| Monday, September 23, 2024 |
| MSU, Partnership endorse selling OCH | |
 | The county is moving forward with requesting proposals for the sale of OCH Regional Medical Center to a larger, private health care system. Supervisors voted unanimously to proceed with the next step in potentially privatizing the county-owned hospital following a more than 90-minute public hearing Thursday evening in a packed chancery courtroom. They authorized Raymond James Financial Services and the Butler Snow law firm to develop the RFP. "It's just time to turn the page, I believe," District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams said during the meeting. Prior to the vote, Mississippi State University and the Greater Starkville Development Partnership both formally endorsed selling OCH, and two Starkville physicians also voiced support for a sale. Reading a letter endorsed by a unanimous vote of his board, Partnership Executive Director Mike Tagert said selling OCH to a larger system would ensure the hospital's continued existence. "We are very concerned about the future of health care in Starkville and Oktibbeha County," Tagert told the supervisors. "... We're here asking you to consider a new way forward. ... We don't want to just survive from a health care standpoint. We want to thrive in our community." Likewise, MSU Provost David Shaw said a lack of top-tier health care has become a significant hurdle in recruiting faculty and staff to the university. "The status quo is just not an option," Shaw said. "... Selling the hospital to an entity with the necessary resources to provide excellent staffing and cutting-edge technology is not only a good option, it is probably the only viable pathway forward." However, Shaw cautioned supervisors to find the right buyer, not just the best price. "We have seen other communities in Mississippi make that same mistake -- selling to the highest bidder only to watch their hospital flipped and the quality of care deteriorate," he said. "That cannot be our fate." |
| Small Town Revitalization grants awarded to 11 Mississippi communities | |
 | Eleven Mississippi communities are receiving Small Town Revitalization program grants to support projects ranging from master plans to pocket parks to street art to retail hubs and more. Mississippi State University's Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center announced the awards this week, the funding for which came by way of a federal appropriation supported by U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. Small Town Center Director Leah Kemp said in a statement that MSU will work with the selected communities to design and implement their proposed projects. "We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our state and are humbled that our longstanding record of service to our communities has been entrusted to carry out this task," Kemp said. Kemp called the funding "a game-changer for the Small Town Center and communities across the state." "It allows us to make a significant impact toward revitalizing Mississippi communities and catalyzing further growth and improvements," she added." The Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center is a research center housed in MSU's College of Architecture, Art and Design. Since 1979, the center has worked to provide meaningful design and planning solutions for small towns. |
| Concert posters designed by former MSU professor exhibited on campus | |
 | A collection of concert posters designed by Mississippi State University professor emerita Jamie Burwell Mixon over the span of two decades is on display through early October at the Cullis Wade Depot Art Gallery on campus. Mixon, a Starkville resident who grew up in Jackson, was interested in art and drawing from an early age. She got her start creating concert posters at MSU as part of Music Maker Productions, a student-run concert committee, from 1979 to 1982. During her time as a student at MSU, the group brought the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Linda Ronstadt, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Peter Frampton and Earth, Wind & Fire to campus. "We were bringing in huge concerts when I was a Music Maker," Mixon said. "So I got to do the posters for all of those acts." The first poster she designed was for the band America, and perhaps the most memorable was for Springsteen in 1981. She graduated with a portfolio of concert posters and went on to work six years as an art director for Dux D'Lux, a Starkville-based design studio, before being hired as a professor at MSU. Mixon retired after 29 years at the university, where she most recently served as coordinator of graphic design within the Department of Art at the university's College of Architecture, Art, and Design. |
| MSU hosts Discovery Day for students | |
 | Mississippi State University hosted its Fall Discovery Day event Friday. More than 300 students from high schools and community colleges took a visit to MSU to learn about careers in the fields of agriculture, life sciences, wildlife, forestry, veterinary medicine, and more. Students got to experience hands-on activities, meet one-on-one with industry leaders, and get a taste of an array of careers. "It lets the students see what options there are," said Sandy Pestage of Itawamba Agricultural High School. "They know they like animals or being outdoors and things like that but they don't really know what career paths those associate with. So this just really gets them in some areas hands-on and more information and contacts. They're building their network while they're here too." "We want to use this as a day to educate our students on the types of careers that exist in natural resources and agriculture, vet medicine and wildlife biology, forestry, all of those different areas that are very important to our local economy, Mississippi, and really to the country," said Cory Bailey, Director of Enrollment, Retention and Outreach, MSU College of Ag and Life Sciences. |
| 2,000-year-old comedic play to feature performances by students, robots | |
| The Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University begins its season of activities with the college's Classical Week celebration of Greek, Roman, and other cultures of the ancient world. Classical Week, housed at the honors college, began 12 years ago and has grown into an annual event. The week begins Tuesday with the first of a two-evening play production of the comedy, "Trinummus" or "Three-Dollar Day" by Roman playwright Plautus. The play will be performed at 6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Mississippi State University's Bettersworth Auditorium in Lee Hall. While the play is set in Athens, Greece 2,000 years ago, the MSU production showcases creative expression through transformational technologies and artificial intelligence, as students and robots act alongside each other. The cast and production crew members are all Shackouls Honors College students. Other students are working behind the scenes. |
| MSU's Riley Campus undergoes window restoration | |
