| Tuesday, August 27, 2024 |
| Education: From sky to field: MSU pioneers next-gen agricultural drones | |
 | Mississippi State University is pioneering a partnership with a leading U.S.-based drone manufacturer to innovate groundbreaking UAS technology. MSU's Agricultural Autonomy Institute, or AAI, and Hylio, a Texas-based drone manufacturer, are leading the way in researching the emerging technology of agricultural spray drones. These advanced systems are poised to revolutionize how farmers manage agricultural product applications, providing a new autonomous tool to complement traditional application methods by tractors and crop-dusting planes. "In June of 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration streamlined regulations for agricultural product applications by drone," said Madison Dixon, AAI's associate director. "MSU is a longstanding leader in both agriculture and aerospace research, but strict regulations made agricultural product applications by drone very challenging for both research and commercial operations alike. The new regulations have completely changed that." AAI, in collaboration with MAFES and the MSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, purchased an AG-230 spray drone platform and signed a cooperative research agreement with Hylio over the summer. This month, an MSU team traveled to the company's headquarters in Houston for flight training. |
| Mississippi State, Mississippi College partner on accelerated law degree | |
 | A new program will allow Mississippi State University students who want to pursue a law degree at Mississippi College to accelerate the process. Representatives from both schools recently met in Starkville to sign a memorandum of understanding to create the new 3+3 program that will allow Mississippi State students to enter Mississippi College's law school in Jackson before fully completing their bachelor's degree. The program will trim two semesters off the required time to obtain a law degree from Mississippi College. "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 (Blake) Thompson and his leadership team to develop this accelerated academic pathway," Mississippi State President Mark E. Keenum said. "It's an exceptional opportunity for students, our institutions, and the state of Mississippi." |
| Education: Students in MSU's BRIDGES cohort gain valuable experience, contribute to impactful research | |
| Student participants in Mississippi State's BRIDGES Undergraduate Research Opportunity gain valuable experience preparing them to take the next step toward the workforce or continued studies in graduate school. BRIDGES is short for Building Relationships that Intentionally Develop Generations of Excellent Scholars, and it engages minority and underserved students in meaningful, paid work at various MSU research centers. he 2024 cohort includes these local students: Starkville: Hawinet Adugna conducted work at MSU's Department of Biological Sciences Laboratory, majoring in medical technology; Eromosele Eigbe conducted work at MSU's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, majoring in mechanical engineering; Kavya Gautam conducted work at MSU's High Performance Computing Collaboratory, majoring in computer science; Trent Price conducted work at MSU's High Performance Computing Collaboratory, majoring in psychology, Isha Shrestha conducted work at MSU's High Performance Computing Collaboratory, majoring in computer science; Tajinder Singh conducted work at MSU's Department of Biological Sciences, majoring in microbiology/environmental science; Samuel Trotter conducted work at MSU's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, majoring in electrical engineering; and Columbus: Kyla Hunter conducted work at MSU's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, majoring in aerospace engineering. |
| Starkville student headed to Yale with Mississippi on the mind | |
 | John Robert Walker, a recent graduate of Starkville High School, is headed to Yale University this fall. For Walker, the journey has been deeply rooted in his love for Mississippi. Walker credits his teachers for challenging him from an early age, especially when they noticed he needed more stimulation. "In elementary school, teachers would give me extra assignments to keep me engaged," Walker said. "That continued into middle and high school, where I took on more challenging work, like Advanced Placement classes and dual credit." One of Walker’s most formative experiences came in fifth grade during an art class with Niki Mulrooney. Despite not being an artist, Walker was drawn to Mulrooney’s creativity and persuaded her to let students sell wood block art projects, an idea that eventually raised thousands of dollars for local organizations. "It’s experiences like that which summarize my time in the Starkville School District," Walker said. "They provided opportunities for me to take charge of initiatives and learn from real-world experiences." Walker's interest in data science was sparked in high school through a statistics course. This interest led him to an internship at Camgian Microsystems, where he worked under Brady Kruse, now at Duke Law School. "He showed me the intersection of policy and data science, which is where I want to head now," Walker said. At Yale, he plans to major in Ethics, Politics, and Economics, with a focus on data science. |
| Supervisors discuss state of OCH Regional Medical Center | |
 | County and hospital leaders met to hear the state of OCH Regional Medical Center. No information was released from the executive session, where the report was given. However, supervisors did give some indications as to why they want to look at whether the county should stay in the healthcare business. Within a matter of minutes, the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors closed a Monday morning meeting to the public. In the executive session, they heard about the finances of OCH Regional Medical Center and other issues impacting the facility. "What we are hoping for is to make sure that we have quality health care in Oktibbeha County at a growing health care facility," said District 3 Supervisor and Board President Marvell Howard. Some of those challenges are similar to what other hospitals have faced, from staffing issues to losing money and services. The Mississippi State Department of Health said: “We can confirm that OCH doesn’t have a trauma designation.” The hospital said it was moved from a Level III trauma facility to a Level IV. OCH is working to correct the issue. OCH can provide basic trauma care to stabilize the patients before transferring them to another facility. “It is true that the hospital has had some struggles and difficulties from a financial standpoint, and those struggles are not sustainable,” said Howard. |
| Oktibbeha County's hospital could soon be sold | |
