| Thursday, May 25, 2023 |
| AI, genetics, other advanced computing at MSU to be enhanced by $45M expansion | |
 | "I call it the 'Giant Calculator,' and that's an oversimplification, because it's a tool that helps any kind of research," Mike Navicky said Wednesday of Mississippi State University's supercomputing center. "We can do research in geonomics, we can do research in computational geodynamics. ... At the end of the day though, you're not computing just to compute. You're computing more than likely to make someone's life better." Navicky, director of MSU's High Performance Computing Collaboratory, said the group of seven independent computing centers that make up the Collaboratory already tackle advanced tasks such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology and cyber security. A new facility is set to enhance those abilities further. The university broke ground on a new High Performance Computing Data Center on Tuesday. The center is designed to be 35,000 square feet and total construction costs are estimated to be $45 million. It will be located in the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park next to the current High Performance Computing Center at 2 Research Blvd. "Today marks an important step for the future of our university and our state as we build the kind of facility that can keep us at the forefront of high performance computing for years to come," MSU President Mark Keenum said in a press release. In the release, Keenum said the center has received support from the Mississippi Legislature, as well as federal agencies like the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. |
| Scientists uncover health benefits of melatonin supplement for cattle | |
 | Those needing extra sleep often reach for the bottle of melatonin, but Mississippi State scientists are discovering a host of other proven and potential health benefits for cattle who receive the supplement. MSU faculty and students in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station are making intriguing discoveries about the functions of melatonin in the bovine body and how this hormone can help support cattle health. MSU Associate Professor Caleb Lemley has an extensive history of studying the use of melatonin as a supplement in cattle. He has been studying how the hormone affects blood flow between dam and fetus during gestation for nearly a decade. "Over the years, we've looked at melatonin's antioxidant benefits, which help alleviate oxidative stress in the animals and have implications on their cardiovascular health," said Lemley. "Summer heat is a major stressor for cattle, and in our research here at Mississippi State, we've found that melatonin can potentially be used to control the animal's body temperature," added Postdoctoral Associate Zully Contreras-Correa. "At night, when melatonin levels are highest, body temperature is lowest. Our recent research showed that melatonin supplementation during summertime reduced body temperature in pregnant cattle, so we hope to research it further in other livestock species." |
| Communication is key for trauma after exposure to tragedy | |
| Going to violent and tragic scenes where death is probable is part of the job for first responders. Firefighters, law enforcement and paramedics train for seeing humanity at its worst and at its most vulnerable. Though they are stoic and professional at the scenes, it's when they go home that the experiences can hit them hardest. "It's not when they're on scene that the issues will start to evolve. It's the following day when the family has gone to work, when they're off and there's silence in the house," Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard said. "That's when what they've seen and what they're exposed to, the accumulation of things, starts to add up." When a small or close-knit community goes through a tragedy such as the public suicide that occurred Sunday, it impacts many beyond the family of the deceased. Images circulated on social media, then later were deleted, of the man found dead behind a billboard on Highway 45 in Columbus, and traffic was rerouted for more than two hours while the scene was processed. Authorities believe the man hanged himself. Michael Nadorff, associate professor and director for the clinical doctoral program at the Mississippi State University Department of Psychology, said he believes people can develop post-traumatic stress disorder from experiencing a scene like that firsthand, or even viewing it through photographs and videos. No matter the scope or intensity of the impact, the best way to move forward is to talk about it. |
| Starkville businesses making changes to keep business afloat | |
 | Starkville businesses are having to make changes to operate efficiently with thousands of college students being away for the summer. Chef Micah Graves told us that local eatery Bin 612 had to cut down on labor hours. He says those employees who would normally work full time hours will now work part time hours. "It cuts a lot of the business down, I mean thousands of people in the in the city and the numbers go real down, but it also opens it up in a couple different ways," says Two Brother manager Joshua Haight. Haight says that Two Brothers is able to use the extra time in the summer to make revocations, repairs, and improve their menu selections. Starkville mayor Lynn Spruill says she hopes that the new Cornerstone Park development will be bring in more revenue to help make up for the students being gone. |
| Goings on with Grant: Umble Coffee opening June 2 in Starkville | |
| Well, folks, I've said it once, and I'll say it again. Nothing beats a fresh cup of coffee and a shop to drink it in. Though, if you visit this upcoming business, you'll learn just how the beans are roasted while you sip from the fruits of their labor. Umble Coffee Co., named after the way your grandmother might have said, "He's so humble," is opening at 216 Industrial Park Road, near the Oktibbeha County Safe Room, hopefully on June 2, owner Kenneth Thomas said. Thomas told me he started Umble Coffee Co. in 2017 as an online business with a roasting facility for top-notch coffee beans. Now, he wants to expand those operations while bringing in area residents to enjoy the coffee and even learn how it's made at every step. "We have doubled our production volume every year since 2017. It just keeps going up," Thomas said. "We wanted to have a coffee shop front to be able to showcase our coffee. But also it's really important for us to be a place where the community can gather, because for Umble, we're not here if we're not people focused." Thomas said in 2022, the business outgrew its former facilities on Highway 389. So he decided to move to an industrially zoned property and open up a coffee shop option to go along with the new location. Once all is said and done, Thomas plans to add on weekend tours of the roasting operations and tasting, as well as add a walking trail to the area just behind the building for patrons to enjoy and relax. |
| Starkville police post reminder to register golf carts before riding out | |
