| Friday, June 24, 2022 |
| MSU TV Center keeps hauling in hardware for superior storytelling | |
 | The Mississippi State University Television Center won big at the Southeastern Emmy Awards, bringing home eight Emmys for their productions over the last year. The center was nominated for 15 awards and won eight of them. This is the second consecutive year of regional Emmy wins for the center. The University Television Center provides production services to the MSU community as well as clients across the country. The documentary work they have produced and received multiple awards for in recent years is part of a creative storytelling initiative called MSU Films. "We realized that there were stories at Mississippi State and in Mississippi that are interesting to a general audience, and can be told in something longer than 90 seconds in a social media piece or on YouTube," said David Garraway, UTC director. "And so we really wanted to explore, 'Can we tell quality stories that take their time to develop and develop those stories in a way that's of interest to the general population?'" Since 2019, the center has produced a variety of compelling content from a 10-minute film about the burning of Old Main Dormitory to pieces on natural resource conservation in coastal Mississippi. This year, they received awards in a variety of categories, including two awards for their flagship documentary series "The Hungriest State." "We have 11 dedicated staff here at the TV center, and every one of them has a role in making this place what it is today. These are team wins," Garraway said. "And it all comes back to MSU President Mark Keenum, Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter for their value of quality storytelling. We couldn't do it without the support that we've received from the very top. We're so appreciative of that." |
| Madison's Audrey Harper headed to Italy | |
 | Madison's Audrey Harper is embarking on the trip of a lifetime this summer to Italy. Harper, a rising junior at Mississippi State University, grew up in Madison and graduated from Madison-Ridgeland Academy in 2020. She said this program, called "Fio Italia," will bring her closer to making her dream career in music come true. Harper views this as a milestone in her singing career, as she has been interested in it ever since she started doing choir when she was nine years old. "I'm a music major here at MSU, and when I got an email from the school about an audition for the Fio Italia opera program in Italy, I quickly signed up for it," Harper said. "I signed up for it and felt good about the audition, but I was unsure since I'm still pretty young. However, I got an email saying I was accepted and what shows I would take part in." Harper auditioned by taking part in an in-person interview with the MSU and sang a song piece in Italian. She said her reaction to being accepted was equal parts shocked and excited. She will be one of 49 undergrad and grad students traveling to Europe for the program. Harper will fly to Rome on July 1, take a shuttle to a small town called Urbania, and remain there until August 7. There, she will learn Italian, perform in rehearsals, and participate in voice lessons. At the end of the program, she will perform in two fully staged operas. |
| Heat stress might curdle the dairy industry | |
| Higher average temperatures and more frequent heat waves are likely to occur due to climate change. This week, about 20 percent of people in the United States are estimated to experience temperatures greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, the recent heatwaves in India and Pakistan have resulted in at least 90 deaths and a 10 to 35 percent reduction in crop yields in some regions. As a result of rising global temperatures, the heat stress of livestock, which arises from combinations of air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed could increase. This added stress makes it difficult for animals like cows and pigs to control their own body temperature. If livestock is unable to dissipate heat effectively, their body temperature increases, which can reduce their productivity, thereby affecting the food supply. Of the predominant livestock industries in the US, the dairy industry is estimated to be the most vulnerable to economic losses from heat stress, says Amanda Stone, assistant professor and extension dairy specialist at Mississippi State University. |
| SPD offers tips on keeping children safe from predators | |
| Starkville police officer Chris Jackson recalls seeing a story that went viral last month about a child kidnapped at a Dallas Mavericks game and trafficked. Instances like that aren't relegated to far away places or even big cities, Jackson told an audience of about 40 parents and guardians in the Starkville Academy gymnasium on Thursday. He pointed to a case earlier this month when a Starkville man was arrested for trying to meet an 11-year-old girl in Columbus for sexual purposes. Luckily, in that case, the child's mother saw correspondence between the suspect and her daughter and alerted the police. Other cases, such as that in Dallas, don't have such fortunate endings. "It's very real. It happens in our community," Jackson said. "... We've seen a 97 percent increase in child exploitation cases in the United States throughout the last year. That's almost 100 percent. It's a growing epidemic." Jackson said. Jackson spoke to parents as part of an event called "Let's Talk About It" focused on keeping children safe from trafficking and sexual exploitation. He focused on threats that predators pose and how best to keep their children safe, especially with respect to how their kids use the internet and social media, hitting on four main points: internet safety awareness, grooming, online enticements and using parental controls to keep children safe. "I can't give you details of cases, and I really don't want to, but I'll let you know that Starkville has been investigating more and more of these cases throughout time," he said. |
| Southern Furniture Industries confirms about 280 laid off at two plants | |
 | Zack McMillen worked for nearly four years on the upholstery line at Southern Motion's No. 2 plant in Pontotoc. On Wednesday, he was laid off. So, too, was his wife. The McMillens were among some 280 workers who were let go at Southern Furniture Industries -- which includes Southern Motion and Fusion Furniture, both in Pontotoc County. "When we completed our work yesterday, the supervisor brought us to end of line and called the names of those who were laid off," he said. "They gave us packets to fill out for unemployment. Management told us they'd keep our numbers on record and call back if things got better. They seemed sincere. But nobody wants to find out they're losing their job as they're walking out the door." Mark Weber, president and CEO of the company, said the layoffs were necessary because of what he described as a temporary industry slowdown in demand for upholstered furniture. "Southern Furniture Industries regretfully had to reduce our workforce this past week in order to match our production capacity to the current demand environment," he said. "This reduction impacted less than 15% of our approximately 1,900 associates across multiple sites throughout North Mississippi. These are always difficult decisions, and it is our hope to rehire these associates in the near future as demand improves." The reduction came after company officials asked for voluntary layoffs. Approximately 10 employees took up the offer. |
| Why Mississippi? How D'Iberville was picked for $410 million Sports Illustrated resort | |