 | The Oktibbeha County Hospital Regional Medical Center could soon be up for sale. The county's Board of Supervisors met Monday morning to talk about a recent feasibility study of the hospital. The study -- conducted by Butler Snow and Raymond James -- was required before the hospital could be sold or leased. It measures performance, financial records, and how it compares other hospitals in the area. What was in the study is not being fully shared yet, but Board of Supervisors President Marvell Howard said the study provided alarming results and also some positive data. County Supervisor Orlando Trainer said that the hospital needs to be competitive with other college towns. WTVA 9 News reached out to the hospital. A representative stated, "While the Board of Supervisors has made the decision to move forward with steps regarding the sale of OCH, our unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional care remains." |
| NMMC surgeon details trauma and acute care response process | |
 | As a Level II Trauma Center, North Mississippi Medical Center-Tupelo is equipped to handle complex trauma cases and emergency surgeries around the clock, with a guaranteed 15-minute response time for trauma patients. However, the response time is typically far faster than that with EMTs, paramedics and flight crews notifying trauma surgeons of incoming patients as they're transported so that a surgeon can be there the moment the patient arrives. "Our average response time is like one minute because of that," said Dr. Kirk Caddell, a trauma and acute care surgeon at NMMC-Tupelo. Caddell provides emergency general surgery and trauma services to acutely injured and ill patients. Typically, the patients Caddell sees are victims of motor vehicle or all-terrain vehicle accidents, gunshots, stabbings or emergency general surgery patients with urgent/emergent problems like perforated or obstructed colons, along with infections causing sepsis. He also commonly sees people with acute gallbladder and appendix issues. Within a triangle stretching from Jackson, Mississippi, to Memphis, Tennessee, to Birmingham, Alabama, NMMC-Tupelo is the sole trauma center between them. Medical professionals have learned from decades of treating patients that a delay in care of just a single minute has a measurable impact on mortality. Mortality rates are lower in areas where high-level trauma services and acute care surgery services are available, Caddell said. |
| Study: Legislature's action on retirement system does not fix PERS woes | |
| Action taken during the 2024 legislative session will not fix the long-term financial issues facing Mississippi's Public Employee Retirement System, according to a study. A report released by a legislative watchdog agency cites a study saying "under the approach implemented by the (2024) Legislature, the PERS plan is currently expected to be at a lower funded level in the future than it currently is today." The report was done by the PERS governing board's actuary, which is a private consultant hired by the board to make assumptions on the long-term outlook of the plan. The study was cited in the recently released annual report of PERS by the Legislature's watchdog committee, the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee. The PEER report said, based on the actuary study, that the legislative action falls short of fixing the system long-term, "it is imperative that the Legislature and the PERS Board continue to assess the performance of the plan and evaluate the status of the PERS plan in the future." The financial issues facing PERS have been an ongoing headache for the Legislature with widespread and long-term ramifications. The system has about 360,000 members including current public employees and former employees and retirees. The system provides pension benefits for most Mississippi public employees on the state and local government levels, including schoolteachers. Members of PERS comprise more than 10% of the state's population. |
| Over $521 million going to Mississippi farmers impacted by discrimination | |
| Congressman Bennie Thompson recently announced over half a billion dollars is going to Mississippi farmers and ranchers harmed by discrimination. The completion of the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will result in $521,830,460 being distributed across 13,283 individuals, including 5,892 current producers and 7,391 planned producers. The DFAP was created as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Congress allocated $2.2 billion for the program, instructing the USDA to provide financial support to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who faced discrimination in federal farm lending programs. "This program is crucial for Black farmers in Mississippi and across the country, who have historically faced systemic discrimination," Thompson, D-Miss., said. "As the only member of Congress from Mississippi to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, I am proud to see the positive impact this legislation is having on our farmers and ranchers. These awards are a significant step in the right direction, but our work towards equity must continue." In total, over 43,000 individuals nationwide will receive aid through the program, including over 23,000 current or former farmers receiving up to $500,000 each and over 20,000 prospective farmers receiving up to $6,000 each. The average payout is $82,000, with Mississippi leading the nation with the highest number of recipients. |
| Harper and Espy Talk 2024 Election, Immigration and Abortion at Jackson Forum | |
| Mississippi will thrive no matter who is the president, former U.S. House Rep. Gregg Harper, a Mississippi Republican, said at a Stennis Institute Press Forum earlier this month. "I think Mississippi does well no matter who the president is," he said at Hal and Mal's in Jackson, Miss., on Aug. 12. "Part of that is we have an outstanding federal delegation that cares about what happens in Mississippi and they go to bat for us, and I would say that's across party lines." At the forum, Harper was joined by former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, a Democrat who served in the Clinton administration. In 1986, Espy became the first Black member of Congress elected from Mississippi since Reconstruction; he ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2018 and 2020. Though Harper, who served in Congress from 2009 to 2019, did not specify between former Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Espy did. A Harris administration would "lift up lower-income people into the middle class" and help strengthen Mississippi, he said. "If Mississippi's a chain, we have to make the weaker link stronger," the Democrat said. "These are the low-income Mississippians, the ones whose hospitals are closing, the ones that are without Medicaid expansion, the ones without health care, the ones whose bridges are fallen, the ones who don't have minimum wage. The capital that they have, they need someone at the presidential level to aspire to some degree of status and wealth." |
