| Friday, August 23, 2024 |
| Mississippi State program alleviating poverty and improving nutrition globally | |
 | U.S. Agency for International Development Chief Scientist Robert Bertram visited Mississippi State University Thursday to mark five years of successful work promoting global health and sustainability by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish -- managed by the Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security at MSU. In addition to celebrating five years of successful implementation, leaders of the Fish Innovation Lab are looking ahead to continue alleviating poverty and improving nutrition through aquatic foods with a five-year grant extension, awarded in 2023 and adding up to $15 million to the initial effort, which launched in 2018. "MSU is a long-standing and proud partner in the struggle to achieve global food security by putting sustainable, quality, nutritious and affordable foods within the reach of all. It is gratifying to celebrate the new phase of the Fish Innovation Lab, which embodies those goals," said Bertram who leads the USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security. "The Fish Innovation Lab and its leaders wisely engaged the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and WorldFish early on, which has multiplied the lab's influence and impact." On Thursday, the lab celebrated the impact of its work on farmers, fishers and families across Africa and Asia who have benefitted from better and more reliable aquatic food systems. |
| Four Mississippi universities to allow students to enroll in fast-track law degree program | |
 | Four Mississippi universities have announced partnerships that would allow students to be admitted into a fast-track law degree program, where students can receive their law degrees in six years instead of seven. The Accelerated Law Program, also known as 3+3, allows students to trim a full year off of the time it would take to earn both a bachelor and a law degree independently by combining the last year of undergraduate study with the first year of law school. Students admitted to the program will spend three years completing their undergraduate degrees at a university before transitioning into a law school's Juris Doctor program for another three years. On Thursday, higher education administrators revealed Mississippi State University and the Mississippi College School of Law signed an agreement Wednesday allowing qualified MSU students to enter MC's Juris Doctor program before fully completing an MSU bachelor's degree. According to a press release, MSU President Mark E. Keenum and MC President Blake Thompson said the new accelerated pathway for students who plan to enter the legal profession and become attorneys will "benefit not only the students and institutions, but the entire state." "Mississippi State and Mississippi College share similar values and a commitment to serve, and I'm so pleased we have been able to work with President Thompson and his leadership team to develop this accelerated academic pathway," Keenum said. "It's an exceptional opportunity for students, our institutions, and the state of Mississippi." |
| MSU, MC partner for accelerated law degree program | |
 | Mississippi State University (MSU) students now have an accelerated pathway into the legal profession thanks to a partnership with Mississippi College (MC). MSU and MC's School of Law officials signed an agreement Wednesday, August 21 allowing qualified MSU students to enter MC's Juris Doctor program before fully completing an MSU bachelor's degree. "Mississippi State and Mississippi College share similar values and a commitment to serve, and I'm so pleased we have been able to work with President Thompson and his leadership team to develop this accelerated academic pathway," MSU President Mark E. Keenum said. "It's an exceptional opportunity for students, our institutions, and the state of Mississippi." "This new partnership between MSU and MC Law allows us to better serve Mississippi by pairing our state's largest land-grant university and its only capital city law school. The arrangement offers a tremendous benefit to the students of both institutions, and it will help to keep our brightest future lawyers in the state," said MC President Blake Thompson. |
| MSU to celebrate All-Steinway School status | |
 | Mississippi State University has attained All-Steinway School status and will hold a ceremony on Aug. 30 to celebrate the milestone. Steinway & Sons grants the All-Steinway School designation to conservatories, colleges, universities and schools that solely use pianos designed by the prestigious piano company for practice, instruction and performance. Fewer than 250 institutions globally hold the distinction. Open to the public, the MSU Department of Music celebration will take place at 10 a.m. in the Music Building located at 124 Hardy Road. Speakers will include MSU president Mark E. Keenum and Steinway & Sons' New York City district sales manager Chris Gilbert. The ceremony also will include a concert featuring three of the 50 university Steinways and an unveiling of the Steinway plaque, followed by a reception. Bob and Kathy Olsen, major MSU All-Steinway Initiative donors, completed the fundraising campaign with their latest gift of seven upright pianos. The Olsen family also funded three grand pianos and contributed to a fourth. Professor of Music Rosângela Sebba, a Steinway Artist and keyboard coordinator in MSU's Department of Music, said the All-Steinway status will improve the quality of learning and teaching while making students more competitive in the job market and attracting great guest artists and faculty members. "I am thrilled with our Department of Music's recognition as an All-Steinway School," said Teresa Jayroe, dean of MSU's College of Education. |
| Students brainstorm tech to solve real-world problems | |
 | What if an ankle brace could track healing progress? What if a dog collar could monitor food intake? These are the questions Caledonia High School students are considering as they plan their projects for the FlexFactor program. The project-based STEM program challenges students to solve a real-world problem as they learn about advanced manufacturing technology and entrepreneurship. "It exposes those students to the possibilities of working in industry in different ways than what they've thought of before," said Jason Forrester, personal finance and marketing teacher at CHS. "A lot of my students are younger than a senior ... (they're) still trying to find what they want to do. Hopefully this will help them find a little bit of direction." The FlexFactor program started in 2021 when East Mississippi Community College, local employers, K-12 schools and Mississippi State University partnered with California-based technology company NextFlex. |
| MSMS teacher uses AI to enhance science lessons | |
 | Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT are used in schools in various ways. Dr. Jason Palagi implements AI as a biology teacher at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. He said in ecology, students do mathematical modeling and AI makes it easier when you're using computer programs to do complicated math. Palagi partnered with a professor at MSU to use a system called "Mathematica" which he said is hard to learn. With ChatGPT, it helps them to prompt and create code for Mathematica. He says he has had good success and using it doesn't take away the critical thinking aspect for the students. And they still have to understand the results AI is giving them. "It seems to help with generating the basic answer to the problem. But to get to the specific answer, students still need to do that critical thinking to make it into something that's unique and appropriate for the assignment," said Palagi. |
| Dawg Daze returns with registration at capacity | |
| This Saturday will see the Dawg Daze Open return to Starkville, hosting professional and amateur disc golfers for the weekend event. Starkville Disc Golf Association hosts the event at Mississippi State University's Wise Center course, to which they recently added a 19th hole. The tournament cap is currently set at 90 participants to prevent crowding the course on Saturday, but with the interest now in Starkville as a disc golf destination they are considering raising that cap in the future. SDGA reached their limit with registration a couple of months ago, and the interest has only grown since they began hosting tournaments a few years ago. "When I first came into office I wasn't thinking about us being a big deal, I just wanted to run some leagues and have a good time," Tournament director Dustin West said. "There was a boom with a lot of people coming into it, we have a really good sponsor and volunteer base and people consistently come to our tournaments." The sport has taken off in Starkville over the past few years, capitalizing on its popularity at Mississippi State as well as its growth as a hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Strange Brew Coffeehouse serves MSU students and Starkville community | |
 | For nearly twenty years, Strange Brew Coffeehouse has prioritized being a go-to place for a pick-me-up in Starkville, providing friendly customer service and creative drinks. "We can make you the best cup of black coffee you've ever tasted or an upside down pink dragon, extra shot, extra whip cream, sparkly frappé with sprinkles if that's what you're into," Shane Reed, creator and founder of Strange Brew Coffeehouse, said. "We can do both!" Reed attended Mississippi State University, where he earned a degree in anthropology/archaeology. However, post-graduation, Reed claims he could not force himself to leave Starkville behind. Since then, Strange Brew Coffeehouse has practically exploded with success -- enough success in Starkville, in fact, that Reed was able to open two sister-locations in Tupelo, Mississippi and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Currently, according to construction pictures and hints on Strange Brew Coffeehouse's social media channels, a fourth storefront is under development with its city yet to be announced. "The expansion from our one little independent shop to a multi-state operation has been challenging but awesome," Reed said. |
| Mary Means Business: Rubens Fish House and Muddy Waters property for sale | |
| There's a great investment opportunity just by the river. The property that houses Ruben's Fish House and Muddy Waters, 171 Moores Creek Road, is for sale priced at $650,000. The property includes 12 acres, a three-bedroom living quarters, a 4,100 square-foot facility and 200-person venue. Ruben Prescott opened the fish and steakhouse in 1955 and the restaurant has been a local favorite since. Ruben's and Muddy Waters are both owned by Ray Boltwood, who is currently leasing the building and said neither business is up for sale. Boltwood said he loves serving the Columbus community and hopes to remain a staple in Columbus for years to come. "Muddy Waters and Ruben's is open until a decision or purchase has been made," he said. ... Moving to West Point, a new grocery store is on its way. Fresh Value is opening soon at 411 W. Main St. The new grocery store will take the place of Sav-A-Lot which closed permanently in June. The Dispatch did not hear back from store representatives by press time today, but there's a Fresh Value West Point Facebook page with all the details. |
| Contour flights from Tupelo to Dallas will begin Oct. 1 | |
| Contour Airlines will begin daily flights from Tupelo to Dallas, as well as maintain its flights to Nashville, starting Oct. 1. The Tupelo Regional Airport made the news official today, but the schedule has been in the works for months, and flights were already being booked before today's official acknowledgement. The U.S. Department of Transportation had to give the final approval. The new schedule, starting in October, will have one flight daily leaving from Tupelo to Dallas at 1:15 p.m. From Dallas to Tupelo, the departure will be at 5 p.m. Contour will fly into Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). The connection to Dallas, however, means only one flight will leave from Tupelo to Nashville daily instead of two. With the new schedule, the Tupelo to Nashville flight leaves at 7:45 a.m., while the return flight is at 11:15 a.m. Tupelo Regional Airport executive director Joe Wheeler said the Dallas flight is a welcome addition. "I think it's going to serve our business community better," he said. "I've spoken to several businesses, and they were looking for some better way of heading west. They were looking for a hub so that it wasn't so hard to go in that direction. This will be a good win for the business community and anybody else looking to go west." |
| See hundreds of exotic animals and have lunch or dinner at this new Mississippi safari park | |
 | Want to take a ride and see hundreds of exotic animals? How about hold a fennec fox or a lemur? What about dine with a view of peacocks walking around and swans in a pond? Well, you can do all those things and more at Little Creek Landing Safari Park. The new park is located in West Hattiesburg and is home to hundreds of exotic animals. It's an experience geared toward all ages and it's the product of a lifelong love of animals. Joy Thurman Wallace said the seed for the park was planted long ago. Her mother had a love of animals and shared it with Wallace's son, Chris Thurman, who started and owns the safari park. "My mother had a love of animals," Wallace said. "As a little boy, they would buy and sell animals." Wallace said her mother's and son's business of buying, selling and raising animals was known as The Critter Farm and it was the genesis of the safari park. Guests will see species such as zebras, camels, antelope, ostrich and kangaroos. There are also some very unusual animals. Thurman said guests can see a white bison, a blond water buffalo and a white emu. Guests can tour the park with a guide while they ride on a wagon called a "people mover" pulled by a tractor. The tour takes roughly 30 minutes and feed can be purchased to feed animals along the way. There is also a self-guided walking tour of the property. |
| Mayflower Cafe reopens with packed house seeking the classic nostalgia | |
