| Wednesday, May 3, 2023 |
| 'May the 4th Be With You' telescope viewing moved to Wednesday, May 3 | |
 | Mississippi State's "May the 4th Be With You" "Star Wars"-themed telescope viewing of the Moon, Mars, Venus and other celestial bodies at Howell Observatory is now scheduled for Wednesday [May 3] due to expected cloudy weather on Thursday [May 4]. The event will be held 7:30-9:30 p.m. and is free to all. The observatory is located at the H.H. Leveck Animal Research Center, also known as South Farm. To reach the facility, take Blackjack Road to the intersection of Stone Boulevard, then turn south onto Hail State Boulevard and continue for 2 miles. Signs mark the route to the site. For more information, email Claire Geneser at csg261@msstate.edu. Additional information about MSU's Department of Physics and Astronomy is found at www.physics.msstate.edu. Follow @msstateastro on Twitter and @msstate_astronomyclub Instagram. |
| Mississippi State students from Amory reflect on tornado's devastation | |
 | MSU football player Jartavis "J.J." Jernighan's love for the sport extends back to his days playing on the Amory High School football field. But as of March 24, the field where Jernighan left his blood, sweat and tears -- a field surrounded by stands that used to be packed with hundreds of fans under the Friday night lights -- no longer resembles a football field at all. The goalposts no longer have poles. The former press box on the home-side bleachers is now inside the bleachers. Vending machines are toppled over and buried under the roof of the concession stand. Jernighan, like other MSU students from the Monroe County city, said he now holds on to memories. "It's just hard to believe that it happened," Jernighan said of the EF-3 tornado that swept through the city of around 6,470 people on that Friday night in March, leveling businesses and homes. Jernighan said a tree limb tore through his parents' bedroom and closet. His aunt and uncle lost their home. Davis Helton, a senior biochemistry major and 2022's Mr. MSU, was a former pitcher for the Amory Panthers baseball team. Not only did Helton spend six years playing on the field, but he spent much of his life attending games. Like the school's football field, the Amory High School baseball field Helton once knew sustained major damage. Weights from a workout bench were covered in debris. The scoreboard was bent at a 90-degree angle. Senior banners formerly strung along a wooden fence were buried in dirt and the stands' metal scraps. |
| Small businesses seek to avoid possible credit crunch as Federal Reserve prepares to raise rates once more | |
 | Mississippi State University's Brian Blank and a colleague write for The Conversation: Small businesses – the heartbeat of the U.S. economy -- are beginning to feel the pinch of tighter credit conditions as the Federal Reserve continues to increase borrowing costs. A flurry of headlines in recent weeks has suggested a credit crunch -- meaning the availability of lending gets scarcer -- is already happening. That's in large part brought on by the actions of the Federal Reserve, which has been raising borrowing costs for companies and consumers for over a year in an effort to tame inflation and is poised to raise rates by another quarter point on May 3, 2023. Concerns about the availability of credit have also risen as a result of a spate of bank failures, including that of First Republic on May 1. A decline in the availability of loans and other financing poses problems for all types of companies. But this can be particularly detrimental to small businesses, which have limited resources to sustain their growth and rely heavily on regional bank financing, currently the most stressed pocket of lending. |
| Propst Park could be prime location for kayak business | |
 | When Kevin Stafford was just a college student at Mississippi State University in the late 1990s, he spent summer afternoons tubing down the Luxapalila Creek from Propst Park with his friends. Now, a team of MSU students have put together a plan for the city that could bring the practice back in full swing. Ann Fava Peters told The Dispatch she and three other graduate students put together a feasibility study and business model a private business could use to start a kayaking business from Propst Park to Luxapalila Creek Park. It would involve building a parking lot and dock at Propst Park and gaining access to the now-closed Luxapalila Creek Park to pick up passengers upon completion of about four miles down creek. The team are graduate students in the master of business administration program who chose this as their capstone project. "The city asked for our help to figure out what it would look like to start a business here," Peters said. "We spent this semester doing research, talking to similar companies within a 500-mile radius, and we talked to 15 other companies and got to know how they operate and their business models." |
| Subdivision off Poor House could get city treatment | |
| Aldermen on Tuesday approved a developer's agreement for the Glen Creek subdivision, which is a 80-acre development south of the city located off Poor House Road. The legal contract would hold the subdivision outside of city limits to Starkville's infrastructure standards. It's the first of its kind the aldermen have approved, both Ward 4 Alderman Mike Brooks and City Attorney Berk Huskison said. It passed by a 6-1 margin, with Ward 7 Alderman Vaughn opposed. It now awaits approval from the developer, Glen Creek Subdivision Partners. Under the agreement, the developer would be required to submit all the materials it uses for sewer, water, and road infrastructure for city approval. The development would also have to follow the city's Unified Development Code, and infrastructure must undergo inspections by a third party, which will be submitted to the city. In exchange, the city would provide access to water and sewer services for residents in Glen Creek, as well as maintain those utility lines. The agreement only applies to the first phase of development for the Glen Creek subdivision, which includes 47 lots. Subsequent agreements must be reached as the development grows. Eventually, the development is intended to hold more than 200 houses. |
| New Mississippi license plate to roll out in January 2024 | |
| A new standard license plate has now been approved in Mississippi following a design contest that received over 400 submissions in November 2022. The winning submission, shown above, was designed by Leah Frances Eaton of Starkville, Mississippi, and was selected by the License Tag Commission consisting of the Governor, Commissioner of Revenue, State Treasurer, and Attorney General. The new Mississippi license plate will begin being issued starting with January 2024 renewals. "We had so many fantastic designs submitted that it was really tough to pick only one winner," said Governor Tate Reeves. "The clear talent and creativity of Mississippians was well on display. We are excited to announce the new design and hope that drivers can enjoy showcasing it on road trips both near and far." License plate designs in Mississippi are determined every five years. The current design with the brownish tint background has been widely unpopular since its inception. |