| As presidential election nears, efforts pick up to recruit poll workers | |
| With the general election three months away, Mississippi is running low on one essential resource: poll workers. While Secretary of State Michael Watson couldn't quantify the shortage in Mississippi, he said county circuits and election commissioners around the state had told him they were having problems recruiting poll workers. Poll workers have been in short supply across the country since 2020. Among the several reasons for the current shortage are low and inconsistent payments, lack of interest, experienced poll workers retiring and others leaving due to harassment. "When we meet with our circuit clerks and our election commissioners, one of the most common questions has always been, from us, 'what are your larger businesses around this county?' We're gonna start working on getting those businesses to, hopefully, entertain the idea of encouraging their younger workers to get involved with working the polls, maybe incentivizing them to do so," Watson said. Watson created a simplified application portal for people to become poll workers. They've had at least 12,605 new poll worker registrations since the new application came out in 2020. Watson emphasize the need for poll workers to serve their communities and ensure fair elections. "Those are the unsung heroes of election integrity, making sure we have folks who are properly trained who can help run elections," he said. |
| Trump and Harris confront a trillion-dollar question over expiring tax cuts | |
 | The next president, be it Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, will face a big, early test on a core pocketbook issue: taxes. A large chunk of Trump's namesake 2017 tax cuts are set to expire at the end of 2025, including the basic rates paid by individuals and families, and both Trump and Harris are making the issue a big part of their sales pitch to voters. Trillions of dollars are potentially at stake, and the fight will test whether Democrats can play offense on a field that has long favored Republicans. Trump has floated the prospect of even more tax cuts on top of extending all of the temporary provisions that he signed into law in 2017, touting the elimination of taxes on tips and Social Security income and teasing another cut in the corporate rate. Meanwhile, Harris seamlessly has taken over President Joe Biden's tax-the-rich platform, and co-opted Trump's idea to stop taxing tips. She's also proposed major expansions of the Child Tax Credit. For his part, Trump has proclaimed his 2017 law amounted to the biggest tax cut in history (though tax experts have said that isn't the case) and says his plan to cut taxes will generate "tremendous growth," which will in turn help pay off the national debt. Lawmakers have had to deal with the looming expiration of tax cuts before, most recently in 2012, when cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush were due to sunset, along with other financial triggers. Next year's cliff is limited to taxes, but it will still be complex, high-stakes and have plenty of moving parts. |
| Afghanistan withdrawal becomes 2024 election issue | |
 | On the third anniversary Monday of a terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. troops at Kabul airport in Afghanistan, Republicans pushed to make that deadly day a political vulnerability for Vice President Kamala Harris. At issue is the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops in the final week of their presence in Afghanistan in August 2021 and a bombing by the ISIS-K group that killed not just those American troops but also more than 100 Afghans at Abbey Gate outside Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. While the deaths occurred on the watch of President Joe Biden and Harris, former President Donald Trump, who had downsized U.S. forces and signed an agreement with the Taliban to reduce the U.S. troop figure to zero by May 2021, was also partly to blame, former Trump administration officials and other experts have said. Regardless, Trump sought on Monday to highlight the disastrous withdrawal as the exclusive property of Harris. Trump was echoed in that critique by a chorus comprising every Republican chairman of a House national security panel -- as well as numerous other GOP lawmakers, the Republican National Committee, the House Republican Conference and other conservatives. The coordinated GOP attacks on Harris' role in the shambolic Afghanistan withdrawal show that Republicans see the handling of the pullout as an issue they believe they can exploit as the presidential campaign nears its final two months. |
| How a Federal Court in New Orleans Is Driving the Conservative Agenda | |
 | The Supreme Court term that ended this summer delivered a number of big wins for traditional conservative causes. The court made it easier to challenge federal regulations. It made it harder to prosecute former presidents. And it delivered another decision that expanded the rights of gun enthusiasts. Those rulings left no doubt that the court, with a six-justice supermajority that had already upended abortion rights and affirmative action, is the most ideologically conservative Supreme Court since the early 1930s. Yet it is almost certainly not the most conservative federal court in the country. About 1,000 miles away, in New Orleans, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has turned its corner of the federal judiciary into a proving ground for some of the most aggressive conservative arguments in American law. Six of the 17 judges were nominated by former president Donald J. Trump, who has vowed to continue transforming the federal judiciary with further nominations if elected again in November. The court's jurisprudence has been so audacious that, in more than a few cases, its rulings have received a skeptical, even hostile response from the Supreme Court, which overruled the Fifth Circuit seven times just in this past term, on an array of disputes ranging from gun rights for domestic abusers, government regulation of social media, and the F.D.A.'s approval of an abortion drug. The Fifth Circuit, which hears cases from Louisiana, Mississippi, and most important Texas, embodies "the Trumpist wing of legal thought," said Stephen Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and a prominent critic of both the Supreme Court's rightward shift and of the Fifth Circuit in particular. |
| Chinese government hackers penetrate U.S. internet providers to spy | |