| The Mayflower Cafe reopens to a packed house filling a void for customers in downtown Jackson. The familiar downtown restaurant's soft opening was good news for long-time customers. Lines formed at the door of the Mayflower Cafe before the first lunch to the delight of those wanting to long-time be the first to dine. The 89-year-old fixture on Capitol Street was missed. "When I walked in the door it looked like it just brought back my childhood," said Emily Hartman. The Jackson native heard about the opening and was lucky to get a booth. "I used to come to this restaurant when I was a kid," said Hartman. "So I have really sweet memories of being here, and we also love Elvie's and so anything that's a partnership with them feels really exciting to be a part of." Executive chef Hunter Evans and General Manager Cody McCain, owners of Elvie's, bought the Mayflower in April. They now offer cocktails and wine. "We took a lot of inspiration from a lot of old photos we found, newspapers, whatnot," said Evans. "So we wanted to be true to the Mayflower and the history of the Mayflower." |
| 'Now I get it.' Former Gov. Barbour tells business group how Katrina made George Bush cry | |
 | Former Gov. Haley Barbour stopped in Gulfport on Thursday and stood before local business leaders and politicians. He spoke of politics, the election and Hurricane Katrina. He told stories of the storm's aftermath. In one, he was driving the back roads near Bay St. Louis with his wife and President George Bush. They wound through destruction and arrived at Saint Stanislaus Catholic High School. President Bush opened the door. "He was crying" Barbour said. "Now," he recalled the President said, "I get it." That memory and other emotional tales of Katrina grounded a speech Barbour delivered Thursday to the Gulf Coast Business Council. In a packed room at the Knight Nonprofit Center, Barbour remembered the days he spent on the Coast after the 2005 storm, which will mark its 19th anniversary next week. He also spoke of his tenure in office, and warned the audience that 2024 could be the strangest election yet. But the heart of the two-term Republican governor's more than 45-minute speech dwelt on Katrina. Barbour, long popular on the Coast, led the state from 2004 to 2012, including when the storm devastated it in 2005. He helped secure billions of recovery dollars from the federal government. |
| Mississippi pharmacists, PBMs disagree on high prescription and business costs | |
| State lawmakers' attempt to hear explanations of rising prescription drug costs on patients and pharmacies turned into a heated exchange Wednesday between pharmacists, legislators and the middlemen who set procurement and sale prices for drugs sold to patients. The rub? If nothing gets done, patients could end up pinched for ever-more expensive drugs or longer drives to pharmacies in their coverage network. The current situation could also leave Mississippi without stronger legal protections, lawmakers and state officials said during a meeting of the House Prescription Drug Policy Taskforce Committee. "There's a lot of people that don't have gas money to drive 25 miles to go get their medication filled," said Committee Chairwoman Beth Waldo, R-Pontotoc. "A lot of times it's a life-or-death situation. You've got to have medicine." At the core of the problem, according to the pharmacists, is a lack of transparency between what those middlemen negotiate with employers and drug manufacturers versus what they negotiate with pharmacies on price and contract terms. Those middlemen are pharmacy benefit managers, whose representatives during the meeting refuted claims of being unfair toward independent pharmacies, inflating drug prices, prioritizing their own pharmacies and not negotiating drug procurement and price terms with local pharmacies. |
| Powell at Jackson Hole: 'The time has come' for the Fed to soon begin reducing interest rates | |
 | With inflation nearly defeated and the job market cooling, the Federal Reserve is prepared to start cutting its key interest rate from its current 23-year high, Chair Jerome Powell said Friday. Powell did not say when rate cuts would begin or how large they might be, but the Fed is widely expected to announce a modest quarter-point cut in its benchmark rate when it meets in mid-September. "The time has come for policy to adjust," Powell said in his keynote speech at the Fed's annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks." His reference to multiple rate cuts was the only hint that a series of reductions is likely, as economists have forecast. Powell emphasized that inflation, after the worst price spike in four decades inflicted pain on millions of households, appears largely under control: "My confidence has grown," he said, "that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2%." According to the Fed's preferred measure, inflation fell to 2.5% last month, far below its peak of 7.1% two years ago and only slightly above the central bank's 2% target level. A rate cut in mid-September, coming less than two months before the presidential election, could bring some unwelcome political heat on the Fed, which seeks to avoid becoming entangled in election-year politics. |
| Harris Accepts Democratic Presidential Nomination, Vowing to Unite Nation 'Around Our Highest Aspirations' | |
 | Kamala Harris frequently recalls her mother telling her that she might be "the first to do many things" but to make sure she isn't the last. Yet as Harris formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, the vice president didn't directly invoke the historic nature of her candidacy. Instead of leaning into what her campaign thinks is obvious, the 59-year-old former California senator and prosecutor tried to accomplish something she has struggled to do since her unsuccessful presidential bid in 2019: provide a clear picture to Americans of what she stands for -- and why. "I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations," Harris said. "A president who leads---and listens. Who is realistic, practical and has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life's work." Harris used the prime-time address to pitch Americans on her central campaign message since unexpectedly replacing President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket: She portrayed her opponent, former President Donald Trump as a threat to freedom, arguing she has a more forward-looking agenda on protecting abortion rights and on expanding economic mobility for the middle class. Trump reacted in real time on his Truth Social platform, saying Harris and Biden had years to address some of the problems they outlined at the DNC. |
| 'It's our time': As Harris accepts the nomination, many women say a female president is long overdue | |
| "Electric." "Joyful." The kinetic energy powering Kamala Harris ' whirlwind presidential campaign carries the hopeful aspirations of history and the almost quaint idea of electing the first woman to the White House. But inside it, too, is the urgent and determined refusal of many Democratic female voters to accept the alternative --- again. "Serious." "Unapologetic." Listen to the women cheering "We're not going back!" at the Harris campaign rallies. See them singing along during the dance party roll call at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Understand the mothers and daughters and sorority sisters and, yes, the men, brothers and boys who have watched and waited and winced as the country tried eight years ago to break the glass ceiling --- and failed. "Overdue." This time, this year, facing Donald Trump again, a certain and influential swath of the electorate is not messing around. "It's our time," said Denise Delegol, 60, a retired postal worker from West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Once President Joe Biden bowed out of the race and embraced his vice president at the top of the ticket, some found hope where before they had felt mostly dread. "Overnight it went from doom-scrolling to hope-scrolling," said Lisa Hansen of Wisconsin, who led an early Trump resistance group in 2017 as her first foray into political activism. |