 | You can ride your golf cart around the city of Starkville but police are reminding you to have it registered first. A valid driver's license and insurance are required for your cart or low-speed vehicle. You may drive these vehicles on public roads and streets within the city but not on MDOT highways which include Highway 12, Highway 182, Highway 82, and Highway 389/Jackson Street north of Highway 182. You can get your permit applications at the Starkville City Clerk's office or go to cityofstarkville.org |
| New assistant superintendent hired in SOCSD | |
| Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District will soon have a new assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Vernita Wilson was hired by the board in May to take over the position as of July 1 with an annual salary of $132,500. Wilson is replacing current deputy superintendent Christy Maulding, who is retiring at the end of June. Maulding's retirement was accepted by the board in April. Wilson is coming to SOCSD with more than 17 years of experience in education and educational sales. She has most recently served as the manager of Mississippi sales for Bailey Education Group, which offers coaching and professional development services to school districts. Wilson received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Alcorn State University, and she has a specialist degree and doctorate from Delta State University. In addition to her work with Bailey Education Group, Wilson has worked in administration and the classroom in Jackson Public School District and as a Spanish and English teacher in Vicksburg-Warren and Hinds County school districts. She has experience as an adjunct instructor at ASU, as an English II educational consultant for the Kirkland Group and an item writer for educational assessments, according to an SOCSD press release. Superintendent Tony McGee said he is excited for Wilson to join the district for the 2023-24 school year. |
| Local alcohol distributer sees drop in sales after controversial ad | |
 | With sales plummeting, local distributors of Anheuser-Bush products are feeling the pressure. Mitchell Distributing supplies local businesses in Mississippi and says these products make up roughly 64% of alcohol sales across the entire state. Since the recent controversy, Mitchell Distributing says sales are nowhere near what they used to be. "Bud Light is about 22% of every beer sold in the state of Mississippi, so the decline in sales has been something that we felt, and it's hurt, and we understand that people have been upset by what Anheuser Bush did. And the thing we want to make clear to everybody is it wasn't a commercial, it wasn't a marketing campaign and it wasn't Anheuser-Busch in totality that decided to do this," said President Adam Mitchell. Local distributors are not the only people that are having issues with Bud Light sales, but one bar in downtown Meridian says they're down nearly 85% than what they normally are. Local distributors are not the only people that are having issues with Bud Light sales, but one bar in downtown Meridian says they're down nearly 85% than what they normally are. "A couple of weeks after the controversy came out that people stopped ordering Bud Light and in any significant quantity for running 5 to 5 1/2 week period, we sold the case of it. That's 24 bottles in over a month. We're averaging maybe a bottle a day, and right now, it's running about 10%. Of someone or the other brands are actually selling," said Brickhaus Brewtique Owner Bill Arlinghaus. |
| Latest development in Mississippi's gubernatorial race | |
| There is still more than five months before you could see Tate Reeves and Brandon Presley's names appear on the same ballot in the governor's race. But, the campaigns and chatter surrounding them are already heating up. A comment by Stacey Abrams on MSNBC this week is sparking reactions from both sides. She was asked, "Which Southern state do you think is ripest for the sort of transformation you helped accomplish in Georgia?" She said, "I think we have an exciting set of elections with Brandon Presley running against a very weakened Tate Reeves." Republican strategist Henry Barbour made this note. "The country is going in the wrong direction," said Barbour. "Stacey Abrams would have Georgia going in the wrong direction had she won, but she didn't. And I just don't think anybody Mississippi cares what a losing two-time loser in Georgia thinks about Mississippi, particularly one who's a big liberal." SPLC Action Fund and New Southern Majority IE PAC's Brandon Jones gives a differing perspective. "Republicans know what the rest of us know... this is a close race," said Jones. "And Stacey Abrams has been working across the country for voting rights. She's actually a native of Mississippi from Gulfport, Mississippi. So we're not talking about some out-of-state person who doesn't understand southern politics." Meanwhile, Tate Reeves announced a major TV ad buy for $1.3 million. His campaign pointed out that the amount matches Brandon Presley's current cash on hand. "It's really significant because you get a one-sided ballgame where one side's able to tell their story," said Barbour referring to the ad buy. |
| High-Tech Farm Startups Are Laid Low by Financing Drought, Pests | |
 | Startups that promised to make farming a high-tech business are withering, suffering from rising costs, tight financing, pests and other problems that have troubled traditional agriculture for centuries. Investors poured billions of dollars into companies such as AppHarvest and Local Bounti that grow lettuce, tomatoes and other crops in indoor farms that use advanced technology such as sensors and robots to offset weather-related risks, use less water and produce more consistent crops. Shares of the two companies are down more than 95% since they went public in 2021, and in recent months at least four companies in the sector have shut down or filed for bankruptcy. Funding has all but dried up. The industry raised a record $895 million in last year's first quarter. So far in the current quarter, the figure is about $10 million, according to data provider AgFunder. "Their business model was selling a vegetable, but they somehow described themselves as a technology company," said Paul Sellew, chief executive of Little Leaf Farms, a Massachusetts startup that grows lettuce using high-tech greenhouses. The struggles of the indoor-agriculture companies mark the latest faltering efforts by entrepreneurs to use technology to upend established industries. WeWork said it was a technology company, not a landlord. That didn't work. Carvana said it would use technology to reinvent the used-car market. Its shares are down more than 95% from their peak. Katerra was going to reinvent construction. It went bankrupt in 2021. |
| 'We're right at the beginning of the hard part' of taming inflation, Atlanta Fed CEO says | |
