| Thursday, May 23, 2024 |
| $2 million worth of updates coming to Old Mayhew Road | |
 | Updates are coming to Old Mayhew Road. Tuesday night Starkville Board of Aldermen accepted a bid for Phillips Contracting to rehabilitate the road entirely. Ward 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty told The Dispatch the road is in desperate need of correction. "It's in deplorable condition," he said. "It's deteriorated to the point where we've lost the surface of the road pretty much. What the appropriation was for is to completely tear up and rebuild the base and (give it) a brand new asphalt overlay, basically rebuild the road." Phillips Contracting President Blake Hill said the project will be a full-depth reclamation, meaning the surface and underlying base of the road will be pulverized and graded to serve as a new base before it is repaved. He said the company will also be making drainage improvements. The project will cost a little more than $2 million. "Nothing is set in stone right now as far as an actual start date," Hill said. "I would say to expect an early summer start and a finish in the fall." Old Mayhew Road runs from Highway 182 to East Lee Boulevard, which is the easternmost entrance to Mississippi State University, in an area that was annexed by the city in 2022. Beatty, whose ward includes the annexed area, said updating the road is a show of good faith to those citizens. "I want us going forward to make East Lee Boulevard as attractive as possible and appealing to people as they approach campus," he said. "MSU has done all of that work right there at the edge of campus ... and we want to do something as comparable as we can." |
| Remember last year's Memorial Day travel jams? Chances are they will be much worse this year | |
 | You didn't think summer travel would be easy, did you? Highways and airports are likely to be jammed the next few days as Americans head out for Memorial Day weekend getaways and then return home. AAA predicts this will be the busiest start-of-summer weekend in nearly 20 years, with 43.8 million people expected to travel at least 50 miles from home between Thursday and Monday. The Transportation Security Administration says up to 3 million might pass through airport checkpoints on Friday alone. And that is just a sample of what is to come. U.S. airlines expect to carry a record number of passengers this summer. Their trade group estimates that 271 million travelers will fly between June 1 and August 31, breaking the record of 255 million set -- you guessed it -- last summer. The annual expression of wanderlust is happening at a time when Americans tell pollsters they are worried about the economy and the direction of the country. A slowdown, and in some cases a retreat, from the big price increases of the last two years may be helping. Airfares are down 6% and hotel rates have dipped 0.4%, compared with a year ago. The nationwide price of gas is around $3.60 a gallon, about 6 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA. Many travelers have their own cost-saving strategies, including combining work and pleasure on the same trip. |
| State leaders discuss hurricane mitigation program during Extreme Wind Conference | |
 | With hurricane season just one week away, state leaders are working to make sure residents across South Mississippi are prepared for anything. During the Extreme Wind Conference, Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said the focus is on what cities and counties should do after experiencing straight-line winds, hurricanes, or tornadoes. "We have to coordinate that effort with the Department of Public Safety, with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency... to try to protect lives and also protect property," Chaney said. The Extreme Wind Conference isn't just for the experts; city leaders and educators were present to learn too. "We take this information and we give it to our students studying insurance to better help them be adjustors, agents, underwriters... So this information is going to be great in the classroom," said Mississippi State University insurance professor Seth Pounds. |
| This hurricane season will be 'extraordinary,' NOAA says. What to expect on the Coast | |
 | National forecasters issued their most severe hurricane season predictions ever this Thursday and warned of an "extraordinary" and active season even as they pleaded that residents prepare -- not panic. The numbers are stark: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an "above average" season with 17 to 25 named storms in the Atlantic, leaders of the agency said in a news conference Thursday morning. That forecast, said NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad, is "the highest NOAA has ever issued for the May outlook." Of those storms, eight to 13 are forecast become hurricanes, NOAA said. Four to seven of the storms are predicted to be "major hurricanes" with categories between 3 and 5. "It's reason to be concerned," said Ken Graham, the director of the National Weather Service. "But not alarmed." The forecast signals new and troubling facts for South Mississippi, which has largely avoided direct storm risk in recent years. But leaders of NOAA and the National Weather Service also stressed people should not fear the forecast. Instead, they said, residents of hurricane-prone areas like the Mississippi Coast should take time before the season begins next weekend to understand their unique risks and plan ahead. "We've been through some pretty tough seasons," Graham, the NWS director, said. "We'll get through this without a doubt." |
| With hurricane season on the horizon, Mississippi lawmakers fund mitigation program | |
 | A hurricane mitigation program created nearly two decades ago has been funded for the first time ever. The Comprehensive Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program, launched by the Mississippi Insurance Department in 2007, finally received some funding with lawmakers allocating $5 million during this year's session. Gov. Tate Reeves signed off on the legislation on May 13. "These funds are not from the general fund but are considered public funds," Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney explained. "It limits financial grants under the program to $10,000 per recipient. And requires that MID issue a request for proposal for administration of the program or operate the program internally. I want to thank the legislature and Governor Tate Reeves for supporting this legislation." The Comprehensive Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program is intended to offer relief to policyholders in the lower six counties of the state -- the most vulnerable area for hurricane activity. While Chaney did ask the legislature to extend the program statewide, he said "politics blocked the expansion." Grants through the program can go to mitigation efforts such as building at a higher elevation, adding hurricane shutters, fastening roofs with hurricane straps, and purchasing flood insurance. |
| Efforts to revive Mississippi Sound oyster cultivation continue | |
 | In the early 1900s, Biloxi was known as the "Seafood Capital of the World." As late as 2005, before Hurricane Katrina, up to 500 people were employed in the oyster harvesting industry alone. "We had some of the largest oyster reefs in the nation," said Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Chief Scientific Officer Rick Burris. "Then the reefs began to be damaged by a series of natural and man-made disasters. Beginning with Hurricane Katrina, the reefs were covered in mud and debris, which killed a lot of oysters. When you have large-scale mortalities, the whole reef begins to die off; it starts shrinking and shrinking. When the remaining oysters spawn, the larvae enter the water column looking for hard substrate, and when there is none, the reef cannot rebuild itself. The more damage to the substrate through these man-made and natural disasters, the more it changes the footprint of the resource." Of all the disasters, Burris points to the opening of Bonnet Carré Spillway for 123 days in 2019 as the most devastating. The spillway in Louisiana was opened to prevent the Mississippi River flooding New Orleans. Oysters were a significant part of the Coast's economy in the past. In its prime, hundreds of thousands of sacks of oysters were harvested each year. In addition to income for fishermen, there were beneficial financial impacts creating processing jobs, revenues for restaurants selling oysters and jobs transporting the oysters. |