| 'The honeymoon's inevitably going to end': Harris dives into a critical stretch of the election | |
 | Democrats' newfound energy and enthusiasm around Vice President Kamala Harris rose to a fever pitch here Thursday night, as she closed out a four-day convention with a forceful, optimistic vision of the future and the piped-in sounds of Beyoncé's "Freedom." Now, the balloons having fallen from the rafters, comes the hard part -- the final stretch of an unexpected campaign that will test Harris' ability to keep the presidential contest on its current course. After a boisterous four days in Chicago, the vice president faces a series of looming tests: her first sit-down media interview that she said would come by the end of the month, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of attack ads from her opponent and, perhaps most importantly, her Sept. 10 debate with former President Donald Trump. For all the newfound enthusiasm around Harris, who has revived her party's fading White House hopes, and all her strategists' optimism about her campaign's superior infrastructure and organization, Democrats recognize that the election remains far too close for comfort. "I've been telling Democrats everywhere I go this week: Don't get high on your own supply and think everyone is as energetic as you are," said Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats' Senate nominee in Michigan. "If you do, you obviously haven't been to a swing state in awhile." |
| Bennie Thompson urges voters to 'choose democracy' over Donald Trump at DNC | |
| U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-MS Dist. 2, told voters Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention that Donald Trump is "plotting" to steal the 2024 election should he lose to Vice President Kamala Harris, calling them to vote for Harris and save democracy. "(Donald Trump) is plotting again," Thompson said. "His campaign proclaims that elections won't end until the moment of inauguration. It's a 'We will win, or it was rigged.' We win, or else this is Donald Trump's America. Elections are about choice. Choose democracy, not political violence. Choose the America we've always taught our children to love. Choose Kamala Harris." Thompson's speech came right after a video was played showing scenes of thousands of people storming the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021. The video also played audio of former President Donald Trump saying he would pardon those who stormed the capitol, calling them "good people." Thompson recounted his own experience on that day as the U.S. House was trying to confirm the 2020 election of Democratic President Joseph R. Biden. Trump had repeatedly said in the latter part of 2020 the election was "stolen," and he also held a rally in D.C. before the capitol building was attacked. |
| Postal Service considers rural mail slowdown after election | |
 | Top U.S. Postal Service officials are considering plans to allow slower mail delivery in the coming months for long-distance and rural service to cut costs at the financially troubled agency -- but not until after the election. The changes would give customers within 50 miles of the Postal Service's largest processing facilities faster delivery service, which accounts for the vast majority of mail and packages, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told The Washington Post. But the agency cannot afford to maintain the same model for deliveries into far-flung areas, he said. That could add an additional day to current delivery timetables, though mail would still be delivered in five days or less across the country. "At the end of the day, I think some portion of the mail showing up 12 hours later, I think it's a price that had to be paid for letting this place be neglected," DeJoy said. "You look around every other country, [delivery] is longer, it's much more expensive. We're trying to save the Postal Service -- not figuratively, not to advocate for something. We're trying to literally save the Postal Service." DeJoy said the new policy would not be implemented until after November's elections. The Postal Service filed plans Thursday with its regulator to hold public hearings to solicit feedback on the proposed changes. |
| A bird flu outbreak is spreading among cows in the US. Scientists are hunting for answers | |
| At first glance, it looks like an unassuming farm. Cows are scattered across fenced-in fields. A milking barn sits in the distance with a tractor parked alongside. But the people who work there are not farmers, and other buildings look more like what you'd find at a modern university than in a cow pasture. Welcome to the National Animal Disease Center, a government research facility in Iowa where 43 scientists work with pigs, cows and other animals, pushing to solve the bird flu outbreak currently spreading through U.S. animals -- and develop ways to stop it. Particularly important is the testing of a cow vaccine designed to stop the continued spread of the virus -- thereby, hopefully, reducing the risk that it will someday become a widespread disease in people. The U.S. Department of Agriculture facility opened in 1961 in Ames, a college town about 45 minutes north of Des Moines. The center is located on a pastoral, 523-acre (212-hectare) site a couple of miles east of Ames' low-slung downtown. It's a quiet place with a rich history. Through the years, researchers there developed vaccines against various diseases that endanger pigs and cattle, including hog cholera and brucellosis. And work there during the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009 -- known at the time as "swine flu" -- proved the virus was confined to the respiratory tract of pigs and that pork was safe to eat. About 660 people work at the campus --- roughly a third of them assigned to the animal disease center, which has a $38 million annual budget. They were already busy with a wide range of projects but grew even busier this year after the H5N1 bird flu unexpectedly jumped into U.S. dairy cows. |
| These 3 farms are an example of Mississippi's growing network of sustainable agriculture | |