| New state license plate: Magnolia in, 'In God We Trust' out | |
 | Mississippi is getting a new standard license plate design starting in January, featuring the magnolia that's also on the state flag, Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday. The flower in a blue circle will replace the state seal with "In God We Trust" that's been on the plate since 2019. The phrase sparked a federal lawsuit in 2021 by nonreligious people who said the state was forcing them to have a religious message on their vehicles. The license plate makeover was not prompted by the lawsuit. Mississippi does a redesign about once every five years, partly to more easily identify drivers who fail to pay annual taxes. The license plate is also getting a new color scheme, with a white background instead of golden brown. The governor said people submitted more than 400 entries for a design contest, and a commission chose one by Leah Frances Eaton of Starkville. In March of this year, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves -- no relation to the governor -- dismissed the lawsuit that three nonreligious residents, American Atheists Inc. and the Mississippi Humanist Association filed to challenge "In God We Trust" on the current plate. Judge Reeves wrote that the beliefs of the Mississippi plaintiffs are "sincere and deeply rooted," but the U.S. Supreme Court "resolved a similar dilemma" in 1977 by ruling that people had a First Amendment right to cover "Live Free or Die" on the New Hampshire license plate. |
| March jobs report shows more signs of cooling labor market | |
| The Federal Reserve got one last piece of economic data Tuesday as it mulls another interest rate hike: the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for the month of March. And the JOLTS report brought yet another sign of a gradually cooling labor market. The number of job openings decreased for the third straight month, though it's still historically high. There are almost 9.6 million "help wanted" signs out there. Meanwhile, the number of people quitting their jobs ticked down just a bit, while layoffs were up slightly. So, what do those numbers mean for the Fed's goal of getting inflation under control? In a labor market with lots of job openings and not a lot of job seekers, employers have to raise pay. That's great for individual workers, but not always great for the economy at large, per Wendy Edelberg with the Brookings Institution. "If the only reason that they're paying higher wages is to entice people to take jobs, that's an input cost rising that they're going to have to pass along through higher prices," she said. Higher pay eventually means higher costs for the rest of us, and that's why you can't tame inflation without taming the red-hot pandemic job market, added Edelberg. And after lots of up-and-down jobs data, "job openings are just falling like a rock," she said. |
| Speaker Gunn says focusing on the family is key to success of the nation | |
| On Monday, Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn (R) spoke at a Stennis Capitol Press Luncheon about his time in the Legislature. He opened his remarks by referencing a poll conducted by Magnolia Tribune regarding the top priorities for Republican leadership in the state. "I was struck by the list because I hold myself out as a Republican and I subscribe to Republican policies and Republican views and was very encouraged I guess to see that the number one issue on the Republican list was protecting family values," said Speaker Gunn. Gunn recently authored an Op-Ed in which he discussed where he sees the country heading, highlighting his belief that protecting family values was of great importance. He focused on finding ways to support single moms as well as children in the foster care system or going through the process of adoption. "I think that is the foundation of our country and I think the future of our country hinges on how strong our family unit is," said Gunn. Gunn went on to add that there is an expectation that other institutions like schools, churches and public safety also support the family unit in the capacities that they serve in the community. He says he worries for the future of the United States if the family unit is destroyed, adding that the Mississippi Legislature has worked to protect those values, particularly in the 2023 session. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves kicks off campaign where it's mattered most: the Gulf Coast | |
| Republican Gov. Tate Reeves formally launched his reelection campaign Tuesday night just yards from the Gulf Coast shoreline, signifying the importance of the region to the state GOP and the political stranglehold the governor has on the area. Reeves told a crowd of supporters and state lawmakers gathered at the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center that he wanted to hold his first campaign event in Gulfport because of how strongly the region supported him during his first gubernatorial campaign. "We're here tonight because in 2019, y'all fought for us every single day of that campaign," Reeves, flanked by campaign signs and cheering supporters, told the crowd of about 75. "In 2019, I promised that I would spend every day fighting for the Mississippi Gulf Coast as governor, and that's exactly what I've done." The event setting chosen by Reeves, a metro Jackson native, underscores an important reality for the first-term governor: that the state's "bottom six" counties of George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River and Stone are his political firewall. "Four years ago, we learned early on the momentum that Tate was gaining down here," Todd Reeves, Tate's brother who spoke before Reeves took the stage, said at the Tuesday event. "As the results rolled in from the Coast on election night, it not only touched Tate and (First Lady) Elee (Reeves), but it meant a lot to our entire family." |
| U.S. Treasury grants awards for 4 projects to benefit Mississippi economy | |
| Four Mississippi RESTORE projects have been issued grant awards by the U.S. Department of Treasury. The projects -- which will support workforce development and infrastructure benefitting the economy in the Gulf Coast Region -- include the Hancock County Fairgrounds Revitalization, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, NOARC Commercial Proving Grounds for Space to Seafloor Environmental Monitoring, and the Hancock County Technology Park Economic Development Program. "These four projects represent critical investments into Mississippi's Gulf Coast," Governor Tate Reeves said. "I have been involved in our Restoration work since 2017 and love when we get to begin work on new projects aimed at restoring our Coast, improving our environment, and stimulating economic growth and development," Chris Wells, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), said. The projects were recommendations made to Reeves by the Governor's Gulf Coast Advisory Committee in continued response to recovery from the BP Oil Spill. |
| U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn files bipartisan bill to protect children on social media | |
