| Friday, June 23, 2023 |
| Moms lose significant sleep and free time during kids' school year, new study finds | |
 | Mississippi State University's Todd Jones and colleagues write for The Conversation: Moms of school-age children get significantly less sleep during the school year than during the summer. We are economists who specialize in education and health research. We combined extensive data on school district schedules with information derived from the American Time Use Survey to explore the ways families use their time differently depending on whether school is in session or out for summer. We observed mothers on average tend to sleep 25 minutes less, have 28 minutes less free time and allocate seven minutes less for exercise on weekdays during the school year than during the summer. For comparison, fathers reduce sleep by 11 minutes during the school year relative to the summer, have 21 minutes less free time and five fewer exercise minutes. Conversely, mothers spend about half an hour more per day during the school year taking care of others, including kids, and five additional minutes on travel -- which often involves driving their kids to and from school. Interestingly, even though both mothers and fathers spend more time physically present with children in their household during summer months, both spend more time actively engaged with the children -- such as helping with homework or reading together -- during the school year. However, the effect is almost three times greater for women than it is for men. |
| Lake Street Dive to perform at MSU Riley Center | |
 | Tickets are on sale Friday for indie rock band Lake Street Dive, slated to perform at the Mississippi State University Riley Center on Nov. 3 as part of the band's 2023 Gather Round Sounds Tour. The semi-acoustic tour will hit 18 cities and feature fan favorites, deep cuts and new material all presented in a relaxed, easy going, living-room-style setting. Lake Street Dive's sound is uniquely soulful and infused with rock and roll. Elevating the group to the top of the indie rock scene, the band's hit single "Good Kisser" claimed a top five Americana radio spot in 2018. The group has performed at Newport Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival and Toronto Jazz Festival and shared the stage with acts like Brandi Carlile and Sheryl Crow. "We are pleased to bring Lake Street Dive to the MSU Riley Center stage, putting Meridian among larger markets like Charleston, South Carolina, and Dallas, Texas, to feature this highly sought-after group," Dr. Terry Dale Cruse, associate vice president and head of Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus, said in a news release announcing the performance. "This show is sure to please our tried-and-true audiences while attracting new patrons and fans from across the state and region," he said. "Our historic theater with its unmatched acoustics provides the perfect setting to experience these artists perform at the top of their game." |
| Mississippi State names new campus police chief, assistant chief | |
 | Mississippi State University named its new police chief and assistant chief. Kenneth Rogers will lead the department. The next in line is Assistant Chief Brian Locke. Former Chief Vance Rice is now the Chief Safety Officer at Oklahoma State University. Rogers was appointed as interim chief after Rice left in February. The new MSU PD administration begins their roles on July 1. |
| New intake aims to increase Starkville Strong's outreach | |
 | Most people are familiar with Starkville Strong, the nonprofit which began as a Facebook group and has evolved into one of the most impactful in Oktibbeha County. That growth is continuing with the addition of a new intake office, a central space that serves to conduct interviews and meetings with potential and existing clients. The office is located in Five Horizons Health Services, 900 Stark Road. "It's always been a goal of ours (to establish an office) and just by happenstance or luck, I'm not sure, (we did)," said Brandi Herrington, executive director for Starkville Strong. "Five Horizons has to partner with community members and organizations that do work similar to or meet the needs of a similar demographic as Five Horizons. So, as part of that partnership, they were able to offer a couple of spaces." Starkville Strong provides food pantries and assistance, rental assistance and helps clients apply for jobs. It also works with other area nonprofits to steer clients to other needed resources. Starkville Strong has been up and running in the new space since late April. Having a central location helps the group establish itself further within the community and help more people. |
| Columbus sales tax revenue keeps outpacing 2022 | |
| Monthly sales tax collections in Columbus and West Point saw more than 1% jumps in June, compared to the same month a year prior, while Starkville's decreased by 2.3%. Columbus received $956,119 from the Mississippi Department of Revenue, up $12,019 from June 2022. The city has received $8,518,608 so far this fiscal year, compared to $8,026,127 by this time last year, marking a 6% improvement. Sales tax diversions run on a three-month window, in which they are collected by retailers one month, sent to MDOR the next and then disbursed to cities and counties the third. Therefore, June diversions generally reflect sales from April. Starkville received $762,961 this month, compared to $780,955 in June 2022, marking a 2.3% drop. So far this fiscal year, the city has collected $6,668,376, compared to $6,536,391 by this time last year, a 2% improvement. Mayor Lynn Spruill said the fall from June 2022 was the result of a lackluster Mississippi State University baseball season and lower than normal attendance, but that the city still expects to meet its $8.6 million budget. According to figures released with its sales tax numbers, the city saw a slight dip in its 3% restaurant sales tax diversions and a jump in its 1% hotel tax as compared to last year. |
| Commander gives Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce overview of ERDC | |
| Whenever Col. Christian Patterson is asked by someone to describe the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, he uses an interesting example. "The way I kind of explain it is that ERDC is like a Rubik's Cube," Patterson, ERDC's commander said. "But ERDC's Rubik's Cube has 100 pieces on each side and they're always moving, and the proof of that is we've got more than 2,000 projects there; 2,000 projects. That's a lot to keep up with." Patterson's description came as he talked about ERDC at the Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce's monthly luncheon meeting. "It's a blessing to be a part of the family for the past four years," he said. "And you know, I cherish every single day, that I have the opportunity to be able to serve with our employees and soldiers there. "It's a wonderful place with some awesome things that are going on," Patterson added. "My boss, Dr. David Pittman, calls ERDC Disneyland for scientists and for the people who know about ERDC, that is definitely true." Patterson discussed the center's leadership, labs and the history of ERDC, adding, "History is a big thing for us, especially this year. Later this year we are going to be celebrating our 25th anniversary as the ERDC." When ERDC received its supercomputers in the 1980s, he said, "That started a very big program within our enterprise and it continues to go strong. He said ERDC is close with the state's universities and those partnerships continue. |