 | Chinese government-backed hackers have penetrated deep into U.S. internet service providers in recent months to spy on their users, according to people familiar with the ongoing American response and private security researchers. The unusually aggressive and sophisticated attacks include access to at least two major providers with millions of customers as well as to several smaller providers, people familiar with the separate campaigns said. "It is business as usual now for China, but that is dramatically stepped up from where it used to be. It is an order of magnitude worse," said Brandon Wales, who until earlier this month was executive director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA. The hacks raise concern because their targets are believed to include government and military personnel working undercover and groups of strategic interest to China. Though there is no evidence that the new inroads are aimed at anything other than gathering intelligence, some of the techniques and resources employed are associated with those used in the past year by a China-backed group known as Volt Typhoon, two of the people said. U.S. intelligence officials said that group sought access to equipment at Pacific ports and other infrastructure to enable China to sow panic and disrupt America's ability to move troops, weaponry and supplies to Taiwan if armed conflict breaks out. |
| Hotty Toddy rush almighty | |
 | Sorority Row and Rebel Drive were filled with tears and screams of excitement on Saturday, Aug. 24 as Panhellenic Formal Recruitment ended with bid day and 11 Panhellenic Sororities welcomed new members home. The largest group of potential new members in university history -- 2,461 freshman and transfer students -- participated in the process this year. As of May 2024, 50% of the University of Mississippi students were active in Greek organizations. The location of bid day was moved to the Sandy and John Black Pavillion, a shift from recent years, when it took place in the Grove. Prior to bid day, PNMs go through four rounds of recruitment, including Greek Day, three philanthropy days, three sisterhood days and a preference day. This is a longer process than previous years. In an attempt to accommodate the influx of participants, recruitment and bid day were slightly altered from years past. "It's not usually this long. In the past, Philanthropy (Round) has been two days and Sisterhood (was) one, but because there are so many girls, so we've had to change it to three days of Philanthropy and three days of sisterhood," junior finance major and Delta Delta Delta Active Member Emma Williams said. |
| Man hit by vehicle on Jackson Avenue improving at NMMC | |
| An Ole Miss student who was hit by a vehicle on Jackson Avenue Saturday evening is continuing to improve. Torrence Peterson was about to start his freshman year at Ole Miss when he was hit while crossing Jackson Avenue near Dairy Queen. The Oxford Police Department shut down Jackson Avenue to allow the Wings medical helicopter to land on the busy roadway at about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. He was flown to North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo in critical condition. Peterson's mother, Sonia Lewis reported on her Facebook that Peterson's condition was improving. He suffered a head injury and fractured pelvis. She said he was removed from the ventilator and was conscious. |
| Duff Center opens after three years of construction | |
| Construction of the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology, located on All American Drive at the University of Mississippi, has been completed, and the building will host its first classes this semester. "The Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation has been a long time coming, and we're thrilled to see it finally become a reality," Jacob Batte, director of news and media relations for UM, said. "This world-class facility will not only transform the way we teach and learn but also position our university -- and Mississippi -- at the forefront of STEM educational innovation." Construction on the 202,000-square-foot project began in fall 2021 with a budget of $175 million dollars. The university is planning a grand opening later in the fall semester. The center is the largest academic project in the university's history. "It's going to be a great place for all of the STEM majors to collaborate and hang out together," junior biology major Shayla Hanson said. "When I saw the picture of the building this summer, I could not believe all of the different study areas that were going to be available for students to use. Science majors haven't really had a place to come together and study in one building up until now, but the Duff Center is doing just that." |
| Jones College enrollment increases after FAFSA challenges | |
 | It's been a week since most colleges and universities welcomed students back on campus, however not many students are walking into classrooms. There are several reasons college enrollment is across the country -- one was the pandemic, and in recent months it was the financial aid application. "We know that there are challenges with the federal financial aid -- the FAFSA," said Dr. Jesse Smith, Jones College President. The FAFSA caused a bit of a problem because it was inaccessible and delayed for students and colleges earlier this year. Jones College wanted families to breathe a sigh of relief from the challenges by lowering school costs. "We just have one price," said Smith. One price for full-time, one price for part-time. there are no fees, nothing underneath that." With that lower price enrollment and credit hours have spiked for the fall semester. Enrollment is at an eight percent increase from fall 2023 and the college's career and technical education side has grown the most with a nearly 13% increase. "Welding, heating and air conditioning, diesel mechanics, and utility lineman were four of our biggest enrollment increases," said Rod Tolbert, Vice President of Instruction. |
| Teachers Are Burning Out on the Job | |
 | Students are showing up to school in much of the country this week. Their teachers are already demoralized and exhausted. Student behavior problems, cellphones in class, anemic pay and artificial-intelligence-powered cheating are taking their toll on America's roughly 3.8 million teachers, on top of the bruising pandemic years. The share of teachers who say the stress and disappointment of the job are "worth it" has fallen to 42%, which is 21 points lower than other college-educated workers, according to a poll by Rand, a nonprofit think tank. As recently as 2018, over 70% of teachers said the stress was worth it. In surveys and interviews, teachers are most often pointing to a startling rise in students' mental-health challenges and misbehavior as the biggest drivers of burnout. In the Rand survey, student behavior was the top source of teachers' job stress. High-school math teacher Cory Jarrell says he saw student behavior deteriorate, yet his school grew more lenient in administering consequences. He also didn't feel like teaching offered much opportunity to advance in his career. And then his district, Kansas City Public Schools, rolled out a new policy last year. Teachers couldn't give students a zero for an assignment, even if they didn't turn it in. This was the final straw. |