 | The announcement this week that a $410 million Sports Illustrated resort is planned for D'Iberville was a surprise to many people on the Mississippi Coast and beyond, but it's been in the works for one year. D'Iberville is one of the newest and smallest cities in South Mississippi by area and population. Yet it's home to The Promenade shopping complex. It has the third best sales tax revenue of the 12 cites in the three Coastal counties, behind Gulfport and Biloxi, and Mayor Rusty Quave says it is in the top 20 statewide for sales tax. Bob Mandal has worked for a decades to bring a shopping center to the nearly 80-acre property at the I-10 and I-110 intersection. Online sales canceled much of the construction of brick and mortar retail stores across the country, and squashed Mandal's s dream of building Gulf Coast Galleria on the property he co-owns in his hometown. He built BWM, Buick and other car dealerships on part of the property and a Walk-Ons restaurant, co-owned by former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. He held out on the other 78 acres for a project that would have a major impact. The proposed development is called Blue Water Beach and plans call for three hotels and sports-themed crystal lagoon and other interactive attractive, restaurants, shopping and special events. Mandal met Christopher Schroeder, CEO of Experiential Ventures Hospitality, at a conference more than a year ago and the two brought the land, their development experience and ideas together. |
| MDAH offers to pay up to $50K for master plan for old school building near Jefferson College | |
 | The Mississippi Department of Archives and History Director Katie Blount approached the Natchez Adams School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday with a proposal to grant the school district $50,000 to fund a master plan for the old Washington community school building near historic Jefferson College. This master plan would provide them with an assessment of the building's condition, priorities for its restoration and suggest uses for it, Blount said. "This is not a competitive grant program and it would not require a match," Blount said. "These are special grants that we reserve for emergencies in Mississippi landmark buildings and buildings of special interest or importance to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History." MDAH is interested in the Washington school for multiple reasons, she said. "It is a historic school building and was designated a Mississippi landmark in 1996 and Archives and History is committed to preserving historic school buildings," she said. Secondly, Blount said MDAH has a special interest in the abandoned school building because of its location adjacent to Jefferson College, "because it is an Archives and History site that we have big plans for." MDAH recently held a press conference at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians to announce that the Mississippi legislature provided $8 million in state funding for two Natchez projects. One is to build a museum at the Grand Village and the other is to restore the historic buildings on the Jefferson College campus, "for use as an interpretive center for the broad history of the Natchez region and its national significance," Blount said. |
| Alleging Entergy 'over-profited' from Grand Gulf, PSC announces $300 million settlement | |
| The Mississippi Public Service Commission announced a $300 million settlement on Thursday with Entergy Mississippi over profits the company received in running the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Station in Port Gibson. The settlement, the largest in the PSC's history, ends Mississippi's involvement in a multi-state dispute with Entergy. As part of the agreement, $200 million of the settlement will go towards offsetting rising natural gas costs for customers, $35 million will go towards direct payments or bill credits to Mississippi ratepayers, and the remaining $65 million will go towards savings for future mitigation costs. The $35 million in direct rebates from the settlement will be divvied up and amount to about $80 per Entergy Mississippi customer. Customers can choose to use that money as a credit towards their electric bill or get the amount in a check. The PSC said in its press release that without the $200 million for offsetting rising natural gas costs, Mississippians would have seen an extra $15 on their electric bills starting in 2023. Separately, Entergy's other subsidiaries in Arkansas, Louisiana and the city of New Orleans are also facing litigation over Grand Gulf's services. The regulators for those service areas are alleging that the station doesn't run as effectively as other nuclear plants and charges customers for the plant to run even when it isn't producing power, among other complaints. |
| Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board appoints new director | |
 | The Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board announced Thursday that it has appointed Mark Smith as new executive director. Smith had served as the agency's interim executive director since May, when he replaced Stacey Pickering. Pickering, a former state auditor and Republican state senator from Jones County, led the agency from 2018 until his abrupt resignation in May. The MSVA initially hired Smith to serve as deputy director in April 2022. "I am honored to serve Mississippi's 186,000 Veterans through our mission programs," Smith said. "With a great team already in place, we will continue to provide superior service, care and assistance to America's heroes." Smith served in the United States Army and Mississippi National Guard from 1976 to 2006, retiring with the rank of colonel. He has 16 years of state government experience, working at agencies including the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and Mississippi Department of Human Services. |
| Mark Smith appointed to lead state Veterans Affairs Board | |
| The Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board on Thursday announced that it appointed Mark Smith as the state agency's new executive director. Smith most recently served as the organization's interim executive director. David McElreath represents north Mississippi on the veterans affairs board, and told the Daily Journal he has full confidence in Smith to be great director at the agency. "I think Mark is a solid guy, and he's committed to our veterans," McElreath said. Smith replaces Stacey Pickering, a former state auditor who led the agency from 2018 until his abrupt resignation in May. The veterans board would not comment on Pickering's employment status for several days and has not disclosed the reason for his departure. Smith will now be responsible for maintaining two veteran memorial cemeteries, training and certifying the veteran service officers in individual counties, and overseeing the state's four veterans homes. |
| Facing GOP Runoff With Mike Ezell, Steven Palazzo Agrees to First Debate in 12 Years | |
| Incumbent Republican U.S. House Rep. Steven Palazzo will debate an opponent for the first time since he won the seat 12 years ago as he struggles to hold onto his seat in Mississippi's 4th Congressional District. The South Mississippi congressman will debate GOP primary runoff opponent Mike Ezell on Friday. "We're having a debate this Friday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m. on WLOX-CBS," the Ezell campaign announced in a tweet. "Congressman Palazzo has skipped 4 debates so far and he's finally agreed to debate. I hope everyone will watch!" Palazzo last debated an opponent when he ran against incumbent Democratic U.S. House Rep. Gene Taylor in 2010. Since winning the seat, though, the current Republican incumbent has ignored or refused all debate invites with Democratic, Republican and third party challengers alike. Even in 2010, Palazzo skipped an AARP-hosted forum in Hattiesburg, leaving Taylor to debate Libertarian candidate Tim Hampton next to a third, empty podium. Palazzo's long track record of skipping debates and refusing to hold in-person town hall meetings with constituents in his district has earned him the nickname "No Show Palazzo" among some Republican and Democratic critics in South Mississippi. But after his poor primary performance, the incumbent issued his own call for a one-on-one debate with Ezell. In an interview with SuperTalk's Paul Gallo on June 20, Palazzo pushed back against the absent congressman caricature, pointing out that he holds telephone town hall events that constituents can call into and, if selected, ask a question. He said his team was "fixing" the perception that he is absent and that it was the result of "desperate opponents manufacturing lies people are buying into." |
| Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Eliminates Constitutional Right to Abortion | |
