education might be out of reach." Samford, founded by Alabama Baptists in 1841, has an enrollment of 5,758 students from 48 states and 22 countries. |
| U. of Alabama delivers powerful economic impact to state | |
| Many of us see the University of Alabama as an academic institution, which it is, but we tend to forget it's also a massive economic machine as well. How big is it? One college professor calculated it all up and came with a figure of a $2.8 billion dollar impact on the state, generating more than 13,000 jobs and pouring in $137 million dollars in income and sales taxes to the state of Alabama. "On the streets we looked at all the spending on off-campus housing, as well as the payroll of the university and staff and so, this is spent to all," said Dr. Samuel Addy. For metro Tuscaloosa, the direct monetary impact is $2.2 billion and a hefty $42 million in local sales taxes. Addy says the university's economic might was trending upwards before Nick Saban arrived in 2007, but added there is no doubt Alabama's success on the gridiron in recent years fueled the economic engine to greater heights. |
| STEM workers are in demand in Baton Rouge -- so why aren't college grads staying here? | |
 | When Rural Sourcing goes hunting for a new office location, one of its top priorities is finding a city with a university talent pipeline nearby. So it makes sense why the Atlanta-based information technology firm in November chose to open a 150-person branch in Baton Rouge: LSU and Southern University both have computer science programs. "For us, our mission is to create tech jobs where they maybe didn't exist before," said Robin Stenzel, Rural Sourcing's chief people officer. "We certainly saw Louisiana as an opportunity to be able to really help us through our mission." Rural Sourcing's move reflects a push by Baton Rouge officials to pursue more in-demand jobs in STEM to keep college graduates. Amid the national war to produce and retain STEM talent, Baton Rouge's two major universities seemingly are holding their ground. Of LSU's STEM graduates since 2001, 60% have kept their roots in Louisiana five years after earning their degrees, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Southern has a similar figure at 58%. For comparison, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has an impressive 71% retention rate. But those figures lag behind competitors in states like Texas, where STEM retention rates reach beyond 80%. Plenty of STEM jobs are available here, Baton Rouge Area Chamber officials say. The challenge is convincing college grads to stay here in the long term. Addressing the issue, Baton Rouge officials say, is easy in theory but complex in practice: Expose students to STEM education early and connect them with opportunities before their eyes wander elsewhere. |
| Governor: U. of Tennessee civics institute honors ideas that 'make America great' | |
| What started as a proposal from Gov. Bill Lee to rework civics education in Tennessee is taking shape at the largest public university in the state. The governor established the Institute of American Civics in late April. But the center became reality when Lee, flanked by UT System President Randy Boyd, UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman and state representatives from Knox County, celebrated the institute during a signing ceremony Thursday at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Lee touted how the $6 million investment -- $4 million of that recurring funding -- will enhance the university's politics, history and economic education. "This is an effort that I think is going to be a model for the country," Lee said. "It's a great opportunity for our students to have access to an education that will provide us insight into the ideas and the institutions that make Tennessee great, that make America great." Little was known about the center at first, although Lee and legislators have discussed the vision since last year. Here's what we've learned about what's coming to the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy. Boyd, with input from Lee and other legislative leaders, will create a 13-member board to search for and advise the director of the institute. Plowman will appoint the director after a search process. The board will consist of professors or administrators, former elected officials affiliated with different political parties, and members of the board of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center. |
| Faculty leader calls Perdue-backed changes to searches for college presidents a 'slap in the face' | |
 | University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue defended recent changes to tenure and the selection of college presidents in his first letter to faculty issued Thursday. Earlier this week, the Board of Regents voted to give Regents more control over how University System of Georgia colleges selects presidents. As written, the current policy says that new presidents for non-research universities will be selected by a committee of faculty, alumni, students and others, with faculty making up the majority of members and a faculty member as chair. The revised policy includes members of the Board of Regents, the chancellor or representative of the chancellor, and says that a Regent will serve as chair of the committee. "It reflects a desire of the Board to be involved earlier in the process in selecting a new president," Perdue wrote in his letter. Some faculty, however, see the changes as way to diminish their say in the process. "That change is a complete slap in the face to faculty and to any idea of shared governance," said Georgia American Association of University Professors President Matthew Boedy, an associate professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia. "This is a seriously top-down management choice." |
| U. of Florida police investigating defaced mascot statues on campus | |
 | The University of Florida Police Department is looking for a suspect in connection with two statues that were recently vandalized on campus. UF's mascots, Albert and Alberta, located in front of Emerson Alumni Hall, were defaced with red and black paint early Wednesday morning around 3:30 a.m., matching the colors of rival Georgia Bulldogs. The incident was first reported by CBS4 Thursday. UF police say they are searching for a person of interest captured by a security camera. They say he's a white male, about 6 foot tall and approximately 145 to 160 pounds, according to a UFPD Bulletin tweeted Wednesday afternoon. The suspect was seen wearing dark clothing, dark shoes, a light-colored hat and a gold chain. The suspect also had a red lanyard and black gloves on. By Thursday morning, the statues were restored, although traces of red paint were still visible under Alberta's dress, according to CBS 4 report. |