 | A restoration project underway through October at Mississippi State University-Meridian's Riley Campus will replace custom windows on the campus' Fifth Street side in a continuing effort to preserve the integrity of the 19th-century buildings. Funded through a gift from The Riley Foundation, the $1 million-plus project was authorized by the Mississippi Department of Archives, which approved the custom windows that complement the historic structures. "This project would not be possible without the continued support of the Riley Foundation," said Morgan Dudley, MSU Riley Center director of conferences, events and operations. In its heyday, the Riley Center's 900-seat theater, formerly known as the Grand Opera House, was lit with gas lanterns and featured popular operas and vaudeville acts. Today it includes adjacent conference space and a grand ballroom in the adjoining former Marks-Rothenberg Department Store, a popular destination that offered residents four stories of merchandise. Windows to the Deen Building, adjoining the theater to its west, already have been installed. The Deen Building is the former Newberry Building, also a gift from The Riley Foundation, that now houses the university's newly created Accelerated Master of Science in Nursing program. Crews began work in August to shore up the stucco and paint on the Fifth Street side of the building, and while some entrances are roped off, guests may enter through the building's 22nd Avenue doors. "We are continuing business through this important project, and we look forward to welcoming guests to our upcoming performances and conference spaces," Dudley said. |
| Holiday sales open for MSU cheese shop | |
| Holiday sales are open online and in-store for Mississippi State's cheese. With the holidays fast approaching, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, or MAFES, Sales Store has opened holiday sales of its signature cheese products: Edam, cheddar, Vallagret, jalapeno and its Maroon and White gift boxes. The store, which moved into its present location in the 1970s, will undergo significant renovations beginning in mid-December. This year's cheese ship dates are scheduled for Nov. 4, 11, 18, 25 and December 2. Patrons are encouraged to place their orders early to ensure their holiday tables feature the beloved MSU cheeses. The last day to pick up cheese orders in-store is December 9. The store will close at 4:30 p.m. on December 13 to begin renovations. Starting in January, with the MAFES Sales Store closed for renovations, a temporary storefront will be available at Ballew Hall with the interim location serving favorite MSU dairy and meat products, as well as the University Florist pop-in shop featuring McCartys pottery and gifts, until the renovations are complete. The newly renovated MAFES Sales Store is expected to reopen in May 2025, featuring enhanced facilities to better serve the MSU community. |
| Mississippi sees minimal cotton damage from Francine | |
 | The impacts from Hurricane Francine to Mississippi's cotton crop have been minimal. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimated just under 70% of the cotton bolls around the state had opened as of September 9, three days before Francine reached the state. Officials with the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service said the timing and projected track of the storm at that time made for the possibility of stand and lint yield loss with virtually the whole crop still in the field, enduring 40 to 60-mph winds and flash flooding. However, Francine moved quickly, with rainfall totals in much of the state on the lower side of what was anticipated. "Damage is always variable in these cases because some isolated areas see more wind and rain and have micro considerations such as crop varieties, conditions and yields prior to the storm, but based on the conversations I've had with growers and consultants, damage from Francine was minimal," said Brian Pieralisi, MSU Extension cotton specialist. |
| Want to take a selfie on election day? Keep your ballot out of it. | |
| As the ballots roll in during the general election, many voters will also proudly post about their engagement in the election on social media. But in Mississippi, one thing has to stay out of the picture: their ballots. Most states do not ban ballot selfies, and roughly 26 million people have taken one, according to a report from Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). But Mississippi remains one of more than a dozen states that bans them. A state law that went into effect in 2017 forbids voters from showing their ballot to another person. Breaking the law is punishable by a fine between $25 and $100. This law also applies to ballot selfies, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State's office. Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk Tony Rook said that the law is designed to prevent voter intimidation, among other things. "If an individual is forced or coerced to vote for a certain individual, how else do you prove you've done it?" Rook said. "You take a picture of it. That's the presumption, that it could be a form of voter intimidation." Rook said a majority of the problems that come with ballot photos being shared are prevented in Oktibbeha County by not allowing voters to use their cell phones while in a polling place. If a voter does get their phone out, the bailiff present will ask them to put their phone away, Rook said. He has never seen the situation escalate beyond that. |
| Analysis: Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians makes nearly $1B economic impact annually | |
| The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and all its business operations are creating a nearly billion-dollar impact on the state annually, according to tribal leaders. An economic impact analysis performed by Mississippi State University examined spending from several categories, including new construction projects, commercial operations, government operations, human capital investment, and tourism spending. Based on 2022 expenditures, the Tribe's economic impact was $980 million. "This study demonstrates the significant role our Tribe plays in the economic health of Mississippi," Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben said. "We are proud of our contributions and remain committed to fostering growth and opportunities for all." Additionally, the economic analysis found that the Tribe generates $227.2 million in personal income tax annually and supports the employment of nearly 10,000 individuals. The Tribal Scholarship Program was established to offer members financial support to pursue education beyond high school. In 2022, 41 TSP graduates collectively earned $795,288 more than they would have without their degrees. Their higher incomes spark additional expenditures in the state economy. TPS graduates increased the income for others by $141,052, increased output by $535,611, and supported the creation of three additional jobs in Mississippi. |
| South Mississippi urged to stay 'on alert' as system in Caribbean could spawn Gulf hurricane | |
