| Thursday, May 26, 2022 |
| MSU prepares for standing-room crowds for softball Super Regional | |
 | The Mississippi State softball team didn't get much sleep after winning two straight elimination games Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida. The Bulldogs' second win, a 6-0 shutout of South Florida, ended at 12:03 a.m. local time Sunday. Their first game Sunday against host Florida State started at 2 p.m. Not that the tight turnaround mattered. Coach Samantha Ricketts and MSU beat the Seminoles twice, following a 5-0 shutout with a 4-3 win to clinch the massive regional upset. "Listen, we're just going to stay up all night for every game, I guess," Ricketts said. It's a strategy that might just work as Mississippi State hosts Arizona in this weekend's NCAA Super Regional at Nusz Park in Starkville. After all, there's no precedent for this. The Bulldogs' victories over the Seminoles -- coupled with the Wildcats' upset of No. 15 Missouri on Sunday -- assured MSU that the first Super Regional in program history would be at home. Game 1 of the best-of-three series is at 11 a.m. Friday, Game 2 will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, and no time has been set for a potential Game 3 on Sunday. "It's a great opportunity to really put the spotlight on our softball program and what they've been able to accomplish," said Eric George, executive senior associate athletic director and CFO at Mississippi State. Nusz Park, situated on Lakeview Drive on the MSU campus, comes with 1,000 maroon chairback seats. More than three times that amount of fans could pack the park this weekend, George said. |
| Business boom expected for Super Regionals | |
 | Mississippi State is no stranger to great post-season runs and Starkville is getting accustomed to businesses booming during the playoffs. In preparation for its first Softball Super Regional, city businesses are stocking up shelves with Bulldog gear, and hotels are booked and busy. Business owners hope newcomers have a wonderful experience this weekend. "Starkville is always ready," said Starkville Main Street Director Paige Watson. "We are looking to host our first-ever softball super regional this weekend and hope our fans and the many people that come to town for this event will have a great weekend and shop and dine and explore all the many things there is to do." The first game is Friday at 11 a.m. Game two is Saturday at 3 p.m. |
| Power outage planned for Allen Hall's annex | |
 | A power outage is planned this holiday weekend for Allen Hall's annex. Workers will cut power to the first and second floors from 7 a.m. Saturday [May 28] through 4 p.m. Monday [May 30] while an electrical panel is relocated as part of the building's restroom renovation project. Contact the Facilities Management Service Desk at (662) 325-2005 if you have any questions. |
| Mary Means Business: Arepa's has found its new location | |
| Moving to Starkville, Arepa's has found its new location. The Venezuelan restaurant on Main Street will move to the Cotton District by September. Owner Jose Elarba announced in January his plans to relocate. By June, the Main Street location will close until he reopens at 102 Ru Du Grand Fromage, the former Commodore Bob's location. "We'll wait for everyone at the new location," Elarba said. |
| Area court reporters will get max pay allowed by state | |
| Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties have taken action to conserve one of the area's most endangered species: the court reporter. Last week, Circuit Judge Jim Kitchens appealed to the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors to give the final in a series of step raises designed to get court reporter annual salaries up to the $64,000 allowed by statute. "Court reporters are retiring, and other districts are starting to poach each other's court reporters," Kitchens said. "That didn't used to happen. We are getting to the point where it's hard to replace them." Both Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties approved the raise unanimously. Court reporters previously made $58,730 per year, Kitchens said. Kitchens said the law was changed in 2015, and in 2017 area counties agreed to bring court reporters up to $64,000 a year via a three-step process. However, Lowndes and Oktibbeha did not follow through with the third step until last week. Oktibbeha County board attorney Rob Roberson agreed the raise is vital. "We were about to start losing our (court) reporters to other districts," he said. "The raise was a very smart move." Local colleges don't offer the coursework to train court reporters anymore, Roberson said. Ole Miss discontinued their program, and efforts to start programs at community colleges have not worked out. "You can't just have someone come in off the street and have the expertise to do it," he said. "I doubt most people could understand the language used. You hear words that are out of most people's vocabularies, and you have to know what they mean." |
| Bill Renick named 2022 Community Leadership Award recipient at annual CREATE meeting | |
 | Bill Renick, chair of CREATE's Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi and member since 1995, has been awarded one of the organization's highest honors. On Wednesday, Renick was named the 2022 recipient of the Jack Reed, Sr. Northeast Mississippi Community Leadership Award. He was presented with the award during CREATE's State of the Region event at the BancorpSouth Conference Center in Tupelo. The award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in helping improve the quality of life in their community and the region. Ryan Miller, executive director of the Mississippi Office of Workforce Development and AccelerateMS, has served in that role for just over a year now. "What we do in our office every day is in an attempt to try to support you," Miller said. During a presentation about AccelerateMS, a statewide workforce development organization, Miller said he was also there to listen to ideas because of decades of coordination across the Northeast Mississippi region to benefit multiple generations of the community. Miller said Northeast Mississippi does a particularly good job of visualizing opportunities that have not yet arrived. John Caldwell, Northern District Commissioner for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, opened his address by telling the crowd he wants to "test the limits" of what the transportation department can do. "I heard one time that you don't know your limits until you exceed them," Caldwell said. "And if you don't exceed your limits, you haven't reached them." |
| Will gas rise to $5 per gallon or more in Mississippi? Hurricane season may drive up the cost | |
 | The U.S. hit another milestone on Tuesday, reaching a record high $4.59 per gallon of regular gas. Gas prices along the Mississippi Coast have also reached an all time high, registering $4.18 since last Friday. According to AAA, "the national average has not fallen for nearly a month" and has set a record almost every day this month. "Gasoline is $1.05 more than it was on February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine," said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. "That sent shock waves through the oil market that have kept oil costs elevated. Domestically, meanwhile, seasonal gas demand is rising as more drivers hit the road, despite the pain they face paying at the pump." Adding to the rises caused by higher demand and the conflict in Ukraine, looming fears of a recession have driven up the prices of crude oil and the prices at the pumps. The recent hurricane forecast may also influence prices. NOAA predicted a 70% chance of 14 to 21 named storms, of which six to 10 could become hurricanes, including three to six major hurricanes. Gasbuddy's Patrick De Haan said this year's hurricane outlook is also taking a toll because the country will have to depend on fewer refineries. "I think it's going to be a bumpy ride, but do expect prices to go down," he said. Before there is any relief, experts say the gas will continue to rise. Natasha Kaneva, head of commodities research at JPMorgan is calling the upcoming season a "cruel summer." "With expectations of strong driving demand ... US retail price could surge another 37% by August to a $6.20/gal national average," said Kaneva. |