| UF parking and construction: a seemingly dead end | |
| Gabriella Winkler drew her own version of the University of Florida's parking map when her family visited campus for her graduation May 1. It was the only way to give them the most updated information on new road closures and routinely overbooked parking lots, she said. The on-campus parking struggle is familiar to the 22-year-old UF graduate. When she was a student, UF infirmary's parking space -- or lack thereof -- caused Winkler to miss her doctor's appointment. She opted to address her upper respiratory infection at an Urgent Care clinic, where she coughed up more money than she would've if she had found a place to park. Even though parking has been a common setback for students, faculty and visitors, campus construction since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the problem. As of May 2, parts of Museum Road and its intersection with Gale Lemerand Drive are closed for Summer. "I feel like I'm just not being valued, even though it is one of the best universities," Winkler said. Associate Director of Transportation and Parking Services Ron Fuller said students want parking spaces close to where their classes are, and that is not feasible for everyone. "We're never going to have that, because we're never going to have a campus where the core part of campus is going to have a lot of parking again," Fuller said. |
| Texas A&M graduates punch their ticket to the next chapter | |
 | More than a decade of schooling and work reached its conclusion for some now-former students of Texas A&M, as they crossed the stage at the first of six undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies Thursday morning. "As you move across the stage towards your calling, who knows what exciting opportunities and daunting challenges await you," Elaine Mendoza, a Texas A&M University System regent, said from the stage in Reed Arena. "And you can bet there will be both, and many of each, but know this, you are prepared in your skills and your ability to think creatively, and you have determination to stay the course. Not even a pandemic can stop you." She encouraged the graduates to live the core values, saying that is what makes them different, as Aggies, and what will help them achieve their dreams. "Graduates, we are counting on you to do great things, to be innovators, problem solvers, good teammates, who then create solutions that make a difference to our lives," she said. "We need you, so live with purpose, Godspeed, and congratulations." Thursday's graduation was one of 15 across Texas A&M University's various campuses throughout the month that will see a total of 11,203 students receive their degrees. It was the first of six undergraduate and graduate ceremonies in College Station at Reed Arena. |
| Cooper Drury named dean of U. of Missouri College of Arts and Science | |
 | Cooper Drury, interim dean of the University of Missouri College of Arts and Science since June 2021, is now appointed to the position permanently. Drury received the interim appointment following the departure of Patricia Okker. Provost Latha Ramchand made the announcement Thursday. "In all of the many roles in which Cooper Drury has served the university, he has demonstrated his commitment and dedication to the College of Arts and Science and Mizzou," Ramchand said in a news release. "Recently, he emerged from a strong group of finalists as the clear choice of faculty, staff and campus leaders from both inside and outside of the college." Drury has been on the faculty since 2002. He has also served as associate dean and senior associate dean. He has served on the MU Faculty Council. "I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the College of Arts and Science into the future. The work our faculty, staff and students do to advance our understanding of the natural world and the human condition is critically important to the lives of all Missourians and our entire global society. I am optimistic about our future because of the amazing teaching and research we do in A&S," Drury said in the release. Drury's research focuses on foreign policy, including economic sanctions. |
| Students excited as U. of Missouri graduation ceremonies return in full force | |
 | University of Missouri students will be honored this weekend in the first full-fledged spring graduation since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the next three days, the university will honor 5,828 students from 50 states and 45 countries with 6,364 degrees -- this time, with full ceremonies. Last spring, COVID-19 restrictions changed a lot about commencement. Ceremonies were only allowed to be 75 minutes maximum, and there were no hooding ceremonies, no processionals, no shaken hands. This year, with loosening COVID-19 guidelines from the CDC, it seems many of the traditions people know and love about commencement will be coming back. Although many of the previous restrictions were loosened for the fall 2021 commencement that occurred in December, this weekend's commencement ceremonies will have more than three times the number of graduates. "There are so many outstanding achievements among our graduates, and the University of Missouri is excited to celebrate them alongside their friends and family," Mun Choi, MU chancellor and UM System president, said in a news release. "We are confident that these graduates, with all that they've learned and experienced at Mizzou, will be impactful leaders in the next step of their journey." This feeling of elation brews in students as they begin to notice the increasing return to a pre-pandemic normal with the large ceremonies happening around campus. |
| Michigan profs push 'pee for peonies' urine diversion plan | |
| A pair of University of Michigan researchers are putting the "pee" in peony. Rather, they're putting pee ON peonies. Environmental engineering professors Nancy Love and Krista Wigginton are regular visitors to the Ann Arbor school's Nichols Arboretum, where they have been applying urine-based fertilizer to the heirloom peony beds ahead of the flowers' annual spring bloom. It's all part of an effort to educate the public about their research showing that applying fertilizer derived from nutrient-rich urine could have environmental and economic benefits. "At first, we thought people might be hesitant. You know, this might be weird. But we've really experienced very little of that attitude," Wigginton said. "In general, people think it's funny at first, but then they understand why we're doing it and they support it." Love is co-author of a study published in the Environmental Science & Technology journal that found urine diversion and recycling led to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy. As part of a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation awarded in 2016, Love and Wigginton have not only been testing advanced urine-treatment methods, but also investigating people's attitudes about the use of urine-derived fertilizers. That is what brought them to the much-loved campus Peony Garden, which contains more than 270 historic cultivated varieties from the 19th and early 20th centuries representing American, Canadian and European peonies of the era. |