 | Gulf Coast residents, including those in South Mississippi, should keep an eye on a low pressure system in the Caribbean that has a "high chance" of developing this week into a tropical storm or hurricane, the National Hurricane Center warned Sunday morning. The system has a 70% chance of formation within the next seven days, the hurricane center forecast says. "It is recommended that residents in the aforementioned areas stay alert on the latest information from their local meteorological agencies," according to the hurricane center's forecast discussion. The system is brewing as attention shifts from the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico for hurricane formation. Hurricanes that form near the Cape Verde islands off the coast of Africa, as Category 5 Hurricane Andrew did in August 1992, are most common in August and September, although they have rarely formed in late July and early October, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration says. This time of year, Gulf residents begin watching the Caribbean, where record-breaking Hurricane Camille formed in August 1969 and devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast, also as a Category 5. But a tropical storm or hurricane is still not a given. If a storm does form, it is likely to make landfall anywhere from midday Thursday to Friday morning, |
| U.S. Economy Stabilized in August | |
 | Economic growth rebounded a little last month in the U.S., according to a monthly index set out Monday, though the broader trend remains weak amid high borrowing costs and political uncertainty. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index improved to 0.12 in August from minus 42 in July, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said. A reading above zero is associated with better-than-average economic growth. Despite August's recovery, the index's three-month moving average decreased, suggesting headwinds continue to buffet the economy. The CFNAI diffusion index -- which captures how much the change in the monthly index is spread among the indicators over three months -- similarly declined to minus 0.23 from minus 0.11 in July. Periods of economic expansion have historically been associated with values of the CFNAI diffusion index above minus 0.35. Indicators relating to production and employment improved in August, suggesting some good news for the labor market, a key focus of concern in recent months. In contrast, sales, orders and inventories fell back, pointing to faltering demand, while personal consumption and housing also declined, the index showed. The index comes ahead of nationwide business surveys due to be published later Monday and that are expected to show a broadly stable pace of growth in private-sector activity this month. |
| Mississippi River mayors agree to unify ports from the Corn Belt to the coast | |
| Mayors from 10 states along the Mississippi River convened in Louisiana's capital this week to announce a cooperative agreement between the working river's ports. In town for the annual Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative meeting, the mayors also called upon the next U.S. president to prioritize several federal policy changes to support the 105 cities represented by the initiative. On Wednesday, mayors from the Midwestern Corn Belt joined mayors from Louisiana to sign the Mississippi River Ports Cooperative Endeavor Agreement. The agreement is the first to ensure cooperation between the inland ports in the heart of the corn belt and the coastal ports of Louisiana that export 60% of the nation's agricultural products. Vicksburg, Mississippi, Mayor George Flaggs praised the move in a statement on Friday, adding that he and the other mayors there were paying particular attention to environmental issues along the river such as the ongoing drought. "This agreement ensures that ports from St. Louis to St. Paul will receive federal designation, a significant step that will bolster commerce and strengthen the economic impact of the entire Mississippi River region," Flaggs said. For the third year in a row, the Midwest is under extreme drought conditions, which have led to low water levels that threaten to disrupt barge transports carrying fuel and grain. The 16-month drought spanning from 2022 to 2023 cost the nation $26 billion. The drought of 2012 cost the Mississippi River corridor $35 billion. |
| Inside House Speaker Mike Johnson's budget fight: 'This town is trying to eat that man alive' | |
 | After 21 House Republicans either rejected or ducked a vote that would have required proof of citizenship for voters to register as part of an effort to continue funding the federal government, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House leadership started shifting toward a measure that would include Democratic backing to avoid a near-total shutdown on Oct. 1. Staffers on the House Appropriations Committee, according to one who confirmed what members and other staffers had said Thursday, are preparing a legislative instrument without the proof of citizenship language former President Donald Trump wanted attached to the "continuing resolution," or CR, that would punt immediate funding decisions but allow the government to continue working after its spending authority expires the night of Sept. 30. It will be what's called a "clean CR," meaning a straight extension of spending until Dec. 13, or perhaps Dec. 20, that Democrats can approve. The new CR would set up another thousand-page take-or-leave-it "omnibus" spending bill in the days before Christmas. Republicans have long sought to approve spending for the fiscal year through 12 separate appropriations bills instead of with an all-in-one omnibus bill. But only a handful of those individual bills got passed, and time is running out. |
| Lawmakers back in Washington with short-term government funding bill atop to-do list | |
 | Lawmakers are set for their final sprint before the November elections. Congress' main order of business: muscling through a 49-page short-term government funding patch through Dec. 20 to keep the lights on throughout the federal government. House Republicans unveiled their bipartisan, largely clean compromise effort on Sunday afternoon and the Rules Committee meets Monday at 4 p.m. to tee up the measure for floor debate. A vote on the floor is expected mid-week. One thing to watch: How the three hard-line conservatives on the Rules panel -- Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) -- approach the measure. Leadership could always try to pass the spending patch under suspension of the rules -- an expedited process requiring two-thirds support for passage -- though that would likely require Democrats to provide a hefty portion of the final votes. Fourteen conservatives opposed a six-month funding patch last week that included a GOP provision supported by former President Donald Trump requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. And members of that group are sure to be displeased about the latest proposal from Speaker Mike Johnson. But congressional Democrats indicated Sunday they'll support it, once again likely providing the votes to get it across the finish line in the Republican-led House. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer bemoaned in a Sunday statement that "this same agreement could have been done two weeks ago" but expressed hope "we can wrap up work on the [continuing resolution] this week" before the end-of-September deadline. |