 | U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is taking another swing at requiring social media companies to make an effort to keep child users safe online. Alongside U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Blackburn on Tuesday re-introduced the Kids Online Safety Act, which aims to require social media platforms to shield children from addictive algorithms and inappropriate content, create tools for parents to report abuse, and undergo annual audits. "It's become impossible to deny that our children are suffering at the hands of big tech," Blackburn told reporters on Tuesday morning. Blackburn, R-Tennessee, shared the stories of Grace McComas of Maryland, whose sexual abuser cyberstalked and bullied her until she ultimately ended her life in 2012 at the age of 15, and Carson Bride, a 16-year-old from Oregon, whose classmates harassed and tormented him anonymously using a Snapchat app until he committed suicide in 2020. "His last search on Carson's phone was for hacks to find out who it was that was doing this to him," Blackburn said. So far, more than quarter of U.S. Senate -- 26 members -- have signed on as original co-sponsors. "I have spoken with Senator Schumer on a number of occasions -- he is 100% behind this bill and efforts to protect kids online," Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, told reporters Tuesday morning. "I fully hope and expect that we'll have a vote this session." |
| Senate, for now, defers to Biden and McCarthy on debt talks | |
 | Senators are so far standing firm on letting Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden work out how to address the debt limit. Even after Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said Monday that the government may be unable to pay its bills on time as soon as June 1 -- several senators said that leaves enough time to find agreement and brushed off any need for a short-term patch. "I think the longer that debt limit sword of Damocles hangs over the country's economy and frightens investors and causes uncertainty with projects and investments, the worse off we are," Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said Congress and the White House were always going to go down to the wire with negotiations, regardless of the "x date" falling sooner than many expected. "At some point they have to make it to a deal," he said. "And a deal can come together very quickly once they decide that neither side gets an advantage by waiting or stalling any longer. Do I think it's going to happen anywhere in the next day or so? The answer is no. Will it be closer to the deadline so that each side can say that they worked as hard as they could? Yes." |
| Parents' Rights Emerge as Issue in GOP Presidential Primary | |
 | Republican presidential hopefuls seeking to exploit disputes over the rights of parents are finding fertile ground in this suburban area where a debate over gender identity has triggered division in the state that starts the 2024 nomination process. The Linn-Mar Community School District became a rallying point for conservatives last year after the school board approved rules giving students in grade seven or higher the ability to request a "gender support plan" that called for teachers and peers to address them by a new name and with new pronouns without parental notification. It also allowed students to use locker rooms and bathrooms corresponding to their preferred gender identity. The school district said at the time it was simply making official practices it had been informally following for years to avoid discrimination complaints. A recently passed state law repealed at least portions of the policy, including the use of bathrooms. "What we saw was a major uprising from parents who said don't enact this policy, and they did it anyway," said U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican who represents the area and has two sons enrolled in the district. "This is an issue that every candidate should be talking about because Iowans want to know where they stand." As declared and prospective presidential candidates visit Iowa, they are doing just that in efforts to woo the social conservatives who dominate the state's Republican caucuses. |
| Supreme Court Justice Stevens' private papers open to public | |
| Newly opened records that belonged to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens give the public a behind-the-scenes glimpse at his decades on the court, including the tense struggle over the 2000 presidential election and major cases on affirmative action and abortion. Documents that became available Tuesday show the justices' strong, personal reactions as they considered Bush v. Gore, with conservatives complaining about the tone of their liberal colleagues' writings. They also show Stevens crowing about the court's 2003 decision upholding affirmative action, which he termed a "great victory." The current, more conservative court in contrast seems likely to do away with that very decision by early summer. As a group, the papers reflect a different time on the court, which was more moderate and less divided in the years before Stevens retired in 2010. Today, the court has six conservatives and three liberals. Just last year conservatives won major victories on issues including gun rights and abortion, overturning Roe v. Wade in a momentous decision that gave states the ability to ban abortion after nearly 50 years. |
| How Mississippi University for Women is preparing nurses for the field | |
 | They are there to take care of you when you need it the most. Recent reporting from Reuters says around the nation, almost a third of nurses are considering leaving the profession. WCBI talked with faculty and students in health sciences to learn how they are preparing their nurses to stay in the field. Morgan Hodum is a senior in the BSN program at The W. She is looking forward to crossing the stage Friday and becoming a registered nurse. "I'm super excited. Two years actually went by a lot faster than I thought they would," said Hodum. Hodum knows the first time she steps on the floor as an RN all duties will be on her. She said during her time in the nursing program she has been able to get over a hundred hours of field experience to prepare her for the real world. "We have a preceptorship that lasts a month and it's about 157 hours and during that preceptorship, we work whenever they work. So if they work 12-hour shifts just on the weekends then that's when we go in. It really helps us navigate what nurses do," said Hodum. |
| Child molestation incident reported on campus | |
 | On April 11, the University Police Department reported an instance of child molestation at Insight Park on the public crime log. As of May 1, the crime log still says "report to follow;" however, the report has yet to be made public. Under the Clery Act, all publicly funded colleges and universities are required to report campus crime data, including crimes related to fondling. When asked to provide any information about the incident, University Police Chief Daniel Sanford provided a statement via University of Mississippi Public Relations. "Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, we cannot share any information at this time, other than that the alleged incident does not involve any university employees or students," Sanford said. Insight Park is a research park dedicated to businesses who plan to utilize university research as well as the population to grow their business ventures. Insight Park Director William Nicholas directed any questions about the matter to UMPR. |