| Alabama's anti-DEI law kicks in: College offices close, websites scrubbed | |
 | As freshmen thumbed through dorm posters and shopped for school supplies at the University of Alabama's student center during the first week of school, other spaces in the building were noticeably empty. References to "diversity" have been scrubbed from office name plates. All signage had been removed from the once-bustling Black Student Union office. The former Safe Zone Resource Center, formerly filled with books, Pride flags and portraits of LGBTQ trailblazers, is now just an ordinary conference room. The offices have been closed and "will not be relocated," according to the university. "We are saddened by this loss -- not just of a physical space, but of a place where we have gathered, shared, and built a community rooted in our shared experiences, struggles, and triumphs," BSU President Jordan Stokes wrote in a statement on Instagram Wednesday. The organization was established in 1968. The changes stem from a state law, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in March, that stops state institutions and universities from using public funding for diversity, equity and inclusion offices, or for any DEI programming that advocates for a so-called "divisive concept." So far, six Alabama universities have announced plans to dissolve diversity departments, impacting roughly 50 employees. |
| When it comes to protesting, Fuchs warns students to follow state laws and U. of Florida policies | |
 | Interim University of Florida President Kent Fuchs on Monday had a message for students who may engage in protesting this academic year: follow the "laws of Florida and the policies of our university." "Here at the University of Florida, we have two foundational commitments: first, we support everyone's constitutional right to express themselves; second, we expect that everyone will exercise these rights while following the laws of Florida and the policies of our university," he wrote in a post on X. The post follows several high-profile campus protests over the past two years, including a multiple-day, pro-Palestine protest in April that resulted in nine arrests, and multiple protests surrounding the hiring of Ben Sasse in October 2022 as the university's 13th president. Sasse unexpectedly resigned from the position in July due to his wife's health. Fuchs, who served as UF president from 2015 to 2023, was then quickly named to the interim position by the university's board of trustees. The protests surrounding Sasse's planned appointment to the presidency mounted quickly after it was revealed in October 2022 that he was the sole finalist for the position following a months-long search by the university. The former Nebraska senator was met by an estimated 300 protestors on Oct. 10, 2022, who paraded in and attempted to question him about his conservative political positions during a Q&A forum with students and faculty at Emerson Alumni Hall. |
| U. of Missouri Botanic Garden is turning 25 | |
 | Mizzou Botanic Garden celebrates its 25th birthday this week. Since its designation in 1999, the campus has been totally transformed, University of Missouri officials said. University spokesperson Karlan Seville was a student before the creation of Mizzou Botanic Gardens on Aug. 26, 1999. She said the 1,252 acres of campus now under the garden's eye used to host a random assortment of restaurants, apartments and bars. In the past 25 years, that random assortment has become 18 specialty gardens, countless memorial benches and three tree trails. As a public campus, Mizzou Botanic Garden is now a free and open place to rest for all who walk it. "I think that it's wonderful that we've cleaned that up and purchased all of that space so that we could create the Botanical Garden and give people green space to get out and relax between classes or during lunch," Seville said. Barbara Uehling, MU's first female chancellor, started the process by defining campus' borders with a clear line in the 1980s. According to Seville, Uehling instructed the university to buy its surrounding buildings, and later led the charge to replace them with new learning halls and gardens. "Campus really started to define itself as a beautiful place to visit," Seville said. |
| Divest or We Will Defund: Pro-Palestinian Student Government Makes Good on Its Promise | |
 | Pro-Palestinian activists at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor were frustrated by their inability to persuade the university to divest endowment funds from Israel and military-weapons manufacturers, so they came up with an idea: run a slate of candidates for student government based on a provocative platform. If elected, they'd refuse to fund student groups unless the university complied with their demands. They won -- and now they're carrying through on their threats. As the fall semester began on Monday, some students worried their groups will have to cut back on their activities unless the university intervenes. Michigan administrators are considering providing temporary emergency funding, while making it clear they have no intention of meeting protesters' divestment demands. The standoff in Ann Arbor is one of the more striking examples of how protesters are moving beyond disruptions and encampments to embrace new tactics this fall as the war in Gaza roils on. It's also an example of how universities are doubling down on efforts to enforce their rules. |
| U. of Nebraska community responds to diversity office closures in Lincoln, Omaha | |
| The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Nebraska at Omaha have closed key diversity and inclusion offices in the past year, leaving some student leaders worried that the work will fall to them. UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett on Aug. 20 announced the dissolution of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which came on top of $800,000 in related cuts in 2023. UNO similarly closed its Gender and Sexuality Resource Center this summer after shuttering its Office of Multicultural Affairs last fall, moving those services to other offices on campus. Bennett, in his second year as chancellor, said in an email to faculty and staff that he made the decision "after considerable reflection and a thorough review of both the national landscape and the specific needs of our institution," which he did not specify. UNL Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion Marco Barker's position will also be cut. "We will reimagine how we approach this work at UNL," Bennett wrote. "I fully grasp the weight of this decision and its implications, but a centralized approach to this work is no longer right for our institution." Other parts of Bennett's restructuring plan include elevating UNL's student regent and the respective presidents of the Faculty Senate and Staff Senate to his cabinet. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dee Dee Anderson, who came to UNL from the University of Southern Mississippi, like Bennett, is now the vice chancellor for student life and reports directly to Bennett. |