| Federal Reserve officials remain committed to bringing inflation back down to its 2% target, but the hard part might still be around the corner. While inflation did ease a bit in April, at 4.9% year over year, it remains well above where the Fed wants it to be. That, coupled with the risk of a U.S. default should Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling, means the months ahead could be rocky for the central bank. Raphael Bostic, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, is one of those central bankers. And while this year he's not a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed body that sets interest rate policy, Bostic nonetheless attends all of the committee's meetings, including its latest session, when the committee voted to raise interest rates for the 10th consecutive time. Bostic spoke with "Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal about the issues facing the Fed right now. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation. |
| Look who's talking: Biden goes quiet in debt-limit talks, while McCarthy can't stop chatting | |
 | There was Kevin McCarthy, saying the White House was refusing to give on spending as the speaker returned to the Capitol one morning this week. Just a few short hours later, there was McCarthy again, this time telling reporters that the sole concession that Republicans were making to the White House on the debt limit was in fact, raising the debt limit. As representatives from the White House and the GOP-controlled House race toward a deal that would pave the way for lawmakers to lift the debt limit, one side has been eager to speak publicly about the closed-door talks -- trying to shape public perceptions of the negotiations. It's not the side that typically wields the bully pulpit. President Joe Biden has made a deliberate decision to go quiet as his team gets down to the wire in the debt-limit talks, according to White House officials. It's his deeply held view that speaking in public about negotiations does nothing to produce an outcome. The already voluble McCarthy, by contrast, is especially chatty these days, as he aggressively tries to set the terms of the public debate. His own negotiators also engage at length with journalists on the debt-limit talks. "We have to get an agreement that's worthy of the American people," the speaker told a small clutch of reporters outside the House chamber late Wednesday afternoon, which -- by his aides' count --- was at least his 12th gaggle or news conference with reporters this week alone. |
| Democrats seek unlikely debt ceiling savior: Mitch McConnell | |
 | With time running short and the danger of a national default growing, Democrats are hoping an unlikely savior will come to the rescue: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.). Democratic lawmakers say McConnell and other Senate Republicans are fooling themselves if they think Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is in a position to reach a debt ceiling deal with President Biden. They believe McCarthy is under tremendous pressure not to agree to any deal Democrats would accept because the House rules allow for one disappointed conservative to offer a motion to vacate the Speaker's chair. "Senate Republicans are putting their heads in the sand if they think that the extremists in their party will have a change of heart," said Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, to reporters earlier this month. "If Kevin McCarthy is forced to choose between holding power in his Speakership or taking us closer to default, we know he's going to choose default. The American people know that as well. House Republicans are on a path toward default. The question before us is will Senate Republicans take the wheel?" he said. Philip Wallach, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said McConnell has remained in the background in deference to the new GOP Speaker. But that could change, he added, if an agreement remains elusive and the threat of default creeps closer. |
| A debt deal appears to be getting close | |
 | With seven days until the earliest possible federal default, a debt deal appears to be getting closer: Multiple people close to the talks told POLITICO that Republicans and the White House are closing the gap on spending levels -- a critical part of negotiations. Republicans are eager to show real progress before members hit the road on Thursday for Memorial Day weekend, even if negotiators remain short of a deal. Despite the movement, one person briefed on the negotiations the two sides are still tens of billions of dollars apart. To be clear: No one is working on the full, final legislative text right now. At this point, there is only speculation about how it could all unfold if a deal comes together. Here's how the next several days are expected to play out: After Thursday morning's votes, the House will recess for the (extra) long weekend. Leadership has promised that members will get 24 hours notice before they need to be back in Washington for votes. (Expect that to coincide with the 72-hour period for reviewing the legislation that McCarthy has promised.) A Monday vote is most likely off the table. But some Republican aides are floating the possibility of a Tuesday night vote if they can get text in time. They would wait until after markets close to avoid any floor drama sending markets into a tizzy. More on negotiation details and potential scheduling are expected once members are gone for the weekend. By waiting for their colleagues to clear out, leaders and negotiators hope to avoid fighting words from the rank-and-file going viral and tanking the ongoing talks. |
| Inside Wall Street's Playbook to Prevent Debt-Ceiling Chaos | |
| Wall Street is breaking out its doomsday playbook for how to survive a U.S. default. The industry's primary goal: keep the financial markets functioning. Many fear everything from computer glitches to cascading panic if the U.S. misses payments on Treasurys, which are a bedrock of trading and usually considered almost as safe as cash. Under Wall Street's plan, though, investors would be able to keep trading all U.S. Treasurys, even those with past-due interest or principal payments. Chaos and confusion would be kept at bay through a series of conference calls, each with an agenda already organized by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association trade group. Leading Sifma's effort is Robert Toomey, a former lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission and New York Fed. He told a conference last week that market participants had been surprised when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at the start of the month that the government could run short of cash to pay its bills as soon as June 1 if Congress doesn't raise the U.S. debt ceiling by then. That was earlier than many analysts expected, jarring an industry that has labored to develop a plan for a default since the debt-ceiling fight of 2011 rattled markets. Now firms across Wall Street are actively planning to mitigate the damage. |
| DeSantis Plans Campaign Tour After Digital Rollout Misfires | |