| New report finds criminal justice reform could strengthen Mississippi economy and workforce | |
 | A new report finds that Mississippi can drive economic growth by pursuing criminal justice reform. Published today by FWD.us, the organization advocates for efforts to reduce the number of people in prison and boost the economy. "Mississippi's business and elected leaders know how vital growing our economy and developing our workforce is to communities across the state, and this new report makes clear that pursuing commonsense criminal justice reforms will do both," said Alesha Judkins, FWD.us Mississippi State Director. Currently, Mississippi has the highest imprisonment rate in the country, and the report finds that this is a key reason that the state also has the nation's lowest labor force participation rate, with just 54% of the working-age population either looking for work or actively employed. Through the direct removal of people from the workforce, and further hiring discrimination against persons with criminal convictions, the report finds that the criminal justice system discourages people from seeking jobs and reduces their earning potential. A person who's been in prison earns an expected 52% less compared to those that have not. As a result, the Mississippi economy misses out on an estimated $2.7 billion annually in lost earnings. Additionally, the report estimates that at least half that money would be spent on sales -- and as a result, the state is losing an additional $95 million each year in tax revenue. Mississippi taxpayers pay an additional $400 million annually to run the prison system. |
| What do Tate Reeves and Brandon Presley think of axing grocery tax | |
 | Mississippi is one of just a handful of states to not at least partially exempt grocery items from its sales tax, and with one of the highest sales taxes in the nation at 7%, the state tops the list of highest grocery taxes. Mississippi's eastern neighbor cut its tax on groceries last week to be less than half of Mississippi's nation leading rate, leading to renewed calls for the Magnolia State to either eliminate or reduce the taxes people pay on food. Alabama's grocery tax will drop from 4% to 3% starting Sept. 1, and then if economic markers meet certain projections, it will drop by another percentage point the following year. During a speech he made to a group of Mississippi newspaper reporters, editors and publishers last week, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley said Republican Gov. Tate Reeves should take note of his fellow Republican governor, Kay Ivey of Alabama, signing the cut. "Wherever he is, he ought to be ashamed right now that Kay Ivey, across the state line in Alabama, just cut grocery taxes, yesterday, in half," Presley said. In his earlier speech to the same Mississippi Press Association group last week, Reeves did not mention cutting the grocery tax, instead focusing on his plans to eliminate the state's income tax. In a text message Thursday, Reeves' campaign manager, Elliott Husbands, said the governor would sign any tax cut that reaches his desk. "The governor would certainly be thrilled to cut the grocery tax -- he is in favor of any tax cut we can achieve," Husbands said. |
| 'He's never stood where I've stood': Brandon Presley and Tate Reeves trade blows over police, public safety | |
| Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley last week told reporters that Republican Gov. Tate Reeves can save his "hot air for somebody else" after Reeves insinuated the Democratic candidate was dodging questions about crime and law enforcement. The remarks came after Reeves at the Mississippi Press Association's annual conference on Friday said reporters have not asked Presley questions about a newly passed law that creates a new court system in the capital city of Jackson. "I sure think it's a good thing to have more people working toward public safety in our state capital," Reeves said to reporters. "But a lot of Democrats in the Capitol opposed it passionately. My opponent is just hoping that you won't ask him the question." Presley hammered back that Reeves shouldn't cast doubts about Presley's history of backing law enforcement officers, given that a suspected criminal killed the Democratic candidate's uncle, Harold Ray Presley, while he was serving as sheriff of Lee County in north Mississippi. "I've got the badge he was wearing, I've got the gun that was on his hip and the flag that was draped over his coffin," Brandon Presley said of his uncle. "So I don't want to hear Tate Reeves open his mouth to me in this campaign about backing law enforcement because he's never stood where I've stood." Harold Ray Presley served as Lee County's sheriff from 1993 to 2001, and his life was cut short when the county officer participated in a manhunt for a suspected kidnapper. The suspect burst out of a building and shot the sheriff multiple times. The remarks from the two leading candidates for governor were centered on questions about House Bill 1020, which creates a new court district within the majority-Black capital city of Jackson with judges who white officials would appoint. |
| State health officer: Mississippi hospitals will 'drop dead' if something isn't done | |
| State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney has made it clear that hospitals across Mississippi are very much so still in crisis mode. During an appearance on MidDays with Gerard Gibert, Edney provided an update on the state's struggling hospital system. "No one is knocking it out of the park right now," Edney said. "We have a spectrum of hospitals that literally see their drop-dead date ahead of them if something does not happen." According to Edney, hospitals across the entire state are struggling with those in the Delta and southwest Mississippi seeing the worst of the crisis. He explained that most of the hospitals in those specific regions have already begun the process of applying for emergency hospital status, which means they will no longer be able to provide inpatient services. "The Delta is like the concentration of all the struggles we're having in healthcare just magnified there," Edney said. "Southwest Mississippi is right behind them. Natchez and McComb areas are doing okay. Not great, but okay. The rest of southwest Mississippi is struggling mightily." When asked, Edney attributed poverty as the primary issue. Mississippi currently has the nation's highest poverty rate with some hospitals like Greenwood Leflore seeing up to 80 percent of their care going uncompensated. As for possible solutions, Edney explained that while Medicaid expansion wouldn't be the ultimate fix, it would be a massive step in the right direction. "Medicaid (expansion) does not fully pay the bills, but it's better than nothing," Edney said. |