 | A deeply divided Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion, overruling the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and leaving the question of abortion's legality to the states. The court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization upheld a law from Mississippi that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, roughly two months earlier than what has been allowed under Supreme Court precedent dating back to Roe. In siding with Mississippi, the court's conservative majority said the Roe decision was egregiously wrong in recognizing a constitutional right to an abortion, an error the court perpetuated in the decades since. Although the case before the court involved a 15-week ban, the overruling of Roe gives states broad latitude to regulate or prohibit abortion as they see fit. Many conservative-leaning states are poised to tighten access further, while some liberal ones have established permissive abortion regimes under state law. The decision could become a major issue in this year's elections, as state and federal lawmakers look to position themselves in a post-Roe world. Almost half the states have laws in place or at the ready to curtail or outlaw abortion, while others have laws that would preserve its legality. Questions on whether and how to limit abortions are expected to continue roiling state legislative debates. The ruling, one of the most consequential in modern memory, marked a rare instance in which the court reversed itself to eliminate a constitutional right that it had previously created. |
| U.S Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade | |
| The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that established a person's right to an abortion. Mississippi will likely be one of 13 states to ban the abortion procedure immediately due to a trigger law passed by legislators in 2007. "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives," Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his opinion. Chief Justice John Roberts, concurring in the judgment issued by the Court, wrote that he would have taken "a more measured course" by getting rid of the fetal viability line established by Roe and Casey, but not overturning Roe entirely. Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization centers around Mississippi legislation passed and signed in 2018 called "The Act to Prohibit Abortion After 15 Weeks." That law and an even stricter law that would ban abortion after six weeks were both ruled unconstitutional twice in the last few years -- by both a U.S. District Court and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Republican state officials in Mississippi lauded the decision on Friday. "Today marks a new era in American history -- and a great day for the American people," said Attorney General Lynn Fitch in a statement. "I commend the Court for restoring constitutional principle and returning this important issue to the American people." Fitch did not say in her statement whether she has made the official determination that Roe has been overturned, which would effectively put Mississippi's trigger law into effect. |
| Speaker Gunn announces Speaker's Commission on Life | |
| House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, said he is creating the Speaker's Commission to consider what Mississippi must do now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. Gunn said he "will appoint House members & experts on policy, women's health, adoption and child protection. They will be charged with recommending 'Next Steps for Life' legislation to be ready to take up in January (when the legislative session begins)." Gunn said the commission will address the following items: more effective & well-funded child protection & foster care, more available & affordable adoption; and next-generation child support enforcement to hold fathers accountable, so mothers don't bear the burdens alone. |
| Supreme Court finds N.Y. law violates right to carry guns outside home | |
 | The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that law-abiding Americans have a right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense, issuing a watershed constitutional ruling against firearm restrictions as the nation reels from a spate of mass shootings and its political leaders are divided over how to curb such violence. The court's conservatives prevailed in a 6-to-3 decision that struck a New York law requiring a special need for carrying a weapon and puts at risk similar laws in Maryland, California, New Jersey, Hawaii and Massachusetts. The ruling is likely to make it easier to carry guns in some of the nation's biggest cities. Justice Clarence Thomas, the court's longest-serving justice and perhaps its most outspoken Second Amendment advocate, wrote a sweeping, 66-page opinion for the court's conservatives that was specific to New York's law, but also raises substantial obstacles at the high court for future gun-control measures. The court's dissenting liberals said the majority distorted history and ignored the court's precedents. President Biden and Democratic officials called the ruling tone-deaf and ill-timed in the wake of recent mass killings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Tex., which have spurred Congress to advance bipartisan legislation strengthening federal gun laws. |
| U.S. science agencies would see budgets rise under draft budget bills | |
| pending panels for the U.S. House of Representatives kicked off the 2023 federal budget cycle this week by recommending healthy increases for several research agencies. In some cases, however, those increases fall below the much larger boosts President Joe Biden has requested. At the same time, lawmakers bucked that trend by adding to Biden's meager request for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Congress divvies up the federal government into 12 pieces for purposes of determining annual spending levels. The House traditionally goes first, with each of a dozen appropriation subcommittees weighing in on the agencies under its jurisdiction. Those panels began meeting last week, and the full spending committee is expected to approve all the bills by the end of the month. A parallel committee in the Senate has not yet started the identical process, however, and most observers don't expect Congress to complete work on the 2023 budget until after the November midterm elections. NSF would receive roughly half of the 19% increase Biden requested under a bill taken up yesterday, boosting its overall budget by $783 million, to $9.63 billion. Its $1 billion education program would grow more rapidly---by 23%---than its $7 billion research account, which would receive an 8% boost. The overall rise of 9% is nearly identical to the 9.7% increase allocated to the appropriations subcommittee that oversees NSF, which also funds the Justice and Commerce departments. "The top priority in this bill is public safety," noted the panel's chairman, Representative Matt Cartwright (D–PA), referencing the most recent mass shootings and rising crime rates in many cities. But funding basic research to foster economic growth is also important, Cartwright said in explaining the healthy boost for NSF. |
| Jan. 6 panel airs evidence of more GOP lawmaker pardon requests | |
 | Five Republican members of Congress requested pardons from former President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to evidence presented Thursday by a House select committee. The panel investigating the attack presented emails and video testimony that Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Louie Gohmert of Texas and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania asked for pardons. "The only reason I know to ask for a pardon is because you think you've committed a crime," Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said near the end of a more-than-two-hour hearing that focused mainly on the Justice Department. The revelations come as the panel presented further testimony about Trump's broader campaign to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the leadup to the attack. After the hearing, Kinzinger deflected a reporter's question about what conduct the Republican members of Congress may have had in mind when requesting pardons. "I won't go any deeper than what we've presented. But look, all I know is if you're innocent, you're probably not going to go out and seek a pardon," Kinzinger told the media after the hearing. "So we'll let them speak to that, and they can answer those questions." The revelations Thursday expanded on comments from the committee's first hearing. Back then, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said Perry and "multiple" members of Congress had requested pardons following the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, but she did not provide evidence or name the other members. |