| Southern Miss cadets invited to competitive AFROTC field training | |
 | Five sophomore cadets from the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Detachment 432 at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) were selected to attend the 13-day Field Training this summer at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. The national program is highly competitive. Selection is based on a national-level order of merit calculated using a cadet's CGPA, Air Force Officer Qualification Test score, physical fitness assessment score and commander's ranking. The cadets who will be attending field training include Joy Adair of Aberdeen (Miss.), Natalya Brownlee of Sidon (Miss.), Jessica Crenshaw of Creola (Ala.), Charles Dahl of Ocean Springs (Miss.) and Jeremy Jones of Canton (Miss.). At field training, these cadets will be expected to demonstrate what they have learned over the previous two years in a high-stress and physically demanding environment. Brownlee, who is pursuing a health sciences (health care studies) major with double minors in aerospace studies and public health policy and administration, said she joined the program to be a flight nurse in the military. "I found out that I was accepted into field training at the same time as I received my nursing school acceptance here at USM," said Brownlee. "This is exciting, as I aspire to be a flight nurse in the military. I have been in this program for two years, and this precise moment shows me that hard work does pay off. |
| History and civics scores drop for U.S. eighth-graders on national test | |
 | Scores in U.S. history and civics for eighth-graders are down across the U.S., according to recent results from the assessment known as the "Nation's Report Card." This year's history scores are the lowest recorded since the assessment began in 1994, and the new data mark the first-ever drop in civics. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement that the results, from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, further underscore the "profound impact the pandemic had on student learning." The results follow recent national declines in reading and math among students in grades four and eight. NAEP assesses history and civics proficiency for eighth grade students in a nationally representative sampling given every four years. The results released today, from exams taken by students in 2022, mark the first to include the pandemic years. The history test assesses students in different categories, including democracy, culture, technology and world role of the U.S. This year, there were declines in all those subject areas. Kerry Sautner, the chief learning officer at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, said she has been bracing for these results since the reading and math results came out in the fall: "When we saw the reading scores drop, it kind of felt like, 'well, that's a little prelude to what you're going to see in civics and history.' " She notes that the teaching of civics and history are heavily based on reading comprehension, and if that foundation isn't solid, it's hard to build up. |
| Gulf Shores police: Fewer spring break arrests due to alcohol ban | |
 | Thanks to the now 7-year-old ban on alcohol on Gulf Shores beaches, police there say the beaches are returning to a more family-friendly environment during spring break. "We have definitely seen a significant drop in the number of spring breakers who come here to Gulf Shores," said Gulf Shores Deputy Chief Dan Netemeyer, "and a rise in the number of families who come here, which was the purpose (of the alcohol ban) in the beginning." The Gulf Shores city council passed an ordinance in 2016 which allows the council to enact the ban, setting the specific dates each year to coincide with spring break. "It's been very effective," Netemeyer said. "We've noticed every year since the ban was put in place the beach remains a family atmosphere, as it was intended in the first place. We heavily enforce it, while giving officers discretion in how they handle those incidents." Netemeyer noted alcohol is never allowed in the area of public beach known as Gulf Place, but the 2016 ordinance allows the area of the ban to extend to other areas of the beach. The apparent success of the alcohol ban has not meant an end to spring break incidents -- and arrests. Orange Beach, meanwhile, where police issued a warning prior to spring break that Orange Beach was "not a party town," there were 183 arrests specifically linked to spring break. |
| A legend in her teens: 16-year-old Tuscaloosa native earns U. of Alabama degree | |
 | At just 16 years old, LeAnna Roberts will graduate from the University of Alabama this weekend. Roberts will graduate summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in biology on Saturday at Coleman Coliseum. Although she's younger than her classmates, Roberts said her peers and professors at UA have made her feel right at home and she is more than ready to walk across the stage. "I'm super-excited, it has not really sunk in yet, but I'm very excited. My family of course, they're all super-proud of me and will be coming to support," Roberts said. The Tuscaloosa native and Central High School graduate is already working on her post-graduation plans, which include more education. Roberts is now taking graduate-level courses at UA with a concentration in health care. She plans to graduate with an master of business administration degree through the STEM Path to MBA program in May 2024. Next up on the agenda is medical school, Roberts said. As for her career plans, Roberts said she hopes to make a positive impact on the medical field and focus on health care disparities in rural communities. Roberts was able to finish high school early and through dual enrollment, which allows students to take college classes while they're still in high school, she graduated from Central High School and Shelton State on the same day. |
| New Internship Program Aims to Make Graduates Love Alabama | |
| Some of the most influential organizations in the Tuscaloosa area are launching a new internship program to keep talent local after they graduate from area schools. The new program, called Fuel Tuscaloosa, is part of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama's talent retention and attraction program Fuel Alabama. Tuscaloosa will become one of nine Alabama communities participating in the program, which will offer interns professional development opportunities, chances for charitable service and social events, all aimed at making participants fall in love with the area. The cities of Tuscaloosa and Northport, the Tuscaloosa County Economic Development Authority, Visit Tuscaloosa and the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama announced Tuesday that they will form a coalition and all participate in this new concept. Area leaders have long wondered how to keep more graduates from the University of Alabama, Stillman College and Shelton State in the area after they earn their degrees. The FuelAL program will seek to convince more of them to stay. Interns participating in the new program will get a local's perspective on what makes Tuscaloosa such an attractive place to live and experience the area outside of their university or college bubbles. |