| Day one of shrimping season commences; shrimpers experience economic woes | |
 | "It's a little choppy out here." The gray skies and rough seas reflect the reality facing shrimpers. Can Nguyen is a shrimper. He is also the owner of a shrimp boat named Capt. Can. According to Nguyen, maintenance fees on the boat, engine, and nets while combined with licenses, groceries, ice and other equipment can be quite expensive. "Sometimes we get a lot of shrimp and can cover expenses, but if [we're] not catching good shrimp, we have to go back." says Nguyen. "We try to make a trip of 6 days and see how much we are catching. If we are catching okay, we keep working, but after a week if we're not catching much, we have to tie up our boat and wait until white shrimp season." At the start of the 2022 shrimping season, the Mississippi Sound is seeing fewer nets cast than usual. According to the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, just over 300 shrimping licenses were issued this year. That number has dropped steadily. Just five years ago, that number topped 400. Only 32 boats could be seen trawling for shrimp on opening day, whereas last years number stood at 94. This year, record high fuel prices and low shrimp prices are making business even tougher on crews like Nguyen's. "We try to make a few trips and see how we're doing." says Nguyen. "A lot of boats already give up and tie up their boats...we are hard working people, and we work hard [to] try to make some money, but it's hard with all the expenses." |
| High inflation will persist into next year, CBO projects | |
 | High inflation is expected to persist for the rest of the year, saddling Americans with higher costs as price hikes continue, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday. The nonpartisan budget office estimated that key measures of inflation will show signs of easing this year relative to last year, but will remain uncomfortably high as demand continues to outstrip supply, putting upward pressure on prices. From the end of 2020 to the end of 2021, the consumer price index -- one measure of inflation -- grew by roughly 6.7 percent, the highest level in roughly four decades. The pace of that increase will come down, according to the CBO, but only to 4.7 percent -- still far higher than policymakers want. Other measures of inflation cited by the budget office project that price hikes will remain roughly twice the Federal Reserve's intended target of 2 percent. Price increases won't fall back to targeted levels until 2024, the CBO said. "There remains a significant gap between consumers' demand and businesses' ability to supply it," said Adam Ozimek, chief economist at the Economic Innovation Group. "People's desire to consume more goods than businesses can produce is leading to a rise in prices, and consumers are going to feel that in their pocketbooks." The projections suggest the Biden administration could remain hemmed in by the politics of high inflation, which has hurt the president's approval rating, while also potentially defining this fall's midterm elections. But the CBO report offers some hope for the White House as well, indicating high growth and low unemployment this year. The eventual easing of inflationary pressure is part of the budget office's broader predictions of a gradual restoration of more typical economic conditions after disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, trillions of dollars in stimulus, and energy and food shocks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. |
| Fed Minutes Show Urgency for Raising Rates to Tame High Inflation | |
 | Federal Reserve officials thought they would need to raise interest rates by a half-percentage point at each of their next two meetings when they approved an increase at their gathering earlier this month. Minutes from the Fed's May 3-4 meeting, released Wednesday, show that officials discussed the possibility that they would raise interest rates to levels high enough to slow economic growth deliberately as the central bank races to combat high inflation. Officials "noted that a restrictive stance of policy may well become appropriate," the minutes said. This month's half-point increase lifted the Fed's benchmark rate to a range between 0.75% and 1%. Officials unanimously approved a plan to begin shrinking the Fed's $9 trillion portfolio on June 1 by allowing securities to mature without reinvesting their proceeds into new ones. With officials largely united on the need for half-point increases at the Fed's June and July policy meetings, the debate has shifted to what should occur after that. A few regional Fed presidents have said they would support pressing ahead with an aggressive pace of rate increases in September if monthly inflation readings remain elevated. "I will need to see several months of sustained downward monthly readings of inflation before I conclude that inflation has peaked," Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said in a May 13 speech. If by September, "inflation has failed to moderate, then a faster pace of rate increases may be necessary." |
| Stocks rise broadly on gains from retailers including Macy's | |
 | Stocks rose broadly in morning trading on Wall Street Thursday as investors cheered a strong set of quarterly results from Macy's and other retailers. The S&P 500 rose 1.3% as of 10:11 a.m. Eastern and is solidly in the green for the week following a choppy few days of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 404 points, or 1.3%, to 32,528 and the Nasdaq rose 1.5%. Smaller company stocks also made strong gains, a sign of bullishness on the economy. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.7%. Bond yields held steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 2.74% from late Wednesday. Retailers led the broader market higher. Macy's surged 12.6% after it raised its profit forecast for the year following a strong first-quarter financial report. Dollar General surged 12.1% and Dollar Tree jumped 18.7% after the discount retailers reported solid earnings and gave investors encouraging forecasts. The retail sector is being closely watched by investors looking for more details on just how much pain inflation is inflicting on companies and consumers. Weak reports from the several big names last week, including Target and Walmart, spooked an already volatile market. The latest reports from retailers have helped lift and keep the major indexes in the green for the week and could break a slump. The benchmark S&P 500 is coming off of seven straight weekly losses. |
| Meridian native Dr. Daniel Edney appointed State Health Officer | |