| Virginia Tech approves Juneteenth as permanent university holiday | |
| Virginia Tech announced Friday it has approved Juneteenth as an official university holiday. The holiday, which is celebrated June 19, celebrates the day the last enslaved Americans in the former Confederate States learned of the freedom granted to them by the Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued more than two years earlier. "Our sesquicentennial year has underscored the importance of connecting with our roots, understanding our past, and celebrating progress," said Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. Since the 19th falls on a Sunday this year, the university will observe Juneteenth Monday, June 20. Classes at the university will be canceled and eligible faculty and staff will get a paid holiday. "Establishing Juneteenth as a university holiday creates another opportunity for Hokies to reflect on the lessons our history can teach us," said President Sands. Also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Black Independence Day, Juneteenth marks the occasion in 1865 when Gordan Granger, a Union general, arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved people of their freedom and the Civil War's end. |
| Youngkin wants Virginia college presidents to hire faculty with 'diverse political perspectives' | |
| On the eve of graduation ceremonies for Virginia's public colleges and universities, Gov. Glenn Youngkin told their presidents this week that he expects them to promote free speech on campus and hire faculty and other staff "with diverse political perspectives." Youngkin sent the five-page letter to the Council of Presidents on Monday, making clear his expectations on a range of cultural issues important to his conservative political base -- from in-person instruction during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to creation of lab schools as a kind of charter school outside of traditional K-12 public education. He also asked them to keep tuition flat during the next academic year, an issue that is part of the ongoing state budget negotiations between the House of Delegates and Senate, which traditionally disagree over state intrusions into the prerogatives of the boards of visitors that govern colleges and universities. In March the State Board for Community Colleges named a new leader, defying Youngkin's call for the board to restart the hiring process and appoint an interim chancellor. This week's letter followed a meeting between the governor and presidents of Virginia's public colleges and universities, during which Youngkin said that he was "heartened to hear that each of you" considers free speech on a campus "an issue and priority." |
| A nonspeaking valedictorian with autism gives her college's commencement speech | |
 | She didn't say a word -- and that only made her message resonate more powerfully. Valedictorian Elizabeth Bonker recently delivered the commencement speech at Rollins College in Florida, urging her classmates to serve others and embrace the power of sharing. Bonker, who is affected by nonspeaking autism, hasn't spoken since she was 15 months old. But thanks to an accepting attitude from her peers and teachers and help from technology, she has overcome many challenges and graduated at the top of her class at the Orlando-area school. "God gave you a voice. Use it," Bonker told her fellow graduates. "And no, the irony of a nonspeaking autistic encouraging you to use your voice is not lost on me. Because if you can see the worth in me, then you can see the worth in everyone you meet." Bonker used text-to-speech software to deliver the commencement address --- an honor for which she was chosen by her fellow valedictorians. "I have typed this speech with one finger with a communication partner holding a keyboard," she said. "I am one of the lucky few nonspeaking autistics who have been taught to type. That one critical intervention unlocked my mind from its silent cage, enabling me to communicate and to be educated like my hero Helen Keller." In her speech, Bonker also evoked another hero: Fred Rogers, the Florida college's most famous alumnus. Last year, the school unveiled a statue of the man widely known as Mister Rogers. And it has long embraced his lessons. "When he died, a handwritten note was found in his wallet," Bonker said. "It said, 'Life is for service.' " |
| Tuition waivers for Native American students spread | |
 | Kyla Aguirre, a junior at Metropolitan State University of Denver, didn't know if she could afford her last year of college. She's a full-time student, and she and her husband were struggling to get by on just one income. But she recently found out that she -- and all Native American students at the institution -- will have their tuition and fees covered from now on, starting next fall. She described the news as "life-changing" for her and her peers. Similar tuition waiver programs focused on Native American students are cropping up across the country ahead of the fall semester. These initiatives come after Indigenous communities nationwide faced staggering COVID-19 infection rates and deaths and related financial losses during the pandemic---all of which exposed the stark economic difficulties and disparities in health care and education faced by tribal communities and aggravated by the pandemic. Native American leaders and scholars say the high costs of college have been a long-standing hurdle for Native American students, who disproportionately come from low-income households. The trend could also be an outgrowth of the land acknowledgment movement in higher ed, said Will Simpkins, vice president of student affairs at MSU Denver. University leaders have grown accustomed to recognizing tribes that previously occupied the land on which their campuses sit, but college officials and Native American faculty members are starting to ask themselves what "action" should follow the land acknowledgment statements. |
| Is Hybrid Learning Here to Stay in Higher Ed? | |