 | After his digital kickoff went haywire on Twitter on Wednesday night, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is going analog next week for a more traditional rollout of his presidential campaign. Mr. DeSantis will make stops in the three early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina from May 30 to June 2. The four-day swing through 12 cities and towns is being billed as the first leg of his "Great American Comeback Tour." Mr. DeSantis will start with his first in-person event of the campaign in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday. He will remain in Iowa on Wednesday, before traveling to New Hampshire on Thursday and South Carolina on Friday. Campaigning in a presidential primary is, especially early on, usually a grip-and-grin affair. Mr. DeSantis's decision to declare his candidacy on a livestream Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk, the platform's billionaire owner, came with the possibility of spectacular failure --- which seemed to take place, at least for the first 25 minutes, when the event was plagued by technical glitches, causing dead air and an intermittently hot mic. Mr. DeSantis's return to a more traditional form of electioneering will still be closely watched. He has had some awkward moments on the trail so far while meeting voters, leading to mockery from the front-runner for the Republican Party's nomination, former President Donald J. Trump. Mr. DeSantis is expected to need a victory in Iowa and a close second-place finish in New Hampshire, at least, to show that he can challenge Mr. Trump. |
| Capitol rioter who put feet on Nancy Pelosi's desk is sentenced to over 4 years | |
| An Arkansas man who propped his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office in a widely circulated photo from the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison. Richard "Bigo" Barnett became one of the faces of the Jan. 6 riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, and U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said in announcing that sentence that Barnett seemed at times to enjoy the notoriety. "All the folks who follow 'Bigo' need to know the actions of Jan. 6 cannot be repeated without some serious repercussions," Cooper said, alluding to the media attention and social media following Barnett attracted after the riot. The 54-month sentence for Barnett, a retired firefighter from Gravette, Arkansas, comes after he was convicted at trial on eight counts, including felony charges of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding, in this case a Jan. 6, 2021, session of Congress to certify Joe Biden's victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. The photos of Barnett lounging at a desk in Pelosi's office made him one of the most memorable figures from the riot. Barnett, 63, testified he was "going with the flow" and struck a pose after news photographers told him to "act natural." More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. Just over 500 of them have been sentenced. More than half have received prison terms ranging from a week to over 14 years. |
| Prigozhin says war in Ukraine has backfired and warns of Russian revolution | |
 | Fresh off his claim of victory in capturing the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Russian mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin warned that Moscow's brutal war could plunge Russia into turmoil similar to the 1917 revolution unless its detached, wealthy elites become more directly committed to the conflict. In a lengthy interview with Konstantin Dolgov, a political operative and pro-war blogger, Prigozhin, the founder and leader of the Wagner mercenary group, also asserted that the war has backfired spectacularly by failing to "demilitarize" Ukraine, one of President Vladimir Putin's stated aims of the invasion. He also called for totalitarian policies. "We are in a situation where we can simply lose Russia," Prigozhin said, using an expletive to hammer his point. "We must introduce martial law. We unfortunately ... must announce new waves of mobilization; we must put everyone who is capable to work on increasing the production of ammunition," he said. "Russia needs to live like North Korea for a few years, so to say, close the borders ... and work hard." Citing public anger at the lavish lifestyles of Russia's rich and powerful, Prigozhin warned that their homes could be stormed by people with "pitchforks." He singled out Ksenia Shoigu, the daughter of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was spotted vacationing in Dubai with her fiancé, Alexei Stolyarov, a fitness blogger. |
| China Hack Is Latest Challenge for West's Diplomatic Reset With Beijing | |
| The U.S. and its closest allies said Chinese hackers are targeting critical infrastructure using a novel method that is difficult to detect, sounding an alarm that could be a hurdle to recent efforts to improve ties between Beijing and the West. Cybersecurity agencies in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand -- an intelligence-sharing group of countries known as the Five Eyes---said a Chinese state-sponsored actor is employing a tactic known as "living off the land," which involves using built-in network administration tools to gain access to systems. The activity blends in with normal Windows system activities, allowing the actor to evade detection. The campaign is impacting communications, manufacturing, transportation, maritime and other sectors in parts of the U.S. and Guam, the American territory that hosts major military installations in the Pacific, according to a blog post from Microsoft, publisher of the Windows operating system. The tech giant said the Chinese actor, known as Volt Typhoon, is pursuing capabilities that could disrupt communication infrastructure between the U.S. and Asia in a future crisis. China has consistently denied carrying out cyberattacks and has accused the U.S. of being the biggest culprit of such efforts. Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China's foreign ministry, on Thursday said the U.S. is spreading false information. |
| Legislative committee reviews UMMC clinic's for gender care and sexual health services | |
| The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) opened the TEAM Clinic in September of 2019. TEAM serves as the clinical arm of the UMMC Center for Gender and Sexual Minority Health. TEAM operates every first Friday of the month for a half day. It is by appointment only. The clinic offers primary care, "gender-affirmative" medicine, HIV/STD screening and treatment as well as behavioral health services and surgical referrals for adults. It is modeled after the Fenway Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. The institute was designed to address barriers encountered by the LGBTQ community when accessing healthcare. In the most recent Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, or PEER report, the committee reviewed clinic practices. The PEER Committee is composed of seven members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House and seven members of the Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. The PEER report concluded that because the clinic only has limited operations and treats a small portion of individuals, UMMC could consider integrating services provided by TEAM Clinic back into the regular care setting. In the UMMC response to the report, Vice Chancellor Louanne Woodward thanked PEER for their professionalism in the review. "UMMC concurs with the overview of TEAM Clinic operations provided in the brief. We will continue to operate in compliance with applicable law and regulation while working toward our goal to create a Healthier Mississippi," wrote Woodward. |