 | A doctor with ties to the Queen City has been tapped to lead the Mississippi Department of Health in August. Dr. Daniel Edney, a native of Meridian, was appointed as to replace Dr. Thomas Dobbs as State Health Officer beginning Aug. 1. Edney, who has more than 30 years experience practicing internal medicine in Vicksburg, joined MSDH in February 2021 as the Chief Medical Officer. He is currently second in command as Deputy State Health Officer. Dobbs, who will step down as State Health Officer at the end of July, said Edney had already proven to be an asset to MSDH during the effort to combat COVID-19. "Among his many contributions, Dr. Edney worked with various organizations and partnerships to explain COVID and answer questions. He has also worked with providers to sign them up to give COVID vaccine, and he fielded questions from providers about allergies and other complications related to the administration of the vaccine," Dobbs said. Edney has also been highly visible throughout the state as he worked to inform Mississippians about the pandemic and offer expert advice on how to stay safe. In January, Edney visited Meridian, speaking to Community Bank's Golden Advantage Travel Club members about the need for caution, not fear as they planned their annual travel itinerary. "We are going to live and enjoy life, and we're not going to live in fear," he told Travel Club members in January. "But, we're also going to be wise." |
| Dr. Daniel Edney Appointed New State Health Officer Effective in August | |
 | The Mississippi State Board of Health announced Wednesday that Daniel P. Edney, MD, FACP, FASAM, will be appointed as the new State Health Officer of the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), effective Aug. 1. Edney, a Vicksburg physician, currently holds the position of Deputy State Health Officer. He initially joined MSDH as chief medical officer and regional health officer for the Central Public Health Region in February 2021. According to State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Edney has been a tremendous asset since he joined the health department, and especially during the COVID pandemic. "Following in the footsteps of Dr. Dobbs, I, too, hope to serve as a catalyst for change -- especially with infant and maternal mortality, the opioids battle plaguing the country right now, and moving the needle in preventive health and health equity issues," Edney added. A summa cum laude graduate of both William Carey University and the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Edney is a board-certified General Internist with subspecialty board certification in Addiction Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia. He has practiced general primary care internal medicine in Vicksburg since 1991 and has worked actively in the field of addiction medicine since 2013. He currently serves as an addiction medicine specialist for various inpatient residential facilities and outpatient programs in the state and has a private practice at the Medical Associates of Vicksburg. |
| 31st annual Mississippi on the Mall headed to D.C. | |
 | The Mississippi Society of Washington D.C. has gathered on the National Mall to bring hospitality and Southern culture to the nation's capitol for 31 years. They will return on June 11, to do it all again. The event sees nearly 600 Mississippians and those who are Southern at heart for an afternoon of fun, fellowship and unlimited Mississippi fare. The admission to the event will get attendees Mississippi farm-raised catfish, hushpuppies, craft beer, wine, sweet tea, live music, yard games and more! The event supports local businesses from the Magnolia State like Lazy Magnolia Brewery, the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association, Simmons Catfish and Sugaree's Bakery. Several alumni associations from various Mississippi colleges and universities will be in attendance. Those interested can purchase tickets through June 11, 2022. The cost is $50 for current members of the society and $70 for non-members. The entry fee for children 12 and under is free and there will be child-friendly activities. |
| Haley Barbour inducted into American Association of Political Consultants Hall of Fame | |
| Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has been inducted into the American Association of Political Consultants Hall of Fame. Every year, the AAPC selects a group of individuals "whose careers and activities serve as inspirations to us all, especially to students and young professionals looking for examples of leadership, longevity, and accomplishment." Barbour, who served as Mississippi's governor from 2004 to 2012, has been a longtime politician, political consultant, and lobbyist. "He was not only able to give great advice to candidates but become a successful one himself -- not only able to give sound counsel to officeholders at all levels but to become an effective officeholder himself," former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said. Barbour began his career in politics when he successfully ran Gerald Ford's 1976 presidential campaign in the Southeast. The Yazoo City native then spent time working on former Texas Governor John Connally's campaign before serving as a political aide to President Ronald Reagan. Considered by Politico as "one of Washington's all-time mega-lobbyists," Barbour is a co-founder of D.C.-based lobbying group Barbour Griffith and Rogers, which is widely known as one of the most powerful firms in America. He was also chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1994 to 1997. "He's taught everybody that policy goes with politics," former RNC Executive Director Scott Reed said. During his time as governor, Barbour helped the state in its recovery from both Hurricane Katrina as well as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. |
| SEC's proposed ESG rule will leave small farms in the lurch, lawmakers from both parties say | |
| More than 100 House members from both parties are attacking a proposed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule that they say will put "unworkable" regulatory requirements on small farms. In a letter led by Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., the lawmakers said a proposed rule for "Enhanced and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors" could block farmers from working with public companies. In all, 118 House members are signing the letter, including two swing-district Democrats in Reps. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Elaine Luria. D-Va. "To do business with public companies, small farms would be required to disclose a significant amount of climate-related information," the letter, sent to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, read. "But unlike large corporations, small farms do not have full-scale compliance departments." "It is not within the purview of the SEC to regulate farmers and ranchers, which is what this rule would do by requiring public companies to disclose their Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions," the members added. The proposed rule is part of a recent trend on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, in which investors evaluate those criteria in addition to a standard data on business performance. The American Farm Bureau Federation, which is supporting the Rose-led letter, says that farmers and ranchers would not be subject to directly reporting climate information to the SEC. But the requirement that companies report their "Scope 3" greenhouse gas emissions, both upstream and downstream in their supply chains, would effectively force farmers and ranchers to track that data, the Farm Bureau said. Therefore, the SEC would effectively be banning farmers and ranchers from participating with major sectors of the U.S. economy unless they spend significant time and resources tracking environmental data, according to the Farm Bureau. |
| USDA Proposes New Rules Aimed at Curbing Meatpackers' Power | |