| Amazon breaks ground on site here | |
| Ground was broken on a new $10 billion Amazon Web Services center in the Madison County MegaSite on Monday. The first wave of Data Centers could be operational as early as the second or third quarter of 2025, Madison County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Joey Deason said. "The future looks extremely bright for Madison County and we are excited about our future with our newest corporate citizen, AWS," Deason said. According to Deason, construction work on the MegaSite began months ago and hiring is currently underway. "The first crucial role members of the Mississippi AWS Team have been hired and most will be moving to Madison County within the next two months," Deason said. The investment by AWS is the single largest capital investment in Mississippi history and four times the size of the previous largest economic development project. The project was announced in January. As work continues at the MegaSite, Deason said the Ridgeland location is moving along as well. "Construction on the new (Entergy) substation is underway with Clearing and Grubbing completed," Deason said. "We expect pad construction for the first wave of Data Centers to begin within the next four weeks." |
| Nissan EV car development paused, Canton plant to support next-generation vehicles | |
 | Nissan Motor Company has paused development plans for two battery-powered sedans while expanding its EV lineup to five vehicles in the United States, the Japanese automaker said on Tuesday. "We are adjusting the timeline for the introduction of these five new models to ensure we bring the vehicles to the market at the right time," a Nissan spokesperson told Reuters. The company's new lineup for the U.S. also includes battery-powered crossover SUVs. While Nissan's electric sedans are still in the production plan, the company expects the SUVs to be rolled out faster than its sedans. The company also said its Canton, Mississippi factory would support manufacturing of its next-generation vehicles. The announcement comes as weaker-than-expected EV demand prompts global automakers to pull back from their ambitious electrification plans to focus on hybrids and gas-powered models instead. Additionally, demand for crossover SUVs and pickup trucks has outweighed sedans and other vehicle formats over the past few years, as Americans prefer the convenience offered from those platforms. |
| New state GOP chair hopes to work on expanding party foothold in Mississippi | |
 | Former U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst took the helm of the Mississippi Republican Party on May 11, and he said he is planning to continue several outreach programs within the party and grow the Republican base in Mississippi. Hurst told the Clarion Ledger he was honored to be voted into the party's leadership position, and he hopes to continue the good work of the former party chairman Frank Bordeaux, who held the position since 2020. "It's a huge honor, but it's a really demanding responsibility that it's been placed on me," Hurst said. That work will include several outreach programs to increase party membership in minority and women populations throughout the state. So far, Hurst said those efforts already resulted in more Republican women being involved in the party and last year's election of Rodney Hall of Southaven as the first Black Republican in the Mississippi House Representative since 1894. "I think there are a lot of opportunities there for folks to see that we share the same values, we share the same principles, and we are the party of Lincoln," he said. While Hurst said he grew up in Newton County with his family telling him they were Republicans, he first became interested in politics while attending Millsaps College from 1995 to 1997, where he joined a conservative student group. "That's really where I started getting together with other like-minded folks, to really get it out on the campaign trail," he said. |
| Cutting Mississippi's income and grocery taxes is House Speaker's top priority for 2025 session | |
 | Tax reform will be one of Mississippi House Speaker Jason White's top priorities for the 2025 legislative session. Eliminating the income tax, cutting the grocery tax and even some tax increases are on the table. During a meeting with the press on Monday, White said he will appoint between 15 and 18 House members to a committee on tax reform that will hold hearings throughout the fall and provide recommendations to lawmakers before the 2025 session. White's biggest goal for tax reform is to see Mississippi's personal income tax phased out and replaced with a consumption tax. Under that model, people would be taxed when they spend money instead of being taxed on their earnings. It's not clear exactly how a consumption tax model would look in Mississippi and how long that shift would take. "That (income tax elimination) may take longer than some people want, but we've got to be smart about how we do it," White said. The income tax currently provides around one-third of the state's general fund revenue. White said taxes would have to be raised in other areas for the state to be able to afford the income tax elimination and other tax cuts he wants to see implemented. While eliminating the income tax is a more long-term goal, White says he wants to get taxpayers more timely relief by cutting the state's highest in the nation grocery tax. |
| Nikki Haley Says She Will Vote for Donald Trump | |
 | Nikki Haley, in her first public appearance since dropping out of the Republican presidential race in March, said she planned to vote for former President Donald Trump in November. The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador stopped short, however, of calling on her supporters to back Trump following a speech critical of President Biden. "As a voter, I put my priorities on a president who is going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account, who would secure the border -- no more excuses," Haley said Wednesday at the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington. "A president who would support capitalism and freedom. A president who understands we need less debt, not more debt." A moderator had asked who would do a better job in the White House between the two presumptive nominees. On these policies, she said Trump hadn't been perfect. "But Biden has been a catastrophe, so I will be voting for Trump," Haley said. It is hard to know whether Haley, 52 years old, is part of her party's future or representative of a last gasp of more traditional Republicanism that favors a hawkish foreign policy, fiscal discipline and limited government. She still could have a future in presidential politics, but her sharp criticism of Trump in the final two months of her campaign likely will make that possibility challenging while he still has a hold on the party. |
| The White House to the left: We told you so on crime | |