| JSU featured in Amazon Prime's 'The College Tour' series | |
| Coach Prime may be gone, but Amazon Prime is shining a national light on Jackson State University through its focus on American colleges. The Amazon Prime series "The College Tour" is giving the world a look at life on JSU's campus told through the students who chose to attend the Mississippi university. "With the help of the JSU's bioengineering community and the Honors College I know that I'll be ready for any bumps or blockades that come with my path," said JSU student Kourtney Smith in a clip from the episode. Nine students and one alumnus, Mississippi Chief Medical Officer Dr. Justin Turner, are featured in the 30-minute episode. "They're giving you history," said Dr. Josiah Sampson III. "They're giving you experiences." The university's enrollment management vice president said Amazon reached out to the university in November, wanting to include them in their eighth season. "The takeaway for this episode is to really increase awareness nationwide, worldwide about Jackson State University," said Sampson. "The excellent academic programs that we offer and the great student experiences that our students have while they matriculate here." According to school officials, Jackson State is one of the first HBCUs to be featured in the series. |
| IHL hires national firm for Jackson State president search | |
| The Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees has once again selected Academic Search, an executive headhunting firm, to help it find the next president of a public university in Mississippi. This time, the board has hired Academic Search to help trustees pick a permanent replacement for Thomas Hudson at Jackson State University. The decision was made at the board's meeting last week. The contract has not been finalized, but an IHL spokesperson said Academic Search would be paid $115,000. Hudson resigned in mid-March after the board placed him on administrative leave with pay, making him the third permanent president in a row to step down from Jackson State. Unlike his predecessors, it is still not known why Hudson resigned from the top job at Mississippi's largest historically Black university. Elayne Hayes-Anthony has been filling the post in the interim. Hayes-Anthony has been over Jackson State's Department of Journalism and Media Studies. In March, Hayes-Anthony told reporters that she was interested in becoming Jackson State's permanent president and would apply for the position. At on-campus listening sessions held by the board last month, only one community member mentioned they'd like to see Hayes-Anthony permanently take the job. But it was resoundingly clear that community members wanted IHL to conduct a national search. |
| IHL selects Academic Search to help find next Jackson State President | |
| On Wednesday, the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) selected Academic Search to assist in the national search for the next president of Jackson State University (JSU). Since their inception, Academic Search has completed "more than 2,200 executive searches, including more than 685 presidential, vice presidential, and dean searches over the past five years." According to Academic Search, 59% of their searches over the last five years have originated from existing or former partner institutions who re-engage their organization after an initial successful experience. Trustee Dr. Steven Cunningham, Board Search Committee Chair, said the Academic Search team brings a deep understanding of the higher education landscape and extensive experience in recruiting executive leadership to this national search. "We look forward to working with them on the national search for the 13th President of Jackson State University," Dr. Cunningham stated. IHL Commissioner Dr. Alfred Rankins Jr. spoke with Magnolia Tribune last month. He said he understands how important the success of JSU is to the Jackson community. "With strong alumni and community support and a location in the Capital City, Jackson State has enormous potential," Dr. Rankins said. "I would advise the next president to fully engage the JSU community in helping the university flourish." |
| Batesville's Concourse gets $3.5M boost | |
| Northwest Mississippi Community College's Concourse Workforce Training Center in Batesville hosted Mississippi's Gov. Tate Reeves May 17. Reeves and other state officials presented a $3.5 million check to fund the expansion of educational resources at the Concourse for technical job training that will help produce a more employable and educated workforce for Mississippi for years to come. Funding was provided through AccelerateMS, the state's first-ever workforce development office formed in 2021 and tasked with developing and deploying workforce strategies to connect individuals with transformative, high-paying careers. Reeves and other state officials toured the facility and talked with Northwest instructors about what students are learning in the classroom. Reeves had the chance to meet some of these current students and see the progress that Northwest is making. "It's about laying the foundation and building the infrastructure for what we know is going to be continued movement into this community and continued movement into north Mississippi," Reeves said. |
| How presidential ambitions shape state education policy | |
 | Following months of speculation, a book tour and multiple visits to early-voting primary states, it's official: Florida governor Ron DeSantis is seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024. DeSantis formally filed his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday before he announced his White House bid on Twitter in a video that focused on border security and crime and took a swipe at President Joe Biden. "Righting the ship requires restoring sanity to our society, normalcy to our communities and integrity to our institutions," DeSantis said in the roughly minute-long announcement. "Truth must be our foundation, and common sense can no longer be an uncommon virtue. In Florida, we proved that it can be done. We chose facts over fear, education over indoctrination, law and order over rioting and disorder." Now that he's officially a Republican presidential candidate, DeSantis intends to export the Florida blueprint for higher education -- and more -- by taking his brand national. The long-anticipated presidential campaign announcement came on the same day that the American Association of University Professors released a report accusing DeSantis of "politically, racially and ideologically motivated attacks on public higher education in Florida." |
| Trustees committee approves 23-24 tuition and fee increases for U. of Arkansas System schools | |