| Trump Justice Officials Cite Pressure From Him to Overturn 2020 Election | |
| Senior officials in President Donald Trump's Justice Department testifying on Capitol Hill described his campaign to enlist them in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. That campaign included a plan by Mr. Trump to replace the Justice Department's acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, with Jeffrey Clark, a department official who promised to assist his efforts to reverse his election loss, Mr. Rosen and other department officials testified Thursday before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. "This is nothing less than the Justice Department meddling in a presidential election," Mr. Rosen's former deputy, Richard Donoghue, testified Thursday, describing contentious meetings between senior Justice Department officials, Mr. Clark and Mr. Trump. The Virginia home of Mr. Clark was searched by federal investigators on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to say which items investigators were trying to obtain. At the Jan. 6 committee hearing, the officials described persistent efforts by Mr. Trump and his allies, including some Republicans in Congress, to bring to the Justice Department in December 2020 debunked allegations of voter fraud and insist investigators pursue them. Several of those lawmakers sought pardons from Mr. Trump, according to video testimony the committee disclosed Thursday. |
| 'Unwilling to accept defeat': How Sinema and Murphy clinched guns deal for Dems | |
 | In a Washington run by Baby Boomers and octogenarians, it took two 40-something Democrats with a yin-and-yang approach to get a gun safety deal done. Chris Murphy had developed self-described "pessimism" in his decadelong quest to rein in gun violence. That's where Kyrsten Sinema came in, pushing her more liberal friend along. Their partnership proved exactly what Democrats needed to break through on gun safety after nearly 30 years of attempts. They're close enough for the triathlete Sinema to give Murphy fitness advice. But the Connecticut progressive also credited the Arizona centrist with maintaining "optimism" that he sometimes struggled to muster. "I've tried every tactic in the book to get this body to act and I've never been successful. And so I have a bit of PTSD about negotiations. Kyrsten just was convinced from the very start that this was possible," Murphy said in an interview on Thursday. "We needed that." The Senate's Thursday night passage of its bipartisan gun safety bill marked a seminal moment for a Democratic Party that pushed through background check mandates in 1993's Brady Bill but has struggled ever since to reassemble that coalition. Behind this year's effort is a duo who reflects their party's ascendant Generation X as well as the future of the caucus: a coalition of stalwart liberals and Sun Belt moderates. Neither Sinema nor Murphy chair committees or hold formal leadership roles in the Democratic caucus, yet the two senators cut a deal with GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina that will go down in the party's annals. The legislation would strengthen background checks on young people, deliver billions of dollars for mental health and close a domestic violence loophole for gun buys -- a response to a gunman killing 19 children and two adults last month in Uvalde, Texas. |
| Senate sends the school meal waivers bill back to the House with time running out | |
 | After passing a nearly $3 billion plan that would extend pandemic school meal waivers through the summer and next school year, the House will have to vote on the bill a second time after the Senate sent it back with changes. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., blocked the bill in the Senate, urging lawmakers to bring back the "reduced price" category of the National School Lunch Program. Before the pandemic, meals were either free, reduced price or full price to students. During the pandemic, the waivers allowed for all meals to be free. The House bill included only free and full-price options. Schools have felt the strain of rising food, gas and labor costs. Waivers passed by Congress at the start of the pandemic gave relief from regulations that monitor how, when and who gets school meals that expire in seven days. Congress couldn't reach a deal in time to include in the budget signed by President Biden in March after Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell pushed against the extension. A bipartisan group in both chambers reached a deal earlier this week on a budget-neutral bill, now called the Keep Kids Fed Act, that would extend some of the waivers through the next school year but not others. Senate Agriculture Chair and bill sponsor Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., told NPR that there would have never been 10 Republican members in support of extending all the free meals. The eventual compromise to return to pre-pandemic meal categories was necessary to make sure schools received other necessary assistance. |
| UN chief warns of 'catastrophe' from global food shortage | |
| The head of the United Nations warned Friday that the world faces "catastrophe" because of the growing shortage of food around the globe. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war in Ukraine has added to the disruptions caused by climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and inequality to produce an "unprecedented global hunger crisis" already affecting hundreds of millions of people. "There is a real risk that multiple famines will be declared in 2022," he said in a video message to officials from dozens of rich and developing countries gathered in Berlin. "And 2023 could be even worse." Guterres noted that harvests across Asia, Africa and the Americas will take a hit as farmers around the world struggle to cope with rising fertilizer and energy prices. "This year's food access issues could become next year's global food shortage," he said. "No country will be immune to the social and economic repercussions of such a catastrophe." Guterres said U.N. negotiators were working on a deal that would enable Ukraine to export food, including via the Black Sea, and let Russia bring food and fertilizer to world markets without restrictions. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that Russia has no excuse for holding back vital goods from world markets. "The sanctions that we've imposed on Russia collectively and with many other countries exempt food, exempt food products, exempt fertilizers, exempt insurers, exempt shippers," he said. |
| The Forensic Scientists Fighting Timber Theft | |
| Thirty percent of the world's wood trade involves timber that was poached -- illegally harvested from public or private land. The World Bank and Interpol have estimated that the global scale of illegal logging generates up to $157 billion annually, some of which goes to fund large-scale crime networks. The terrorist network Al-Shabab is known to traffic in poached wood and charcoal from Somalia. In Australia, organized-crime "firewood rings" haul in a million dollars' worth of poached Tasmanian timber each year. In 2008, the U.S. law prohibiting trade in endangered animals was expanded to include illegally harvested plants and timber. From a forensic standpoint, it was one of the largest challenges the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service had ever encountered. "When we first started looking" at tree poaching, "we were stunned," says Ken Goddard, a former crime scene investigator who runs the Fish & Wildlife Service Forensics Lab in Ashland, Ore. "We were starting to hear stories from agents in other countries about entire forests being clear-cut and ships filled with raw trees in containerized cargo. At that point we couldn't make an identification if it was milled into planks, so we had to come up with something." Today, the forensics lab houses an expansive warehouse that Mr. Goddard and his team are working to fill with "standards" -- examples of each plant and animal currently being traded on the illegal market, which can be compared against incoming seizures. |