| Tension in the Middle East looms over Biden's last big U.N. meeting | |
 | President Joe Biden will head to the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, seeking to cement his foreign policy legacy amid the growing threat of war between Israel and Hezbollah and questions about his administration's handling of Gaza. The annual gathering, which brings together world leaders in New York, will mark one of Biden's final opportunities to lay out his accomplishments on the global stage. But allies and experts said sideline discussions about the crisis in the Middle East are likely to dominate, complicating his effort. "Joe Biden, more than most presidents, has a history of foreign policy activity and accomplishments and I'm sure he wants to go out on a high note. But the Israel-Lebanon issue is going to make that very hard to do," said Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who worked on Middle East issues in several administrations. "UNGA could become an all-Lebanon UNGA, which is not what the administration wants," Riedel added. "This is a crisis I'm sure the Biden team is doing everything it can to prevent, but it doesn't look like the odds are in their favor." Vice President Kamala Harris is not scheduled to attend the high-level gathering in New York but is expected to hold meetings in Washington, including with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Monday and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, according to the White House. Both Biden and Harris will meet with the leaders at the White House, but Harris will also meet separately with both men. |
| Trump says he won't run for president again if he loses 2024 election | |
| Former President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he doesn't "think" he'd run again for president in 2028 if he falls short in his bid to return to the White House in 2024. "No, I don't. I think that will be, that will be it," Trump said when journalist Sharyl Attkisson asked him if he'd run again. The comment was notable both because Trump seemed to rule out a fourth bid for the White House and because he rarely admits the possibility he could legitimately lose an election. Trump normally insists that could only happen if there were widespread cheating, a false allegation he made in 2020 and he's preemptively made again during his 2024 presidential campaign. Trump would be 82 in 2028, a year older than President Joe Biden is now. Biden bowed out of the race in July following his disastrous debate performance and months of being hammered by Trump and other conservatives as being too old and erratic for the job. Attkisson interviewed Trump for her show "Full Measure." Also during the 22-minute interview, Trump defended his record on the coronavirus pandemic. He took credit for the development of the COVID-19 vaccines developed during his presidency while also saying "they're doing studies on the vaccines and we're going to find out" if they are safe. Trump said Republicans have become skeptical about the vaccines even as Democrats trust them. |
| Ryan Routh said Donald Trump stakeout was an 'assassination attempt': prosecutors | |
 | Ryan Routh left a handwritten note calling his visit to Trump International Golf Club "an assassination attempt" on former President Donald Trump and offered a $150,000 reward for anyone who could complete the job if it failed, prosecutors said in a court filing Monday. Routh was arrested Sept. 15 fleeing the Florida golf course where Trump was playing after the Secret Service opened fire on a suspect leveling a rifle through the fenceline. FBI agents found an SKS semiautomatic rifle with a scope, loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition in the improvised sniper's nest. Routh allegedly left the note in a metal box with someone, who wasn't named in the court filing, months before the incident at the golf course. The witness opened the box after hearing about the incident and law enforcement visited the person Sept. 18. The box also contained ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, four phones and several letters. "This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you," said the letter, a picture of which appears in the court filing. "I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job." Routh has a detention hearing scheduled at 11 a.m. Monday, where prosecutors seek to keep him locked up until trial. He has not yet entered a formal plea, which is scheduled Sept. 30. |
| The Civil War Still Echoes in the South, Forcing Towns to Take Sides | |
| Rod Phillips and Michael Dean, a pair of white 70-something retirees, take opposing sides in the Civil War, usually between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturdays. They are separated by a bronze 7-foot Confederate soldier, in an unyielding though peaceful standoff going on almost as long as the war that divided the nation. "It's racist," said Phillips, who wants the statue removed from public property. On Saturdays, he leads a small band of regulars to protest the monument's looming presence over the town Forbes magazine called one of the prettiest in America. "When it was put up, it was an expression of white supremacy," Phillips said. He owned a sign-making business in Raleigh, N.C., before moving to Edenton in 2018. He picked the town, population 4,500, because it is halfway between his family in Johnston County, N.C., and his wife's family in Virginia Beach, Va. Dean, who sometimes wears a bespoke gray Confederate uniform, leads a handful of counter protesters across the street every Saturday. The statue is, plain and simple, a memorial to the 47 soldiers from Chowan County who lost their lives protecting the state, he said. Similar fights are underway across the South, where hundreds of Confederate monuments and memorials remain. |
| Mother of USM president celebrates 100th birthday | |
 | The mother of University of Southern Mississippi's president celebrated a very special occasion Friday. Helen Paul turned 100 years old Friday. Paul was born Sept. 20, 1924, in Collinwood, Tennessee. She worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency at the Stennis Space Center on the Gulf Coast. Paul retired from Stennis at the age of 71 and has lived in Hattiesburg since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Friday, her friends at Wesley Retirement Community threw Paul a big, birthday party. "I'm not sure I deserve all this for being 100, but I like it," Paul said. Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker attended and presented Paul with a proclamation, declaring Sept. 20, 2024, as "Helen Paul Day" in the Hub City. "I didn't want to come (to Hattiesburg), because I had to get rid of my home," Paul said. "But I felt I had to, and then, the friendship (at Wesley Retirement Community) has turned that around, so it's been good, I'm happy." Paul had three children, including USM President Joe Paul, with seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren. |