| The Agriculture Department proposed new rules on Thursday requiring poultry companies to be more transparent about how farmers are paid, part of the Biden administration's broader push to tackle consolidation in the meatpacking industry. The measures would require poultry processors, such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Pilgrim's Pride Corp., to disclose compensation information for chicken farmers who are paid under so-called tournament systems, which pit farmers against one another to determine payment. The White House has frequently accused the biggest U.S. meat companies of using their market power to increase prices for restaurants and supermarkets, while underpaying farmers. In January, the administration called for $1 billion to be dedicated to expanding independent meat processing to foster more competition in the industry, where the four largest companies control an estimated 85% of beef production and 54% of poultry, according to the White House. Meatpacking officials have pushed back against the administration's criticisms, saying industry consolidation has held steady for years. Some officials at the big meatpackers said that because many processing plants remain short-staffed, they can't buy and process as many cattle or chicken, reducing their ability to purchase livestock and pushing prices lower for farmers. On Thursday, the USDA said it would mandate that poultry companies give more information to farmers about the feed and the birds supplied by companies, and to provide contracts guaranteeing a certain number of chickens a year. The agency's proposed rules would also require poultry processor chief executives to sign off on the compliance process, steps USDA officials said would increase accountability in the industry. |
| Earmark fans grow among House GOP as total requests swell | |
 | ​House lawmakers' appetite for earmarking has grown a year after Democrats resurrected the practice, particularly among Republicans who will face a sensitive decision on whether to maintain "community project funding" in the next Congress if they retake the chamber in November. Thus far, 121 House Republicans have requested $5.5 billion worth of projects that appropriators are evaluating as they begin writing the fiscal 2023 spending bills the panel aims to mark up next month. That's up from 109 last year, and it means nearly 6 out of 10 GOP lawmakers are now participating in the process, up from just over half in 2021 during the process' inaugural run after an 11-year ban. Overall, House lawmakers have requested 4,743 earmarks thus far, a 57 percent jump from last year's submissions, for a total of nearly $12.4 billion -- a nearly 75 percent increase, a CQ Roll Call analysis found. Republicans make up 35 percent of those seeking earmarks and about 44 percent of the total funds requested. Republicans make up the top seven requesters by dollar amount, and 14 out of the top 20 in the House. The overall increase this year isn't a surprise as each member was allowed 15 requests this year, up from 10 each last year, and House lawmakers are allowed to ask for projects in a larger number of accounts across the spending bills. |
| 'Trump picked this fight': Why heavyweight Republicans no longer fear Trump | |
 | They're weary of the incessant conflicts. The inability to get past the 2020 election results. An endorsement strategy seemingly driven by a bruised and restless ego, rather than the party's best interests. Channeling growing fatigue among rank-and-file Republicans, some of the GOP's best-known heavyweights are increasingly defying former President Donald Trump in the wake of internecine conflicts from Georgia to Pennsylvania. Bold-face Republican names have never been so comfortable crossing Trump as in recent weeks. Former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were among those lending aid and comfort to one of Trump's top enemies, Gov. Brian Kemp, in Georgia's Tuesday primary. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) bucked the former president by stumping this week for Rep. Mo Brooks in his bid for Alabama's GOP Senate nomination -- the same congressman that Trump unceremoniously ditched after initially endorsing. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu openly mocked him in front of a Washington dinner audience, joking about Trump's sanity. Few in the party doubt that Trump still maintains an iron grip on his base. They acknowledge the former president's endorsement in primary contests remains influential. But to many, Trump's habit of rolling grenades into Republican primaries is getting old, and fears that he might damage the party's promising prospects for gains this fall appear to be opening a new chapter in the GOP's relationship with him. |
| 'The Onion' has republished a grim headline about mass shootings 21 times since 2014 | |
 | There are a couple of inevitable responses to a mass shooting in America: funerals and fundraisers, prayers from politicians and the resurfacing of one particular article from satirical site The Onion. "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens" has been republished 21 times in almost exactly eight years. Its headline has remained the same for every major mass shooting from Isla Vista, Calif., in 2014 to Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The main image, and basic facts about the shooting, are updated every time. It always quotes a fictional resident of that state lamenting a tragedy they describe as inevitable: "This was a terrible tragedy, but sometimes these things just happen and there's nothing anyone can do to stop them," the person says. "It's a shame, but what can we do? There really wasn't anything that was going to keep this individual from snapping and killing a lot of people if that's what they really wanted." The article, which has no identifiable author, always notes that such feelings are shared "by tens of millions of individuals who reside in a nation where over half of the world's deadliest mass shootings have occurred in the past 50 years and whose citizens are 20 times more likely to die of gun violence than those of other developed nations." The Onion leaned into its message on Wednesday, sharing a Twitter thread listing every version of the piece from over the years. Thousands of people had liked and retweeted it by midday, with many noting the devastating impact of seeing years' worth of recurring tragedies lined up in a row -- seemingly underscoring the point of the satire. |
| Russia slams sanctions, seeks to shift blame for food crisis | |
| Moscow pressed the West on Thursday to lift sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, seeking to shift the blame for a growing food crisis worsened by Kyiv's inability to ship millions of tons of grain and other agricultural products because of the conflict. Britain immediately accused Moscow of "trying to hold the world to ransom" and insisted there would be no sanctions relief. Ukraine is one of the world's largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but the war, including a Russian blockade of its ports, has prevented much of that production from leaving the country, endangering the world food supply. Many of those ports are also now heavily mined. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to put the blame for the crisis squarely on Western sanctions. "We accuse Western countries of taking a series of unlawful actions that has led to the blockade," he said in a conference call with reporters. Russia itself is also a significant exporter of grain, and Peskov said the West "must cancel the unlawful decisions that hamper chartering ships and exporting grain." His comments appeared to be an effort to deliberately muddy the waters, by lumping the blocking of Ukrainian exports in with what Russia says are its difficulties in exporting its own products. Western officials have dismissed those claims. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted last week that food, fertilizer and seeds are exempt from sanctions imposed by the U.S. and many others -- and that Washington is working to ensure countries know the flow of those goods should not be affected. |