| Summer swelter: Persistent heat wave breaks records, spirits | |
| From the normally chilly Russian Arctic to the traditionally sweltering American South, big swaths of the Northern Hemisphere continued to sizzle with extreme heat as the start of summer more resembled the dog days of August with parts of China and Japan setting all-time heat records Friday. In the United States a heat dome of triple digit temperatures in many places combined with high humidity oscillated from west to east. On Thursday, at least 15 states hit 100 degrees (37.8 degrees Celsius) and at least 21 high temperature marks were set or broken, according to the National Weather Service, which held 30 million Americans under some kind of heat advisory. The extreme discomfort of Thursday came after 12 states broke the 100-degree mark on Wednesday and 21 records were tied or broken. Since June 15, at least 113 automated weather stations have tied or broken hot-temperature records. Scientists say this early baking has all the hallmarks of climate change. "It's easy to look at these figures and forget the immense misery they represent. People who can't afford air conditioning and people who work outdoors have only one option, to suffer," said Texas A&M climate scientist Andrew Dessler, who was in College Station, where the temperature tied a record at 102 degrees (38.9 degrees Celsius) Thursday. Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini said what's happening with this early heat wave is "very consistent with what we'd expect in a continually warming world." |
| Mississippi University for Women professor researching new treatment methods for cystic fibrosis | |
 | Dr. Ghanshyam Heda, a biology professor at the Mississippi University for Women, has spent 25 years researching treatment methods for cystic fibrosis. The disorder causes serious damage to a person's lungs, digestive system, and other organs. According to the Mayo Clinic, the life expectancy for someone with CF is 30 to 40 (sometimes 50) years. "They are not able to breathe properly, they have asthma-like symptoms, or they're not able to digest the food properly because of not having enough pancreatic juices and enzymes," Dr. Heda says. He says the root cause is a lack of a specific protein known as CFTR (Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane-conductance Regulator). Throughout his career, Dr. Heda has traveled the globe studying new ways to create that protein. "We take a human cell line, for example, we work here on a lung, human lung cell line," Dr. Heda explains. "We have two kinds: one healthy cell line and one that is similar to a cystic fibrosis patient." Most recently, Dr. Heda spent two months at the University of Bristol in England working with Dr. David Sheppard on the functional study of chemical compounds that he believes could become potential new treatment options. He is currently studying three different compounds and how they change a cell, based on how much or how long the cells are exposed to them. |
| University officials mark high point in new Center for Science and Technology Innovation | |
| University of Mississippi officials and others celebrated a milestone in the construction of the emerging Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation during a topping-out ceremony Thursday (June 23) on campus. Touting the economic and academic implications of 202,000-square-foot science, technology, engineering and mathematics building, Chancellor Glenn Boyce was among some 100 attendees who watched as a construction crane hoisted a structural beam to the top of the building, signifying that it has reached its maximum height. The $175 million facility is on pace to open in fall 2024. UM administrators, faculty, staff and students, as well as Chet Nadolski, chief operating officer at Yates Construction of Jackson, signed the beam before it was lifted, hewing to a construction tradition also meant to express appreciation to the building contractor and crew. "On behalf of Yates Construction, I wish to thank the University of Mississippi, the Duffs and all those responsible for creating this opportunity," Nadolski said. Charlotte Parks, vice chancellor for development, said the university is "very excited to see the Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation take form." |
| USM art exhibit opens this week | |
 | This summer, high school students from across the state had an opportunity to make their mark at the University of Southern Mississippi. Starting Monday, USM's School of Performing and Visual Arts launched the annual "Make Your Mark" gallery. It features 72 works made by students from 11 Mississippi high schools. It is being showcased in USM's George Hurst building this summer. Jennifer Courts is the interim director of the USM School of Performing and Visual Arts. She is very enthusiastic about what this experience can provide for them in the long term. "It really does give them a good opportunity to see themselves in a gallery and think about where they want to go with a career in art," Courts said. An exhibit such as this seems to make sense in a city known for its public murals and displays of art. Even though the regular academic school year is over, the art will continue to make its home on campus through August 20 ending with a closing reception and awards ceremony. "Hattiesburg continues to be a really thriving arts town," Courts said. "Even in the summertime, we've got FestivalSouth just wrapping up. We're happy to be part of that really thriving art community." |
| Title IX hearing rule gets proposed redo; 18 GOP attorney generals register opposition | |
| A new proposed federal Title IX rule would leave it up to colleges to decide whether to hold a live hearing as part of the campus procedure for determining whether a student is responsible for sexual assault. Colleges including the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 2020 began requiring such hearings to comply with the rule put in place under former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who frequently spoke about the importance of "due process" in campus proceedings for those accused of misconduct. The federal Department of Education on Thursday released for public comment the proposed new rule for Title IX, which is the law prohibiting sex-based discrimination at schools receiving federal money. "We are aware of the proposed rule announced today and now open for comment," UA spokesman Mark Rushing said in an email when asked whether the university will continue its policy requiring hearings. "Any possible adjustments to our existing policy would not be determined until after careful review of the final regulation as adopted," Rushing said. The proposed new rule also has a revised definition of "sex-based harassment" that includes discrimination based on gender identity. On Thursday, a group of 18 Republican attorneys general -- including Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge -- signed onto a letter addressed to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona that criticized the new proposed rule, stating that "defining the term 'sex' to include gender identity will destroy women's sports." |
| State ranked high for racial equality in education, but U. of Kentucky dean says work is needed for equity | |