 | Sustainable. Regenerative. Climate-smart. Whatever you call it, environmentally conscious approaches to farming are getting more federal support in the United States. In the Gulf South, some small farmers are taking advantage of the billions of federal dollars now available for climate-smart agriculture. The Alliance of Sustainable Farms, a statewide network of small, mostly Black-owned farms in Mississippi, received $1 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Keith Benson, the organization's executive director, hopes the funding will grow membership from 16 farms to more than 100. It will also help Alliance members use certified organic inputs, such as organic seeds or organic insecticide, and host demonstrations so other farmers can replicate what they're doing. "The logic is that they are demonstrating and promoting the adoption of all these innovative climate-smart conservation practices," Benson said. "So, it's going to be a lot of fun." Here are three farms in Mississippi using sustainable practices. Davis Farm is in Winona, about an hour north of Jackson. The owner, John Paul Davis, tends to around six acres of land he owns, growing watermelons, zucchini, squash, blackberries and many other crops. He also manages an additional two acres of purple hull peas. |
| Ole Miss academic advisor arrested on child enticement charge | |
| A University of Mississippi employee has been arrested and charged with enticement of a child. The Oxford Police Department began looking into a complaint filed by a citizen against Michael Anthony Smith, 37, on Aug. 20. After further investigation, officers arrested Smith and booked him at the Lafayette County Detention Center. According to the university's website, Smith is a graduate of Ole Miss and currently serves as an academic advisor. College advisors are generally tasked with guiding students through the higher education experience and providing insight when it comes to class selection and achieving educational goals. Ole Miss issued an official statement, noting that university officials were aware of the situation and Smith has been placed on leave and is barred from entering campus. "The university learned of the arrest late yesterday, and the employee has been placed on leave and is not allowed on campus. The university will provide no further comment at this time," the statement reads. |
| Alabama community colleges see surge in enrollment, bucking national trend | |
 | Alabama community colleges are seeing the highest enrollment numbers in a decade. According to the Alabama Community College System, more than 170,000 Alabamians enrolled in academic courses, adult education or workforce training in the last academic year. Enrollment numbers at local community colleges haven't been that high since 2013, according to the system. "This enrollment achievement reflects the growing recognition of the critical role that community colleges play in providing accessible, affordable, and high-quality education to students from all walks of life," said Jimmy Baker, Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, in a news release. The trend is pretty different from the rest of the country; nationally, many community colleges have had a string of "crisis" years, according to the Community College Research Center. Two-year public college enrollment has declined since 2010, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Alabama officials attribute their increases to scholarships, flexible learning options and support services. About half of the state’s community college students are eligible for Pell awards and financial aid. |
| What's that near the U. of Tennessee entrance? Soon, the biggest building on campus | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has broken ground on a new Haslam College of Business building, a $227 million project that will help the college continue to grow with 18 classrooms across five floors near the corner of Volunteer Boulevard and Cumberland Avenue. A groundbreaking was held Aug. 21, but construction first required the demolition of Dunford, Greve and Henson halls in May. The state-of-the-art Haslam building replacing the former dorms is slated to open in fall 2027 and will be the largest building on campus, Chancellor Donde Plowman said. The facility will focus on serving freshman and sophomore students, while the existing Haslam building will provide classroom space for juniors and seniors. "This lot that we received from the campus is just a perfect space for a big, beautiful building right at the entrance to the campus," Assistant Dean Betsy Adams told Knox News. "I'm really excited about the place we're able to put it and the big trees." The new facility will promote collaboration and could attract talented prospective students to join one of the college's nationally ranked programs. Dean Stephen Mangum said enrollment in the college has doubled since he joined in 2013. |
| Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to teach at U. of Arkansas law school | |
| Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will teach at the University of Arkansas law school as an executive in residence, the university announced. Hutchinson, who practiced law after graduating from the state's flagship University of Arkansas School of Law in 1975, will teach a course on leadership in state and federal government in the spring. Well before he served two terms as governor, former President Ronald Reagan appointed Hutchinson as the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation for the Western District of Arkansas. He also served in Congress before going on to be the Drug Enforcement Administration administrator and undersecretary of homeland security for Border and Transportation Security under former President George W. Bush. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported in March that U of A trustees said they would consider Hutchinson to replace board president Donald Bobbitt when his tenure ends at the end of 2025. Hutchinson ran for the Republican nomination for president and dropped out in January. |
| FAFSA delays add financial burdens to back-to-school choices | |
| Tina-Rose Chipeta fiddled with a Lego set in her dorm room bed to quiet the numbers and costs bouncing in her brain. How would she stretch out her savings to get her through the end of the semester? The 19-year-old Texas A&M sophomore learned in the thick of July that she would see a $10,000 drop in financial aid, well after she had to sign up for on-campus housing and enroll in classes. Her family had redirected the money that usually went to help her with college to pay off medical bills after her mother was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder this year. Chipeta figured she could limit her food to one meal a day at the dining hall; maybe two meals on the days the hunger pangs drummed up against her stomach. She could skip out on the football rivalry game she had been anticipating. "Should I sell my tickets, try and make an extra buck, just to help keep myself afloat?" she wondered and clicked a Lego piece in place. "I feel like my social life will also kind of start to deteriorate because, again, everything costs money." The federal government gave the FAFSA a makeover last year. The goal was to simplify the form to make it easier to fill out but the launch came with a litany of errors that initially kept students from completing it. Those errors delayed financial aid awards this year, forcing students to make decisions about their education without a complete picture of how much they would receive and by when. The delays also exacerbated education attainment gaps between low- and higher-income students. Texas students from low-income families heavily depend on federal, state and school aid to get to and through college. |