 | The defeat of a liberal Portland prosecutor at the hands of a tough-on-crime challenger has hardened a view among top White House officials that Democrats need to further distance themselves from their left flank on law-and-order issues. In the wake of the voter backlash over public safety in Oregon, Joe Biden's aides this week argued the results served as validation of their long-running concerns that crime and an immigration crisis at the southern border risk overwhelming the president's case for reelection -- especially if the broader party is seen as soft on both fronts. "Particularly right now, Americans don't want to feel like things are out of control," said one Biden official, who was granted anonymity to offer candid views about tensions within the party. "Well-meaning ideas have gone too far, and we need a sensible approach." The White House is banking on the idea that voters will reward them for public efforts to crack down on immigration and boost spending on law enforcement -- and, perhaps as importantly, that the liberal forces that so effectively moved the party away from those planks in 2020 won't punish the president come November. Inside the West Wing, senior counselor Steve Ricchetti has been among the leading voices making this case, while also advocating for more toughness on the border, according to the Biden official and one other, both granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. But the president has not needed much convincing, the officials said, having personally favored an approach that emphasizes more traditional support for law enforcement alongside criminal justice reforms. |
| A.I. Promised to Upend the 2024 Campaign. It Hasn't Yet. | |
 | Artificial intelligence helped make turnout predictions in the Mississippi elections last year, when one group used the technology to transcribe, summarize and synthesize audio recordings of its door knockers' interactions with voters into reports on what they were hearing in each county. Another group recently compared messages translated by humans and A.I. into six Asian languages and found them all to be similarly effective. A Democratic firm tested four versions of a voice-over ad -- two spoken by humans, two by A.I. -- and found that the male A.I. voice was as persuasive as its human equivalent (the female voice outperformed her A.I. equivalent). The era of artificial intelligence has officially arrived on the campaign trail. But the much-anticipated, and feared, technology remains confined to the margins of American campaigns. With less than six months until the 2024 election, the political uses of A.I. are more theoretical than transformational, both as a constructive communications tool or as a way to spread dangerous disinformation. "This is the dog that didn't bark," said Dmitri Mehlhorn, a political adviser to one of the Democratic Party's most generous donors, Reid Hoffman. "We haven't found a cool thing that uses generative A.I. to invest in to actually win elections this year." |
| Supreme Court allows disputed South Carolina voting map, a win for GOP | |
 | The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the use of a South Carolina congressional map that a lower court said "exiled" thousands of Black voters to carve out a district safer for a White Republican incumbent. At issue for the court was whether South Carolina's new map, which was created by the GOP-led state legislature and moved Black voters from one district to another, was permitted to bolster the Republican majority or was an unconstitutional effort to divvy up voters by race. The 6-3 conservative majority sent the case back to the lower court, finding that it erred when it determined that race predominated in the map-drawing process. The decision marked a victory for Republicans not only because it clears the way for a map that is favorable to the GOP. It also set a high bar for determining when a map can be considered a racial gerrymander, rather than a partisan one. The court has previously found that the Constitution bars racial gerrymandering but that federal courts cannot police partisan gerrymandering. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel A. Alito noted many predominantly Black precincts in Charleston were moved out of one district and into another. But "because of the tight correlation between race and partisan preferences, this fact does little to show that race, not politics drove the legislature's choice," he wrote. The case is one of several redistricting cases that has been closely watched because the U.S. House is so narrowly divided. Some of them won't be conclusively decided until after this year's elections and will determine districts for 2026 and beyond. |
| US Sues to Break Up Ticketmaster and Live Nation, Alleging Monopoly Abuse | |
 | The US Department of Justice has sued Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, for abusing their alleged monopoly in the ticketing market to trample competitors. Filed on Thursday in the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit focuses on Ticketmaster's long-term exclusivity contracts with many of the largest music venues, making it the predominant ticketing service available to concertgoers. The firm secures these deals in part by "threatening and retaliating against venues that work with rivals," the DOJ alleges. In the complaint, the DOJ accuses Ticketmaster and Live Nation, which acts as a promoter for hundreds of high-profile artists, of exploiting their relationship to establish a "self-reinforcing flywheel" that blocks competitors from gaining a foothold. Live Nation parlays its exclusive promotion deals into exclusive ticketing deals with venues, the DOJ claims, which are left with no practical choice but to go with Ticketmaster, for fear of losing access to sought-after acts represented by its parent company. The DOJ is seeking to break up the joint organization. The charges brought by the DOJ mirror allegations made previously against Ticketmaster in two ongoing private lawsuits. In December 2022, Ticketmaster was sued by hundreds of Taylor Swift fans, who brought a case in response to a high-profile ticketing debacle. In the second case, a class action brought in 2022 on behalf of Ticketmaster customers in the US, Live Nation and Ticketmaster were accused of abusing the complementary relationship between their services to overcharge consumers and sustain their monopoly. |
| Students begin orientation at The W | |
 | Orientation was underway for the summer at Mississippi University for Women. The program is designed to help assist students in having a smooth transition to college life at The W. During orientation, students and parents learned more about the university services offered to students, and academic programs, along with enrolling in classes for the upcoming semester. Students also got the chance to meet and get to know upcoming classmates and engage with currently enrolled W students. |
| USM ROTC grad named new commander of Hattiesburg Army recruiting company | |
 | A Foxworth native and graduate of the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program at the University of Southern Mississippi is the new head of Army recruiting in South Mississippi. Capt. Kinsey Johnson assumed command Wednesday afternoon of the United States Army Hattiesburg Recruiting Company in a ceremony at Camp Shelby. Johnson is a 2018 USM graduate and was commissioned a second lieutenant through the university's Army ROTC program. She will command more than two dozen soldiers at recruiting stations in Hattiesburg, Laurel, Gulfport, Gautier, McComb and Meridian. "I'm really excited to be back in town around my family and everything," Johnson said. "We've spent a lot of time visiting with them over the last few weeks we've been here. Over the years, it's been maybe only once or twice a year and I know that my husband is especially excited to be back because his family lives nearby as well." |
| JSU professor elected president of national organization | |
 | A Jackson professor is set to serve as president of a national teacher's association. Dr. Jennifer K. Young Wallace, of Jackson State University (JSU), will be the president of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) president from 2025 to 2026. Wallace joined the ATE national board in 2019 and currently serves as ATE's first vice president. Her term as president begins in March 2025. According to JSU, Wallace was humbled to be chosen for her new role in the organization. "I'm thankful to ATE for electing me to such an honorable position. I am excited about my team of educators who are from higher education institutions in America," Wallace said. Wallace is a tenured associate professor/coordinator of the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program for the College of Education and Human Development at JSU. The president-elect first graduated from Alcorn State University with a degree in English/journalism. She received master's degrees from JSU, Mississippi College and a PhD in educational administration from JSU. Wallace will be ATE's first president who is an alumna and employee of an HBCU. |