 | Kentucky ranked 9th in the nation for racial equality in education in a June 7 WalletHub list, pulling ahead of the U.S. average for all six metrics included in the study. But there's still progress to be made, according to a dean from the University of Kentucky. WalletHub's 2022 Best States for Racial Equality in Education compared performances of Black and White populations on the share of adults with a high school diploma or bachelor's degree, standardized test scores, mean SAT and ACT scores and public high school graduation rate. The commonwealth got 9th place for the portion of adults with a high school education and 12th place for adults with a bachelor's degree. WalletHub gave Kentucky a 15th place ranking for standardized test scores, 9th place for SAT scores and 12th for ACT scores. Kentucky was closer to the middle of the pack for racial discrepancies in public high school graduation rates, with a 20th place ranking. While the commonwealth performed better than much of the country in this list, UK College of Education Dean Julian Vasquez Heilig said there is still more work to be done in Kentucky and across the U.S. to promote racial equality in education. Specifically, Vasquez Heilig said schools have a problem with "segregating knowledge" by limiting more advanced curriculum opportunities to children from wealthier families. |
| U. of Missouri curators approve $3.9 billion budget, move forward with addition to research reactor | |
 | The University of Missouri Board of Curators on Thursday unanimously approved a $3.9 billion operating budget for the 2023 fiscal year. Operating revenues for MU rose slightly to $1.63 billion in the new budget. The flagship campus and MU Health Care ($1.37 billion) account for over 70% of the total budget. The expected operating margin for all four system universities combined in the budget is 2.7%, slightly above target, Ryan Rapp, UM chief financial officer, said before the board vote. The operating margin at MU this coming year is budgeted at 1%. System-wide expenses budgeted for 2023 are comprised of salary and wages (47%), benefits (14%), depreciation (6%), interest expense (2%) and other expenses (31%). The budget takes into account factors including the continued growth of state appropriations as well as a market and performance salary pool, Rapp said. The curators in May approved a tuition increase for this fall semester, voting to increase tuition at all four campuses by 4.5% for Missouri resident undergraduate students. "As we work through the budget this year, we've talked about the impacts of inflation," Rapp said. "One of the important things to remember is the federal stimulus that helped us through COVID is expiring as we look forward to next year, and we would expect our financial performance to return to levels similar to those we saw during the pre-pandemic period." An approximately 40,000-square-foot west addition to the MU Research Reactor will move forward after the curators approved the project Thursday. The $20 million project is part of the state's American Rescue Plan Act funding the university expects to receive as well as other federal appropriations, Rapp said. |
| 'Whose Brilliant Idea Was This?': How Ohio State Successfully Trademarked the Word 'THE' | |
 | "So, whose brilliant idea was this? And how much $$$ did we think it would bring?," read an email from an Ohio State University professor to one of the university's top spokespeople after news broke in 2019 that Ohio State was attempting to register a trademark for the most commonly used word in the English language -- "THE." News of the trademark plan went viral on Twitter. Media outlets across the country covered it. It even turned into a bit on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. ("I really think there are huge opportunities to fully lean into all this and leverage it for national publicity," one university spokesman wrote in an email to a colleague after the episode aired). Records obtained by The Chronicle following the news of the trademark application show that top administrators apparently did not have much to do with the "THE" pursuit. Ohio State's media-relations department knew little about the filing, the documents show, with the university's then senior associate vice president for university communications writing in an email to a professor that "no one asked me whether we should do this." The trademark filing -- despite all the jokes, as well as doubts from experts about its likelihood for approval -- was serious. So serious, in fact, that on Tuesday, Ohio State's bid to trademark "THE" was approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Not everyone is as enthused. "This is a very stupid decision" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, said James Boyle, a professor at Duke University's law school. "But the more concerning thing is that it is a trend." Boyle and Jennifer Jenkins, a clinical professor of law at Duke University, are the authors of "Mark of the Devil: The University as Brand Bully," an article in the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal examining "trademark bullies" at colleges, especially their own, Duke. The two write that "a trademark is not a right in gross over a word, but rather a protection of a particular mark in connection with a particular set of goods and services." |
| Court: Harvard can be sued for distress over slave photos | |
| A Connecticut woman who says she's descended from slaves who are portrayed in widely published, historical photos owned by Harvard University can sue the school for emotional distress, Massachusetts' highest court ruled Thursday. The state's Supreme Judicial Court partly vacated a lower court ruling that dismissed a complaint from Tamara Lanier over photos she says depict her enslaved ancestors. The images are considered some of the earliest that show enslaved people in the U.S. The court concluded the Norwich resident and her family can plausibly make a case for suffering "negligent and indeed reckless infliction of emotional distress" from Harvard and remanded that part of their claim to the state Superior Court. The judges said the university failed to contact Lanier when it used one of the images on a book cover and prominently featured it in materials for a campus conference -- even after she'd reached out about her ancestral ties. "In sum, despite its duty of care to her, Harvard cavalierly dismissed her ancestral claims and disregarded her requests, despite its own representations that it would keep her informed of further developments," the ruling states. But the high court upheld the lower court's ruling that the photos are the property of the photographer who took them and not the subject themselves. Harvard spokesperson Rachael Dane said the university is reviewing the decision. She also stressed the original daguerreotypes are in archival storage and not on display, nor have they been lent out to other museums for more than 15 years, because of their fragility. |
| After the Pandemic's Dark Days, the Outlook for International Enrollments May Be Brightening | |
| American colleges are anticipating a pickup in international enrollments this fall, with two-thirds reporting an increase in overseas applicants, according to a new survey from the Institute of International Education. Sixty-five percent of colleges saw growth in applications from abroad for the 2022-23 academic year, while just 12 percent reported declines, the institute's Spring 2022 Snapshot on International Educational Exchange found. In a snapshot survey conducted a year ago, 43 percent of institutions said international applications were up -- and nearly as many, 38 percent, saw decreases. International enrollments fell more sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic than for any other demographic group at American colleges, dropping 15 percent in 2020. With borders closed and consulates shuttered, the decline in new foreign students was especially precipitous, plummeting 46 percent that fall. Although the impact of Covid was particularly punishing -- it dwarfed the decline in international-student numbers in the years following the September 11 terror attacks -- it also obscured some underlying weaknesses in international mobility to the United States. Prior to the pandemic, the number of new international students at American colleges had decreased for four years in a row. With Covid-related travel and visa restrictions beginning to lift, international enrollments began to recover last fall, increasing by 4 percent. The new application data suggest that rebound could continue, and perhaps even more robustly. Still, the recovery may be uneven. Three-quarters of doctoral universities and master's colleges and universities reported application increases, according to the snapshot survey, while only half of liberal-arts colleges did. |