| Mizzou alumna designs official art for 2024 U.S. Open | |
 | Just 10 days before the U.S. Open committee voted for its official theme artist, Chelsey Farris received an offer to pitch her own concepts for the project. Upon hearing the news, Farris said she felt validated for even being considered. "Even if I don't get this, I'm going to be so freaking proud that they reached out to me about this," she said about receiving the initial offer. After the pitch, Farris was selected as the 2024 official theme artist. Farris, a 2013 Mizzou alumna, became the first American woman to design the official art for the U.S. Open in 15 years. The tennis tournament will be held from Aug. 29 to Sept. 8 with the theme "Celebrating the Power of Tennis." Farris created 16 designs based on the theme, all contained in individual tennis balls. Each ball represents a core aspect of the U.S. Open or tennis in general, like the "Stadiums" ball and the "Fun" ball. The centerpiece of the project features a can of four tennis balls with art depicting the most integral elements of the U.S. Open: Health & Wellness, New York City, Diversity & Inclusion and Tradition. Farris graduated from MU with a degree in textile and apparel management. She said the university prepared her to step into the professional world. "I think the biggest thing that going to Mizzou did for me was just, I was able to figure out who I was a little bit more and figure out what I wanted to do with myself," Farris said. "I think it just made me more of a confident person." |
| Report: Parents of Prospective College Students Worry about Cost and Safety | |
| EAB, formerly the Education Advisory Board, periodically surveys parents of students applying to college to understand their attitudes and the factors that influence their behaviors. Its latest insight paper, "2024 Parent Survey: Understanding Top Parent Concerns in College Search, Insights and Recommendations for Enrollment Leaders," presents data on parental responses as well as recommendations for how institutions can better serve the needs of prospective students and their families. "It is not news that colleges and universities are expensive," said Michael Koppenheffer, EAB vice president, Enroll360 marketing, analytics and AI strategy and a contributing consultant to the paper. "It is also true in our surveys that concern over cost has become more prevalent. You can see that the sticker price of colleges keeps going up and up year after year. Even though discount rates also keep climbing so the net price isn't always going up in the same way, the appearance of unaffordability gets more intense every year. Along with that is concern about student debt." Sixty percent of the parents surveyed were concerned about college cost, 40% about scholarships and 39% about the amount of debt. The parents surveyed came from EAB's database. The company does marketing on behalf of colleges and universities and engages with families around the country. The children of these parents had engaged in one or more college search behaviors involving four-year institutions. |
| Common App data shows substantial rise in minority student college applications | |
| There was a substantial rise in college applications from underrepresented minority groups, first-generation students, and those from low and middle-income backgrounds during the 2023-24 school year, according to Common App's end-of-season report released Thursday. The rise in minority group applications continues a decade-long trend. Common App allows students to apply to over 1,000 member colleges through its online platform. The number of students applying to the platform's member colleges who identify as a minority race or ethnicity increased 11%, compared to 3% for nonminority groups, the report found. Growth was fastest among American Indian or Alaska Native, Latinx and Black or African American applicants. The same student racial groups' applications to less selective schools also steeply increased, according to the data. All races remained more likely to apply to less selective institutions, with the exception of Asian students, who are more likely to apply to institutions defined as "most" and "more" selective. The researchers "do not observe any appreciable changes from ongoing historical trends," said the most recent report reviewing the 2023-24 application season --- the cycle immediately following the Supreme Court decision. "The only exception is what seems to be a leveling-off of Asian applicants' applications to the Most selective members," the report added. |
| 'Disruption' or 'free speech'? College students face new rules on campus protest | |
| As students make their way back to college and campus demonstrations about the Israel-Hamas war resume, the central conflict isn't likely to be student to student, but between the right to freedom of speech and the right to freedom from hostile environments. Whether it's possible for both to exist on college campuses this fall remains to be seen. Many colleges have strengthened their policies on how and when students can protest. Some say their "fear-based" approach has gone too far and will discourage students from exercising their First Amendment rights for fear of punishment. Others say they haven't gone far enough, and recommend further action be taken both to prevent protest and to discipline students who participate. The new policies often require students to register and receive prior approval for holding outdoor events or demonstrations; restrict how and when students can display posters and other materials on campus; limit where protests can be held and whether amplified sound is allowed to be used. Many are trying to prevent encampments, like those that proliferated last spring, entirely. "There comes a point where there's so many restrictions that they're no longer reasonable," said Lindsie Rank, director of campus rights advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE. "They're really there to discourage protest at all." Colleges should take this opportunity to help students understand how to exercise their First Amendment rights, Rank said, "so that these debates can continue but without the violence and vandalism and some of the stuff that we saw in the spring." |
| Most College Students Aren't Hostile Toward Jews or Israel | |
 | Jewish college students have reported a rise in antisemitic incidents and fear on campuses since the Israel-Hamas war began last October, but only a small minority of their non-Jewish peers are contributing to the charged atmosphere, according to a new study. In fact, two-thirds of non-Jewish college students don't display any hostility toward Jews or Israel, according to the study, published Thursday by the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University. Researchers surveyed 4,123 students -- 313 of whom were Jewish -- at 60 colleges with large Jewish populations during the spring of 2024, just as pro-Palestinian protests were intensifying on many campuses. The results defied "a simple narrative" about what was happening on campuses last year, according to the report, finding neither "a climate of universal anti-Jewish hatred" nor "that Jewish students' concerns about antisemitism are unfounded." But even "a small number of students with prejudicial views can negatively impact the campus climate, especially when these views are amplified by social media and other factors beyond the campus walls," wrote the authors of the report, which complements a survey Brandeis published in December that found that Jewish students' perceptions of antisemitism varied from campus to campus. "It became clear that if we wanted to understand what was going on, we had to study non-Jewish students. That's what led to this study," said Leonard Saxe, co-author of both reports and a professor of modern Jewish studies at Brandeis. |