| The Academic and Student Affairs Committee of the University of Arkansas System board of trustees approved 2023-24 tuition and fees proposed by UA System institutions Wednesday. The full board of trustees will have a chance to approve the rates today. "It's been a very challenging year," as inflation has "eaten into [our] purchasing power," said UA System President Donald Bobbitt. While he had hoped the state Legislature might contribute more funds to the state's colleges and universities to attenuate the financial burden on students -- as happened in some other states -- that did not occur in Arkansas, Bobbitt said. Inflation is also "degrading" the personal budgets of the system's employees, so Bobbitt said he encouraged chancellors to reward staff with raises. "Our greatest cost is personnel," and institutions can't let salaries fall too far behind the private sector, lest employees leave colleges and universities for other opportunities, he said. Institutions derive much of their revenue from tuition and fees, and -- when adjusted for inflation -- the system's schools actually have less money at their disposal per student than five or 10 years ago, which is "remarkable." It's important to remember most students pay less than the "sticker price" due to scholarships and grants, among other forms of assistance, and even with this year's tuition increases, higher education in Arkansas remains "a bargain" compared with other states in the region and nation, Bobbitt said. He added that the Higher Education Price Index rose 5.2% for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022. |
| U. of Tennessee signs new master lease for student housing | |
 | University of Tennessee at Knoxville will rent out an entire under-construction apartment complex to house students this fall, and the lease will continue for years to come. Administrators have been forced to find off-campus solutions to meet the demand as enrollment grows. Additional residence halls are in the works, but construction on three new buildings will take years. The lease will begin for the 2023-2024 academic year for Lakemoor Station Apartments near Alcoa Highway just north of I.C. King Park, according to a news release from UT. The lease begins Aug. 1 and ends July 31, 2028, according to a resolution approved by the Tennessee State School Bond Authority. Students will have the option of staying in one-, two- or three-bedroom fully furnished apartments. The complex will open 84 apartments accommodating 168 students this fall with plans to add 156 units for 348 more students by spring 2024. It will be staffed with a hall director, assistant hall director and resident hall staff. The university will pay $1,490 per apartment each month for the first year. The rent increases to $2,060 in the second year, and it will increase again to $2,150 for the last three years of the lease. The total cost over five years is $28.8 million. |
| Texas tenure, anti-DEI bills near passage -- or death | |
| Texas bills that would affect tenure and ban an expansive definition of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and policies at public institutions are on the brink of passage. But they are also running out of time. The legislature adjourns Monday, and any bills not passed to the governor by then die -- unless resurrected later in a special legislative session. This past Monday, the Texas House of Representatives passed an amended version of Senate Bill 17, the anti-DEI legislation, back to the Senate in an 83-to-62 vote. The noes were all Democrats, according to The Texas Tribune's Elected Officials Directory. The next day, by about the same margin and almost the same breakdown, the House passed back to the Senate a much-amended version of Senate Bill 18. The Senate's version would've ended tenure in public colleges and universities going forward, while the House version alters but preserves it. But as of Wednesday afternoon, the Senate hadn't decided whether to accept the House's changes to either bill. If the Senate rejects the changes, back-and-forth negotiations between the chambers will have to take place to save the bills before the session's end. Republicans lead both chambers, but it's unclear what versions of bills they will agree on---or if they will agree at all. |
| Higher education fled this American small town. It left a ghost town. | |
 | When West Virginia University took the local campus out of Montgomery five years ago, it took more from the rural town than just a college. Suddenly, 1,500 students were gone. More than 100 staff and faculty moved out. The bar and the car dealership closed. The grocery store, too. And it was only going to get worse, locals knew. "I see the future of Montgomery going way downhill. Being a ghost town," Chad Vickers, the former manager of Not Frank's Pizza, told a Charleston news station at the time. "There's going to be hundreds of people out of jobs, myself included probably." He was right. The pizza place used to sit near the campus, and now it's gone. All this time later, West Virginia's decision to move WVU Tech is important not just for what it took away but also for the distrust it fueled with its departure. The residents of Montgomery feel abandoned by the state's powerful flagship university, which also has become the state's largest healthcare provider and employer. The move threatened the town's livelihood, the city's mayor, Greg Ingram, said, and reinforced the feeling that rural places like Montgomery were constantly being stripped of their resources -- and their dignity. "WVU swings a big political club in West Virginia. They get whatever they want," said Ingram, the mayor. "The administration, it's cold. That's a land grant institution. They should not be destroying communities. But they did." |
| College enrollment continues to slide as more students question the value of a four-year degree | |
| Three years after the Covid pandemic, there are more than 1 million fewer students enrolled in college. "Overall, undergraduate enrollment is still well below pre-pandemic levels, especially among degree-seeking students," said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Only community colleges notched enrollment gains in the current semester, while enrollments in bachelor's degree programs fell, according to the Research Center's new report. As students look for a more direct link to the workforce, there's a shift "toward shorter term programs," Shapiro said. Concerns over rising costs and large student loan balances are causing more young adults to reconsider their plans after high school, a separate report by Junior Achievement and Citizens also found. More than 75% of high schoolers now say that a two-year or technical certification is enough, and only 41% believe they must have a four-year degree to get a good job. "Teens are really starting to question the value of the four-year degree," said Ed Grocholski, chief marketing officer at Junior Achievement. For decades, research found that earning a degree is almost always worthwhile. Bachelor's degree holders generally earn 75% more than those with just a high school diploma, according to "The College Payoff," a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce -- and the higher the level of educational attainment, the larger the payoff. |