| A new study says college students may prefer the flexibility of hybrid classes---but that doesn't mean they want to leave campus. Holly Burns, for instance, long dreamed of attending the University of California at Berkeley. She took some intro-level courses at her local community college, and when she applied in 2018, she couldn't believe she was accepted. Burns chose Berkeley because of the beauty and energy of its campus. The adjustment as a transfer student was challenging. "It took me a little while to find a group of people that I wanted to be around, and feel like I was connected to the campus," Burns says. "Especially as a transfer student and being somebody who was older than most of the undergraduates." Just as she found her footing, the pandemic hit, forcing her classes online and a new reality of campus life. "I was absolutely devastated," Burns said. "It was like this thing that I had been working towards for so many years was just kind of ripped away." Remote education couldn't compare to the in-person instruction and sense of community that attracted her to Berkeley in the first place. "I'm an in-person kind of person," Burns says. "There's something very bizarre to me about looking at my screen all day." Burns is one of the millions of college students forced to adapt to remote learning at a pivotal time in her education. As thousands of students like her emerge from unprecedented turbulence, they and college leaders must ask, What should class look like now? And how should we keep students engaged and best support them? |
| The Biggest Problem for Recent College Grads: A Surge in Rent Prices | |
| Recent graduates are in high demand, commanding higher pay and improved benefits. They are also entering what may be the toughest-ever market for renters. The National Association of Colleges and Employers says employers plan to raise pay for many 2022 graduates, though it doesn't yet have firm figures for the entire class. In the most recent complete data, the group said 2020 grads made average starting salaries of about $55,000, up more than 14% over the average about a decade before. Rents are rising even faster. Median apartment rents are up more than 16% in the past year and up 28% since January of 2017, according to rental website Apartment List. In the greater Nashville metro area, the increase has pushed renters right up against the rule of thumb cited by many financial advisers that people shouldn't spend more than 30% of their monthly income on rent. In Music City, the median rental price for a one-bedroom apartment is now $1,264. On a $55,000 salary, such rent would be about 28% of pretax earnings. Many former students are pivoting to a familiar reality: living with roommates. The upside of sharing an apartment or house is that it will get you a foothold in a new city where you find a job, while leaving you with just enough cash to occasionally enjoy it. |
| Tuition held steady during the pandemic, but now it's climbing | |
| In an email to employees last week, Boston University president Robert A. Brown outlined many familiar challenges in higher education today: the need to help Ukrainian students affected by the war in their homeland, lingering concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and difficulty hiring and retaining talent amid the Great Resignation, which has prompted many workers to leave their jobs. But above all, Brown described inflation as his biggest worry. "By far, my greatest immediate concern is the impact of inflation on faculty and staff, our students, and the University. We have increased undergraduate tuition 4.25% for the coming academic year, our largest increase in 14 years, following an increase of only 3.0% last year," Brown wrote. "This increase does not keep pace with the current national rate of inflation and cannot fully offset the increased costs of University operations or fund salary increases that would fully mitigate the effects of inflation on the families of faculty and staff. I also am mindful that our students and their families are affected by our increases and by inflation. We are caught in an inflationary vise between the institutional pressures and the impact on our students and their families." Brown, who declined to be interviewed, is not alone in his concerns about inflation: colleges across the country are grappling with its effects. Nor is BU the only institution to raise tuition prices. Looking ahead, experts say sharp tuition increases may become more frequent if inflation doesn't slow. |
| Permanently expand SNAP benefits to college students, researchers say | |
| Higher ed students are ineligible for SNAP by default and traditionally have had to jump through hoops to prove eligibility. The difficulty often leads students who could receive support to miss out. A little over half of students who would likely be eligible for SNAP did not participate in the program, according to a 2018 Government Accountability Office report. Between 2016 and 2018, half of surveyed California community college students experienced food insecurity, but only 22% of that group received SNAP benefits, according to the Ithaka S+R report. Higher ed has increasingly focused on the issue of basic needs insecurity in recent years. Concerns mounted that college students fresh out of high school may not have the family resources available to help them pay for tuition, food and housing costs. And many colleges increasingly serve adult students. In late 2020, a pandemic relief and spending package simplified higher ed qualifications, so that any student eligible for work-study programs or who had an expected family contribution of $0 could get benefits. Before the expansion, college students had a few paths to receive SNAP benefits. For example, they previously qualified for SNAP by participating in work-study programs, not just by being eligible for them. But access to work-study programs is uneven. The coronavirus-era expansions are currently set to end after the government declares the public health emergency over. But the problems students face won't go away once the pandemic has subsided, according to James Ward, senior researcher at Ithaka S+R and co-author of the report. |
| As businesses hunt for educated workers, states are loosening the purse strings for higher ed again | |