| Senator Calls For Return of Old Mississippi Flag: 'Our People Died Under That Flag' | |
| Almost three years after both houses of the Mississippi Legislature overwhelmingly voted to retire the old Confederate-themed state flag, a state senator from Union County is calling for its return. "That flag, a lot of our people fought and died under that flag," Sen. Kathy Chism, R-New Albany, said during a political speech at the Belmont Political Rally in Tishomingo County on June 3. A reader shared a link to a video of her speech with the Mississippi Free Press. The state did not adopt the flag -- which featured three red, white and blue bars with a Confederate cross in the upper left-hand corner -- until 1894, almost three decades after the end of the Civil War and several years after the end of Reconstruction. White supremacist lawmakers adopted the Confederate-themed flag in place of a prior magnolia flag as they worked to lock Black Mississippians out of politics with a slew of Jim Crow laws. Following decades of efforts by Black lawmakers and Black activists, the Mississippi Legislature's white Republican leaders finally agreed to vote on legislation to change the state flag on June 28, 2020. Chism was just one of 14 senators, all Republicans, who voted against retiring the old flag out of the 52-member body. Soon after the 2020 vote, though, a group of state residents who wanted to keep the old state flag began collecting signatures to put the issue back on the ballot and give residents the option to re-adopt the old flag. Chism, along with other political leaders like Mississippi Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, backed the campaign. That effort soon ended, along with ballot-initiative efforts to expand Medicaid and adopt early voting, when the Mississippi Supreme Court nullified the state’s ballot initiative system in May 2021. In the two legislative sessions since, multiple attempts to adopt a new ballot initiative system have failed. In her speech on June 3, Chism blamed Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, for the fact that the State still has not restored its ballot-initiative process. |
| Sen. Chad McMahan accused of voter intimidation by Tupelo man | |
| A Tupelo family feels state Sen. Chad McMahan tried to intimidate them during a January phone call and have pressed criminal charges. Jamie Gunnells said shortly after his wife, Natalie, shared a Facebook post by Lauren Smith, who later entered the race for McMahan's legislative seat, the senator called his wife and told her she was "making it difficult" for him to help them. Previously, McMahan had been helping the family secure Medicaid funds for their 23-year-old son, Patrick, who has severe autism. "Tonight, I got a call from Washington, D.C., on your post, and you're really, you're not in line, you're not in sync to help you and your family with her (Smith)," McMahan said on the call, which was recorded. According to a transcript of the call provided by Gunnells, McMahan accused Smith of belonging to a hate group, wanting to end Medicaid, not paying her rent and attending the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising in Washington, D.C. "He went on to tell us, 'Do not support her (Smith) in any way.' And at the time of the call, she was not a candidate," Gunnells said. "Just the thought that someone in Washington was monitoring our social media was just a little too creepy." Gunnells said he sat on the intimidation for several months before deciding to press forward in the court system. He said other people in the community began approaching him and gave similar stories of the senator trying to pressure others, especially after a Mississippi Today story in April detailed the call. |
| House Freedom Caucus faces an internal purge push | |
 | Tensions inside the conservative House Freedom Caucus have reached the point that some members are floating the idea of purging colleagues from the group. At least two hardliners have discussed -- and proposed to Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.) -- trying to boot members who no longer meet the group's standards, according to three Republicans with knowledge of the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity. The lawmakers declined to name who's behind the ouster calls, underscoring the sensitivity of the situation. While the members suggesting a purge did not specify the people they want to remove, they are signaling that one target of any ejection push is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Some in the Freedom Caucus have focused on Greene, who's become a close ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, to illustrate their fears that certain group members are too aligned with GOP leaders and too outwardly critical of the group when it splits on certain issues. The risk of an outside-the-tent conservative becoming too friendly with the establishment isn't the only problem that Freedom Caucus purists have identified, though. Internal Freedom Caucus critics are talking about targeting a handful of members beyond Greene, too, whom they see as violating group standards by being inactive. Perry told POLITICO that he denied the removal requests. Yet the fact that he had to illustrates how the group continues to struggle with its identity since former President Donald Trump left office, not to mention the acrimony caused in the lead-up to the handshake deals McCarthy made to win conservative votes during January's grueling speakership battle. |
| GOP Split With Big Business Gives States New Lobbying Clout | |
 | The rift between big business and Republicans that's playing out in boardrooms and on the presidential campaign trail is also changing how states shape economic policy in Washington. In contrast to years past when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce drove the pro-business agenda in Washington, some House Republican leaders now prefer to meet directly with state affiliates. The Arizona and Texas state chambers of commerce have met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California and Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana about border security, immigration, trade and regulation. The shift is the latest sign of how the main voice for corporate America has lost influence with Republican decision makers. "We trust the main street chambers, the state chambers more than the U.S. chamber," said Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the No. 3 House Republican. Republicans' longtime alliance with the chamber came under strain after the group endorsed Democrats for House seats, and the party embraced policies that run counter to the interests of corporations, such as restrictive views on immigration and trade. The chamber's relationship with the party further deteriorated because Republicans say big companies are inappropriately meddling in politics by taking progressive stances on divisive social issues, a topic that's seeped onto the 2024 White House campaign trail. |
| Biden order aims to protect, expand contraception access | |