| Itawamba Community College nationally recognized for business, marketing tech program | |
| Itawamba Community College is getting some national recognition for its business and marketing technology program. According to Forbes Advisor, ICC's Business and Marketing Management Technology Program ranks sixth in the nation. Jodi McCrimon is the program director and said the course prepares students for the sales and marketing workforce. The business and marketing management technology program went all online about five years ago, and since then, enrollment has more than doubled. "The communities we serve, often, these adult students are not able to come back, face-to-face to campus on a regular basis, but they can do online and this is a great program to help them not only in the current job they have but maybe get the job of their dreams," said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. After graduation, students can work toward their bachelor's degree online at universities throughout the region. |
| Mississippi falls short of an eighth-grade literacy miracle | |
| Much has been made nationally of Mississippi's improvement in fourth-grade reading scores. Whether being celebrated or scrutinized, attention has been squarely focused on elementary students and their reading instruction. Mississippi students and educators have closed the gap and reached the national average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. This growth can be attributed to several factors, but chief among them is a 2013 state law that created a more robust infrastructure around helping children learn to read and holding them back at the end of third grade if they didn't hit a certain benchmark. But this national test also measures students again in eighth grade. The gap between the national average and Mississippi's eighth-grade reading score has gotten smaller over the last decade, but it hasn't closed at the rate of fourth-grade reading. State leaders are paying attention. "Some of our challenge points are eighth-grade reading," Interim State Superintendent Ray Morgigno said when presenting an annual report at the Jan. 18 State Board of Education meeting. |
| Will Louisiana require Ten Commandments displays in public colleges? | |
| Louisiana's Ten Commandments bill is inching closer to enactment as the role of religion in public schools continues to be the subject of state legislation and legal action. If enacted, the Louisiana bill could face challenges in court, as well. Under the bill, schools and colleges in Louisiana would have to display the Ten Commandments in a poster or framed document measuring at least 11 inches by 14 inches, with the text printed in a large and easily readable font and presented as the main focal point. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1980 struck down as unconstitutional a Kentucky law requiring all public schools to post the Ten Commandments in each classroom. In a 5-4 ruling in Stone v. Graham, the justices found the law violated the First Amendment's establishment clause, served "no secular legislative purpose," and was "plainly religious in nature." In March, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed amended legislation adding the Ten Commandments to the list of documents that may be thoroughly studied in schools. An initial version of the bill would have required public schools to post the Ten Commandments. A similar requirement for public schools to display the Ten Commandments was proposed in the Oklahoma Legislature in February but has since stalled. Last year, state legislatures in South Carolina and Texas also failed to pass similar measures. |
| UGA, Penn State research team to develop new model to predict measles outbreaks | |
 | A research team led by faculty at the University of Georgia and Pennsylvania State University has received a $583,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a new model to predict measles outbreaks worldwide. This funding is part of a global effort to restore progress toward measles elimination lost during the pandemic. Measles is a highly contagious disease that most commonly affects children. Despite the widespread availability of measles vaccines, cases are on the rise in the U.S., and measles continues to cause severe illness and death in low- and middle-income countries where the disease burden is high. "We're trying to predict risk up to 18 months in advance. This is the first known effort to generate national-level risk predictions for every country in the world. And if successful, the outputs of these tools can be used to allocate resources and prevent measles outbreaks before they happen," said principal investigator Amy Winter, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UGA's College of Public Health. The project team, which includes UGA Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases' John Drake, brings together experts in epidemiology, statistics and computer science, many with a long background in measles risk assessment. |
| How the U. of Missouri System manages billions of dollars in endowments | |
 | The University of Missouri's endowment ranks sixth among public universities in the SEC. MU's endowment totals $1.4 billion, while the University of Missouri System has more than $2.2 billion spread across 6,000 endowments. The UM System's endowment has increased nearly 26% since 2018. "Endowments help us with affordability by providing students with millions of dollars in financial aid through endowed scholarships," said university spokesperson Christian Basi. "This keeps the cost of tuition low for students and their families and ensures that the University of Missouri remains affordable to every student." "I think that (is) something that's misunderstood about the endowment," said Tom Richards, chief investment officer of the UM System. "When the university receives those funds, we are obligated to honor the donor's directive and commitments going forward into perpetuity." Each campus has its own set of endowments, but they are generally invested in a collective pool. The endowment pool is managed by the Office of Investments. The office follows the investment policy set by the UM System Board of Curators. The policy aims for about a 7.75% return on investment. Endowments are obtained and stewarded by the Advancement Office. "Our work is matching a donor's interest with the needs of the institution," said Jackie Lewis, vice chancellor of advancement at MU. |
| Iowa State names new provost: Jason Keith, Mississippi State dean | |
| After a national search that last month brought to campus a parade of finalists, Iowa State University this week announced Mississippi State University College of Engineering Dean Jason Keith will serve as its new provost. Keith has served in the Mississippi State dean post for the past decade, and before that directed that university's School of Chemical Engineering and its Energy Institute. "We had a strong pool of candidates and are thrilled to welcome Dr. Keith to Iowa State University," search committee chair and Ivy College of Business Dean David Spalding said in a statement. "He is an accomplished academic leader who brings a wealth of experience, and his expertise will be invaluable in working collaboratively with our talented team of deans." Other finalists invited to ISU in April included Elizabeth Wentz, vice provost and dean of the Arizona State University Graduate College; Eric Barker, dean of pharmacy and acting associate provost for graduate programs at Purdue University; and Jason Wrobel, University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences dean. Barker withdrew, and was promoted May 6 to vice president for health affairs at Purdue. Keith comes to ISU as a tenured professor in chemical engineering, having earned his bachelor's from the University of Akron and his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2000. |