| "Investing in our conveyor belt for talent." That's how Gov. Gavin Newsom described a proposed spending hike for California's public colleges and universities. Those few words also help explain a principal reason many states are boosting their budgets for public higher education more than at any time since 2008 and proposing even higher allocations down the road. Thirty-eight governors raised the topic of higher education spending during their state-of-the-state addresses, an analysis by the National Governors Association found. Collectively, they called for increasing it by billions of dollars over the next five years. This comes after a decade in which state funding overall for public universities and colleges has languished at a level billions of inflation-adjusted dollars below what it was before the last recession -- and at a time when public universities and colleges in many states are the targets of politicians waging culture wars. But some of those same politicians now are focusing on the need for educated workers to compete in an economy that's short of talent, an imperative as true in red states as in blue ones. "Economic and workforce development have been disrupted, so proposals that link education and the economy are going to be priorities on governors' agendas," said Tom Harnisch, vice president for government relations at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, or SHEEO. "The connection between education and the workforce has become more explicit, and the urgency has become much greater," Harnisch said. |
| Harder than it sounds: Income-targeted student loan forgiveness invites a 'train wreck' | |
| President Joe Biden's advisers are looking at ways to limit student loan forgiveness based on borrowers' income to avoid sending benefits to higher-earning Americans. But that approach is already angering progressives and could be a nightmare to implement before the November elections. The first hurdle is within Biden's own administration, where Education Department officials have privately raised concerns about the complexity of adding an income test to student loan forgiveness. They're warning the White House that the agency lacks the data to automatically cancel loans based on a borrower's earnings, according to three people familiar with the discussions. As Biden weighs a final decision on canceling "some" amount of federal student loan debt -- a major priority for progressives -- his aides have been working on proposals that would target the relief to certain borrowers, such as those earning less than $125,000 per year. Those potential income limits are aimed at fending off criticism that across-the-board loan forgiveness would benefit some Americans with higher incomes who don't need the help. But imposing income caps may carry other potential risks for the Biden administration, especially if the Education Department is unable to swiftly execute on whatever loan forgiveness Biden might announce in the coming weeks. Student debt activists on Thursday again rallied outside the White House calling on Biden to go big on canceling student loan debt. The NAACP, which organized the rally, believes that "canceling $10,000 is not enough, and means-testing is simply unacceptable," Wisdom Cole, the organization's national director of youth & college, said in a statement. |
| Affirmative Action on the Chopping Block | |
| Following news of the U.S. Supreme Court's draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, which would upset fifty years of precedent, it appears that race-conscious affirmative action may be next on the docket. "This is a court that has little regard for precedent and a very strong belief that it knows what the Constitution truly means---and that everything that happened before this court may be wrong and may be discarded," said Dr. Gary Orfield, a professor of education, law, political science, and urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and co-director of UCLA's Civil Rights Project. "That is the part that bears on how this court might approach affirmative action, voting rights, and other fundamental civil rights." Last week's leaked draft opinion over Roe from the conservative supermajority court would take away the federal right to abortion, which was established in the 1973 case. The draft is not the final decision, which will come next month. Yet many experts say the court is unlikely to significantly, if at all, alter its stance. Now affirmative action may be on the chopping block. In January, the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) are lawful. The court has upheld similar programs before, most recently in 2016. Yet today's conservative supermajority has shifted the playing field dramatically. |
| New med schools planned as need for black doctors continue | |
| It was welcome news in higher ed and medical circles when Xavier University in Louisiana announced last month that it planned to open a medical school. The announcement followed a similar statement by Morgan State University in Maryland, which announced last year that it would open a college of osteopathic medicine. By doing so, the two historically Black institutions will bring the total number of HBCU medical schools to six -- still a tiny portion of the 170 medical schools in this country, the majority of them at predominantly white institutions. The new HBCU medical schools represent a significant development nonetheless, given the small number of Black doctors in the United States. Despite making up just 2.3 percent of the total number of medical schools in the U.S., HBCUs produced 9.8 percent of the Black medical school graduates in 2019, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. That number is down from 27 percent in 2002, before a wave of new medical school openings began, increasing the number of overall graduates. Efforts by several major predominantly white institutions, or PWIs, to recruit and graduate more Black students are also expected to increase the number of Black doctors over the next decade, which may also eventually improve the access to and quality of health care that Black people receive. Meanwhile, first-year enrollments in medical school by Black students in the 2021–22 academic year rose by 21 percent, from 2,117 to 2,562, compared to the previous year, according to the AAMC. Those positive signs do little to diminish the many other challenges that remain in terms of increasing the number of Black doctors. |
SPORTS
| Davidson, Malau'ulu Earn All-SEC Honors | |
| Mississippi State's Mia Davidson and Chloe Malau'ulu earned All-SEC honors from the league's coaches the conference office announced on Friday. For Davidson, it was her third career First Team selection, while Malau'ulu was named to the Second Team. Malau'ulu was an SEC All-Defense Team member a year ago, but this is her first career all-conference award. State has seen multiple players recognized by the conference for three consecutive years, excluding the 2020 season that was cancelled. "I'm really proud of Mia and a Chloe for this accomplishment and for how they have represented MSU all year long," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "They are two of our hardest workers on and off the field, and this recognition is a testament to the consistency, leadership and team-first attitude they both have to go along with the solid numbers they put up during our tough SEC schedule." Davidson is the SEC's all-time home run leader, and her 90 career long balls rank fifth in NCAA history. Her .897 slugging percentage is second in the SEC and would break her own MSU single season record set in 2019. She leads the SEC with 21 homers and had the highest on-base percentage (.580) in the conference in league play. Malau'ulu was tied for third in the conference with eight doubles in league play. Her .352 batting average led the Bulldogs in SEC play, and her .535 slugging percentage and .465 on-base percentage were second only to Davidson. |