 | The White House on Friday announced a wide-ranging executive order aimed at protecting and expanding access to contraception. It comes one day before the anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned a 1973 precedent establishing a right to an abortion. The order is President Joe Biden's third in response to the Dobbs decision, but Friday's is the first significantly focused on birth control. Democrats have called for measures to protect access to contraception in the wake of last year's ruling. Roe v. Wade was originally decided citing the right to privacy precedent established under Griswold v. Connecticut, which protected the right of married couples to use contraception. The order instructs the administration to consider eight actions aimed at improving the availability and affordability of contraception. Jen Klein, assistant to the president and director of the Gender Policy Council, told reporters the order serves as a roadmap for Biden's priorities -- but the administration did not provide a specific timeline for agencies. The order, she said, would jump-start work and show agencies the White House will "be in close touch trying to implement these policies. " |
| Supreme Court says White House can continue to set deportation priorities | |
 | The Supreme Court on Friday ruled for the Biden administration in an important immigration case, saying Texas and Louisiana lacked the legal standing to challenge the executive branch's priorities on who should be deported. At issue is a Biden administration policy that says the Department of Homeland Security should focus on arresting recent border crossers and immigrants who pose a threat to public safety, rather than the millions of other noncitizens who have lived here for years. The policy was a departure from the Trump administration, which said anyone in the country illegally could be targeted for deportation. Friday's decision was 7-1, with Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. the lone dissenter. "The States have brought an extraordinarily unusual lawsuit," Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh wrote for the majority. "They want a federal court to order the Executive Branch to alter its arrest policies so as to make more arrests. Federal courts have not traditionally entertained that kind of lawsuit; indeed, the States cite no precedent for a lawsuit like this." The Biden administration's guidelines were challenged by Texas, Louisiana and a number of other Republican-led states, and halted nationwide by a district judge in Texas, who said the guidelines violated federal law. The justices voted 5-4 last summer not to let the guidelines take effect while the Biden administration challenged the lower-court ruling. |
| Trump Prosecutors Struggled Over Motives. Then They Heard the Tape. | |
| Justice Department and FBI officials disagreed back in August about whether their investigation into the handling of sensitive documents justified the search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. Fewer officials had doubts earlier this month, when prosecutors took an even bolder step: asking a grand jury to indict the former president on 37 counts. What turned the tide was an audio tape and other evidence investigators confirmed around February from meetings Trump held almost two years earlier and a thousand miles from the former president's Palm Beach, Fla., resort, according to people familiar with the matter. That crucial evidence, along with notes from a Trump lawyer describing his response to the investigation, helped spur prosecutors to push forward with a criminal case, the people said -- an unprecedented step that might have been avoided if Trump had cooperated even late last year, as some of his lawyers had urged him to do. Former Florida Solicitor General Chris Kise, for one, whom Trump hired in the aftermath of the August search, sought a conciliatory tack. Such an approach might have found fertile ground at the Justice Department last year. |
| Leaders of Town and Tower welcome the Tarmac to discuss growth | |
| Military recruitment is at an all-time low. The Air and Space Force Association Symposium projects about a 10% shortfall this year in the active Air Force. The Commander of Columbus Air Force Base joined Columbus City Leaders and MUW administrators to discuss recruitment and growth. Just like MUW relies on recruitment for students, Columbus Air Force Base relies on recruitment for its personnel and pilot trainees. The leaders of the Town and Tower also welcomed the Tarmac for discussions on how the groups can work together to grow all three. "I have the best experiences at an Air Force base when I have a good relationship with the community," Colonel Justin Grieves said. And a good relationship is something that the 14th Flying Training Wing Commander says helps with long-term solutions like recruiting. "Awareness goes a long way, just understanding that there is an air force base out there and we are normal people doing great things we enjoy serving. I think that goes a long way," Grieves said. |
| 5th graders to receive hands-on STEM training at CAFB | |
| Though he has only been at Columbus Air Force Base for nearly a year, Base Commander Col. Justin Grieve said there is no place quite like the Friendly City. "If I had known that Columbus was this amazing, I would have come here (sooner)," Grieve said. "I literally picked from a chart. I wanted the first pilot training date I could get after my 60 days of leave from the (Air Force) Academy. ... I would have totally come here." Grieve was the featured speaker at the quarterly Town and Tower Club tarmac-themed event Thursday afternoon at Cochran Hall at Mississippi University for Women. During his speech, Grieve mentioned the base is set to launch its own STARBASE program for fifth-graders in the Columbus Municipal and Lowndes County school districts. STARBASE is an educational program by the Department of Defense in which fifth grade students participate in hands-on activities in science, technology, engineering and math, according to the DoD website. Students are taught by qualified educators and interact with military personnel to see real world applications of STEM on base. MUW President Nora Miller said the mission of the Town and Tower Club is to foster and strengthen relationships between the university, the community and Columbus Air Force Base. |
| University Club plans to reopen in 2024, after $17.4M renovation | |
 | Approaching two centuries old, the Greek revival mansion that graces the northeast corner of the University Boulevard and Queen City Avenue intersection, of course, requires historic preservation. What's been known since 1940s acquisition by the University of Alabama as the University Club, a private venue for dining and events, has been closed for three years now, suspending operations in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic roared. Members weren't charged dues from that time onward, but many members expressed concern about its re-opening, as messages continued to roll out from director Matt Stroud. Enforced closures meant operational processes would need to be re-configured, he said, and given slower summers and reducing dining out in general, fiscal necessities required the club remain closed. Stroud left in summer 2022, and that fall, the UA board of trustees announced a major renovation of the facility. The last previous renovation of the University Club was a $3 million project, back in 2003. Work began again this April at 421 Queen City Ave. Now there's a re-opening date set. "Right now, we're engaged in the heavy structural work, putting foundations in, building concrete walls, elevator shafts," said Tim Leopard, senior associate vice president for campus development at UA. "So we will be open for May 2024." Funding for the $17,430,000 restoration and renovation comes from University Central Reserves. |