| Getting a bachelor's degree in prison is rare. That's about to change | |
| Behind the wire fences and guard towers, there's a classroom at the California Rehabilitation Center, a medium-security prison. A colorful mural -- of books, such as King Arthur and Tom Sawyer -- distinguishes the classroom building from the off-white buildings throughout the rest of the sprawling prison complex. Inside, about a dozen men in blue prison uniforms sit in old school desks -- the kind with the chairs attached. "Welcome, welcome!" bellows a voice from the large TV monitor near the far wall. It's the beginning of a political studies class about incarceration -- taught over Zoom by professor Nigel Boyle. "Other than people in prison or on parole, who are the other people affected by the carceral state?" In the very first row, with his hand up, is Daniel Duron, with his shaved head, black-rimmed glasses and arm tattoos. "People who have finished parole," he answers. "Many of them still can't do things like vote." Kenny Butler, a tall man in his late 40s, nods in agreement. He's kind of the de facto leader of the class. He's been in prison for more than a decade and he's known for his knowledge of the prison system, his former status in the Crips gang, and the thick, heavily used dictionary he carries with him most days. The incarcerated men in this room are painters and physics nerds, deep thinkers and fast readers. They come from five different gangs; they are white, Native American, Black and Latino. On this winter day in 2021, they are also college juniors and seniors who gather several times a week to take classes from Pitzer College, a small, elite liberal arts school of about 1,000 students located in Claremont, an hour away from the prison in Norco. |
| Here's How Title IX Could Change Under Biden's Proposed Rule | |
| The U.S. Education Department on Thursday released its proposed Title IX regulations, which would reverse many Trump-era policies and restore the pro-victim approach championed by the Obama administration. The changes would once again upend how colleges handle sexual-misconduct complaints. Experts who work with colleges say campus officials are exhausted by more than a decade of political Ping-Pong over Title IX, as the three most-recent presidential administrations have switched up rules and guidance, and colleges have rushed to comply. Shortly after taking office in 2021, President Biden issued an executive order directing Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to review the Trump administration's Title IX rule, issue new guidance, and consider regulatory changes. The move was expected, as Biden made awareness and prevention of campus sexual assault a priority when he was vice president. For the first time, the proposed regulations would formalize protections for sexual orientation and gender identity under Title IX. But the Education Department punted on the question of transgender students' participation in athletics, saying officials would propose a separate rule in the future. The Biden administration has interpreted Title IX as prohibiting discrimination based on these characteristics, but that interpretation hasn't previously been codified. In 2017, Trump's Education Department threw out an Obama-era directive that sought to protect transgender students' rights under Title IX. |
| Biden expands protections for sexual harassment, LGBTQ students | |
 | The Biden administration on Thursday proposed major changes to Title IX that would make it easier for victims of sexual harassment to report possible harm and expands protections to students based on sexual orientation and gender identity, reversing many of the current regulations created by former president Trump. The new rule expands the definition of sexual harassment that was narrowed by the Trump administration as well as throwing out requirements for in-person hearings and cross-examinations. "This is very much a step forward -- it has more robust provisions for both complainants and respondents and more specific responsibilities for institutions," said S. Daniel Carter, president of Safety Advisors for Educational Campuses. It is expected that the proposed rules will receive pushback from conservatives, who have long been concerned about the protections of accused students' due process rights in Title IX cases. Critics of former education secretary Betsy DeVos's iteration of the law say it went too far to protect the rights of respondents and had a chilling effect that deterred many from reporting due to the complex and lengthy hearing process. Legal battles over issues relating to transgender students, including pronoun and bathroom use and sports participation, are also expected. The department will be conducting a separate rule-making process focused on student athletics due to the ongoing legal battles over transgender students' involvement in athletics. |
| Education Department unveils Title IX rule boosting protections for transgender students | |
| Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Thursday unveiled his plan to codify safeguards for transgender students and overhaul the Trump-era version of the rule that mandates how schools must respond to sexual misconduct complaints. The proposal would ban "all forms of sex discrimination, including discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity." However, it is still unclear how the rule would apply to athletics, a key point of contention as several conservative states across the country have moved to ban transgender students from women's and girls' sports. "The department will engage in a separate rulemaking to address Title IX's application to athletics," the agency said in a fact sheet. "The department recognizes that standards for students participating in male and female athletic teams are evolving in real time," Cardona said on a press call Thursday morning. "So we decided to do a separate rulemaking on how schools may determine eligibility while upholding Title IX's nondiscrimination guarantee. While the department did not give any indication on when the rule on sports might be expected, Cardona said, "I firmly reject efforts to politicize these protections and sow division in our schools." Along with codifying protections for transgender students for the first time, the Education Department's proposal clarifies that schools must protect parenting and pregnant students and employees from discrimination. This means schools must have "reasonable modifications for students, reasonable break time for employees for lactation and lactation space for both students and employees." However, depending on the outcome of the midterms, the longer it takes the Education Department to finalize Cardona's Title IX rule and issue direction on transgender students' access to sports, the more time a potential GOP majority in Congress would have to use the Congressional Review Act. |
| U.S. universities fight Senate innovation bill targeting foreign gifts to faculty | |