| In 13-inning marathon, Mississippi State softball falls to Tennessee in SEC tournament quarterfinal | |
 | Mississippi State finally seemed to have something brewing. In the top of the 13th inning Thursday at the Southeastern Conference softball tournament, third baseman Paige Cook led off with her second hit of the day and just the third MSU hit all day against Tennessee's Ashley Rogers. But what started out as the Bulldogs' best chance quickly became their last. Madisyn Kennedy bunted into a double play, erasing Cook from the base paths, and the third-seeded Volunteers (39-15, 15-8 SEC) finally cashed in with the game's lone run in a 1-0 marathon win over the 11th-seeded Bulldogs (32-24, 10-14 SEC) in Thursday's SEC quarterfinal game in Gainesville, Florida. "Really proud of the fight that this team showed, particularly the pitching staff," Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. "They gave us a chance. They kept us in it so we could continue to fight. The Bulldogs did fight, but their battle at the plate was a losing one. Rogers shut MSU down through 13 long innings, throwing 161 pitches in all. Tennessee's ace allowed just five baserunners in total, keeping traffic off the basepaths and keeping the Bulldogs off the scoreboard entirely. "That's a great team and a great pitcher over there in Ashley Rogers," Ricketts said. "You wish we could have found a way to break through a little bit quicker there, but really it just turned into a mental battle at the plate. It was just one team after another trying to find a way to break through, throwing punches." The Bulldogs will await their spot in the NCAA tournament, in which they figure to be a No. 2 seed. Sunday's selection show will reveal their fate, but for now, MSU will be happy with its win over LSU on Wednesday and its tough performance Thursday against Tennessee. |
| Vols outlast Bulldogs in SEC softball quarterfinal marathon | |
| Tennessee freshman Lair Beautae singled home the winning run off Mississippi State pitcher Annie Willis in the 13th inning on Thursday as the Lady Vols eliminated the Bulldogs 1-0 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Gainesville, Florida. It was the longest game in SEC softball tournament history. It was the 11th hit of the game for Tennessee, all of them singles, and the first hit for Beautae in seven at-bats though she had walked twice. Tennessee had eight home runs in its three-game regular season series against Mississippi State. Thursday's game represented quite a turnaround for MSU pitching against the Vols who rank third in the SEC in runs scored. The Bulldogs struggled against Tennessee right-hander Ashley Rogers, who allowed just three hits and no runs through 13 innings and 161 pitches. "I wish we could have found a way to break through. It just turned into a mental battle at the plate. It was team after another throwing punches and trying to find a way to break through," MSU coach Samantha Ricketts said. Willis was the starter in the Bulldogs' 7-4 opening round win over LSU on Wednesday. Both MSU tournament games went into extra innings. |
| Diamond Dawg Gameday: at Texas A&M | |
| Mississippi State will open up a three-game SEC road series this weekend against Texas A&M beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday, May 13, at Blue Bell Park in College Station. All three games will be available on SEC Network+, while the series finale will air nationally 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 25-24 overall record through 49 games, including a 9-15 record in SEC play following last weekend's home series versus Florida. Mississippi State and Texas A&M will meet for the 37th time in the series opener on Friday in College Station. The Diamond Dawgs own a 21-15 record over the Aggies in the all-time series. The series between State and A&M dates back to the 1907 season when the two teams played twice in Starkville. Mississippi State won the first contest, 3-0, before Texas A&M won by a score of 10-1 the following day. Last season, Mississippi State hosted Texas A&M and swept the Aggies in a three-game series in Starkville. In that series, State won the first two games by one run (W, 8-7; W, 3-2) before taking the series finale, 10-5, over Texas A&M to secure the sweep. The Diamond Dawgs won two out of three over Texas A&M in 2019 in College Station. Texas A&M enters the weekend ranked as high as No. 10 nationally with a 30-16 overall record and 14-10 mark in SEC play. The Aggies are 19-9 in home games this season and have won their last three SEC home series. |
| Bulldogs hope to find another gear down the stretch | |
| For all intents and purposes, last chance time has arrived for Mississippi State baseball. Technically, no team is eliminated from contention for the NCAA Tournament until it is eliminated from its conference tournament. But if the season ended today the Bulldogs would not qualify for the SEC Tournament. There are six games remaining, and Mississippi State needs to be at its best beginning tonight at No. 10 Texas A&M. Game times are tonight at 6:30, 2 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. The first two games will be live streamed on SEC Network Plus. Game 3 will air on the SEC Network. "We have to go on a run. It's about us playing well, coming every day, getting ready to compete ... that's been our message, to put everything behind us. We have to win today. For me to even think about Tennessee or the conference tournament," said MSU coach Chris Lemonis, his voice trailing at the finish. Lemonis has described frustration felt by himself and players. He sees a team that is often good in each phase but too often not good enough at the games most critical times. Texas A&M (30-16, 14-10) has won its last five series but was pushed to the limit to take two from South Carolina in College Station last week. |
| Hitting coach Michael Early's fingerprints all over Aggie baseball team's surge | |