| Golf simulator loan to Governor's Mansion sparks backlash for DeSantis | |
 | Homebuilding magnate Mori Hosseini donated a pricey golf simulator to the Governor's Mansion in 2019, after Ron DeSantis took office, according to news reports released Wednesday. The stories, first reported by Reuters and quickly followed by the Washington Post, were generating reaction from opponents and supporters of the former Volusia-Flagler congressman who's now running for president. Hosseini, who also serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the University of Florida, has been a prolific supporter of Republican candidates, particularly DeSantis, dating to his time in Congress. The cost of the AboutGolf simulator starts at $27,500, while curved screen simulators cost at least $69,500, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. The newspaper also reported, based on campaign finance disclosures, Hosseini also let DeSantis and his wife Casey use his private plane at least a dozen times and hosted DeSantis on a 2018 trip to play golf at the exclusive Augusta National Golf Club. Hosseini founded Volusia County-based ICI Homes in 1980, according to his University of Florida biography, and has built thousands of homes and created some of the largest master development communities in Florida. He also serves as board chairman at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. |
| Sasse announces the senior adviser for academic excellence, associate provost | |
| UF President Ben Sasse announced Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach as senior adviser to the president for academic excellence and associate provost in a press release Tuesday. Schanzenbach is the current director of the Institute for Policy Research and the Margaret Walker Alexander Professor of human development and social policy, both at Northwestern University. "Her commitment to academic rigor and her passion for higher education are contagious," Sasse wrote in the release. Schanzenbach has previous experience in academia and policy-making. She worked as an associate professor at the University of Chicago after she graduated with a doctoral degree in economics from Princeton University in 2002. She is a leading expert in economic analysis of anti-poverty programs and education with a focus in public and private health insurance, according to the press release. From 2015 to 2017, Schanzenbach worked as the director of the Hamilton Project, an economic policy initiative within the Brookings Institution, where she remains as a nonresident senior fellow. She began her term as director of the Institute for Policy Research in 2017. |
| Distraught West Virginia U. faculty push back on program cuts | |
 | When West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee announced plans to cut programs and faculty in the face of a projected $75 million budget shortfall, he said he wanted the process to be as compassionate and transparent as possible. It was, after all, the first reduction in force (RiF) in the university's history to include faculty. That unprecedented step is proving a difficult sell. In an open letter penned last week, 55 faculty members wrote that WVU administrators have been underhanded and inconsistent in their communication about the cuts. Faculty members said they feel both excluded from the process and anxious about its potential scale. "There's been no dignity or respect," said Gwen Bergner, an English professor who signed the letter. "And sure, they're being transparent about their schedule for firing people. But they're not really transparent about the budget. They're not transparent about how this deficit got so large, or how they're deciding who to lay off." Tom Harnisch, vice president for government affairs at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, said that while WVU should aim for maximum transparency about the layoffs, the cost-cutting process itself has become almost inevitable for public universities in the face of declining enrollments and stagnant state investment. WVU administrators have been selling the reduction in force (RiF) not as an unfortunate necessity, but as a canny pivot toward a leaner future. That narrative has been difficult for many faculty to accept. |
| Republicans vote to cut U. of Wisconsin System budget by $32 million in attempt to defund diversity offices | |
| Republican lawmakers who control the Legislature's budget-writing committee on Thursday voted to cut funding to the University of Wisconsin System by $32 million and nearly 200 positions in an effort to eliminate diversity offices and programming on campuses. The move sets the stage for a potential budget showdown with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers who has threatened to veto the spending plan if Republicans moved ahead with the cuts to UW. The cut comes at a time when Wisconsin has a record $7 billion surplus and lawmakers are providing additional dollars to most other state agencies. The $32 million cut is roughly equal to what the UW System spends biennially on offices and employees focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, which have drawn the ire of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and other Republicans. Rep. Alex Dallman, R-Green Lake, told reporters Thursday that UW campuses shouldn't be "forcing these students to view the world through a lens of race, gender or economic class just to obtain one of these degrees." "UW System ought to be teaching them different things, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, teamwork and collaboration, professionalism and communication skills," he said. UW System pushed back on claims that campuses aren't teaching students those types of skills. |
| Clemson tuition freeze extended for fourth year amid demand for cuts | |
 | For the fourth year in a row, Clemson University has frozen tuition for South Carolina residents, keeping a promise made by South Carolina's public universities to the legislators in exchange for additional funding. This year, the legislature added $22.3 million of what's called "tuition mitigation" funding, making it feasible for Clemson University to keep tuition cost steady while still accounting for inflation. It's an effort to try to make South Carolina's public colleges affordable for the state's residents. In their vote June 22 to freeze tuition for in-state students, Clemson's Board of Trustees went further than the legislature's expectations and also froze tuition for out-of-state students as well. The university said that they are dedicated to maintaining affordability and providing a strong return on investment for all students. For this upcoming academic year, total full-time undergraduate fees per semester at Clemson are $7,560 for residents and $19,532 for non-residents, according to the updated fee schedule. Much of this year's state support for Clemson is one-time funding for the creation of South Carolina's first veterinary school. |