| Iowa State University names new senior vice president and provost | |
| Iowa State University has named Jason Keith as its next senior vice president and provost. According to a news release, Keith will start in the role Aug. 1, pending approval from the Iowa Board of Regents. He's coming to ISU from Mississippi State University, where he's held the position of dean of the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering for 10 years. Before holding his role at Mississippi State University, Keith led the university's school of chemical engineering and energy institute. He previously worked at the Michigan Technological University as a professor in the chemical engineering department. With his new role, Keith will oversee the offices of the vice presidents of research and extension and outreach, as well as seven academic colleges, the university's graduate college, library and enrollment management, according to the release. He will also work with the Ames National Laboratory director. |
| This Alabama college is first to close DEI office after state bans diversity programs | |
 | Jacksonville State University will close its Office of Diversity and Inclusion on May 31 in response to a new Alabama law banning DEI programs at state institutions. "This decision was not made lightly but is necessary to ensure compliance with the new legal framework imposed by Act 2024-34," JSU President Don Killingsworth Jr. said in a notice sent to students and staff on Wednesday and reviewed by AL.com. The move is the first publicly known response by state universities to SB129, which asks for sweeping changes or cancellations to state agencies and public colleges with DEI offices and programming. The law, which bans any program that "advocates for a divisive concept," goes into effect Oct. 1. "All current employees within the Office of Diversity and Inclusion have been offered and have accepted positions in other areas across campus," Killingsworth wrote. "The decision to close the office ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline, as mandated by the state, is to ensure these employees have sufficient time to transition to their new roles before the flurry of the fall semester begins." Diversity efforts at JSU have dated back as far as the 1990s, documents show. The college opened an Office of Minority Affairs in 1996, which was later named the Office of Multicultural Services. The university hired its first chief diversity officer in 2016. |
| Why are parents walking with their kids across the commencement stage? | |
 | As Yanelit Madriz Zarate crossed the stage at a University of California, Berkeley, commencement ceremony this month, she reflected on the fits and starts in her educational journey: the mental and physical challenges that forced her to drop out after her first higher education stint in the California State system, the lessons she learned advocating for herself when she resumed at a community college and the empowerment she felt when she transferred to Cal. The 25-year-old also thought about the role her parents, immigrants from Mexico with just a middle school education, played in helping her get to graduation. So, it felt extra special -- and extra fitting -- that her parents got to join her on stage. Crossing the stage with her loved ones, a decades-old tradition embraced in the university's Chicanx Latinx graduation, was something she looked forward to since she heard about the option years earlier. Madriz Zarate also made the moment her own: As her name was called out, she and her parents danced a zapateado, a traditional Mexican step. "It was for the three of us," said Madriz Zarate, a sociology major who grew up in San Pablo, California, and works part-time in disability rights advocacy. "It feels like we're finally being seen." While symbolic, the budding tradition of walking the stage with loved ones marks a shift in how colleges are engaging with students from nontraditional backgrounds and elevates the often-unspoken contributions of family members. |
| AI Most Popular Speciality for Computer Science Ph.D.s | |
 | Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are the most popular Ph.D. specialities among graduates in the computer science, computer engineering and information fields, a new report finds. The Computing Research Association's annual Taulbee survey revealed that, for the last academic year in North America, more than a quarter (28 percent) of awarded doctoral degrees in those computer-related fields had a speciality focus in machine learning or AI. Human computer interaction was the second most popular area of focus for doctoral degrees, followed by security/information assurance, software engineering and robotics/vision. Human computer interaction and robotics vision were new in the top five concentrations, having been absent in the 2021–2022 academic year. The report, which surveyed 176 higher education institutions from fall 2023 through Feb. 14 of this year, addressed areas including degree enrollment, degrees awarded and employment for those in the three areas (computer science, computer engineering and information). The number of graduates in the three program areas rose across the board. The 40,583 master's degrees and 21,241 Ph.D.s awarded were the largest totals since the survey began more than 50 years ago. |
| Employers can offer a new benefit: Matching student loan payments with 401(k) contributions | |
| Lately, employers have been using some tricks to sweeten the pot for their employees without actually increasing their paychecks. They're doing things like offering flexible work arrangements, tweaking company cultures and, of course, attractive benefits. In that last category, some companies have been rolling out programs that let workers reduce their student loan debt burden today while saving for retirement tomorrow. Back in 2018, the medical device maker Abbott found many of its younger employees were facing a financial quandary. "Sometimes they have to make a choice: Pay school debt or save for retirement," said Diego Martinez, Abbott's vice president of benefits. He said student debt was preventing workers from paying into their 401(k) plans, which meant they were giving up on the company's matching contribution. Abbott decided to make the contributions anyway, provided the employees were paying their loans. "The program that we created was the first of its kind, so we really had to pave our way," Martinez said. Back then, that meant getting a special letter of permission from the IRS. But a new law taking effect this year allows any employer to offer retirement matching of student loan payments. |
| Who Are the Campus Leaders Headed to Capitol Hill? | |
| University leaders faced difficult choices as pro-Palestinian encampments spread across U.S. campuses this spring. Some called in police, who tore down tents and arrested students; others agreed to consider various protester demands, focused largely on divestment from Israel and companies profiting off its war against Hamas. Now three leaders of campuses that saw active protests are set to appear before Congress, which has raised concerns about alleged antisemitic incidents surrounding the rise of encampments. University of California, Los Angeles, chancellor Gene Block, Northwestern University president Michael Schill and Rutgers University president Jonathan Holloway will all face questions about how they handled protests at their respective institutions. Of particular interest to lawmakers are the deals Northwestern and Rutgers struck with encampment demonstrators; UCLA drew their attention for becoming a flashpoint for violence. |
| UCLA Chancellor Gene Block to tell Congress 'we should have been prepared to immediately remove the encampment' | |