| The recency of Texas A&M baseball assistant coach Michael Early's arrival in College Station is still evident in his office at Blue Bell Park. Several autographed bats lean against one wall next to a framed picture of Kyle Field, all patiently awaiting a nail or hook to be properly displayed. Early's mostly empty desktop features just a computer, mouse and keyboard, the only real indications the station is meant for work. In reality, his actual workspace is a little more of an open concept. The burgeoning hitting guru has been key in designing an A&M offense that leads most batting statistics in Southeastern Conference play, but the journey to get to the top has been a straining exercise in hitting routine creation and sports psychology. "These guys have been all in from Day 1," Early said. "It takes a special kind of guys, character and mindset to get through those early struggles, because it was tough. It wasn't easy on anyone." Early inherited a team that seemed inept at driving in runs early in the season. After A&M dropped two games during the Frisco Classic in March, the Aggies ranked last in the SEC in batting average at .254 and second to last in runs with 64. As the Aggies welcome defending national champion Mississippi State to Blue Bell Park for a three-game series beginning Friday, they lead the SEC in eight offensive categories in conference play, including batting average (.289), on-base percentage (.394), runs scored (180), hits (250) and walks (132). |
| Surging A&M baseball team welcomes defending national champs | |
| Texas A&M sophomore pitcher Nathan Dettmer has nothing against the year's late holidays. He enjoys family and friends and the festivities that come with November and December. But when the thermometer rises into the 90s as it did Thursday? The San Antonian and his teammates consider that the finest life in Brazos County. "There's no school right now, and that makes it a whole lot easier," Dettmer said of playing college baseball in May and June, even in the heat. "This is the best time of the year, honestly. ... No school, all baseball. This is as close as we can be to professional players." The Home of the 12th Man checks in at No. 12 in the latest Baseball America poll, a meteoric rise in the rankings over the past few weeks under first-year coach Jim Schlossnagle. The Aggies, who have won five consecutive Southeastern Conference series by taking two of three in each, will be tested again starting Friday night in a three-game series at Blue Bell Park. "They scare us to death," Schlossnagle said of opening the Olsen Field gates to Mississippi State, "because you've got the national champion (coming in) that has six of their nine starting position players back. You know they know how to win -- they just won a national title. We're going to have to be more desperate to win than they are." "They're fighting for their life for the NCAA Tournament, and so are we, frankly," Schlossnagle said. "All bets are off when you play these games. Still, Mississippi State has a glow about it from accomplishing what neither maroon-clad program had until last season: a baseball national title. |
| SEC Announces Postseason Women's Golf Awards; Lopez Ramirez Named Freshman of the Year | |
| Two members of the Mississippi State women's golf team collected postseason awards in a vote by the league's head coaches, the SEC announced on Thursday, May 12. Julia Lopez Ramirez secured some of the league's highest honors, highlighted by being named the SEC Freshman of the Year. In addition to her SEC Freshman of the Year honor, Lopez Ramirez earned First Team All-SEC honors and SEC All-Freshman team accolades. Lopez Ramirez wasn't alone in earning SEC recognition on Thursday as junior Abbey Daniel was selected to the SEC Community Service Team for all her hard work outside of the golf course. "First, let me just say that these awards are very well deserved for both Julia and Abbey," head coach Charlie Ewing said. "Julia has earned everything that has come her way this season. She is a special player, and she is every bit as good of a teammate as she is a golfer, and she's obviously a world-class golfer. [Julia] has embraced a leadership role this season, and she's always one of the first to encourage, support, and celebrate her teammates when they have success or when they are down. We are all just so proud of Julia and Abbey, and they are tremendous assets to our program." Lopez Ramirez, who became the first Bulldog to be named the women's golf SEC Freshman of the Year, shined from the moment she stepped on the course in a Mississippi State uniform. |
| How Southern Miss baseball could still host NCAA regional, despite USM's recent slump | |
 | The month of May has not been kind to the Golden Eagles. Since a record-breaking 15-game win streak that covered most of April, Southern Miss has found itself on the other end of the roller coaster. The team is 3-5 in its past eight games, including back-to-back series losses against UAB and Old Dominion. From as high as No. 3 in the polls, USM has dropped to as low as No. 20. It's not all bad news, though. The Golden Eagles pitching staff has done well, keeping opponents to four runs or fewer in the past seven games. It's the offense that has struggled to put together scoring opportunities. In the past four games, USM has averaged just 2.5 runs per game and struck out 15 times in a 4-1 loss to Ole Miss. Though the Golden Eagles are sliding in the wrong direction, there's still plenty of time and a lot of movement on which USM can capitalize. For example, Oregon recently suffered a four-game sweep at the hands of No. 2 Oregon State, and split a series with UC-San Diego. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Maryland is flying into hosting contention with a recent series win over Rutgers. According to D1 Baseball, USM is still projected to host a regional at No. 12. Sitting just inside the top-16 and sporting a recent loss against Ole Miss, there's little room for error if Scott Berry's squad wants to bring a regional to Hattiesburg again. |
| Does the NCAA have an NIL problem? Deion Sanders thinks so | |
| The name, image, and likeness policy across college sports has been a controversial topic since its adoption by the NCAA in June 2021. For Jackson State's Deion Sanders, he believes paying players is affecting how some act, and he's got an idea on how to solve it. In a video posted to his Twitter, Coach Prime provided a little advice to the NCAA. "You got a problem," Sanders said. "See, when you start paying athletes like they're professionals, you get athletes acting like they're professionals. And you don't have staffs large enough and equipped enough to handle a young man with money. Let me go deeper -- handle a young man that's making more money than some of the coaches on staff." Sanders ended the video with what he believes to be the NCAA's solution to the problem. "You got a real problem, so I suggest to you to allow college teams to hire more qualified men. Qualified. That can handle these young men that are getting this money," Sanders said. |