| Stanford, U. of Washington faculty fought disinformation, got sued | |
| A federal lawsuit filed last month alleges university disinformation and misinformation researchers colluded with the federal government and social media companies to "censor" Americans' speech. Stanford University, a couple of its Internet Observatory leaders and a University of Washington associate professor are sued as defendants. A co-director of a COVID-19-vaccine skeptics' group and the founder of the Gateway Pundit conservative website filed the suit together, and they want it to move forward as a class action. They're represented by lawyers from, among other firms, America First Legal. Former Trump administration officials, including former senior adviser Stephen Miller, lead this nonprofit, which opposes the "radical left." "This case challenges probably the largest mass-surveillance and mass-censorship program in American history -- the so-called 'Election Integrity Partnership' [EIP] and 'Virality Project,'" their nearly 90-page complaint begins. "Four entities -- Stanford Internet Observatory, University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public, Graphika and the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Lab -- collaborate closely with federal, state and local government officials to monitor and censor disfavored viewpoints on social media." In addition to the three lawsuits, the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security says it "has requested records from the Stanford Internet Observatory and has requested further information from University of Washington personnel. Additionally, House Republicans have formed a "Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government." It's part of the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Jim Jordan, a Republican representative from Ohio. |
| DeSantis sues Biden administration over university accrediting system | |
 | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that the state has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration and the U.S. Department of Education over accreditation agencies, which control federal aid for students. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale federal court, challenges a federal law that requires colleges and universities to submit to private accreditors to qualify for federal funding. It targets the U.S. Department of Education, Secretary Miguel Cardona and other federal officials. The lawsuit comes as DeSantis, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, imposes his conservative agenda on the state's education system. Earlier this year, he appointed trustees to the board of New College of Florida, a tiny Sarasota school of about 1,000 students that was best known for its progressive thought and creative course offerings. The new board intends to turn the school into a classical liberal arts school modeled after conservative favorite Hillsdale College in Michigan. Speaking about the accreditation lawsuit on Thursday, DeSantis said he refuses "to bow to unaccountable accreditors who think they should run Florida's public universities." "We're asking the court to find this arrangement to be unconstitutional," DeSantis said. |
| Florida's Governor Escalates a Yearslong Fight With College Accreditors | |
 | Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Florida Republican running to be the party's presidential nominee in 2024, has made no secret of his disdain for college-accreditation agencies. Last month he likened them to "cartels." This week he took those frustrations to new heights, with a lawsuit alleging the federal government has "ceded unchecked power" to the agencies. "We refuse to bow to unaccountable accreditors who think they should run Florida's public universities," he said in a statement on Thursday. The suit, filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, seeks to block federal officials from enforcing the standards that accreditors set for colleges to receive billions of dollars in student aid. In the complaint, Florida's Republican attorney general, Ashley Moody, and other state lawyers accuse the Biden administration of being hostile toward GOP-led efforts in Florida to curtail the agencies' longstanding authority. The new lawsuit reflects that college accreditation has become a key battlefront for Republican politicians across the country who want to reshape higher education in their image, particularly as accreditors have come to favorably view diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. DeSantis is biting from a "big legal apple" here, said Neal Hutchens, a professor at the University of Kentucky who specializes in law and policy issues in higher education. For one thing, his team will have to address the fact that even though accreditation is required to receive certain types of federal dollars, it's a voluntary system. That consideration could undermine some of their legal arguments. For another, the litigation is mired in politics. "This is going to be a pretty uphill battle," he said. |
| How the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action may change the future of college | |
| The Supreme Court seems destined to end its term with a big rollback of the tool colleges employ to boost racial diversity on their campuses. What's unclear is how schools fashion race-neutral workarounds to fill that gap -- or if the ruling pushes colleges to retreat on a goal that's been a priority for decades. Affirmative action in higher education has endured by relying on moderate justices like the late Sandra Day O'Connor, but the court remade by former President Donald Trump and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sounded prepared to end it during oral arguments in October. If race-conscious admissions fall, some better-resourced schools are expected to use household incomes, ZIP codes, targeted recruiting programs and other indirect methods to prop up their commitment to diversity. But among the nine states that banned the practice at their colleges years ago, the schools don't present many lessons on how to boost the number of Black and brown students without it. "There is no substitute for race-based affirmative action," said Liz King, senior education program director at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which represents more than 230 national organizations. "Affirmative action is a critical part of ensuring racial justice and equity in higher education." The high court's decision hinges on two cases where Students for Fair Admissions is challenging race-conscious practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -- the nation's oldest private and public universities. |
SPORTS
| McCowan Named Deputy AD For Athletics Advancement | |