| UM pharmacology professor explores curiosity with NSF grant | |
| University of Mississippi faculty member Gregg Roman is exploring the genetic and neural mechanisms responsible for curiosity after securing a grant from the National Science Foundation. A professor of pharmacology in the School of Pharmacy, Roman serves as principal investigator for a project that uses species of Drosophila, or fruit flies, to study the genes and neurons that drive the exploration of novel stimuli. "When a new object, smell or sound appears in the environment, many organisms will explore those stimuli to learn more about them," said Roman, who joined the Department of BioMolecular Sciences in 2021. "For the curious, this need to become familiar with this novel stimulus can be compelling, but for others, this stimulus is ignored or even actively avoided. "People with high levels of neophilia, or a need to explore novelty, are at a much higher risk of abusing multiple drugs of abuse. We are interested in understanding what causes stable differences in neophilia." Roman is collaborating with Yuan Yuan Kang and Benjamin Soibam from the University of Houston-Downtown's College of Sciences and Technology. Their research goals are to define the role of dopamine in driving the need to explore and determine why the need to explore novel stimuli was lost during the evolution of some fruit fly species. |
| Bobbitt: College costs are shifting to student; State funding lagging, U. of Arkansas System head says | |
| Rising rates for tuition and mandatory fees at University of Arkansas System schools reflect a change in who's paying for college, University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt told trustees on Wednesday. "What you're seeing over this decade is that the burden of the cost of higher education has been shifting, somewhat by institution, from a state responsibility to a student and family responsibility," Bobbitt said. A University of Arkansas board of trustees committee on Wednesday approved combined increases of 5% or more in the cost of tuition and required fees at three universities and two community colleges. Data presented to trustees showed that across the UA System, tuition is set to increase by an average of 4%. But the picture is mixed for the UA System's five four-year universities and seven community colleges, as combined tuition and required fees are set to increase less than 1% at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and not change at all for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which is the second-largest school in the UA System. State funding for higher education has not decreased in Arkansas, Bobbitt said. He said there have been yearly increases of about 0.8% in state general revenue funding over the last 10 years. Bobbitt said that when the rising costs of higher education are considered, however, funding is not to the "point at the state level that would compensate for the decrease that you see in erosion of purchasing power." "High inflation" is affecting "all of our employees," Bobbitt said. |
| New U. of Florida Veterinary Hospital opens at World Equestrian Center in Ocala | |
 | A couple hundred human visitors and many of their canine companions, ranging from dachshunds to great Danes, visited the World Equestrian Center on Wednesday to celebrate the ribbon cutting for the 40,000-square-foot University of Florida Veterinary Hospital. The clinic, which will provide care for horses and small animals, is the latest in a series of investments by the University of Florida in Ocala, as well as the latest development at WEC, which continues adding to its many arenas, expo centers, restaurants, hotel, RV park and extended stay suites off of State Road 40 in west Ocala. "Nowhere else in the world is there a leading-edge veterinary hospital located in a premiere equine venue with all the services equine competitors need to ensure their horses are kept in optimal health and performance-ready condition," Dr. Dana Zimmel, dean of the UF College of Veterinary Medicine said. Equine services at the facility include sports medicine, diagnostic imaging and rehabilitation. Small animals, such as cats and dogs, can receive urgent and primary care. UF Health, which also operates veterinary and human hospitals in Gainesville, hopes to expand further into specialty services at the clinic as well. The UF College of Veterinary Medicine, the only veterinary college in Florida, is ranked ninth in the country among veterinary colleges. |
| Drop in Spring-2022 Enrollment Is Worse Than Expected | |
 | New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center provide a final tally on enrollment for the spring of 2022 -- and reveal a persistent trend: College attendance continues to decline. Undergraduate enrollment fell 4.7 percent from a year earlier, a shortfall of more than 662,000 students. Since the pandemic began, the undergraduate student body has dropped by almost 1.4 million students. The worsening enrollment picture was unexpected, said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the research center, in a call to the media. "I thought we would start to see some of these declines begin to shrink a little bit this term," he said, "particularly because I think there's a general sense that we should be coming out of the effects of the pandemic at this point." But also in play, he said, are students who increasingly question the value of college, are wary about taking out student loans to pay for it, and who have options to join the labor market instead. Overall postsecondary enrollment, at 16-million students, fell by 4.1 percent from a year earlier. One interesting contributor to that decline: a loss of graduate students -- who had been a bright spot in enrollments throughout the first year of the pandemic. Their numbers fell by about 1 percent in the spring of 2022, from a year earlier. The data also reveal that the number of women enrolled in college fell at a higher rate than did the number of men in spring 2022, as compared with the year before. |
| Survey: Students largely have favorable opinions of professors, tenure | |
 | "I've had some really incredible and engaging professors," wrote a Student Voice survey respondent attending a private university in New York. The next sentence of that comment, however, reflects just how individualized the education experience is, and how hard it is for students to give an overall rating of professors: "I've also had some really awful, racist/sexist/homophobic professors who didn't listen to any student feedback." Still, when asked about the quality of current professors in six areas, the 2,000 undergraduates responding to the Student Voice survey, conducted in mid-April by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse with support from Kaplan, largely gave high marks. That's especially true in terms of academic rigor, communicating course expectations, technology use and choice of instructional materials, which at least one in four students rated as excellent and between seven and eight out of 10 students rated as either excellent or good. Students had slightly lower ratings of professors on engaging lectures/assignments and on relationship building, although one in five still say professors are excellent in these areas. Bonni Stachowiak, producer and host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast and the dean of teaching and learning at Vanguard University, in California, says one of her most popular blog posts ever covers how not to be boring: "It's something a lot of people struggle with." She sees the problem as twofold, including both instructional materials and the actual teaching. An Arizona public institution student would like to see better presentations: "Instructors create lectures that are too long, that overemphasize simple concepts, that underclarify complex concepts, and that make use of PowerPoint presentations [with] inconsistent indentation, bulleting, spelling and grammar." |