| U. of Memphis, city plan $150-$200 million renovation of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium | |
| The University of Memphis and the city announced a $150-$200 million renovation plan of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on Thursday. The overarching goal, according to a press release, is to modernize and revitalize the existing structure, which was built in 1965. Officials intend for the project to begin following the 2023 football season and be completed prior to the 2025 football season. Funding will come from a combination of public and private support. "Success will require record levels of philanthropic support from the Tiger faithful," according to an FAQ released by the university. Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch cited a commitment to on-field success, an upgraded fan experience and "positive long-term economic impacts" for the school and the city as motivations for the project. But Veatch said the primary motivation revolves around Memphis' desire to position itself favorably within the conference realignment landscape. "Perhaps most importantly, it will optimize our position in the rapidly evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics in a more manageable and efficient timeframe," Veatch said in a press release. "This is the most strategically achievable option for us to pursue and make a game-changing impact at a critical time for our program." |
| Missouri legislature passes amendment allowing colleges -- and coaches -- to assist with NIL deals | |
| Missouri lawmakers have amended a state law to give college coaches and university employees a more active role in the endorsement opportunities their athletes now have in the name, image and likeness movement. The amendment was introduced on the House floor Thursday then passed through both chambers in Jefferson City and now waits for Gov. Mike Parson's signature. Last summer, the state legislature passed a bipartisan bill similar to other versions around the country that allow college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness in the form of paid endorsements with third-party companies. On Thursday, Rep. Kurtis Gregory, R-Marshall, introduced an amendment to the law to allow coaches and school officials to become participants in the process, similar to a recent Tennessee amendment signed into state law earlier this spring. "As with anything that is new and evolving, we need to go in and update a few things to stay competitive, and that's what we're doing," Gregory said on the House floor. The House adopted the amendment and later in the day the Senate passed it as well, a day before the legislative session was scheduled to adjourn. Lobbyists representing interests from both Mizzou and St. Louis University pushed for Thursday's amendment, lawmakers confirmed. "Mizzou Athletics appreciates the continued work of our state lawmakers supporting student-athletes all across Missouri and we look forward to the NIL amendment heading to the governor's desk," MU athletics director Desiree Reed-Francois tweeted Thursday night. |
| Texas AD Chris Del Conte confirms Longhorn Network will end with SEC move | |
| When the news of Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the SEC (by at least July 1, 2025, but possibly sooner) came out last summer, it seemed likely that would mark the end for Texas' Longhorn Network partnership with ESPN. Longhorn Network's only live games come from third-tier rights (what usually winds up on conference networks or their equivalent, which is ESPN+ for non-Texas Big 12 schools, now also including Oklahoma under a slightly different setup), and SEC schools' versions of those rights tend to air on the SEC Network, its alternate feeds, or its MVPD-authenticated digital platform SECN+, so there was some logic to projecting that ESPN would close LHN when Texas moved to the SEC and shift the LHN content they wanted to keep to some version of SECN. But that wasn't a 100 percent certainty given that all of this is under ESPN/Disney ownership. It was certain that ESPN would have the rights, and likely that they'd have them on SECN instead of LHN (despite LHN's contract with Texas running through 2031, ESPN can end that early, and that money might even wind up used for Texas/OU Big 12 exit fees), and probable that that would spell the end for linear LHN, but not assured. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte confirmed in remarks at an event in Dallas Wednesday night that Longhorn Network will be going away with the SEC move, though |
| Michael Thompson Jr. Named ESPN Vice President, Programming & Acquisitions | |
| ESPN has named longtime collegiate administrator Michael Thompson Jr. to the role of vice president, programming & acquisitions, working primarily on ESPN's college networks properties. In his new position, Thompson will serve as the point of contact for ESPN's business with the Southeastern Conference, including responsibility for SEC Network's programming strategy, content acquisitions, live event scheduling and P&L, as well as setting the long-term strategy for SEC Network and SEC Network+, and overseeing content and publication for SECSports.com, the conference's website. He will also oversee programming strategy and scheduling for Longhorn Network, ESPN's 24-hour network devoted to the University of Texas. "College sports, and especially the Southeastern Conference, have been a common thread throughout my and my family's lives for decades, and I'm thrilled for this new opportunity at ESPN," Thompson said. "It's really the best of both worlds – the opportunity to work with the talented team at ESPN on compelling programming, powerful storytelling and innovative ways to reach our audience, combined with continuing to work with Commissioner Sankey, Charlie Hussey and the incredible staff at the SEC office, as well as my colleagues on campuses across the country." Thompson brings a wealth of experience from across the college sports landscape, combining for more than a decade in the executive ranks at both Ole Miss and Texas A&M. He was most recently the Deputy Athletics Director for External Relations and Business Development at Texas A&M, spending nearly three years in his role alongside Director of Athletics Ross Bjork. Thompson served in a similar role at Ole Miss with Bjork, and notched a nine-year tenure in Oxford. |
| 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." |
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