| As some Republicans target diversity programs, Louisiana college leaders, faculty push back | |
 | Higher education leaders and faculty members are pushing back against the Louisiana Republican Party's call for lawmakers to get rid of campus diversity departments and to restrict how racism is studied, warning it would damage the state's colleges and universities and make it harder for them to compete with institutions nationally. The resolution, passed by voice vote at a state party meeting last month, asks the Legislature to pass laws removing "diversity, equity and inclusion" departments in all institutions of higher learning within the state. It calls DEI departments a "threat to academic freedom" and says administrators should "maintain institutional neutrality on controversial political questions extraneous to the business of educating students." But many higher education leaders and professors say such a law would undermine their universities' missions and potentially run afoul of national standards. DEI departments are typically task forces of diverse staff members with a stated goal of bringing about ethical or cultural changes to improve the student and faculty experience at those institutions. The state GOP attacked the concept as "divisive," specifically targeting the DEI departments for the LSU and University of Louisiana systems. University of Louisiana System president Jim Henderson dismissed the state's GOP resolution in a statement, calling it "boilerplate rhetoric." |
| U. of Arkansas design center opens Saturday | |
| The new Studio and Design Center, which will have its grand opening this weekend, is a "rare" jewel among arts buildings at the nation's colleges and universities, said Christopher Schulte, assistant director of the School of Art at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. "I've been at other universities, and this is a different game," said Schulte, an endowed associate professor of art education. It's "a significant upgrade" from the School of Art's former facilities, and "what is now possible from a teaching and research perspective" is remarkable. For example, the university introduced a Master of Design this year. "We couldn't have done that without this building," said Marty Maxwell Lane, director of the School of Art. "We had nowhere to put" those students. The center is part of the new Windgate Art and Design District on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a couple of miles from the main UA-Fayetteville campus. It's also another piece to the thriving arts atmosphere in Northwest Arkansas, which includes not only UA-Fayetteville's artistic culture, but the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville; The Momentary, a contemporary art space in Bentonville; and myriad galleries throughout the region. |
| MFLL becomes Department of World Languages and Cultures, introduces Korean | |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville's Modern Foreign Languages and Literature department has undergone a few changes. For starters, the department will be rebranded as "World Languages and Cultures." This decision was made, in part, due to increasingly negative connotations surrounding the word "foreign." "As a department, we decided that the expression 'Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures' does not adequately convey the scope of our mission and curriculum," Luis Cano, department head and professor of Spanish, said. "The term 'foreign' is becoming increasingly problematic, suggesting a division of the world into the United States and everyone else." Cano explained that the adjective "modern" has often been associated with European languages and is a negative influence to perception of other languages. In addition to the name change, the program will undergo an array of other changes as it continues to grow and evolve. In August, the interdisciplinary Asian Studies program will move to WLC. Additionally, the department will begin offering introductory Korean language and culture courses. Another new feature will be an increased focus on translation. Graduate students will be able to pursue a translation certification starting in fall 2023, and the undergraduate curriculum will place a greater emphasis on practical translation. |
| Texas A&M student dies in New Orleans after falling from balcony | |
 | Andrew Thomas Henges, a 19-year-old Texas A&M University student from Beaumont, died early Saturday after falling to his death from a balcony, according to reports by NOLA.com. Members of the Texas A&M Delta Tau Delta fraternity have identified Henges, who fell to his death from a Central Business District balcony. According to the NOLA reports, Henges was leaning over a balcony railing in the 600 block of Loyola Avenue when he accidentally fell to the ground, New Orleans police said. Emergency Medical Services pronounced him dead on the scene. Henges was a freshman studying biological sciences at Texas A&M, according to public records. Members of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity wrote in an Instagram post: "His passing is and will always be unbelievably tragic, but the impact he had on the men of this fraternity and everyone he knew outside of it is far from that. Andrew was soft-spoken but carried a heart of gold -- one that deeply cared for others. He was known to be humble, selfless, loving, strong, and proud. This fraternity is terribly saddened by the death of our brother, Andrew, but we are forever thankful for the wonderful memories that he left for us all." |
| Tuition costs could increase for non-resident, graduate students in U. of Texas system | |
| The University of Texas System Board of Regents will discuss and possibly take action on increasing tuition for non-resident and graduate students, and non-academic mandatory fees during its May meeting on Wednesday. UT Chancellor James Milliken made the recommendation to the board to increase the tuition costs by no more than 5.2% by the start of the 2023-2024 academic year. Chancellor Milliken used the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) data compiled by Commonfund, an asset management firm, to make his recommendation. The HEPI is a tool used to calculate inflation for colleges and universities. It takes into account eight components that make up the operating costs for schools. Those include faculty salaries (35%), clerical (18%), fringe benefits (13%), administration salaries (11%), service employees (8%), utilities (7%), supplies and materials (6%), and miscellaneous services (2%). This year, Commonfund reported the HEPI rose 5.2% from last year, which is the biggest increase since 2001 when it rose by 6%, according to background information on the Board of Regents' meeting agenda. According to school data, the University of Texas at Austin has 2,123 undergraduate non-resident students and 9,399 graduate students. |
| College DEI Bans Are Showing Up in Republicans' State Budgets. Not Everyone Is on Board. | |