| Belhaven University announces new bachelor of science degree program | |
 | Belhaven University students can now pursue a degree in applied chemistry. The new bachelor of science degree program launched earlier this month and focuses on hands-on learning and practical applications. The new program was designed to prepare students going into the STEM field as chemistry laboratory technicians. Specific field options include environmental testing, pharmaceutical quality control and medical testing. In a press release announcing the program's launch, Provost Audrey Kelleher said the degree adds to Belhaven's dedication to advancing STEM while also pairing Christian teachings with the lessons. "This degree is a testament to our ongoing effort to strengthen STEM at Belhaven," Kelleher said. "It not only equips students with the technical skills needed to excel in laboratory settings but also integrates Christian faith, exploring how science is a study of God's creation." |
| Liam Neeson, Zachary Levi filming movie at Millsaps College | |
| Two major Hollywood stars were spotted in Jackson on Saturday, filming a handful of scenes at Millsaps College. Liam Neeson, best known for his roles in Schindler's List and the Taken movies, was on campus alongside Zachary Levi of Shazam! for what sources tell SuperTalk Mississippi News is their newest movie, Hotel Tehran. According to IMDB, the thriller is about a group of disgraced ex-CIA operators who set out to Tehran after the war in Afghanistan to take down a life-changing score. While Millsaps College did not confirm if the movie being filmed was Hotel Tehran, it did confirm Neeson and Levi were on campus through a social media post. The film crew for Hotel Tehran was also seen earlier in the week outside Mad Genius, a Ridgeland-based company that specializes in video production and editing. |
| 'At LSU, you're like a mayor': In Louisiana, student gov presidents have a seat at the table | |
| College student governments are microcosms of government at the local, state and federal level -- in both the good and the bad, says Butch Oxendine, executive director of the American Student Government Association. "It can be a good training or a bad training. They're all different. UL is different from LSU is different from Tulane is different from UNO is different from McNeese -- at a big school, like an LSU, very commonly, those people end up as education leaders," said Oxendine. "There is no rhyme or reason. Each of us has our own path." For this College to Career project, The Advocate's features team tracked down student government presidents of Louisiana four-year colleges from the 2004-05 school year to see what they're up to 20 years later and how their experience as campus leaders affected the trajectory of their lives. College is a time of transience, and most SGA presidents only serve for a year. Most of the former student presidents reflected on the rarity of single-handedly accomplishing big feats. Still, each president takes up the mantle of those who came before them or who set something in motion which might change the university for the generations to come. "They're very ambitions, typically. To run for presidents at some schools, not all, it is difficult and time-consuming. They have to manage committee appointments, meetings and negotiations -- a lot of what they learn leads them to do similar things in the future," said Oxendine, who has 40 years experience working with student government leaders across the country. "At LSU, you're like a mayor." |
| Clark Hall renovations help create 'landing space' for U. of Missouri health sciences students | |
 | What once was an old cafeteria is now home to three new classrooms at Clark Hall. These classrooms, featuring tall ceilings and soaring windows, were unveiled Friday along with individual and group study spaces and a newly accessible entrance. The University of Missouri's College of Health Sciences revealed the renovations of the building, which were formerly used as administrative spaces, said Stephanie Reid-Arndt, senior associate dean of the college. Clark Hall also includes the Robert G. Combs Language Preschool. The preschool got a facelift as well, with an observation room, a renovated kitchen space, a child-friendly bathroom and activity centers scattered across the building, said Christi Baker, director of the preschool. Baker said there is an increased sense of pride attached to the renovation. "Students want to bring their families here when they're visiting," Baker said. "They want to bring Grandma and Grandpa and say, 'This is where my classes are.'" Not only has the space become more comfortable, Baker said, but the renovation allows for improved walkability for students. Before the upgrade, some students had to go to and from clinical sessions at Lewis and Clark halls to classes on the other side of campus. |
| Endowed chair named to new agriculture institute at U. of Memphis | |
| Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee was in Memphis Thursday to speak at the University of Memphis' symposium celebrating the newly established Institute for Agricultural and Conservation Research and Education. Lee, who was raised on a ranch and noted he is "still a farmer," said in his speech that the institute will help educate future entrepreneurs and engineers in the agriculture world. "It is not only about agricultural research, but it's about conservation research. I'm a person who has a deep appreciation for the uniqueness in our state, beauty of the natural resources that we have and the value of farmland that is so crucial to the number one driver of our state's economy," Lee said. During the symposium, University of Memphis President Bill Hardgrave announced that Dr. Jennifer Mandel would be the first endowed chair of ag-tech and sustainable agriculture. Mandel's professorship will be funded through a grant from the state matched by the Dunavant Foundation, totaling $1 million. Memphis Mayor Paul Young also spoke to the importance of having innovative research regarding agriculture technology in Memphis and Shelby County. He also said the university's achievement of reaching R-1 Status -- which means the university has achieved very high research status and will receive both federal and private funding for its research -- is something to also brag on. |
| Survey: Experiential Learning Helps Young People Identify Career Paths | |