| Mississippi State Director of Athletics Zac Selmon made an addition to the department's leadership team Thursday when he announced Josh McCowan as the Bulldogs' Deputy Athletics Director for Athletics Advancement. "We are excited to welcome Josh to the Mississippi State leadership team," Selmon said. "Josh is a nationally recognized fundraiser and administrator who has a proven track record of successful strategies and leadership. Josh exemplifies the values of Mississippi State and will work closely with our Bulldog Club membership and stakeholders to provide the necessary resources for our student-athletes to excel in the classroom, the stages of competition and life beyond. Josh's leadership, professionalism, and talent will continue to elevate our department to new heights, and we are thrilled to welcome him, Ashley, Kacen and Kinsley to Starkville." McCowan comes to Starkville from Kansas State, where he served as the Senior Associate Athletics Director of Development since 2017 and led the Ahearn Fund as a member of the Wildcats' senior staff. Before being elevated to that role, he spent two years as the Senior Director of Development overseeing the Ahearn Fund's daily operations and Major Giving programs. |
| Mississippi State hires Kansas State associate AD Josh McCowan as deputy AD for advancement | |
| Mississippi State has hired Kansas State associate athletic director Josh McCowan as its deputy AD for athletics advancement. Bulldogs athletic director Zac Selmon cited McCowan's success in fundraising and leadership qualities in statement on Thursday announcing the hire. McCowan had been Kansas State's senior associate AD of development since 2017 and oversaw the department's fundraising activities. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from K-State and was a graduate assistant for the Wildcats' basketball team that reached the Elite Eight in 2010. |
| Josh McCowan named Deputy AD for Athletics Advancement | |
| Mississippi State Director of Athletics Zac Selmon made an addition to the department's leadership team Thursday when he announced Josh McCowan as the Bulldogs' Deputy Athletics Director for Athletics Advancement. "My family and I are truly appreciative of Zac and his team for this opportunity, and we are incredibly excited to join the Mississippi State Family," McCowan said. "I look forward to working with our Bulldog Club Board, donors, fans, coaches and staff to continue the rich tradition and history of Mississippi State Athletics." McCowan comes to Starkville from Kansas State, where he served as the Senior Associate Athletics Director of Development since 2017 and led the Ahearn Fund as a member of the Wildcats' senior staff. During his time in Manhattan, McCowan led all development and fundraising operations for K-State Athletics, including campaign oversight, major giving, annual fund, premium seating, endowment and planned giving, donor stewardship, event hospitality and coordination with the Alumni Association, KSU Foundation, and University efforts while serving as sport administrator for rowing. In addition, he represented Kansas State on the City of Manhattan Airport Advisory Board and previously on the KSU Golf Course Research and Management Foundation Board of Directors. |
| EXCLUSIVE: Mississippi State women's soccer looking to build off program-first NCAA tournament win | |
| Last fall, James Armstrong led Mississippi women's soccer to heights it had never achieved. Armstrong, who is in his fourth season, led the Bulldogs (12-6-4) to its first ever Southeastern Conference Tournament win over Texas A&M and NCAA Tournament win over New Mexico State in 2022. Though brief, that postseason run, Armstrong said at Tuesday's first Hail State Happy Hours session at Starkville's Georgia Blue restaurant, left his team wanting more. "We still felt we had left something on the table," Armstrong said. "The beauty of it was we did something that's never been done before (here). It allowed the girls a lot of excitement as this is now the standard." Sensing a window where the Bulldogs could explode on to the women's college soccer scene this fall, Armstrong loaded up on goal-scoring talent. Along with returning its top-three scorers from last season (Maggie Wadsworth, Haley McWirther and Alivia Buxton), MSU signed a five-player recruiting class, all who arrived to campus in January, as well as an eight-player transfer group filled with premium talent. Armstrong said the key to the team's success is how quickly those new faces can integrate with the returning players. |
| Hooshyar Hires Russo As Assistant Coach | |
| New women's tennis coach Chris Hooshyar reached into his recent past to make his first hire at Mississippi State, tabbing Taylor Russo as his assistant coach. Russo played for Hooshyar during his tenure at Auburn before she broke into the coaching ranks as an assistant coach at Wisconsin last year. During her tenure, Russo helped lead the Badgers to one of the most successful seasons in program history. "I'm so excited to have 'T' join me in Starkville," Hooshyar said. "I think she's a great fit for the girls and the program. She's loyal, hard-working and driven. I think she's the full package to help develop our student-athletes and make the program better. "Personally, I'm incredibly proud of her. I'm so grateful I got to coach her and now I'm even more grateful that she's going to be my right-hand lady as we go and turn the program around. I wouldn't want anybody else. The Mississippi State fans are going to love her. There isn't a harder worker or better person out there." Russo was actually recruited by Hooshyar to The Plains out of Deerfield Beach, Florida, where she was the top-ranked player in the state and the No. 2 prospect in the Southeast. Russo played for Hooshyar for three years before he moved over to coach the Tigers' men's team. |
| CFP Heads Into Expansion Era In Search Of New Leader | |
| Bill Hancock was the prime mover in making the College Football Playoff a major event after decades of infighting within the sport. Now, the 72-year-old says he will retire from the CFP on Feb. 1, 2025, when his current contract expires, and will shift to a consultant role next year to facilitate the transition. Appointed in 2012 shortly after the CFP's creation, the longtime college sports administrator played a central role in building the playoff into one of the most-watched events in American sports -- even amid a recent decline in title game ratings. He then led a historic expansion of the CFP into a 12-team format beginning with the 2024-25 season. "He's a legend in college sports," said Mark Keenum, Mississippi State University president and chair of the CFP's Board of Managers. Hancock's successor will play a huge role in determining how the CFP capitalizes on its expansion era. Key issues to be discussed include how the CFP will distribute its media rights in the expanded format, and whether the CFP ultimately expands beyond 12 teams. In that light, it's possible the next CFP executive director will have an extensive media background, following a growing trend within college sports. |
| Mississippi wildlife commission makes changes to CWD management rules...again | |