| What young Democrats have to say about higher education | |
| At this week's Democratic National Convention, I spoke to left-leaning students about their biggest concerns with higher education: high tuition costs and access. The conversations were a departure from what young conservatives told me was their top issue at last month's Republican National Convention: free speech. That said, amid nationwide crackdowns on campus protest, some of the young Democrats I spoke with shared sentiments similar to their Republican counterparts. They said they were worried about preserving academic freedom and a space for mutual understanding and respect on campuses nationwide. I asked both groups of students whether they believe education institutions nationwide are fulfilling their purpose in society, and about the role of diversity in college curriculum. While conservative students told me DEI initiatives blocked equal opportunity in the classroom and the workforce, liberal ones emphasized opportunity gaps in marginalized communities. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State football schedule 2024: SEC announces kickoff times, windows for eight games | |
| Mississippi State football got some more clarity regarding its 2024 schedule on Tuesday. The SEC announced TV windows for the full slate of games. As has already been announced, MSU will open its season at home against Eastern Kentucky on Aug. 31 (5 p.m., ESPN+/SEC Network+). The Bulldogs will then play at Arizona State on Sept. 7 (9:30 p.m., ESPN) and against Toledo on Sept. 14 (6:30 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU). Mississippi State opens conference play at home against Florida on Sept. 21 (11 a.m., ABC or ESPN). On Sept. 28, MSU plays at Texas in the afternoon window (2:30 to 3:30 p.m. start). After an open date, Mississippi State plays at Georgia on Oct. 12 with the game set to be flexed. The same applies for MSU's home game against Texas A&M on Oct. 19. Mississippi State hosts Arkansas on Oct. 26 in the early window (11 a.m. to noon start). A home contest against UMass is slated for Nov. 2 (3:15 p.m., SEC Network). That's followed by a game at Tennessee on Nov. 9 which will be in the night window (5 to 7 p.m. start). Mississippi State is back in the afternoon window for a home game against Missouri on Nov. 23. The Bulldogs wrap up the regular season at Ole Miss on Nov. 29 (2:30 p.m., ABC). The Egg Bowl is on Black Friday. |
| No. 20 State Soccer Secures 2-0 Road Victory at Charlotte | |
| Mississippi State soccer secured a commanding 2-0 win over Charlotte at Transamerica Field, improving to 3-0-0 on the season. The Dawgs well-rounded performance was highlighted by goals from Kennedy Husbands and Maggie Wadsworth, as well as a stellar defensive effort that limited the 49ers (0-3-0) to just three shots. With the road win, the Bulldogs improve to 3-0-0 for the first time since 2018 and, for the first time since 1996, have not allowed a goal in their opening three matches. Charlotte struggled to create chances, managing only one shot in the first half, which was off target. State headed into the break with a 1-nil lead for the third consecutive match. The Bulldogs came out of the break with the same intensity, controlling the tempo and continuing to create scoring opportunities. Wadsworth nearly scored in the 57th minute, and just a minute later, found the back of the net to make it 2-0, capitalizing on an offensive lapse by the 49ers. Mississippi State will continue their North Carolina road trip with a match against Wake Forest on Sunday, August 25, at 1 PM CT. |
| Former Mississippi State pitcher J.T. Ginn dazzles in MLB debut | |
| It didn't take long for former Mississippi State pitcher J.T. Ginn to take the field after being called up to the Oakland Athletics earlier this week. On Wednesday night, the right-hander was sent out of the bullpen in the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite limited experience as a reliever, Ginn immediately impressed by striking out three of four batters he faced in his first inning as a major league pitcher. Ginn trotted back out for the top of the ninth and retired the three batters in order. His only baserunner during two innings of scoreless work was via a walk in the eighth. Oakland ultimately fell 4-2, but not due to Ginn's performance. After the impressive debut, Ginn told MLB.com that he knew it was going to be a solid outing once he threw his first warm-up pitch inside the Oakland Coliseum. "I threw the first warmup pitch where I wanted to," Ginn said. "I kind of had a feeling it was going to be good after that. It ended up working out." The 25-year-old was promoted on Tuesday after a solid run with Triple-A Las Vegas. |
| How Hoover kept SEC baseball tournament from 'big league' suitors | |
| The City of Hoover and the SEC on Thursday formally announced an extension to their long baseball relationship. The league's baseball tournament will remain at the Hoover Met through at least 2028. But how close did the ballpark that's been home to the event since 1998 come to losing it? Well, it's safe to say that threat was more of a reality in 2016 when the league put the baseball tournament up for bid. Commissioner Greg Sankey said eight cities submitted proposals to yank the event out of the Birmingham suburbs eight years ago. There was no such bidding process this time around. Sankey said there was "outreach" from other interested parties for bringing the weeklong event to their city. "Any time you come to the end of a contract with any of our championships, you're going to have a lot of interest," Sankey told AL.com on Thursday. "And we did. Credit to the City of Hoover for the work they've done to keep this here." That includes eight-figure investments into the stadium that opened in 1987. A three-year plan is expected to cost approximately $24 million with $11 million already completed before the 2024 event -- the last year of the current deal. How crucial were those improvements in keeping the event in Hoover? "The effort to update and modernize the stadium built in the 80s and all that's around it is critically important," Sankey said. Hoover mayor Frank Brocato agreed the improvements were essential. |
| Realigned Big Ten, SEC Eye 57% Share of College Football Viewing | |