| Over half of adults say the financial benefits of attending college outweigh its costs | |
| Just over half of adults who attended college said the lifetime financial benefits of their higher education outweigh the costs, according to an annual survey on U.S. financial well-being from the Federal Reserve. Around one-fifth of adults suggested higher education wasn't worth the costs, while the remainder said the associated benefits and the expenses were about the same. These assessments depended on several factors, including where adults attended college, whether they completed their programs and whether they have outstanding student loans. Some surveys indicate U.S. residents are increasingly questioning whether college is worth the cost. But the Fed's findings haven't changed much over the years, according to the report. Still, the report provides insight into the factors that lead adults to say college paid off for them. Generally, satisfaction rose with the degree attained. More than two-thirds of respondents who finished a bachelor's degree, 68%, said college was financially worthwhile, compared to 42% of adults with an associate's degree. Just 30% of adults who attended college without earning a degree said the costs were worth it. Adults aged 45 and older also tended to consider their education was valuable enough to warrant the cost. That trend may reflect that older adults have had more time to see their college attendance pay off in earnings. But it could also be due to younger adults grappling with the rising use of student loans and increasing costs of higher education, according to the report. |
| State Support for Higher Ed Continues to Rise. Yet Public Colleges Still Face Headwinds. | |
 | While enrollment is down at the nation's public colleges, state funding for higher ed is up -- and students have been footing less of the bill for their education over the last four years. State and local support for higher ed increased nearly 5 percent in the 2022 fiscal year, according to the latest State Higher Education Finance report, published on Thursday by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. States allocated more money for higher education both in the form of financial aid, which increased 2 percent, and general public operations, which increased 7 percent. (The report adjusted those proportions for inflation.) The SHEF report, released annually since 2003, is a data set detailing state and local funding for both two- and four-year higher-education institutions, as well as tuition revenue and enrollment. The association measures state support and net tuition revenue per student by considering enrollment on the basis of full-time-equivalent students, or FTE. The growth in higher-ed funding since the pandemic-related economic downturn of 2020 bucks a historical trend, according to the report. Recessions traditionally lead to lower state support for public higher education, which prompts colleges to raise tuition and other costs for students. Robert Kelchen, a professor in the department of educational leadership and policy studies at University of Tennessee at Knoxville who studies higher-education finance with a focus on state funding, said the report is significant because states and colleges often use it as a barometer with which to compare one another. |
| Senior Education Department officials grilled at House hearing | |
| Picking up where they left off at last week's hearing with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Republicans on the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee pressed senior department officials for firm answers and commitments on responding to requests for documents and details and on other issues. Wednesday's hearing was the second in a series examining the implications of the Biden administration's policies on the student loan system. This time, Under Secretary James Kvaal and Federal Student Aid chief operating officer Richard Cordray testified. Both men defended the administration's student loan policies and shared some details about efforts to restart loan payments and to modernize the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. House Republicans generally used their time to continue to air their grievances with the administration's policies, including the proposed gainful-employment regulations, which several committee members said unfairly targeted for-profit colleges. Democrats used their time to criticize the Republicans' criticism of the policies and to highlight how the policies support borrowers at risk of defaulting on their loans. |
| In play to GOP base, House votes to block student loan relief | |
 | House Republicans on Wednesday approved legislation to block President Joe Biden's student loan relief program, deploying a political strategy that pits working-class voters against young people with college degrees who are increasingly voting Democratic. Wednesday's action marks the first time Biden's loan plan has come up for a standalone vote in Congress, although language to block loan forgiveness was incorporated into the GOP debt ceiling bill that passed the House last month. Republicans said the president's proposal would add billions to the federal debt while doing nothing to address the rising cost of college. They also argued Biden's plan is inherently unfair to those who already paid off their loans or did not attend college. "There's no such thing as forgiveness,'' said Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. "The Biden administration is simply transferring debt from borrowers who willingly took out student loans to hard-working taxpayers who did not." If the legal status of the debt relief proposal remains unknown, its political implications are becoming clearer. For Republicans, the House debate offered an opportunity to solidify support among working-class voters without college degrees, a growing segment of the party's base. Over the past 20 years, Americans with a college degree have become more likely to vote Democratic and education has replaced income as one of the most important predictors of partisan preference, said Dean Lacy, a professor of government at Dartmouth College. |
| House passes measure overturning Biden's student debt forgiveness program | |
| House Republicans passed a resolution on Wednesday that overturns President Biden's student debt relief plan that would give up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness to borrowers. In a 218-203 vote, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) succeeded in his measure to terminate the pandemic-era student loan payment pause and cancel the potential relief for 40 million borrowers. The Biden proposal, which is also currently at the mercy of the conservative-leaning Supreme Court, is estimated to cost around $400 billion. Two Democrats, Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), joined Republicans in supporting the move. The measure against the program, which the White House has threatened to veto, was brought under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to suspend executive actions taken by the president. This move was only recently put on the table after the Government Accountability Office said Biden's plan was subject to the act. While a victory for Republicans, it would be an uphill battle to get this measure through the Senate. Democrats hold the majority in the upper chamber, but centrists such as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have previously criticized Biden's student debt relief. If it did get passed, the Congressional Budget Office recently said it would reduce the deficit by around $320 billion over ten years. |