| Colleges Face Stiff Competition in the Race for AI Expertise | |
| Matt Trainum recalls a recent conversation with a college leader that captured what's been a staggering crescendo of investments in AI hiring. The private institution that the leader runs is "well-heeled," "well-funded," and enjoys "an amazing reputation" with a Top 20 U.S. News ranking, says Trainum, vice president for networks and strategic partnerships at the Council of Independent Colleges. But even then, "He said, 'There is no way we can keep up with the top five institutions. ... We are being left in the dust.'" Competition for talent is common in higher ed. So is the reflex to bulk up the faculty in response to technological advances (look at, say, nanotechnology and genome science at the turn of the century). But the sense of urgency, and the scale of recent hiring initiatives in artificial intelligence, is noticeably amplified, more than a dozen college provosts, vice presidents, directors, and deans told The Chronicle. College leaders say there's too much at stake not to build AI expertise into their teaching and research enterprises. On the research side, competitive grants are on the line, as are long-term aspirations for membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities, or an upgraded Carnegie research classification. Colleges recognize, too, that research across disciplines might fall behind without an infusion of AI experts. On the teaching side, filling classrooms with these experts can help cement one's reputation as a college that can prepare students for a work force that's rapidly embracing AI skills. It can help attract more learners. |
| Concierge medicine comes to college campuses | |
| The growing concierge medicine market has a new target demographic: college students and their anxious parents. It's the latest example of how expanded access to health care is available to those willing to pay, which critics say drives up costs without necessarily improving outcomes. Many college students are already on their parents' insurance. But concierge arrangements can reassure nervous parents that a student gets quick access to a vetted professional without the wait times and other shortcomings associated with campus health clinics. "The market is the parent," said Marcus Hester, who plans to launch concierge medicine service College-Docs next year. "They feel like they have somebody there ... to help out if need be." Concierge physicians charge an upfront retainer fee. Those who pay get shorter waits, more face time with the doctor, special cellphone numbers for help, and other conveniences. Providers typically bill insurance for the office visits. The setup is increasingly common in primary care for the general population, especially in wealthier parts of the country. The concierge market could be worth an estimated $38.9 billion by 2032, according to Data Horizons Research. Doctors and entrepreneurs in college towns across the country are betting this model can work on college campuses. |
| Free Community College Just Keeps Growing. Will It Pay Off? | |
| This month, Michigan and Massachusetts became the latest states to embrace a broad vision for free community college -- a sign of continued growth for a policy that has gone nowhere at the federal level but has gained traction in more than 30 states. Starting this fall, Michigan is covering up to $4,800 a year of community-college tuition costs for most recent high-school graduates. The new initiative expanded on the state's Reconnect program, which in 2021 began covering tuition costs for adults ages 25 and older who had no postsecondary credentials. Massachusetts adopted a similar model for older students last year, and now its program goes even further than Michigan's, covering tuition costs for any student, regardless of age or income, at any of the state's 15 community colleges. Thomas Brock, director of the research center, attributes the uptick mostly to how community colleges have adapted over the last few years by offering more flexibility for students. The free-tuition efforts, Brock said, are providing an additional boost. Community colleges, he said, still are not quite at the level nationally that they were pre-pandemic, but "things are looking much better now than they were." Free community college may sound great, but it still comes with a lot of questions. Tuition benefits alone don't help with students' living costs. Staffing levels at under-resourced two-year institutions may not be adequate to support the additional students wooed by free tuition. And while free-college programs are designed to encourage students to get a degree who wouldn't have otherwise, they could siphon students away from other institutions, especially private colleges. |
| Colleges Must Accommodate Pregnant Students Under New Title IX | |
 | While Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 has always in theory protected pregnant students from discrimination, the Biden administration's new regulations, which went into effect Aug. 1, made it explicit that colleges are obligated to provide requested accommodations for all pregnant students, as well as those who have recently given birth and those experiencing "pregnancy-related conditions," which include miscarriages, abortions, lactation and more. The regulations also require universities to provide pregnant students with notice of their rights, which experts say is almost as valuable as the rights themselves. "Students tend to not know their rights until they're told about them, especially for pregnancy; if you haven't been a pregnant student before, how would you possibly know what your rights are?" said Dana Bolger, senior staff attorney at A Better Balance, a law firm focused on work-family law, and co-founder of the Title IX advocacy organization Know Your IX. "I hear all the time from pregnant students that have no idea Title IX has anything to do with them, and that has to change." Now, if a student discloses a pregnancy to a university employee, the employee is mandated to point them toward resources that outline their rights and to inform them that the institution's Title IX office can support them. "So many of the students who end up getting kicked out of their programs say, 'I asked for help. Nobody knew who could help me. Nobody referred me to the right person. I've been trying for months,'" said Jessica Lee, director of the Pregnant Scholar Initiative, a legal resource and helpline for pregnant and parenting students. |
| House Republicans press colleges on protest policies for fall | |