| Can $1.5 Billion Help Diversify the Sciences? | |
| The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is planning to spend $1.5 billion over the next 20 years on funding early-career academic scientists who say they'll run diverse and welcoming labs. The effort, announced on Thursday, will be one of the largest aimed at diversifying the scientific work force, dwarfing other early-career programs led by other private funders and the federal government. "You need revenue for the revolution, and HHMI is certainly putting down some serious ducats," said Ebony O. McGee, a professor at Vanderbilt University who studies systemic discrimination in science and is not involved in the new program. "If you're putting down $1.5 billion, something significant's going to happen." Funded scientists will be called Freeman Hrabowski scholars, after the longtime president of the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, who is known for co-founding a model program that sends Black and other underrepresented undergraduates into science careers. That 34-year-old initiative, called the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, has improved retention and academic outcomes for Black scientists at UMBC, and other colleges are trying to replicate its successes. With $1.5 billion on the table, each Freeman Hrabowski scholar may receive up to $8.6 million over 10 years to fund their salaries and research. Over the next two decades, the institute hopes to fund 150 faculty members in the biomedical sciences who are on the tenure track and have been running their labs for four years or less. The idea is that these faculty members will help usher in a new generation of scientists who better reflect the country's diversity and full talent pool. |
| Some universities and schools in the U.S. are reimposing indoor mask mandates. | |
 | As coronavirus cases have increased across the United States, some universities and public school systems have reimposed indoor mask mandates on their campuses, a sign that while the academic year may be coming to a close, the pandemic is still not. The University of Hawaii's mandate was expanded Wednesday on its 10 campuses, requiring masks in all indoor spaces except when working alone or where social distancing is possible. The university said it took the action because nearly the whole state was now in the high-risk category for community transmission under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. The University of Delaware cited rising new-case reports and hospitalizations both in its home state and across the nation when it announced its mask mandate would once again include all indoor spaces, effective Tuesday. President Biden, an alumnus, is scheduled to give a commencement address at the university on Saturday. Federal health officials have warned that a large share of Americans were living in areas with medium or high levels of virus transmission. The White House's Covid-19 coordinator, Dr. Ashish K. Jha, is also urging Americans to mask up. "I feel that very strongly, that in crowded indoor spaces, in places with high transmission, people should be doing that," Dr. Jha said Sunday on the ABC program "This Week." Still, conditions appear to be stabilizing in some Northeastern states that were among the first to see a spring surge in cases. Though still high, case rates have started to level off or decline in New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. |
| Biden to propose debt relief soon, but how soon? | |
| As President Biden is inching closer to making an announcement on a possible plan to cancel some of the $1.7 trillion owed in student debt, rumors of when the final announcement will occur and what the policy might look like are spreading, with no foreseeable answer on a likely timeline or final policy. A Wall Street Journal article published Tuesday stated that administration officials had thought an announcement might come as soon as this Saturday, when Biden is scheduled to give a commencement address at the University of Delaware. The officials, however, also stated that no final decision had been reached by the president. A House Democratic aide confirmed with Inside Higher Ed that they had not yet heard from the Biden administration that a final announcement on debt relief was planned for Biden's Saturday commencement speech. They did, however, state that Biden's announcement on debt relief will likely be delayed due to Tuesday's mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas. With questions of when and what Biden's final decision on debt relief will be still largely in the air, higher education leaders have been provided little information on how to prepare for what could be one of the largest shifts in federal policy for higher education in decades. Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, which represents 95 percent of loan providers that service federal student loans, said that no matter what Biden announces, it could take months for loan servicers to implement Biden's proposal administratively. In addition, a lack of communication between the administration and servicers has given them little room to prepare for such a change. |
| Two Years After the Murder of George Floyd, Colleges Remember and Reflect | |
| The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020 galvanized America, provoking a racial reckoning that extended to the nation's campuses. Colleges and universities rushed to issue statements of sympathy and to form task forces to make systemic changes. But America has a notoriously short attention span and a limited appetite for tough racial conversations. Two years later, how are institutions of higher learning remembering George Floyd? And are they living up to the promises made in his name? Colleges and universities have offered a range of responses to the second anniversary of Floyd's murder. The University of California, Davis is not officially acknowledging the anniversary, leaving it for students and teachers to discuss themselves. Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, just 10 miles from the scene of Floyd's death, issued a statement inviting students to participate in the nearby George Floyd Global Memorial. A day of action honoring Floyd and others murdered by police is planned for June. The University of California, Irvine is commemorating the anniversary with a virtual screening of the 2021 documentary Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, as well as a panel discussion with its writer, Jeffrey Robinson. Some, however, are using the date to hold more elaborate events and to reflect on their progress over the past two years. Oregon State University will mark the anniversary by hosting its inaugural State of Black Affairs Summit. The summit will feature speakers and panel discussions on topics including supporting Black mental health, DEI work in the current climate, and recruiting and retaining Black talent (OSU currently has fewer than 100 Black employees). |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State softball announces construction of new indoor facility | |