 | In New Hampshire, investment into career-connected learning (CCL) for young people has paid off, with recent survey data from Gallup finding a majority of high school students want to participate in more of these opportunities and see experiences expand. One-third (38 percent) of respondents in high school say CCL experiences have informed their plans after high school, and almost two-thirds (64 percent) of students say they want more related opportunities, according to the report, co-authored by Gallup and the New Hampshire Learning Initiative. The findings highlight a need for early career engagement among students and how visibility of postsecondary paths can encourage certainty in their post–high school plans. Helping young people identify career paths and make informed decisions after high school is a growing need across the U.S. Within higher education, more colleges and universities are providing early career development during a student's first year or embedding career planning into the curriculum to ensure every student receives guidance and preparation before graduation. Gallup's study shows that incorporating careers into the curriculum can have an impact even before college, as students navigate postsecondary decision-making. |
| Bloomberg's $140 Million Push to Get Lower-Income Students Into Top Colleges Falls Short | |
| Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has spent more than $140 million over the past decade to get tens of thousands more talented, lower-income students into top-flight colleges. Those big ambitions have so far fallen short. The bulk of Bloomberg's millions have gone to a remote college-counseling program. Bloomberg Philanthropies, the ex-New York City mayor's charitable arm, also invested in the American Talent Initiative, a group of college presidents that aimed to attract 50,000 more lower-income students to schools with high graduation rates. Bloomberg Philanthropies now says the college counseling has had "minimal" impact, according to a presentation shared with The Wall Street Journal. And the American Talent Initiative has shelved its big goal after falling off track. "We think we have moved the needle. We have not solved the problem," said Howard Wolfson, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies' education work. Behind the spending is Michael Bloomberg's belief -- a belief shared by other large donors and nonprofits -- that the path to economic mobility runs through America's leading colleges. |
| U.S. Research Aided Chinese Military Technology, House Republicans Say | |
 | A House committee focused on threats from China argued in a report released on Monday that U.S. federal research funding had helped to advance Chinese technologies with military applications, helping to fuel a potential national security rival to the United States. The report argues that Chinese partnerships with U.S.-funded researchers and joint collaborations between Chinese and American universities have helped to propel Beijing's advancements in fields like hypersonic and nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductors. The report concludes that these developments may one day influence how the two nations perform on the battlefield. The report -- put out by the Republican members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce -- also recommends stricter guidelines around federally funded research, including significantly curtailing the ability of researchers who receive U.S. grants to work with Chinese universities and companies that have military ties. The United States remains a global leader in science and technology, but China's capacity has leaped ahead in certain areas like materials science, hypersonics and nanotechnology. The Chinese government has said its scientific advancements serve an important purpose in helping it build its military. If the report's recommendations are adopted, it could significantly curtail the number of scientific collaborations between the world's largest economies. |
| Rhetoric and Records Shape the Presidential Race | |
 | This election is the most important of our lifetimes. It will define the future. Hype like that materializes every four years. For voters, it's an intoxicating notion that we stand on the precipice of history. For political organizers, it's a useful technique because it motivates voters to turn out. But that line of thinking is a dead end -- at least when it comes to how the results will affect higher education. While it's always possible that this will be the one election that's more consequential than those to come, the moments that shape history -- inflection points, as President Biden has so often called them -- can be identified only in retrospect. Hyperbolic assertions about the stakes obscure the actual forces that are poised to shape higher education's future: complex interactions between candidates, their favored policies, evolving political coalitions, a changing knowledge economy, and evolving student demographics. So take note when Sen. JD Vance, the Republican candidate for vice president, calls professors "the enemy." Watch closely as Vice President Kamala Harris seeks to tap support from the "Divine Nine" Black fraternities and sororities. But keep in mind that they are only the latest to take roles in a long-running drama in which Republicans increasingly seek to define themselves against higher education and its perceived excesses, while Democrats extol the virtues of spreading college's benefits more broadly -- sometimes in ways that frustrate the sector's leaders. What is most different about this election, in fact, is the diminished power over policy that the eventual president will have. |
| DNC Rolls Out Ad Campaign at HBCUs, HSIs | |
| The Democratic National Committee is launching a voter registration and ad campaign at historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions in six battleground states, The Hill reported. The campaign is the latest signal the DNC views young voters as key to winning the White House in November. HBCUs in particular are expected to play an important role, given that Vice President Kamala Harris graduated from Howard University. The ads will highlight the conservative Project 2025 and direct students to IWillVote.com, where they can get more information about how to vote. The DNC is rolling out the campaign in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. "The DNC is taking every opportunity to reach students where they are and make sure they have all of the tools they need to vote this November on the issues that matter most to them," DNC chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement. "Young voters' futures and freedoms are on the line as Donald Trump and JD Vance's extreme Project 2025 agenda threatens to undermine reproductive rights, rig the economy for the ultra-wealthy, and strip funding from HBCU and HSI campuses." |
| State revenue winds have shifted | |
| Columnist Bill Crawford writes: Are House Speaker Jason White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann whistling in the wind? Both have appointed special committees to look for prudent ways to eliminate the state's personal income tax and/or reduce the sales tax on groceries. Their chief airbenders are committee chairs: Ways and Means chair Trey Lamar and Appropriations B chair Scott Bounds in the House; Appropriations chair Briggs Hopson and Finance chair Josh Harkins in the Senate. Their task will be much more difficult than when major changes to personal income taxes were adopted in 2016 and 2022. The revenue winds have shifted. ... In 2021, state economist Corey Miller and senior economist Sondra Collins issued a report showing big hits to state revenues if personal income taxes were eliminated. The dynamic model they used estimated it would take a 3.75% increase in the sales tax for revenues to break even. That would be on top of the current 7% rate. To be prudent, legislators should hold off on new tax cuts until the current ones have completely phased in and revenues post-COVID have stabilized. They might also come to appreciate that when the current phase-in finishes they will have achieved a historic conservative goal -- a flat income tax rate. |