 | Are you concerned your county will be placed in a chronic wasting disease management zone and you won't be able to feed deer? Well, the odds of that happening just got slimmer. In its June meeting, the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks once again made changes to the state's CWD Management Plan. In December, a deer tested positive for CWD in Tunica County. Under the CWD Management Plan, the county should have been added to the North Mississippi CWD Management Zone. Under the plan, if a positive is detected within 10 miles of another county, that county goes into the zone as well. In the case of the Tunica County positive, the deer was located 2 miles from Quitman County and about 5 miles from Coahoma County, which would have brought them into the zone as well. However, commissioner Gary Rhoads took issue with the plan. "What I propose going forward is that instead of expanding the containment or management zone to an entire county, we use the CWD-positive deer as a reference point like we do demographics in a city or anything," Rhoads said. From that reference point, Rhoads proposed the CWD management zone extend out 10 miles using roads, highways or rivers as boundaries. The commission has a history of rewriting the CWD Management Plan and relaxing the rules. |
| How a Jell-O shot challenge became the second-biggest event in Omaha | |
| Rocco's Pizza and Cantina, which sits about 50 steps across the street from the site of the Men's College World Series, was predictably busy Sunday when manager Pat McEvoy was called to the patio to meet a guy interested in placing a large order. The man looked like an average fan, wearing an LSU cap and a green T-shirt with a logo for Murphy's, a now-defunct Baton Rouge bar. When someone told McEvoy that the man was the founder and CEO of Raising Cane's chicken, McEvoy was skeptical. "This time of year," McEvoy said, "everybody's somebody. I had no idea if he was telling the truth or if he was just messing with us." But this wasn't a joke. Todd Graves, a Baton Rouge resident and entrepreneur, bought $30,000 worth of Jell-O shots -- 6,000 total drinks. He wanted to give LSU the MCWS Jell-O Shot Challenge record and fire up the fan base Monday right before the Tigers played No. 1 Wake Forest at the Men's College World Series. LSU lost that night's baseball game but claimed the Jell-O shot record, and on Thursday ended up beating Wake Forest for the second time in two days to advance to the MCWS championship series. The Jell-O Shot Challenge, in its fourth year, has become the second-most talked-about event in Omaha. Fan bases from the eight teams in the MCWS compete over who can ingest the most shots, which are color-coded for each squad. Stanford fans consumed wild-cherry red; Florida fans downed green apple. "We couldn't really get a good blue color," McEvoy said. |
| LSU's Tommy White hits walk-off home run in 11th inning to down Wake Forest in CWS classic | |
| One of the most dazzling pitching performances in College World Series history ended with a tank job. Tommy White -- Tommy Tanks to those in the Bayou -- crushed a walk-off two-run homer to left field and LSU outlasted No. 1 national seed Wake Forest 2-0 in 11 innings Thursday that grew ever tenser as the sun set on Schwab Field. The No. 5 Tigers (52-16) move into an All-SEC final against No. 2 Florida beginning Saturday night. The path to the title round was littered with strikeouts, weak contact and key defensive plays. In a pitching battle that more than lived up to its billing, LSU's Paul Skenes and Wake's Rhett Lowder -- both junior right-handers projected to go among the top-10 picks at next month's MLB draft -- tossed up bagels like T-shirts. Both hurlers dominated on five days rest. Their teams had won 33 of their 36 combined starts this season -- Wake was 18-0 when Lowder toed the rubber. The 'Stach vs. The Hair. Neither one blinked. "There was no doubt in my mind (about starting)," Skenes said. "To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot of conversation." Said Lowder: "Whatever I can do, whenever I can pitch, I'll pitch. ... There was no way I wasn't going to pitch in this game." The 2-hour, 58-minute thriller was the first CWS game in the aluminum bat era -- since 1974 -- where both starters went at least seven innings while allowing three hits or fewer. Skenes fired eight shutout stanzas. Lowder went seven. |
| College World Series championship series preview as Florida, LSU fight for national title | |
 | The Southeastern Conference has proven its mettle in the metal bat world of collegiate baseball once again, as an all-SEC showdown looms in the College World Series best-of-three final. Florida and LSU started the tournament as the No. 2 and No. 5 seeds, respectively and navigated through a field of 64 teams to reach the championship series. But while the Gators and Tigers are both in the same conference, this will be the first meetings of the season with the teams not on the regular-season schedule and missing each other in the SEC tournament. Dating back to 2009, an SEC squad has emerged victorious in Omaha in eight of those 12 tournaments. That will become nine of 13 in 2023 as either Florida or LSU will hoist the trophy this weekend. Perhaps even more impressively, six different schools, including the Gators and Tigers, have been responsible for those championships. The league has been even more dominant in recent years, as this season's champ will be the fifth SEC representative to prevail in the last six NCAA baseball tournaments contested, a streak interrupted only by Oregon State's title in 2018 and the 2020 pandemic cancellation. The Gators are in an advantageous position after winning their pool in the minimum number of three games and were sitting at home resting Thursday as LSU was fighting its way into the championship series. |
| LSU coach Brian Kelly heightens push for federal NIL help | |
| As SEC coaches push for federal regulation regarding name, image and likeness compensation for college athletes, LSU coach Brian Kelly said Thursday that the need for action is urgent. "College athletics is at a crossroads if this doesn't get fixed," Kelly told ESPN. Kelly was among a contingent of SEC coaches and administrators who visited Washington, D.C., earlier this month to lobby for legislation to help rein in what has seemed at times like a free-for-all since the NCAA allowed athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness in 2021. Different states have imposed different NIL regulations, while the NCAA has largely steered clear of sweeping regulation. "We needed to do something," Kelly said of the Washington visit. "There needed to be some publicity behind it. There needed to be at least an education at the committee level where they had more than just what California is trying to do." Kelly questioned California's proposed bill, which would require profit sharing with athletes on revenue-producing teams, asking "Where's Title IX in all this? Where's Division II sports? Where's Division III sports?" Kelly said he felt that the legislators he spoke with in Congress were receptive and understood "the message that there's a trickle-down effect." |
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