 | UCLA Chancellor Gene Block plans to tell a Republican-led House committee Thursday that "with the benefit of hindsight" the university should have acted to "immediately remove" a campus pro-Palestinian encampment "if and when the safety of our community was put at risk," according to his opening statement obtained by The Times. Block -- who has led UCLA amid months of tense protests over the Israel-Hamas war that culminated in a violent mob attack last month on the encampment -- faces questioning from members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce about increasing campus antisemitism. It will be the first time the head of a California university has addressed the panel, which has confronted university and K-12 leaders at hearings since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in the fall. A December hearing included explosive testimony in which other schools' leaders stumbled when asked how their campuses would handle calls for the genocide of Jews. Their responses contributed to the resignations of the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. In Block's statement, he explained his response to the encampment set up April 25, which he said "tested the limits" of the University of California's approach to de-escalation strategies with campus protests that avoid using law enforcement to remove protesters "unless it is absolutely necessary to protect the physical safety of the community." |
| College presidents defend their student protest deals | |
| House lawmakers on Thursday chastised two university presidents over their decisions to negotiate with students to disband anti-war encampments that have cropped up on college campuses. House Education and the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) slammed Northwestern University President Michael Schill and Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway for making deals with their students that included amnesty for protesters, discussing their school investments and scholarships for Palestinian students. Foxx called the deals "disgraceful" and "egregious." "Each of you should be ashamed of your decisions that allowed antisemitic encampments to endanger Jewish students," Foxx said in her opening statement. "Mr. Schill and Dr. Holloway, you should be doubly ashamed for capitulating to the antisemitic rulebreakers." Schill's deal included agreeing to cover the tuition and other costs for five Palestinian undergraduates to attend the school and allowing students to continue protests through the end of the quarter, among other deals. At Rutgers University, Holloway agreed not to retaliate against pro-Palestinian protesters, and announced the school would discuss divestment requests with protesters, explore creating an Arab cultural center and support displaced Palestinian students so they can finish their studies at the school. Both Schill and Holloway have faced calls to step down from Jewish advocacy groups who say the presidents caved to protesters who have harassed or intimidated Jewish students on campus. |
SPORTS
| More Heroics From Hujsak Makes Dawgs' Resume Even Better | |
| He did it again, folks. Mississippi State's Connor Hujsak is never going to want to leave Hoover. For the second straight night at the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Hujsak delivered a game-winning hit with two outs in the ninth inning. His two-run, bases-loaded single delivered the Dawgs a 5-3 victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday evening, only about 24 hours after Hujsak mashed a walk-off, two-run homer that ended archrival Ole Miss' season. "It's unbelievable," Hujsak said moments after Wednesday's game. Added MSU head coach Chris Lemonis: "It's like the Connor Hujsak Invitational hosted by the SEC." Hujsak has certainly provided the theatrics in the early stages of this year's conference tourney. Simultaneously, the hot-hitting Bulldog outfielder is aiding in the process of solidifying a Mississippi State resume that might just be enough to put an NCAA Regional back home at Dudy Noble Field come next week. "I'd like to think we're there," Lemonis said of State's hosting chances after the Dawgs downed the Aggies -- a team that entered Wednesday with the best RPI in the country. "What is that, [20 wins this season against SEC teams]? Our kids have earned it. We deserve to have [a regional] in Starkville." |
| Connor Hujsak delivers another winner for Mississippi State in 5-3 victory over Texas A&M | |
| Connor Hujsak delivered again for Mississippi State, his two-run double in the ninth inning lifting the Bulldogs to a 5-3 victory over Texas A&M at the SEC Tournament on Wednesday night. Hujsak, whose walkoff home run gave Mississippi State a 2-1 victory over Mississippi on Tuesday, was clutch again in the ninth inning. After the Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out, Dakota Jordan flied out and Hujsak came to the plate. He sent a single up the middle on an 0-2 pitch, scoring David Mershon and Bryce Chance with the go-ahead runs. Both runs were unearned after a throwing error by relief pitcher Evan Aschenbeck. Tyler Davis pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save and the win went to Nate Dohm (4-0, 1.15 ERA), who pitched two scoreless innings. Chris Cortez took the loss, falling to 8-3. Fifth-seeded Mississippi State (38-19) stays in the upper half of the bracket and will face Vanderbilt on Thursday. No. 4 Texas A&M (44-12) will play top-seeded Tennessee in an elimination game, also on Thursday. |
| Mississippi State takes down Texas A&M 5-3 in SEC Tournament thriller | |
| For the second night in a row, late-game heroics from Connor Hujsak led the way for the No. 15 Mississippi State baseball team. With round two of the SEC Tournament against No. 4 Texas A&M knotted up 3-3 in the top of the ninth inning, Hujsak stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and two outs. The senior center fielder knocked the ball between the Aggies' shortstop and second baseman to put two go-ahead runs on the scoreboard. Texas A&M was unable to muster up anything offensively in the bottom of the ninth, sealing the game for the Bulldogs. Now, the Bulldogs will look to continue to build their case to make Dudy Noble Field a host location for a regional in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. According to Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball, Mississippi State's RPI is now 19. An additional win in the SEC Tournament would essentially cement the Bulldogs as a regional host. "It's unbelievable. I mean, [hosting a regional] would be God's gift right there. That's what we're shooting for. That's what we're playing for right now, and we know it," Hujsak said on the SEC Network following Wednesday's contest. |
| Baseball: Hujsak delivers late again, Bulldogs knock off Aggies in Hoover | |
| If the Southeastern Conference is looking to rename its baseball tournament, Chris Lemonis has a suggestion. "It's like the Connor Hujsak Invitational, hosted by the SEC," Mississippi State's head coach said. "Two really good nights, and it couldn't happen to a better guy. A night after Hujsak rescued the Bulldogs with a two-out, walk-off two-run home run in the ninth inning to beat Ole Miss, the senior again found himself at the plate with two outs in the ninth. Although the game was tied and the bases were loaded this time, Texas A&M's Evan Aschenbeck, perhaps the SEC's best relief pitcher, was on the mound. Aschenbeck quickly got ahead in the count 0-2, but Hujsak stayed back on a changeup and hit it right back where it came from, up the middle and into center field for a two-run single. It was the decisive blow in No. 5 seed MSU's 5-3 victory over the No. 4 seed Aggies, who entered the day with the best RPI in the country. "They talked about staying in your legs on that changeup all day long," Lemonis said. "He did a great job of staying on that ball, putting it in play and making somebody make a play." Left-hander Tyler Davis, who transferred from Virginia Commonwealth to MSU along with Hujsak following the 2022 season, retired Texas A&M in order on just nine pitches in the bottom of the inning to earn his fifth save. "It's awesome. We've been playing together for four years," Davis said. "He's pretty much like a brother now. We live together and we do a lot of things together." |