| Columnist's GOP 'lament' | |
| The Greenwood Commonwealth's Tim Kalich writes: Bill Crawford was on the front lines of the Mississippi Republican Party when, as that core group liked to say, it was so small that it could meet in a phone booth. In the half-century since, he has seen the GOP grow into a political monolith in this state, nearly reversing the scales of power with the Democratic Party. In between, he has come away with a sense of regret that the transformation didn't live up to the promise of lifting Mississippi from the bottom of so many economic, educational and health indicators, or of doing more to erase the racial divide in the state. Crawford, who has been providing this newspaper -- and many others -- with an op-ed column about Mississippi politics and policy debates for the past 15 years, has channeled his disappointment into a book, "A Republican's Lament: Mississippi Needs Good Government Conservatives." Published by University Press of Mississippi, it is scheduled for release in mid-October. ... During the early 1990s, Crawford was particularly unpopular here and in Columbus for being the lead spokesman for a College Board plan to merge Mississippi Valley State University with Delta State, and to merge Mississippi University for Women with Mississippi State. |
| Mike Chaney is not the first state politico to call for his elected post to be eliminated | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney is not Mississippi's first statewide official to advocate for his job to be changed from an elected post to an appointed one. Earlier this month, Chaney called on the Legislature to eliminate the elected insurance commissioner position and instead have the state's insurance industry regulated presumably by an appointee of the governor who is confirmed by the Senate. Chaney said he is willing to serve for a short period of time in an appointed position. William Winter successfully proposed to the Legislature in the 1960s that his post as tax collector be eliminated and the duties incorporated into other positions. Winter's actions did not end his political career. He went on to serve in multiple other statewide elected post, including as governor from 1980 until 1984 and is viewed as one of Mississippi's most significant political figures. ... Chaney said recently he believes an appointee "can do a better job regulating the industry and protecting the consumers" than someone elected to the post. "I have grave concerns about someone running for this as a stepping stone to another position," said Chaney, age 80. "It is too important to do that." |
SPORTS
| Soccer: No. 24 Mississippi State Shuts Out No. 11 Texas In SEC Home Opener | |
| In a marquee top-25 showdown, Mississippi State (8-1-0, 2-0-0 SEC) delivered a statement performance, defeating previously unbeaten No. 11 Texas (7-1-2, 0-1-1 SEC) 1-0 under the lights at the MSU Soccer Field. The Bulldogs entered the matchup ranked No. 24 by United Soccer Coaches and No. 22 by TopDrawerSoccer, while the Longhorns came in as one of the nation's top teams, holding the No. 11 spot in the United Soccer Coaches poll and a prestigious No. 4 ranking by TopDrawerSoccer. The lone goal came in the 15th minute, when Ally Perry netted her fourth goal of the season, finishing off a well-timed assist from Aitana Martinez-Montoya. The play started with Martinez-Montoya's vision and precision passing, as she threaded the ball through Texas' backline, finding Perry in stride. Perry's composure in front of goal was key, as she slotted it past Texas goalkeeper Mia Justus to give the Dawgs the lead. That early goal proved to be decisive in a game defined by staunch defensive efforts on both sides. State, known for its rock-solid backline, once again demonstrated why they are one of the most formidable defensive units in the country. Anchored by Maddy Anderson in goal, who secured her seventh clean sheet of the season, the Bulldogs withstood the pressure applied by Texas' potent attack. Anderson made two crucial saves to maintain the lead, while the Bulldog defense, led by veterans Rylie Combs and Alexis Gutierrez, limited Texas to just seven total shots, with only two on target. |
| Women's Golf: Weed Wins First Individual Title at Mason Rudolph Championship | |
| Avery Weed picked up her first individual title at the Mason Rudolph Championship on Sunday, as she finished the tournament at 13-under par. Weed established a lead on the first day of the tournament and never looked back. Weed finished the opening day of the Mason Rudolph Championship at 7-under par, tying the fifth-best round in Mississippi State history. That opening round turned out to be the best round of any golfer throughout the duration of the tournament. After shooting 2-under in the second round of the tournament, she entered the final day with a share of the lead. As she made the turn in the final round, Weed had dropped down into a tie of fourth at 9-under. In the final three holes of the day, she picked up three birdies to re-secure first place and eventually earn the tournament title. Weed is the 14th golfer in the history of the program to win an individual title, and the first since Julia Lopez Ramirez won the SEC Individual Championship on April 14 last season. Her score of 13-under ties the fourth best 54-hole score in program history. The Bulldogs will be back in action alongside the men's team when they travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Blessings Collegiate Invitational. The tournament is set to begin on September 30 and will broadcast live from NBC's Golf Channel and Peacock. |
| Mississippi St quarterback Blake Shapen out for the season with shoulder injury | |
| Mississippi State senior starting quarterback Blake Shapen will miss the rest of the season after sustaining a shoulder injury that will require surgery. The school announced that Shapen would be out on Saturday night, hours after the Bulldogs fell 45-28 at home to Florida in its Southeastern Conference opener. The Baylor transfer was injured in the fourth quarter and left the game after completing 13 of 21 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown; he also rushed 12 times for 32 yards and a score. Shapen completed 69% of his passes for 974 yards and eight TDs with an interception in four games for the rebuilding Bulldogs (1-3, 0-1 SEC). He also rushed 34 times for 36 net yards and two scores. He came to MSU after throwing for 4,978 yards and 31 touchdowns as a two-year starter at Baylor and earned MVP honors in the 2021 Big 12 Conference championship game. First-year MSU coach Jeff Lebby said he was "hurting" for Shapen after hearing the news and would explore options to help him seek a medical hardship waiver to regain his lost season of eligibility. "Blake is the ultimate competitor and teammate and an unquestioned leader in our program," Lebby said. "I know he will work incredibly hard to come back stronger than ever, and he will continue to serve as a team leader from the sidelines." |