 | Each spring, Missouri's legislature goes through the familiar ritual of passing a new state budget. This year, Republican lawmakers have mostly wrangled over just one thing related to higher ed: a ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion spending by public colleges and other state institutions. The Missouri House wants to bar funding for DEI. The Missouri Senate does not. Both houses are controlled by Republicans. The House approved a budget amendment in March that would prohibit funding for "staffing, vendors, consultants, or programs" associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion. But similar language was unsuccessful in the Senate, after hours of debate that lasted until 3 a.m. The Senate proposal would have prohibited funding "for intradepartmental 'diversity, equity, inclusion,'" as well as for "'diversity, inclusion, belonging'" training, programs, staffing, and hiring. But key Senate Republicans said a DEI ban could have unintended consequences. Legislatures in 20 states have proposed bills this year that seek to curtail diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts on college campuses, according to The Chronicle's DEI Legislation Tracker. Simultaneously, some lawmakers have tried a different tactic: leveraging the budgeting process to enact DEI bans. A representative from the University of Missouri's Board of Curators declined to comment on pending legislation. |
| Three Finalists Named in USU Presidential Search | |
| After an extensive national search, the Utah State University Presidential Search Committee has recommended three finalists to the Utah Board of Higher Education for the position of President: Rodney D. Bennett, Elizabeth "Betsy" R. Cantwell and Kenneth "Ken" L. White. Rodney D. Bennett, Ed.D., served nearly ten years as president of The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), a comprehensive public research institution with more than 14,000 students on campuses in South Mississippi and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. His appointment made history as the first African American president of a predominantly white higher education institution in Mississippi. Bennett established the vision for The University of Southern Mississippi to become the model for public higher education across the country, with six key institutional priorities: ensuring student success; expanding enrollment strategies; enhancing academic instruction; fostering a greater focus on research; bolstering economic and community partnerships; and maximizing human potential. Under his leadership, USM achieved R1 status; reached significant fundraising milestones; and invested in new faculty positions, diversity and inclusion initiatives, student success programming, and nearly $300 million in capital improvements. The finalists will be on USU’s Logan campus on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, to meet with groups representing faculty, staff, students, trustees, statewide campuses, Extension and administration. |
| West Virginia University to slash budget with enrollment falling | |
 | At his semiannual State of the University address in March, West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee gave a blunt assessment to a crowd of faculty, administrators, students and staff: WVU is too big -- and its student body shrinking too fast -- to operate sustainably. With enrollment rates eroding and costs skyrocketing, the university had to shed weight, he said. Programs and positions that served the most students effectively would be prioritized; the rest were up in the air. "When we put our students first, it brings everything into context," Gee said in the address. "It crystallizes our priorities. And it shines a light on those things that may no longer be relevant." WVU leaders last month zeroed in on just how deep the cuts needed to be: $75 million would have to be trimmed from the budget to account for a projected 5,000 student enrollment decline over the next decade. In an email to Inside Higher Ed, Gee said that while it is "too early to say" which programs or positions will be cut, "some things will need to change." "Moving forward, we are evaluating everything -- from our operations to our academic programs to our services," Gee wrote. "We are repositioning ourselves today so that we can be a responsive, relevant university system of the future." |
| Top Colleges for High-Paying Jobs in Engineering | |
| Engineers who attended Harvard as undergraduates earn significantly more per year than graduates of other schools, according to a new ranking of colleges by Burning Glass, a nonprofit that researches employment trends. The average annual engineering salary of Harvard graduates over their first 10 years in the field is $130,119. That's a premium of nearly $40,000 a year over the median graduate's average annual salary of $90,174. Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology are No. 2 and No. 3 on the private-school list. The University of California, Berkeley is No. 1 on the list of public schools, with graduates in the engineering field earning a premium of $20,339, or $110,513 in total annual salary, averaged over those first 10 years. It's followed by the University of California, Santa Cruz and the U.S. Naval Academy in second and third place. The rankings analyze the salary impact of undergraduate schools on graduates who go into a given field, such as finance, accounting and law, in addition to engineering. This "school effect" is irrespective of which major the graduates chose and whether they pursued postgraduate certifications or graduate studies, says Matt Sigelman, president of Burning Glass. |
| Three brutal stabbings spark fears of serial killer in Davis | |
 | A third stabbing in less than a week prompted an hours-long shelter-in-place order for the sprawling UC Davis campus and large swaths of downtown Davis early Tuesday as authorities conducted a yard-to-yard search for the assailant. They came up empty, and by late morning, as FBI agents arrived to assist with the investigation, Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel was warning residents of this bike-loving city of 68,000 to avoid going out at night or walking or biking alone until the perpetrator is caught. The spate of seemingly random and brutal attacks has left two men dead and one woman in critical condition, sending a chill through this normally low-key college town just west of Sacramento. Until last week, Davis had not had a reported homicide since 2019, according to local officials. The suspect, based on witness descriptions and the nature of the attacks, was behaving in a manner that was "particularly brazen," the chief noted, "and that obviously causes us significant concern." Monday's attack -- the third stabbing in five days --- was the most brazen yet, as described by police. Josh Lopez, 22, a UC Davis senior majoring in engineering, said he has moved numerous study groups that usually meet in person in the evenings to online forums, because no one wants to be out at night. He hasn't told his parents about the recent events, he said, because "I don't want them to start freaking out." |
| Trump vows to go after 'radical Left' colleges, echoing DeSantis approach | |