| Top House Republicans are demanding that the leaders of 10 high-profile universities detail how they will respond to encampments, protests and other demonstrations this fall. Missouri Rep. Jason Smith, the chair of the Ways and Means Committee, and North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent letters last week asking that the institutions share their campus plans with lawmakers by Sept. 5. The two legislators also asked the college officials to explain what changes they've made to their disciplinary procedures to "help deter future misconduct." The letters signal that Republican lawmakers will continue to scrutinize how colleges are responding to campus unrest in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. House Republicans have repeatedly accused top-ranked colleges of not doing enough to prevent antisemitism on their campuses and have called on university leaders to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters. Smith and Foxx are two of the lawmakers leading a House investigation into antisemitism at college campuses. As part of the probe, lawmakers are also looking into the federal funding and tax benefits many colleges receive. |
SPORTS
| Network debut set for Mississippi State University Films' documentary '9/20' | |
 | Mississippi State University (MSU) hosted one of the most important football games in American history nine days after the September 11 terrorist attacks. A new MSU Films documentary, "9/20," is about the 2001 Southeastern Conference (SEC) football game between the Bulldogs and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. The documentary will make its national television debut on the SEC Network at 7:00 p.m. CT on September 11. The film will be available for streaming at films.msstate.edu following the broadcast. In the documentary, MSU filmmakers examine a watershed moment when Americans turned to sports as a momentary escape from tragedy and a return to normalcy. "There was a great deal of enthusiasm moving into the 2001 football season. MSU had beaten Texas A&M in the 'Snow Bowl,' an all-time classic Independence Bowl game. We were on the national radar as a program on the rise, and we won our first game that year. Then, you get to the morning of Sept. 11, and everything related to athletics is no longer important," said David Garraway, University Television Center director and co-producer of "9/20." |
| Goals for Jeff Lebby's first Mississippi State football game vs. Eastern Kentucky -- besides a win | |
| Mississippi State football is a heavy favorite for its season opener against Eastern Kentucky. A win, of course, is the first goal for new coach Jeff Lebby's debut. But a nail-biting win over the FCS Colonels probably won't have Mississippi State fans jumping for joy Saturday (5 p.m., SEC Network+) when they exit Davis Wade Stadium. Only three Bulldogs who started at least six games return from last season, so there are still plenty of unknowns. Specific aspects of the game will be watched closely besides just the final score. "I think for us, we talked about it this morning, our guys understand that this is the biggest game of the year because it's the next game," Lebby said Monday. "How we're going to prepare and how we're going to operate, that never needs to change. When we talk about preparation and getting ready to play someone, that's got to be advantage us." Here's what Lebby should hope to see from Mississippi State, besides a convincing win against Eastern Kentucky. |
| Mississippi State already battling injuries ahead of season opener | |
| Mississippi State hasn't played a game yet, but the Bulldogs are already dealing with the injury bug. Wide receiver Kelly Akharaiyi, projected as one of MSU's most impactful transfer portal additions, will not be available for Saturday's season opener against Eastern Kentucky, and neither will safety Corey Ellington, one of just two projected returning starters on defense. Both were "dinged up" during fall camp, head coach Jeff Lebby said at his first weekly press conference Monday. Running back Jeffery Pittman, who joined the Bulldogs last year from the junior college ranks, is not with the program for the time being due to an "internal matter," according to Lebby, who did not provide further details. Akharaiyi was one of 33 FBS receivers to eclipse 1,000 yards last year at Texas-El Paso, and he was fifth nationally among qualified wideouts in yards per catch. His absence is a blow to a deep yet relatively inexperienced receiving corps. "Kelly's a guy, he's had all this production, he's played a lot of ball," Lebby said. "I'm concerned from that standpoint. We've got some young guys in the room, I've talked about them through fall camp, who have a chance to be really good players. They just haven't done it." "I do love the fact that we've got so many guys who got here in January and then a good group of guys who got here this summer, but they have bought into the connection piece of who we are," Lebby said. "Being a head coach right now (means) making sure we've got a team and guys who care about each other, love to go play the game and represent State the right way on Saturdays." |
| Jeff Lebby explains notable absences from Mississippi State's depth chart | |
| Jeff Lebby had updates for a trio of absences from the officially released depth chart yesterday at Mississippi State. Lebby addressed the names of Kelly Akhairayi, Corey Ellington, and Jeffery Pittman not making it on the Bulldogs' two-deep during his press conference on Monday. He began with Akhairayi and Ellington by noting that pair have had injuries throughout the fall. Each respective issue will keep them out for this weekend's opener against Eastern Kentucky. "With those three guys? I'll start with Kelly and Corey. Both those guys may have been dinged up, fighting some things through fall camp. So they won't be available this week," said Lebby. "We'll continue to look at their situation as we get into the season. Hopefully get those guys back sooner than later." Finally, as for Pittman, his name not making the chart is a more significant matter. Lebby made it known that the running back, who was entering his second season with the program after being their fourth-leading rusher last year, is no longer part of their roster. "Pitt is actually a guy that is no longer with us right now," said Lebby. "Won't get into the details of that internal matter." |
| Prescott's time with the Cowboys, Russell Wilson's fading career among the hot QB questions in 2024 | |
 | Dak Prescott figures to get paid, either by Dallas or another team willing to go north of $50 million per year if the Cowboys let his contract expire after this season. Russell Wilson hasn't been announced as the starter for Pittsburgh's opener in what's shaped up to be the nine-time Pro Bowler's last chance to revive a career that has stalled since his days as a star in Seattle. The look and feel of the hot seat is a bit different for Prescott and Wilson, among others in potential make-or-break situations, but it's a hot seat nonetheless. In Prescott's case, the runner-up in MVP voting from last season badly wants to take the Cowboys where they haven't been in nearly 30 years -- past the divisional round of the playoffs. After his worst flop yet in a shocking home wild-card loss to Green Bay last season, Prescott faces questions of whether he's the guy to do what Tony Romo couldn't in 10 years as the starter. This will be the ninth try for the 31-year-old entering the final season of a club-record $160 million, four-year contract. The Cowboys say they want to keep him. Prescott, who replaced an injured Romo in his first training camp and started from the get-go, says he wants to stay. Yet the 2016 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year remains a lame duck QB for 2024, with the Cowboys at 28 years and counting since their most recent trip to the NFC championship game. Dallas won its fifth Super Bowl title to finish the 1995 season. |