| On the cusp of hosting its first NCAA softball super regional, Mississippi State announced a new project off the field. Mississippi State will start construction in June on a 12,000-square foot, $7 million indoor softball facility to replace the current one down the left field line of Nusz Park. Construction will be completed next summer. "At Mississippi State, we are completely committed to providing our teams with the best resources possible in order to compete for championships," athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. "This new facility does just that for our softball program. In combination with Nusz Park, this project continues to solidify Mississippi State as one of the best places in the nation to play college softball." The brick exterior will be met with improved amenities inside. The building will include a team lounge, practice area, team training room and equipment room. MSU's locker room, currently located beneath the Nusz Park grandstand, will be upgraded and moved into the new facility as well. The bullpen, which sits between the current facility and Nusz Park, will be moved down the left field line similarly to the one at Dudy Noble Field. "Our student-athletes will have a state-of-the-art facility from locker rooms, a team meeting room, training rooms, as well as the top technologies in our batting cages and pitching lab areas," coach Samantha Ricketts said. "This will be one of the most elite indoor softball facilities in the country, and we are excited to break ground very soon." |
| A Look Inside The Soon-To-Be New Softball Team Facility | |
| This weekend, Mississippi State softball makes history as it plays in its first-ever NCAA Super Regional. It's evident the Bulldogs have a program on the rise. They're growing off the field too, as will soon be seen courtesy of a new indoor facility that's about to be under construction. Starting in June, MSU will begin putting together its 12,000-square foot, $7 million project. The current indoor facility along the left field line of Nusz Park will be torn down, with the new building taking its place. It's a game-changing development says Mississippi State head softball coach Samantha Ricketts. Now, let's take a quick look at what'll soon become the new headquarters for the Bulldogs. As impressive as the facility is on the outside, the real value for MSU is on the inside. MSU's locker rooms, previously located under the grandstand at Nusz Park, will be moved into the new building. Other amenities will include showers, a team training room, a team film room and equipment room. The new construction will also cause a relocation of the Mississippi State bullpen. Now located between Nusz Park and the currently-standing indoor facility, the bullpen will be shifted to a location down the left field line, similar to MSU baseball's bullpen over at Dudy Noble Field. Construction will begin in June. The Bulldogs will play right on through their facility's progress next season with the project's expected completion date in the summer of 2023. |
| Why Mississippi State softball is in position for Women's College World Series | |
 | Charlie Latham held up a note behind softball coach Samantha Ricketts in the Mississippi State. The sign read "Ricketts 4 PREZ." But it was more than a note taped onto a clipboard by the team's manager. It provided those tuned in on ESPNU a glimpse into the Mississippi State dugout -- one filled with players unfazed by expectations, or lack thereof. Mississippi State was trailing 3-1 in the middle innings of a regional final against No. 2 Florida State when Ricketts put the headset on. This was MSU's 17th regional since 2000 and its first winner-take-all final. Ricketts had already informed the Bulldogs that Missouri lost its regional to Arizona, meaning Mississippi State would host a super regional if it advanced. Still, the Bulldogs were as loose as ever in their dugout. Mississippi State (37-25) won 4-3 and as promised get Arizona in the best-of-three series starting Friday (11 a.m., ESPNU). The Bulldogs embrace tension because it means they're playing in meaningful games, and this team believes come Saturday or Sunday they'll be Women's College World Series bound. "We're ready for this," outfielder Chloe Malau'ulu said. "We're ready to keep going, keeping rolling and keep having fun." A sold out crowd awaits the Bulldogs on Friday at Nusz Park to boost the adrenaline. Mississippi State's Bulldog Club sold out tickets before they could be made available to the general public. MSU is adding outfield decking for standing room tickets. Fans with an obstructed view can watch a real-time broadcast on video boards installed beyond the outfield wall. |
| Why Mississippi State baseball honored Landon Sims 'before he gets out' | |
| Landon Sims strolled out to the pitching mound he had dominated from just a few months earlier. The crowd at Dudy Noble Field rose to its feet, as if hearing Whitesnake's "Still of the Night" triggered a natural reaction. Mississippi State was home for its final series against No. 1 Tennessee. Following an on-field graduation ceremony for the players who missed commencement due to a series at Texas A&M, Sims was designated with throwing out the ceremonial first pitch -- his last pitch in some regard. This was unlike the hundreds of pitches the fiery right-hander has thrown in his MSU career. He faced the first base dugout, wound up and delivered a floater over the plate with his left arm. "I've done it a few times, but not from the mound," Sims said. "It felt really weird. It was very unorthodox." Sims was a cornerstone in Mississippi State's 2021 national championship run. He was among college baseball's elite arms and perhaps the top closer in the game. When Sims entered from the bullpen, teams knew it was over. He posted a 1.44 earned run average and owned a 100-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. "He's a guy, along with a group of others, who bears huge responsibility for a national championship," athletics director John Cohen said. |
| A Candid Lane Kiffin on NIL, Recruiting and Boosters: 'We're a Professional Sport' | |
| Curled up at the foot of the office door, whimpering and whining, his tail tucked and paws extended, is a yellow lab puppy named Juice. As soon as Lane Kiffin's door is opened, in rushes Juice. He's one of many new additions here at Ole Miss, such as the team's 13 transfer portal signees, a class that had some crowning Kiffin as the "Portal King." Kiffin himself has a new look, too. He has lost 32 pounds in the last 18 months. He's the lightest he's been since his days as head coach at USC nearly a decade ago. "I think I'm the only person that came to Mississippi and lost weight," he laughs. But Kiffin isn't here in his office on a warm May day in Oxford, Miss., to discuss his weight or his new dog. In responding to several questions during a near hourlong interview, Kiffin takes Sports Illustrated into the world of the current recruiting landscape of college football, thrown into what many describe as "chaos" by new name, image and likeness (NIL) rules. Often blunt and rarely politically correct, Kiffin opens up on an NIL concept that has evolved into boosters and booster-led collectives, he says, paying players inducements to attend college programs. The subject was at the heart of a public spat last week between Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban. Two days before that exchange erupted, Kiffin told SI that 100% of high school players are choosing schools based on the highest NIL guarantee---and he doesn't blame them. Despite those saying otherwise, he believes the current model is, in fact, sustainable, yet it will produce uncomfortable locker-room environments where boosters evolve into team owners, manipulating coaching decisions and so on. |