| If you have the kind of brain that balks whenever it tries to make sense of the Indianapolis Colts' inclusion in the AFC South, you're probably going to have a hard time keeping tabs on the latest college football landscape shake-up. But the confusing mass migration that has seen the Big Ten swell to 18 member schools promises to be a godsend for TV rights holders. Together, the SEC and Big Ten could rumble past the 50% threshold for all college viewership in 2024. Enhanced enrichment, of course, has been the prime mover behind everything that's happened in and around college sports since, well, forever, although the schools and networks started getting really cozy in 1984 after the Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA's oversight of football's TV contracts was in violation of antitrust laws. While being in business with the Big Ten and SEC has almost always served as a huge competitive advantage for their network partners, the recent additions will only serve to make the rich even richer. As David Coletti, iSpot.tv's VP of sports research and insights noted in a recent evaluation of college football's ratings outlook, the SEC and Big Ten last season would have accounted for 57.2% of the sport's share of viewing upon inclusion of their new member schools. (The SEC's share grew 22% with the retroactive addition of Texas and Oklahoma's big TV numbers, while the Big Ten jumped 44% when Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA's impressions were tossed into the mix.) |
| A&M, UT ADs eye moving football game to Black Friday | |
 | Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts and Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said the schools are looking at moving their football game to Black Friday, particularly at night, in the coming years. The two sides discussed the future of the game Thursday morning at a press conference where Cotton Holdings Inc. was announced as the sponsor of the Lone Star Showdown, an all-sport rivalry series between the schools that is being rekindled with Texas joining A&M in the Southeastern Conference. "What I'm most in favor of is looking at: What window do we own the best, and particularly in primetime?" Alberts said. "Part of the challenge is when this game got announced and the date got set, at Texas A&M we have a lot of pride and traditions around games, so there was a lot of work that was done surrounding the game that would've been really hard to unwind." A&M and Texas have played each other 120 times in football. The first game was in 1900 and 72 were played on Thanksgiving Day. The game was played on Thanksgiving Day annually from 1918-73. From 1994-2007, the game was mostly played on Black Friday but returned to Turkey Day for the final four iterations (2008-11). Del Conte said he's heard from fans who want the game on Thanksgiving Day, but added the last iteration of the game on Thanksgiving night was before the NFL added its night window to complement annual games earlier in the day. Because of that, Del Conte said he would play the game on Friday night if the decision were up to him. One thing both Alberts and Del Conte agreed on was the importance of playing the football game on an annual basis. |
| Boosters started a nonprofit to pay Alabama athletes millions. Now, it's shutting down. | |
| It started with the promise of a $100,000 check. In the spring of 2023, John Parker Wilson, the former Alabama quarterback, had a request for the Internal Revenue Service: grant us nonprofit status by March 31, or Walk of Champions will lose the money. "If the Organization does not receive its exemption determination by this date it will not receive this crucial start-up funding and other similar contributions will also be at risk," reads a letter included with documents Wilson sent to the IRS. Wilson was president of Walk of Champions, the nonprofit set up to help hand out money to top athletes at the University of Alabama. There is also the university's private NIL collective, Yea Alabama, set up for a similar reason. But the nonprofit arm would let donors reap tax benefits when giving to the organization. Now, less than two years later, the organization is shutting down, Wilson told AL.com in a statement on behalf of Walk of Champions. The group said it decided to dissolve after the IRS issued a warning last year about NIL collectives. In a memo, the agency said collectives predominantly focused on "serving the private interests of student-athletes" don't qualify as nonprofits because the athletes essentially don't count as charity. Meanwhile, private collectives, like Yea Alabama at UA, formed all across the country to act as a go-between for student athletes and donors and businesses to facilitate name, image and likeness deals. So did the On to Victory collective at Auburn. |
| EA Sports College Football 25 is already the best-selling game of 2024 | |
| Industry watchers expected EA Sports College Football 25 to score a TD on the opening kickoff, and it debuted at the No. 1 spot in tracking firm Circana's July report. Not only did it smash expectations -- including those of EA executives such as Cam Weber -- and previous sales numbers for a college football game, but it's also the best-selling game of the year. "It was above my expectations, although it was a tough one to try and predict," said Circana Executive Director/Video Games Mat Piscatella. "I was expecting it to debut as the biggest college football game in a launch month, but I did not expect it to more than triple the lifetime dollar sales of the previous best-selling game [NCAA Football 07]. It certainly seemed to have mass appeal and generate quite a bit of excitement, even among lapsed console players." EA Sports' MVP Bundle -- a package of College Football 25 and Madden NFL 25 (which debuted Friday) -- came in second. It's the first time EA has bundled pro and college football together. This is interesting, because it shows players essentially preordering Madden with their copy of College Football 25. Madden can import College Football's Road to Glory player into its Superstar mode, so it'll be interesting to see if this leads to future bundles of sports games. |
| House Case Portends Reform for NCAA School Financial Reporting | |
| The NCAA is exploring potentially significant changes to its membership financial reporting system (MFRS), the accounting process by which schools annually disclose their athletic departments' revenues, expenses and capital. While the association has made various tweaks to the MFRS over the last decade, there is increasing pressure to tackle long-standing criticisms about the system's perceived shortcomings, as well as to address the dawning era of college athlete compensation. Originally adopted in 2003, the MFRS is under new scrutiny in the wake of the House v. NCAA proposed settlement, which relies on the system to calculate both the past damages amount as well as the injunctive relief -- athlete revenue sharing that would take place over the next decade. Which MFRS categories should be included in establishing the revenue "pool" has been the subject of recent debate among expert witnesses. Beyond that, a number of MFRS categories lack clarity, leaving much interpretation to the schools, such as with the catch-all category "other operating revenue." Mario Morris, the NCAA's chief financial officer, told Sportico that one of his main considerations is how the system could better specify athletic department expenditures that go directly to athletes, including cost-of-living adjustments and the "education-related" benefits provided for in the NCAA v. Alston Supreme Court ruling. |
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