| A&M students turfgrass masters in the making | |
 | Kyle Field has had a busy summer. The home of Texas A&M football hosted the Brazil-Mexico soccer match that drew over 85,000 fans and also welcomed nearly 110,000 country music lovers for the George Strait concert. But no matter what events this iconic stadium sees, a team of sports field experts and staff work hard to ensure Kyle Field is game day ready. At the heart of that team are the future experts: Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' turfgrass science students. Chris Franks and Cody Patranella, both Class of '26 and turfgrass science majors in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, are part of the team responsible for maintaining Kyle Field. For them, it's more than just a job; it's a passion for grass and sports field management that drew them to Texas A&M University. "I was originally an agribusiness major, but after working on the field and learning about all the science that goes into it, I knew this is where I wanted to be," Franks said. "There's something special about seeing the field come alive on game day and knowing you played a part in that." Students spend 40-45 hours a week --- sometimes up to 60 during game weeks -- ensuring that the field is ready for 300-pound linemen to battle for position or receivers to make quick changes in direction in hopes of reaching the end zone. From repairing divots and daily mowing to painting yardage lines and end zones into the grass with precision, their work is a year-round commitment that begins as soon as the final whistle blows. |
| Take a tour through LSU's new recovery center in the football operations building | |
 | By 2:15 p.m. Monday, LSU football players began to fill the practice facility. They walked past the revamped nutrition area and sat on the athletic training tables, using the newest addition to the football operations building on their recovery day. The renovation finished in time for preseason camp. For the past month, the Tigers have used a variety of wellness technologies and a new players' lounge, all designed to help them recover between practices and games. "This recovery center is really an integral piece of the football operations center, and it was a missing piece," LSU coach Brian Kelly said. "With this addition, we believe we have the finest operations building in the country." The project, which Kelly contributed $1 million toward, primarily added an expanded athletic training center to the building. Construction was not going to exceed $20 million, according to a pitch to LSU's board of supervisors, and was paid for by the Tiger Athletic Foundation. LSU now has rooms dedicated to massage chairs, high-tech sleep pods, hydrotherapy and more. One area has a cryotherapy chamber and red light therapy table, which senior associate athletic trainer Owen Stanley said helps rejuvenate cells. The area where players get treatment now connects to an expanded nutrition space, which leads into the weight room. Director of athletic development Jake Flint said the design supports collaboration between athletic training, nutrition, and strength and conditioning. |
| College Football Preview: SEC adding Oklahoma, Texas kicked off landscape remake | |
| In the back right corner of the Wynfrey Hotel's cavernous main ballroom in Hoover, Ala., "The Paul Finebaum Show" set shone like a beacon of light. The show's eponymous host, a voice in the center of a conference that majors in the wild and wacky, may well have a doctorate in such things. Finebaum has genuinely seen it all in the SEC, running the gamut from covering Bear Bryant's retirement as an enterprising young reporter at the Birmingham Post-Herald to Harvey Updike's infamous phone call revealing his poisoning of the trees at Toomer's Corner at Auburn. This is to say there are few things, if any, that leave Finebaum gobsmacked --- at least until 3:38 p.m. on July 21, 2021. "Exclusive: Texas, Oklahoma reach out to SEC about joining conference." The Houston Chronicle headline on a story by Texas A&M beat reporter Brent Zwerneman, at first glance, read like a conspiracy-fueled message board post, forcing a double-take to verify its authenticity. Rumblings of such discussions had circulated in the background in the days prior, but that was almost too unbelievable to be wholly true. Now it was reality. Finebaum, then in the midst of his afternoon show, had warned staffers something might be on the horizon. A text from former Texas A&M head coach Jackie Sherrill promptly caught his attention -- "I think it's going down," Sherrill wrote. "We just went into DEFCON 1," Finebaum quipped. |
| Does American tennis have a pickleball problem? Upstart's boom looms out of view at the US Open | |
| Does American tennis have a pickleball problem? Even as the U.S. Open opened this week with more than a million fans expected for the sport's biggest showcase, the game's leaders are being forced to confront a devastating fact -- the nation's fastest-growing racket sport (or sport of any kind) is not tennis but pickleball, which has seen participation boom 223% in the past three years. "Quite frankly, it's obnoxious to hear that pickleball noise," U.S. Tennis Association President Dr. Brian Hainline grumbled at a recent state-of-the-game news conference, bemoaning the distinctive pock, pock, pock of pickleball points. Pickleball, an easy-to-play mix of tennis and ping pong using paddles and a wiffleball, has quickly soared from nearly nothing to 13.6 million U.S. players in just a few years, leading tennis purists to fear a day when it could surpass tennis' 23.8 million players. And most troubling is that pickleball's rise has often come at the expense of thousands of tennis courts encroached upon or even replaced by smaller pickleball courts. "When you see an explosion of a sport and it starts potentially eroding into your sport, then, yes, you're concerned," Hainline said in an interview with The Associated Press. "That erosion has come in our infrastructure. ... A lot of pickleball advocates just came in and said, 'We need these tennis courts.' It was a great, organic grassroots movement but it was a little anti-tennis." |
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