| When will Alabama football coach Nick Saban retire? Here's what Lane Kiffin said | |
| Anyone hoping Alabama football coach Nick Saban will retire soon won't like Lane Kiffin's latest prediction. "People always ask me when Nick Saban will retire," the Ole Miss coach told Sports Illustrated. "Before, I said, 'Not for a long time.' He's driven and he works like he's 30. Now, it'll be never. Why would he? You get the best players, have free agency to pluck the best players. "He'll be there forever. He might double his championships." Saban, 70, has coached 15 seasons at Alabama and is about to lead the Crimson Tide for a 16th season this fall. Kiffin's comments come about a week after Saban drew significant national attention, saying Texas A&M bought its entire recruiting class at an event promoting the World Games in Birmingham. Saban also mentioned Jackson State signing a player for $1 million and Miami basketball landing a player for $400,000. While some might view those words as Saban being concerned the dynasty could be in trouble, Kiffin takes a different viewpoint. "If you're Alabama, how does your gap not continue to widen?" Kiffin said. "If you have NIL, you can get the players. You were already signing No. 1 classes. Now there's a money factor involved, and you have top resources for that and you have the portal so you are replacing. If you have holes anywhere with guys leaving, they're just going to replace them. You see them doing it. Here's the best players out there not playing at Alabama. They can come take these spots." |
| Tennessee AD Danny White explains the line in the sand he's drawn with NIL deals | |
| The Tennessee Vols have received a lot of attention in recent months for their NIL efforts. Various reports have suggested that a collective associated with Tennessee is paying five-star 2023 star quarterback Nico Iamaleava $8 million to sign with the Vols (Iamaleava committed to Tennessee a couple of months ago, but he can't sign until the early signing period in December). Paying a recruit to commit via a NIL deal is prohibited by NCAA rules. There's no confirmation, however, that this is what happened with Iamaleava. That hasn't stopped speculation from running wild, though. Vols athletic director Danny White recently gave an exclusive interview to VolQuest and he discussed Tennessee's NIL efforts at length. White made it clear that he's drawn a line in the sand with the coaching staff and the collectives (Spyre Sports, predominately) associated with Tennessee -- no NIL deals are to be made with recruits. "With the new Tennessee state law, we can now collaborate with them (collectives) in ways that weren't permissible a month ago," said White. "All along, they have been good community partners. We have a director of name, image and likeness who has experience in compliance and marketing. Her job is to focus on NIL -- making sure we are educating Spyre and others who want to engage in that space on what the rules are and what the laws are." |
| Auburn AD Allen Greene: Every idea 'should be on the table' at SEC spring meetings | |
 | Allen Greene believes that no idea should be considered too bold or too outside the box when discussing how to adapt to a rapidly changing college athletics landscape. That's how Greene is approaching next week's SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla., where the league will discuss and vote on proposed changes as it moves forward in the ever-evolving environment that is modern college athletics. The SEC's spring meetings begin Tuesday and run through Friday, with several proposed changes on the docket for discussion. "I think everything should be on the table," Greene said Tuesday in Columbus, Ga., before speaking at an alumni event. "We're trying to do a couple things here. We're trying to figure out how do we work in this modern world of college athletics; what is the modern world of college athletics?... How do we figure out how to create an environment and a structure that allows all Division I institutions to thrive? That's something that's a really daunting and challenging task, but we've got a lot of smart people working on it, and you certainly hear people chiming in on their ideas, so it'll be interesting to see what comes of it." Among those ideas, according to an ESPN report this week, is a potential SEC-only postseason model featuring an eight-team playoff among the top half of the league after Texas and Oklahoma officially join the conference in 2025 to expand it to 16 teams. |
| $68.5M Sanford Stadium project to highlight UGA board meeting | |
| Facilities and budgets will be the primary topics of conversation over the next two days as the Georgia Athletic Association board of directors meets at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge on Lake Oconee. It's the annual end-of-the-year meeting for the Bulldogs' governing body. The group is expected to approve a record budget and get updates on the latest construction projects, including a renovation of the South grandstand and concourse at Sanford Stadium and the construction of a new indoor tennis facility. The biggest action item on the agenda Thursday is expected to be a request from Athletic Director Josh Brooks to fund the Sanford Stadium project. He told the board's finance and development committee last week that it will cost about $68.5 million to widen the lower-level concourse and add a new entryway off Gillis Bridge, restrooms, concession stands and a press box to the Gate 9 area of the 94-year-old stadium. That area long has been the source of complaints for fans because of congestion and antiquated amenities. "These are decade-old problems," Brooks told the committee during a video-conference meeting. "I'm talking 30-, 40-year-old problems that we just haven't addressed yet. It's always been difficult, and it took a lot of planning to find the best way to do it." |
| College sports eye gambling money amid safeguard concerns | |
| The NCAA stance against gambling on sports by its athletes and those who work in college athletics is summed up simply by the slogan on the posters the association provides to its member schools: "Don't Bet On It." The rules have been unambiguous for decades, part of the bedrock guidance in place for a half-million amateur athletes. But with sports betting now legal in more than half the states and millions flowing to once-apprehensive professional sports leagues, college conferences are starting to explore ways to cash in, too. The Mid-American Conference was the first to jump in, selling rights to its data and statistics to a company called Genius Sports, which will in turn sell it to sportsbooks. Expect others to follow, but the additional revenue will come with increased responsibility. And at a time of sweeping change in college sports, with athletes now able to earn money on their fame and the viability and necessity of the NCAA in question, legalized and easily accessible gambling represents more new terrain to navigate. While the NCAA isn't standing in the way of these sorts of business deals, actual sports betting remains a violation for those involved in college sports. "They were able to turn the other way before and say, 'Oh, that's all happening over here.' But the second you're directly getting paid from sports betting, it also comes with some responsibilities," said Matthew Holt of U.S. Integrity, a company that works with professional sports leagues and college conferences to monitor for gambling improprieties. |
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