 | Former President Donald Trump is calling for a drastic expansion of the federal government's oversight of colleges and universities, vowing to "reclaim" campuses that he asserts are "dominated by Marxist Maniacs and lunatics." In a video released by his campaign on Tuesday, Trump outlined a plan to reshape higher education if he returns to the White House, echoing some of the policies that his possible Republican primary rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis, has pursued in Florida. "The time has come to reclaim our once great educational institutions from the radical Left, and we will do that," Trump said. "Our secret weapon will be the college accreditation system." Trump said he would "fire" the existing accrediting organizations that oversee colleges and universities and replace them with new accreditors who would impose a range of new standards on colleges. Under the plan, colleges would be required to remove all administrators involved in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, whom Trump decried as "Marxist" bureaucrats. In addition, the plan suggests that colleges would be required to ensure that their curriculum defends "the American tradition and Western civilization," though it does not provide additional details on what precisely that would entail. |
| Nearly half of college dropouts would 'very likely' reenroll if given student debt relief: poll | |
 | Forty-seven percent of people who did not finish their postsecondary degree say they would "very likely" go back to school if they got some student debt relief. The State of Higher Education 2023 report released early Wednesday morning by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found 31 percent of all students who left school with debt would "somewhat likely" go back, while 22 percent say they are "not very likely" or "not likely at all" to return to higher education. The poll comes as student borrowers are set to find out soon if they will receive the up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness President Biden proposed last year. Biden's plan could receive a ruling any day now from the conservative-leaning Supreme Court. On average, students in the survey who did not finish their degree said they would need 70 percent of their loans forgiven in order to reenroll in school. For a person to get 70 percent of their student debts forgiven under Biden's plan, they would need to have around $29,000 in student loans or less, provided they qualified for the maximum amount of forgiveness. |
| For a Good Job by 30, Do This in Your 20s | |
| Skepticism about the value of college is growing, but earning a four-year degree by your mid-20s is the surest route to a good job by age 30. That is a key takeaway from a new analysis by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce that aims to identify the paths that bring people to good jobs. The findings are important as companies, individuals and families are trying to better understand how college degrees affect career outcomes. Georgetown researchers examined government data for more than 8,000 Americans born in the early 1980s from adolescence through age 30. They identified 38 decision points that could influence workers' ability to land what they deemed a good job by age 30 -- one that pays the minimum for economic self-sufficiency, a median annual salary of $57,000. Pursuing a bachelor's degree made more of a difference than any other decision that researchers analyzed. "The main road to a good job is still to go get the BA," said Anthony Carnevale, who directs the Georgetown center. The researchers focused on people who didn't go directly from high school to college, because the cohort that graduated college in their early 20s had a high rate of good job outcomes. |
| Higher ed can help more young adults get good jobs by age 30, report finds | |
| If all eligible workers entered a bachelor's degree program by the age of 22, roughly 765,000 more young adults would hold good jobs by age 30, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Georgetown researchers developed a policy simulation model that identified turning points in young adults' lives that can elevate them to good jobs. Several of those focus on educational attainment, like starting a certificate or associate's degree by age 22 or earning a bachelor's degree by age 26 after previously working toward a certificate or associate degree. Other turning points center on workforce development, such as specializing in career and technical education in high school and working a blue-collar job at age 22. "Our research clearly indicates that the bachelor's degree is still the most traveled pathway to a good job. But through this work, we also find there are alternative pathways to good jobs through career and technical education (CTE) and work experience," Anthony Carnevale, director of CEW and lead author on the report, said in a statement. The report defines a good job as one earning a minimum of about $38,000 per year for workers under age 45. Combining the interventions, Carnevale said, can strengthen their efficacy. For example, if eligible students not only entered a bachelor's program by age 22 but went on to finish their degrees, 1.2 million additional adults would hold good jobs by age 30. That's up from 765,000 if the students had only enrolled. |
| Legislature should stop scheming to thwart partial vetoes | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: Section 73 of Mississippi's constitution gives the Governor power to veto parts of appropriations bills -- "The Governor may veto parts of any appropriation bill, and approve parts of the same, and the portions approved shall be law." The Legislature over the years has worked to thwart the Governor's partial veto power. When carefully crafted language in appropriation bills could not be parsed into distinct sections, the state Supreme Court would overrule partial vetoes. That changed somewhat in 2020 when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gov. Tate Reeves' partial vetoes of specific line items in H.B. 1782. In that bill, the Legislature appropriated COVID related funds to four state agencies. However, within the appropriations to each agency, the Legislature detailed line item amounts for specific purposes, e.g., $4,000 for each licensed assisted living facility up to a total of $452,000. The court ruled "The monies were appropriated to multiple, distinct, and separate entities, thus they were multiple separate appropriations" and subject to partial vetoes. So, the Legislature came up with a new scheme in 2022. |
| Even in death, opinions vary on the enigmatic former MDOT bureaucrat 'Butch' Brown | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: Larry "Butch" Brown -- for a decade in the early 2000s the intractable executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) -- died April 25 at his Natchez home. He was 79. Brown courageously battled cancer three times, yet still more than earned his three score and ten. On the way, Brown made loyal friends and bitter enemies. In his second re-election campaign in Natchez, Brown adopted the rather prescient slogan: "I may not be perfect, but I get things done." That, he did. A successful young businessman in Natchez, Brown's first significant foray into public service was as one of the organizers and later a commissioner of the Mississippi-Louisiana Bridge Compact -- which brought a new four-lane bridge to the Miss-Lou. From that springboard, Brown in 1992 sought and won election as mayor of Natchez. He was re-elected in 1996 and won a third term in 2012. Brown's generally acknowledged "bull in a china shop" management style came into focus, but locals in Natchez still re-elected him and praised his service. ... Yet it was in his role as the bureaucrat in charge of MDOT that Brown's statewide reputation grew on both sides of the public opinion aisle. |