| How College Football in Florida Fell Apart | |
| Florida State was so furious it was left out of college football's playoff last season that the school sued the Atlantic Coast Conference mere weeks after the snub. Now, the first institution ever to bring a lawsuit on the grounds of feeling disrespected was lucky to escape with a win over...California, the exact opposite of a college football powerhouse. The situation isn't much better in Gainesville. Florida, the program of Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, has been such a debacle so far this year that the biggest question has been when the Gators will fire their coach, not if. It's a shocking development for one of the most football-crazed regions in the country: The two most prominent and historically dominant teams in Florida have completely fallen apart, raising questions about how the football forecast in Sunshine State has suddenly become so stormy. On Saturday, Saban criticized Florida State for trying to repair its broken roster by relying heavily on the transfer portal instead of homegrown talent. "They've always taken the 'microwave fix,'" Saban said on ESPN's "College GameDay." Florida, meanwhile, has continued a steady decline that dates back to Meyer's departure after the 2010 season. Since then, the Gators have had four coaches. None has lasted more than four years. At this point, it seems all but certain that Billy Napier will suffer the same fate. |
| Auburn coach Hugh Freeze's former QB rips coach: 'Maybe no one wants to play for him' | |
| Former Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace shared fiery comments about his experiences with Auburn coach Hugh Freeze on Saturday, criticizing his former coach for the way he speaks about players following losses. A clip of Freeze talking about the turnover issues Auburn dealt with versus Arkansas during a postgame news conference spurred Wallace to write a long post on X in response. "I know that there's people open and I know that we're running the football. We've got to find a guy that won't throw it to the other team and we've got to find running backs that hold on to it," Freeze said. Wallace, who played for Freeze from 2012-14 at Ole Miss, reposted that video and questioned Freeze's reaction to the five turnovers. "We're approaching the point that he's thrown so many QBs under the bus, that maybe no one wants to play for him?? His offense helped me tremendously put numbers up when I blew my shoulder out.... But why is it someone else's fault every time there's a loss ?? ... but when there's a win I watch the press conferences just to count how many times the word 'I' is used... appreciate what he did for me, my son wouldn't be playing for him (though)." When asked what prompted that post during an appearance on the "MPW Digital Postgame Show" Saturday night, Wallace said he was "just tired" of Freeze's behavior. "He continues to do the same things. I literally turn on his press conferences on Mondays, and I count how many times he says 'I' after a win. Then it's just always somebody else's fault, and I remember the feeling of being thrown under the bus constantly." |
| Hotter summers are making high school football a fatal game for some players | |
| Soon after Ashanta Laster reached the hospital, she was ushered into the emergency room where she saw doctors performing CPR on her teenage son. Laster had gotten a call that 17-year-old Phillip Laster Jr., a lineman who played for a top Mississippi high school, had collapsed on the field during an August 2022 practice. At the time, the family says the heat index was 102 degrees (38.9 degrees Celsius) on the football field. "They kept compressing his chest trying to bring him back. No response, no response. Never a heartbeat," said Laster, recalling how she dropped her purse, called her husband and started praying. "I said I was going to call all the prayer warriors and bring my son back. I wanted him to come back," she continued. "At that point, it was just an unbelievable moment. I can't believe my son was gone. I could not believe it ... I was in a state of shock ... that he died ... at football practice." The death of Laster underscores the dangers facing high school football players, mostly in the Southeast, who are collapsing and dying in late summer at the start of season. Players are most at risk of suffering heat-related illnesses due to searing temperatures and high humidity. Those conditions have worsened in recent decades due to climate change, with extremely hot days becoming more frequent since 1970 in 88% of locations nationwide analyzed by Climate Central, a nonprofit science research group. Experts believe football players are more vulnerable because they wear heavy equipment that traps heat and have bigger body sizes that produce more heat, especially offensive and defensive lineman who can weigh upwards of 300 pounds. They also may not yet be fully acclimated to working out in summer conditions, sometimes play on artificial turf which increases the heat and may have underlying health conditions. |
| NCAA Settlement in House Case Can't Stop College Sports Turning Pro | |
| When the NCAA, power conferences and attorneys for former and current Division I athletes finalized a multibillion-dollar settlement agreement to resolve the House, Carter and Hubbard antitrust litigations, the NCAA had seemingly figured out a way to both maintain amateurism---its body of rules that tries to distinguish college sports from professional sports---and end lawsuits that threaten to render the association bankrupt and extinct. To be sure, the NCAA conceded major changes in a reformed student-athlete model. In the new world, colleges would be able to pay athletes for media rights, ticket sales sponsorships and NIL. The settlement also envisions the NCAA, member schools and conferences paying athletes about $2.8 billion over a 10-year period as compensation for depriving athletes of NIL, video game and broadcast opportunities in recent years. But the deal contains other features that point to a continuing role for the NCAA as college sports' overseer. Instead of a free market where colleges could outbid each other in an arms race for elite prospects, they would face a salary-cap-like ceiling of $21 million for payments to all athletes in a program. The deal also envisions fair market value analysis of NIL deals that exceed $600, ostensibly to ensure those deals aren't pay-for-play arrangements masquerading as NIL contracts. NIL is supposed to be about the commercial use of an athlete's right of publicity, meaning NIL deals should function like endorsement and influencing deals, and not inducements to attend or remain at a college. |
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