| Attention all research faculty and staff: That birthday present from your uncle in France must be reported to the office of sponsored research. And, by the way, the details may become public. Senior research administrators at nearly 500 U.S. colleges and universities could find themselves writing such memos if Congress retains a requirement for reporting individual gifts from foreign sources that is included in a Senate version of a massive innovation bill now being negotiated by lawmakers. But higher education lobbyists, alarmed at the administrative burden and the chilling effect the provision might have on all international collaborations, are waging a last-minute fight to prevent that from happening. The Senate provision, which has gone almost unnoticed, would require universities to collect information on "any gifts received from a foreign source [by] faculty, professional staff, and others engaged in research." The information would go into a "searchable database" the institution must create and maintain; institutions that violate the rules would be subject to fines of up to $50,000. The provision applies to any U.S. institution receiving more than $5 million a year in federal research funding. The language, authored by Senator Richard Burr (R–NC), is aimed at preventing hostile foreign governments from stealing the fruits of U.S. taxpayer-funded research by enticing researchers with gifts. Burr and other lawmakers believe U.S. universities aren't sufficiently vigilant against the threat, which they say is especially acute from China. But a coalition of leading research universities is trying to get that language removed or significantly amended. "It is duplicative, unworkable ... and counterproductive to both our national research enterprise and to national security," Barbara Snyder, president of the 65-member Association of American Universities (AAU), wrote in a 15 June letter to key members of the conference committee negotiating the final bill. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State basketball's Iverson Molinar signs with Milwaukee Bucks | |
| Mississippi State basketball's Iverson Molinar wasn't selected in the 2022 NBA Draft, but his search for an undrafted free agent deal didn't last long. Molinar has agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic/Stadium. The MSU point guard finished third in the SEC with 17.5 points per game. He was one of the conference's premier rim attackers despite his 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame. Nearly 87% of his makes came from 2-point range, and he shot above a 50% clip from inside the arc. However, his flaws came from deep. Molinar made 27 3-pointers in 34 games last season, including just one make in his final nine. He shot a career-low 25.2% from beyond the arc. It was a disappointing and somewhat surprising development in Molinar's game after he shot 43.6% from deep the season before. Molinar improved his assists-to-turnover ratio from 1.05 to 1.52, but the latter is still not an eye-catching number. He finished outside the top 230 nationally in the category last season. The Bucks are coming off their sixth consecutive playoff appearance. They were eliminated in the second round against the Boston Celtics -- ending Milwaukee's run as defending champions. |
| College baseball intent on increasing Black players, coaches | |
| Anthony Holman is the highest-ranking NCAA official at the College World Series and the man in charge of the Division I baseball championship. Holman is Black, and when he watches the games, he doesn't see many people who look like him on the field or in the dugouts. "I pay attention to it for sure," he said, "and it's disappointing. To have eight teams and maybe have a dozen or so folks of color, I think that's something we should look to increase for sure." Baseball remains one of the least racially diverse college sports. There were fewer than two dozen Black players -- and no Black head coaches or assistant coaches -- among the eight teams that made it to the College World Series. Of the 279 Division I teams not from historically Black colleges and universities, only 4% of players, 1% of the head coaches and 1% of assistant coaches were Black in 2021, according to the most recent NCAA research. While coaching staffs have remained mostly white with rare exception, the number of Black players at non-HBCU Division I schools went from 236 in 2012 to 434 in 2021. "We have seen an uptick, and it's much needed," said Holman, NCAA managing director of championships and alliances. Including HBCU teams, there were 665 Black players last year compared with 505 in 2012. As recently as 2014, there also were more white players (255) than Black (221) at HBCUs. |
| Newman star QB Arch Manning has made his highly anticipated college commitment | |
 | Newman star quarterback Arch Manning announced Thursday morning via social media that he has committed to play football at Texas. Texas and Georgia had long been considered Manning's top two potential destinations. Alabama and Florida have also continued to recruit the grandson of New Orleans Saints and Ole Miss legend Archie Manning. Arch is the son of Cooper, the nephew of Eli and Peyton. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff have put plenty of effort into recruiting Manning, and it appears their work has paid off. Manning announced the decision on Twitter with a message that read: "Committed to the University of Texas. #HookEm." The understated way in which he made his decision public was fitting for a person whose Twitter bio reads simply, "High school student." The Newman star's commitment early in the summer is somewhat surprising, as he often hinted he was willing to take his time before making a decision. Newman tight end Will Randle recently committed to the Longhorns, clearly giving them a boost in the battle for Manning. Manning and Randle have been football teammates since they were in the sixth grade together. They visited Texas together last weekend. Randle made his decision Sunday. Manning is the No. 1-ranked player in the nation for the Class of 2023. |
| U. of Tennessee trustees to vote on new $288M budget for Neyland Stadium work | |
| Neyland Stadium's renovation budget to provide an "unparalleled experience" for Vol football fans would jump by $108 million under a recommendation up for approval by the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees. The trustees' finance committee agreed in a meeting Thursday to endorse boosting the initial Neyland renovation budget from $180 million to $288 million. The full board meets Friday to review and approve topics screened by various committees. Now a century old, Neyland is a symbol of the Vols' and UT's success and tradition as a football powerhouse. It's seen numerous additions and structural tweaks through the decades. In 2017, trustees signed off on spending $180 million for what were then significant first-phase renovations. Tennessee Athletics now wants to go bigger, according to a summary report submitted to trustees that alludes to "new strategic priorities." "Further justification for an increase in the project budget is directly attributed to annual inflationary increases in labor, materials and other construction costs -- particularly recognized over the last 12-18 months," the report states. Most of the project, which is also subject to state approval, would be paid through bonds with the balance coming from cash, department revenue and donations. Debt funding through bonds would amount to an estimated $233 million. |
| Title IX: NCAA report shows stark gap in funding for women | |
| The number of women competing at the highest level of college athletics continues to rise along with an increasing funding gap between men's and women's sports programs, according to an NCAA report examining the 50th anniversary of Title IX. The report, released Thursday morning and entitled "The State of Women in College Sports," found 47.1% of participation opportunities were for women across Division I in 2020 compared to 26.4% in 1982. Yet, amid that growth, men's programs received more than double that of women's programs in allocated resources in 2020 – and that gap was even more pronounced when looking at home of the most profitable revenue-generating sports: the Football Bowl Subdivision, the top tier within Division I that features the Alabamas, Ohio States and Southern Californias of the sports world. "It tells you schools are investing a huge amount of money in the moneymakers," NCAA managing director for the office of inclusion and lead report author Amy Wilson told The Associated Press, referring to football as the primary revenue-generating sport along with men's basketball. "It speaks to the business side of what college sports has become." The gender gap in funding approached nearly 3-to-1 ratios when examining expenditures for recruiting as well as compensation for head coaches and assistant coaches. And that gap isn't new, even with increased expenditures for women across all three divisions. |
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