SPORTS
| MSU Athletics Continues To Produce Record-Breaking Numbers in NCAA's Academic Progress Rate | |
| Mississippi State Athletics achieved classroom success in all 16 of its varsity sports again in the Academic Progress Rate (APR), announced Tuesday by the NCAA. Once again, MSU exceeded the benchmark APR multi-year rate of 930 in all its intercollegiate sport programs. All programs surpassed the benchmark by at least 41 points. The Bulldogs averaged a rate of 989.4, above the national four-year rate of 984. The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success by tracking eligibility and progress toward graduation of each student-athlete on scholarship. The current report contains multi-year rates based on the four years from the 2018-19 academic year through the 2021-22 academic year. Football registered a program record multi-year rate of 985, which tied for the fourth best among SEC football programs and bettered the sport's national average by 23 points. It marked the ninth straight year that the program recorded a 970 or better. Soccer earned the second highest multi-year rate among State's varsity sports with a program-best 996, which bested the national average by seven points and was the fifth highest in SEC women's soccer. It was the program's fourth straight year producing a 985 or better. |
| Bulldogs Set To Host Starkville Regional | |
| For the fifth time in program history, Mississippi State will be the host site for the opening rounds of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships. The 15th-overall seeded Bulldogs will be the top seed in the Starkville Regional and take on fourth-seeded Alabama State on Friday not before 2 p.m. "It feels pretty good to be able to host," said junior Nemanja Malesevic. "It's also good for the community to be able to host. It was kind of our goal from the beginning of the year to make the top 16 and host NCAAs at home. I'm super glad we got a chance to show our crowd how we play." No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee will open the regional earlier on Friday against No. 3 seed Tulane starting at 11 a.m. The final of the Starkville Regional is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. MSU is making its 12th consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships and 31st overall. The Bulldogs have reached the Round of 16 in two of their last three trips to the postseason and participated in the Cambridge Regional last spring. Mississippi State is 19-7 overall on the year and has posted a 15-1 record at home. The Bulldogs have defeated four top 20 opponents in 2023, including the highest-ranked win in program history when they knocked off then No. 2 South Carolina 5-2 at home on March 19. |
| 12-team CFP schedule includes New Year's Day tripleheaders | |
| The College Football Playoff released on Tuesday a schedule for the 12-team format that will be used in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, which will feature New Year's Day quarterfinal tripleheaders but no games played on Saturday. CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock said last week after the board of managers had met in Dallas that the calendar had been decided upon. The final piece was placing games and sites on the dates. For the 2024 season, the first-round games played at campus sites are slated to start with one Friday, Dec. 20. Three more games will be played on campuses on Saturday, Dec. 21. The quarterfinals are scheduled to be held at bowl sites on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The Fiesta Bowl will be played on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 31. The Peach, Rose and Sugar bowls will host quarterfinal games on Wednesday, Jan. 1, played in that order. The semifinals are set for Thursday night, Jan. 9, 2025, at the Orange Bowl and Friday, Jan. 10 at the Cotton Bowl. The championship game is scheduled for Jan. 20 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. This upcoming season will be the last in which the CFP uses a four-team format. |
| Van Horn on Carter: 'It's not good' | |
| Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn did not have a promising update on injured right-handed pitcher Dylan Carter following the Razorbacks' 8-6 loss to Lipscomb in 11 innings Tuesday. "It's not good," Van Horn said. "That's all I'm going to leave it at. It's not good." Van Horn said Monday that Carter would undergo a second MRI that would include dye. "The first MRI came back negative, which means no tear," Van Horn said Monday at Swatter's Club. "What we're going to do...is another MRI [Monday] with the dye. They put dye in your arm and if there is any kind of tear, it's going to find it...so we'll know 100% for sure on him." Carter, a redshirt sophomore from Bentonville West, is one of multiple front-line Arkansas pitchers with injuries this year. Right-hander Jaxon Wiggins tore his ulnar collateral ligament and underwent Tommy John surgery in February, and right-hander Koty Frank underwent surgery to repair a torn lat muscle that he suffered during a game against Wright State on March 5. Carter began to develop soreness in his elbow following a 38-pitch outing at Georgia on April 20. In his next outing, last Thursday against Texas A&M, Carter left the game after throwing 24 pitches and complained again of soreness. "He's been sore and he's sore again," Van Horn said after the Texas A&M outing. "That's probably not a good sign." |
| Why Auburn AD John Cohen hasn't made up his mind on SEC football schedule decision | |
| With Texas and Oklahoma set to make their Southeastern Conference debuts in 2024, the conference's power brokers must soon make a decision regarding the football schedule: Will its members play one another eight or nine times per season? The current format features eight conference games. If the status quo remains, each school would likely have one permanent rival and seven rotating opponents. If a switch to nine games happens, those programs would likely be tasked with having three permanent rivals and six rotating opponents each year. Auburn athletic director John Cohen doesn't have a straight opinion, yet, on which one he prefers. "There's so many factors that I can't explain at this point in time," Cohen said at an AMBUSH event in Huntsville on Thursday. "There's a part of me that thinks if it ain't broke, don't fix it. There's a little bit of that going on right now. But also, that ninth game is extremely important for a variety of reasons. There's a worth connected to it, and that has been defined in many different ways." The debate dates back to last year's SEC spring meeting in Destin, Florida. Conference presidents, athletic directors and coaches, along with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, will again descend on the Florida Panhandle later this month to hash things out. And they won't be able to push the decision off for much longer. |
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