| Healthy in SEC tournament, Mississippi State baseball shows why it should host NCAA regional | |
| Coach Chris Lemonis wanted to ensure the selection committee for the NCAA Tournament is aware of Mississippi State baseball's resume. Through the noise of the grounds crew at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on Wednesday, Lemonis made sure his pitch was heard. Fresh off a 5-3 win against No. 4 seed Texas A&M in the second round of the SEC tournament, Lemonis listed the reasons he thinks there should be no debate about Mississippi State (38-19) hosting an NCAA regional at Dudy Noble Field. "You've got to do your work, and it lays out for them," Lemonis said. "Our kids have earned it. We deserve to have one in Starkville." The Bulldogs won 17 conference games in the regular season – which doesn't include a neutral site midweek win against rival Ole Miss. As the No. 5 seed in the SEC tournament, MSU has added two more victories against conference foes with a win over No. 12 seed Ole Miss on Tuesday before defeating Texas A&M. Mississippi State has a top 20 RPI -- a metric the committee uses to help form the field of 64. To get to No. 19 in those rankings, the Bulldogs defeated the Aggies (44-12) who own the nation's top rating in the metric. Add the fact that the SEC could send most of its teams to the NCAA tournament, Lemonis feels the argument for State to host is solid. Lemonis felt Mississippi State's case was cemented even before its arrival in Hoover. However, aware that they don't want to give the committee a choice, his players have aimed to prove their case. Behind consecutive nights of ninth-inning heroics from outfielder Connor Hujsak, the Bulldogs have advanced to the winner's bracket where they'll face No. 8 seed Vanderbilt (37-20) on Thursday (8 p.m., SEC Network). |
| Vanderbilt baseball can still be dangerous in postseason. SEC tournament win vs Vols showed why | |
 | Miller Green has been thrown into the fray early and often as a freshman. The team leader in innings among Vanderbilt pitchers who have not started a game, Green has seen plenty of high-leverage situations already and the ups and downs inherent in that role. Green has taken four losses this season. He gave up the deciding run in the Commodores' first loss of the season to FAU. He was the one on the mound when South Carolina loaded the bases -- one of those baserunners coming on an error -- and later scored all three on a dropped fly ball when Vanderbilt dropped the first game of that series on March 23. On April 28, Green gave up a two-out, two-run home run in the ninth inning to drop a vital rubber match to Mississippi State. And in the first game against Tennessee on May 10, he gave up a two-run homer to Kavares Tears with the Commodores holding a one-run lead in the seventh inning. But Green got another shot and proved Wednesday why he has been one of Vanderbilt's most reliable bullpen arms all year long. He pitched the final four innings of the Commodores' 13-4 win over the Vols (46-11) in the second round of the SEC tournament, scattering three hits and striking out four. Vanderbilt (37-20) will face either Mississippi State or Texas A&M on Thursday (8 p.m., SEC Network). That loss to Mississippi State started a tailspin for Vanderbilt, which fell onto the NCAA tournament bubble by losing its next five SEC games. But the Commodores have almost certainly played their way into a regional now, sitting at No. 20 in the RPI with four wins over teams ranked in the top 10 in that metric. |
| Deer, turkeys and squirrels: Wildlife department proposes increased hunting opportunities | |
| The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks made a number of proposals in the May meeting of the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and if passed in the June meeting, hunters will see a number of expanded opportunities, including squirrels, turkeys and deer. "I think it's really good," said Russ Walsh, MDWFP Wildlife chief of staff. "We've tried to add opportunity across the WMAs (wildlife management areas). I think all the changes are positive." One change involves turkey hunting. "We haven't had turkey hunting on South Delta WMAs for about 15 years," Walsh said. "Going back to about 2009 or '10, flooding in that part of the Delta really impacted numbers." However, during the last several years, the area has experienced good hatches and numbers are rebounding. As a result, biologists are recommending allowing turkey hunting by permit on five South Delta WMAs. Changes may be in store for some deer hunters also. In the Southeast Deer Management unit, that change may be an increase in the bag limit for antlerless deer from one per day, two per annual season to one per day, three per annual season. The Southeast DMU has been limited to two antlerless deer for a number of years because lower soil quality limits the amount of deer the area can produce and support, but the population appears to be growing. |
| Meet the baseball team hoping to win an NCAA title for a school that won't exist in June | |
| Jan Weisberg prefers his team to play on the road. It's an unusual preference for a coach, especially during do-or-die postseason play. But in this particular case, he believes it's for the best. "Just with all the emotions that we've been facing," Weisberg said, "to not have that one on our back of, 'God, this could be the last game in this dugout.'" Weisberg's Birmingham-Southern College Panthers have been the fourth-winningest baseball program in NCAA Division III since 2010, a run that features nine 30-win seasons (including this season), nine conference championships and a national runner-up finish five years ago. But the stakes of this year's postseason are higher than ever. When Birmingham-Southern's season ends, it will be the end of the program altogether. The 1,300-student college founded in 1856 will close May 31 after a nearly two-year battle to replenish its depleted endowment to stay afloat. In October, the Alabama state treasurer declined a $30 million loan, and the school officially voted in late March to close. So if the baseball team continues to win, it will play for a school that no longer exists. Birmingham-Southern's fate is another blow to small liberal arts institutions, many of which are closing, merging or scaling back to cut costs. According to athletic director Kyndall Waters, schools such as Birmingham-Southern have faced an uphill battle since the 2007 recession as enrollment in liberal arts schools and fundraising have steadily declined while operating costs have increased, issues that have accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, Weisberg and his team play on, trying to channel the closure into a potentially historic moment. "It was a release, and I think they've played with that," Weisberg said of playing baseball during this time. |
| Additional network to air CFP games through ESPN sublicense | |
| ESPN has reached a five-year agreement for TNT Sports to sublicense select College Football Playoff games, beginning with the upcoming college football season. TNT Sports will present two first-round CFP games during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. TNT Sports will add two quarterfinal games each year starting with the 2026 season and going through the 2028 season. "It is exciting to add TNT Sports, another highly respected broadcaster, to the College Football Playoff family," Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, said in a released statement. "Sports fans across the country are intimately familiar with their work across a wide variety of sports properties over the past two decades, and we look forward to seeing what new and innovative ideas they bring to the promotion and delivery of these games." ESPN will present all other College Football Playoff games on its networks, including the annual CFP national championship game. This year will mark the expansion of the CFP from four teams to 12. The four highest-ranking conference champions will be seeded 1-4 and receive first-round byes. The CFP first round will consist of four games played at home campus venues, with teams seeded 5-8 hosting teams seeded 9-12. |