SPORTS
| Three Tickets Punched To National Championships on Opening Night of East Regionals | |
| It was a successful first day at the NCAA East Regionals for Mississippi State as three Bulldogs punched their tickets for the national championships in a few weeks. Joining Peyton Bair, who earned his spot at the SEC Championship, at the National Championship in Austin, Texas, will be Tyriq Horsford and Rémi Rougetet in the javelin and Cameron Crump in the long jump. On his first throw of the day, Horsford threw the javelin 71.25m (233'9"). The throw would be good enough at the end of the event to finish ninth and lock in his spot in the championship in Texas. He will be making his third appearance at the outdoor championship in the javelin. Rougetet will make his first career appearance in the outdoor championships after earning a throw of 70.67m (231'10") and finishing 11th. The top 12 advanced to Austin, Texas. Cameron Crump will make his third all-time appearance in the long jump at the Outdoor National Championships. Crump only needed to take one of his three jumps on Wednesday after jumping 7.77m (25'6") in his first attempt to catapult himself into second place in the event. Crump would remain in second the rest of the way. |
| Future of core SEC football rivalries at stake as league meetings loom | |
 | Eight or nine? This seemingly evergreen debate over how many intra-conference SEC football games each team will play is heading back to the beach and starting to approach a deadline. Instead of last year's Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher blood feud, this legislative matter will headline the only league event not televised live on the SEC Network. That's right, time again for conference leadership to parachute into Destin, Florida for the annual SEC spring meetings. The behind-closed-door conclave should finally yield a resolution though it doesn't sound like the suits will be padlocked in the beachside resort meeting rooms without white smoke. A series of roadblocks caused the can to be kicked down the sandy road until meetings begin Tuesday. The expedited addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the 2024 season and an agreed-upon format for the College Football Playoff clears the path for the 16-team league to finally chart the future of its scheduling. It's a matter of playing eight SEC games a year like they do now or bumping it to nine beginning in 2024. Of course, it's complex and everyone's got an angle. |
| George Washington University adopts new name 'Revolutionaries' to replace 'Colonials' | |
| George Washington University's sports teams will now be known as the Revolutionaries, the school announced Wednesday. Revolutionaries replaces Colonials, which had been GW's name since 1926. Officials made the decision last year to drop the old name after determining it no longer unified the community. GW said 8,000 different names were suggested and 47,000 points of feedback made during the 12-month process. Revolutionaries won out over the other final choices of Ambassadors, Blue Fog and Sentinels. "I am very grateful for the active engagement of our community throughout the development of the new moniker," president Mark S. Wrighton said. "This process was truly driven by our students, faculty, staff and alumni, and the result is a moniker that broadly reflects our community -- and our distinguished and distinguishable GW spirit." George the mascot will stay and a new logo developed soon for the Revolutionaries name that takes effect for the 2023-24 school year. The university is part of the Atlantic 10 Conference. |
| Sports betting's rise is a cash cow. Are states doing enough to curb gambling addiction? | |
| Five years to the day after the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), opening the floodgates for legalized sports betting in the United States, a major player finally made its move in the market. Fanatics announced its purchase of Australian-based sportsbook PointsBet on May 14, marking the apparel and collectibles giant's foray into the world of sports gambling for the price of $150 million. The sale spotlighted the consolidation that has defined an industry expected to be a marketplace of variety and competition. Instead, the first five years of legal sports gambling saw four companies assume the vast majority of the market share, while corporations like Fanatics sat on the sidelines -- until recently, prompting the question: How will the next five years of sports betting look? Thirty-three states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have legalized betting. Three more states are preparing for a launch later this year. For Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), there were two main failures on the part of state legislatures that legalized gambling: Not ensuring a percentage of the state's sports betting tax revenue is used to prevent problem gambling. Not requiring operators to share data about potential gambling issues (only New Jersey and Ohio passed legislation requiring this). |
| House subcommittee considering federal regulatory body to oversee NIL rights for college athletes | |
| A discussion draft of a bill that would establish a federal regulatory NIL body was revealed Tuesday by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Florida) exclusively to CBS Sports. The Fairness Accountability and Integrity in Representation of College Sports Act (FAIR College Sports Act) would preempt all existing and future state NIL laws, a limitation currently being sought for Congress to address by the NCAA. Bilirakis is a member of the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee. In that role, he is chairman of the Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce, which has already conducted two NIL hearings. A discussion draft is considered the next public step in the legislative process. Legislation would not address health and medical benefits for athletes -- as contained in other proposed Congressional bills -- nor would it address athletes' potential employee status nor establish liability protections for schools or the NCAA itself. House sources say such protections would be out of the body's jurisdiction at the moment. NCAA president Charlie Baker has been seeking a limited protections for the association to control NIL deals. The regulatory body, if established, would be named the U.S. Intercollegiate Athletics Commission (USIAC) and charged with overseeing NIL, including setting rules, enforcing those rules and providing guidance to athletes and collectives on the NIL process. |
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