| State has a new NIL law. What it means for U. of South Carolina, Clemson, other colleges | |
 | A bill intended to put Clemson, South Carolina and other colleges across the state on a "level playing field" with their competitors when it comes to assisting athletes with name, image and likeness deals is now law. Gov. Henry McMaster signed H. 4957 on Tuesday after it was approved by state lawmakers earlier this year. The bill, introduced in January in the state House, had widespread bipartisan support and even drew Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney, USC football coach Shane Beamer and both schools' athletic directors to the state capitol to promote the legislation in February to a House panel. The bill was widely viewed as a game-changer for schools in South Carolina when it comes to NIL, which has quickly emerged as a critical part of roster construction and championship contention in every college sport -- especially in revenue-driving sports such as football, basketball and baseball. But what does the law actually do, and how will it help the Tigers, the Gamecocks, Coastal Carolina and other colleges across South Carolina? The State caught up with state Rep. Seth Rose, D-Richland, one of the co-sponsors of the legislation, for a breakdown. |
| There's a New Reason to Hate Duke: Their Softball Team | |
| When Kelly Torres was about 12 years old, her travel softball coach asked her to compile a ranking of her preferred colleges. Scrambling to complete a list in the car on the way to practice, Torres knew exactly who to put at the top -- a prestigious school she had heard about from her mother. She wanted to play at Duke. Unfortunately, Torres would soon discover there was a flaw in her plan. Duke didn't actually have a softball team. "Everyone that day at practice was just making fun of me," she said. Nobody is making fun of her now. In 2018, Duke launched a softball program. And in the years since, the Blue Devils have built it into something sure to annoy the millions of people who already hate their basketball team: another national powerhouse. Torres is the starting catcher. The Blue Devils have gone 50-6 this season, won the ACC tournament and spent much of the spring in the top five of virtually every poll. At one point last month, Softball America had them at No. 1 in the country -- signaling that Duke had quickly transformed a startup into one of the sport's most dominant, swaggery programs. Now they have their sights set on the program's first trip to the Women's College World Series, with only this weekend's best-of-three matchup against Missouri standing in their way. |
| In aftermath of House settlement, here are the most important remaining questions | |
| With the NCAA Board of Governors approving settlement terms in the landmark House v. NCAA case, the agreement is expected to usher in a historic revenue-sharing model for college sports. But even in the aftermath of the momentous settlement agreement -- which still needs to be certified by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in the coming months -- college sports will remain very much an unsettled landscape. The settlement will touch off a host of questions related to the implementation of a revenue-sharing model, gender-equity issues, ramifications for donor-funded NIL collectives and, most significantly, any protection from further lawsuits. It is important to remember that revenue sharing is permissive legislation, which means schools have the option to take part. That said, everyone knows that failing to take part virtually ensures failing to remain competitive on the field or the court in this cutthroat world of trying to recruit the best athletes. The biggest brands in college sports, the ones with $200 million-plus budgets, are all in. There will be many schools that don't fall into that category but will do what they can to keep pace. Even Texas A&M chose to cut staff recently in preparation for a new world order. Missouri included a provision in its athletic director's contract that when/if college sports' financial model changes, that compensation will be renegotiated. And Iowa State halted plans for a new wrestling facility amid the inevitability of a new business model. This much is certain: The gap between the haves and the have-nots in college sports will grow wider and wider. |
| As NCAA moves toward $2.8 billion settlement, whether Colorado case is part of deal is uncertain | |
| As the NCAA moved closer Wednesday to a $2.8 billion settlement that could resolve three antitrust lawsuits -- with the Big Ten the latest conference to give its approval -- it was uncertain whether a fourth case will also be part of the agreement. Attorneys in Fontenot v. the NCAA said they would like their case to the stay in federal court in Colorado instead of being moved to California and combined with another antitrust lawsuit involving college sports. They said they won't know whether their claims would be covered by the settlement until they have all the details of the proposal. "One way or the other, they have to deal with us or I just don't see how a settlement ultimately gets done," said George Zelcs, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys. "They have to either include us or get an order that requires us to be involved in it. All of which we have arguments against as well." The NCAA and five major college conferences named in the House v. NCAA lawsuit that is at the center of settlement talks have asked U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney in Colorado to combine the Fontenot case with Carter v. the NCAA, which is being heard in the Northern District of California. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in House v. the NCAA have given the defendants a Thursday deadline to agree to a settlement. As expected, the NCAA completed its three-part approval process Wednesday night with its 15-member Board of Governors voting unanimously to accept the proposal -- with one member abstaining -- according to two people with direct knowledge of the vote. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the NCAA was not publicly revealing its internal process. |
| A Major Sports Settlement Is Poised to Cost Colleges Billions. How Would They Pay for It? | |
 | There has been so much legal action about college sports in the last decade -- including Supreme Court cases, National Labor Relations Board decisions, and active lawsuits -- that you may have understandably tuned it out. Now is the time to tune back in. This week, the colleges that make up the National Collegiate Athletic Association's most prominent conferences are voting on a proposed settlement in the case House v. NCAA, which seeks damages for athletes who played before the association began allowing them to monetize their names, images, and likenesses. According to news reports, hundreds of colleges will see revenue drops over the next decade to pay damages, while a smaller subset of the highest-profile conferences will put revenue away to share with players. Given the competitive pressures in the major conferences, it's likely most colleges will opt to pay. Where will they find the money? First of all, athletic departments with the biggest revenues, like those at Ohio State University and the University of Texas at Austin, will be able to take this hit much more easily than will their peers by, for example, drawing on major donors. Other power-conference institutions that want to remain competitive but do not have $20 million lying around will most likely pull together the money from a variety of sources, said Dean O. Smith, an emeritus professor of physiology at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. The bottom line is that a big new yearly expense will hurt some universities much more than others. "This is like throwing 60 swimmers in the deep end of the pool," said Michael H. LeRoy, a labor and employment-relations professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "We'll find out who can't swim at the end of the day." |
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