| Monday, July 28, 2025 |
| Magnolia Mornings: Miss. State launching AI initiative with AWS | |
 | Mississippi State University (MSU) announced what it called a groundbreaking campus-wide AI initiative on Friday. Powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), MSU is becoming the only university in Mississippi, and the first in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), to implement AWS's artificial intelligence services to enhance engagement with prospective students, alumni, and supporters. The school said using the Higher Education AI platform from Quintilian, Inc. powered by AWS, a leading education data and technology firm, MSU will leverage machine learning models that optimize MSU's data to streamline key focus areas, such as student recruitment and engagement, alumni relations, communications, and university operations. The initiative will operate seamlessly within MSU's existing systems. "As Mississippi's leading research university, we take pride in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics -- along with high-performance computing, data science, cybersecurity studies, agriculture and forestry, and business," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum in a statement. "From that standpoint, this exciting partnership with a world-class organization like AWS is a great fit for the MSU community." |
| Mississippi State to launch AI initiative with help from Amazon Web Services | |
 | Leaders with Mississippi State University (MSU) announced a new campus-wide AI initiative, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), becoming the only university in Mississippi, and the first in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), to implement AWS's artificial intelligence services to enhance engagement with prospective students, alumni, and supporters. "As Mississippi's leading research university, we take pride in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics -- along with high-performance computing, data science, cybersecurity studies, agriculture and forestry, and business," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "From that standpoint, this exciting partnership with a world-class organization like AWS is a great fit for the MSU community." Using the Higher Education AI platform from Quintilian, Inc. powered by AWS, officials said the university will leverage machine learning models that optimize MSU's data to streamline key focus areas, such as student recruitment and engagement, alumni relations, communications, and university operations. The initiative will operate seamlessly within MSU's existing systems. |
| Mississippi colleges and universities stand to lose $32.5M for research under Trump administration | |
| Mississippi universities and community colleges could lose a combined $32.5 million in federal research funding under the Trump administration, according to a new report published by The Center for American Progress. Mississippi State University would take the biggest hit, losing more than $25.6 million. In a statement sent to Mississippi Today, Mark Keenum, president of the university, said the institution has been working with state lawmakers and federal agency leaders to help recover funds that were threatened. "We are deeply appreciative of the help of our Mississippi congressional delegation as they work to preserve MSU research programs and ameliorate cuts to our institution's benefit. U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith worked particularly hard on the Senate Appropriations Committee to win concessions for our outstanding Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish research," Keenum said. "I am proud of the way our faculty, staff, and students remained focused and disciplined in their reactions to these challenges. Because of that, we continue to serve as our state's premier research and development hub." |
| MSU K-9 retires after 11 years on force | |
 | Several years ago, when a young girl went missing in the woods in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi State University Police Department was called to assist the search. And thanks to countless hours of training and preparation, Sgt. Patrick Jenkins and his K-9 partner Migel were ready when it counted. "We probably spent 45 minutes in the woods, maybe tracked about ... two and a half miles in, and then we found her," Jenkins told The Dispatch on Thursday. "...Getting a call out, putting all your training to use, and finding someone that is missing or needs help, it's really rewarding." Jenkins shared this memory as one of Migel's many accomplishments in his 11 year career at MSUPD, which ended on July 17 with a retirement celebration filled with tennis balls. The department also swore in new K-9 Padi. Migel performed well at all of his tasks, but Jenkins said one of his skills really stood out. "His explosive detection is really, really what kind of set him apart in my opinion," Jenkins said. "He just has a phenomenal little nose." But Migel's scent skills were just one of the reasons he was right for the job. Jenkins said he is also a "super social, playful dog" with a willingness to work. |
| The Marshall Tucker Band to rock MSU Riley Center stage | |
| A Southern rock group will bring their iconic sound to the Mississippi State University (MSU) Riley Center! The Marshall Tucker Band, known for timeless classics like "Can't You See" and "Heard It in a Love Song," will perform on August 14 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are limited and can be purchased by visiting www.msurileycenter.com or by calling the box office at 601-696-2200. Tickets range from $40 to $95. |
| Some hope, some worries: Mississippi's agriculture GDP is a mixed bag | |
| It's been a disparate few years for Mississippi's agriculture sector. Even as natural disasters and trade wars have caused row crop prices to decline, record high beef prices, growing poultry production and hundreds millions of dollars in federal disaster payments have bolstered the sector. Some farmers have reported that federal payments have been slower and lower than needed as they continue to feel the impacts of bad weather in 2023 and 2024 exacerbated by low prices, high costs and trade wars. In Mississippi, row crops, which include soy beans, cotton and corn, have been among the hardest hit. "This is one of the worst years for row crops," said Dr. Joshua Maples, an agricultural economist at Mississippi State University. The bright spots in the agriculture industry have been the livestock and poultry industries. Poultry, the largest agriculture sector in Mississippi, grew by 10% according to data from the Mississippi State University Extension largely due to strong production. But livestock saw the most growth, with a 14% increase. "Livestock is the shining star of Mississippi," said Mike McCormick, a cattle farmer and president of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. |
| What is the impact of 4-H in Mississippi? | |
| In Mississippi, 4-H is synonymous with livestock shows, but its impact extends beyond competitions and county fairs. According to Mississippi State University (MSU), more than 70,000 young Mississippians participated in 4-H in 2024. Nationally, there are nearly six million members, making it the largest youth development organization in the United States. State leaders, like Mississippi State Senator Nicole Boyd (R-District 9), credit it with their personal growth and development. The four H's stand for Head, Heart, Hands and Health. There are 4-H offices in every county in Mississippi. There are four research and extension centers throughout the state. The educational centers for 4-H nationally are land-grant institutions. For Mississippi, that educational anchor is MSU. The organization is often synonymous with agriculture; however, Mississippi's chapter of 4-H also has programs focused on youth development, natural resources, family and consumer sciences and government and community development. Older 4-H'ers participate in STEM, agriculture and even cooking competitions. The competitions often go outside of the state, and Mississippians have performed well. In 2022 and 2024, Mississippi placed first in the National 4-H Forestry Invitational held in West Virginia. |
| 41 students attend annual Lincoln County 4H ag camp | |
 | Lincoln County 4H hosted 41 students at their annual ag camp the second week of July. Monday's activities were centered around animal agriculture, Wednesday covered STEM in agriculture and Friday was more focused on the outdoors. Jennifer Williams, Lincoln County 4H Coordinator and MSU Extension Agent, said there were about 15 group leaders from 4H and FFA programs in the County. Several former campers served as group leaders as well. Students started the week learning about poultry, dairy, equine and small ruminants while also learning about farm safety. Wednesday activities showcased the use of technology in farming to the students. Williams said Bayer Crops displayed a drone to the camp. Additionally, there were two farm-to-table exhibits with Lincoln County Master Gardeners where students learned about the steps in growing plants. A research assistant came and taught students the proper method for spraying crops and plant genetics. The camp concluded with students learning about common crop pests and their predators. |
| New MSU Bulldogs honored in Clarke County | |
 | Photo: The Clarke County chapter of the MSU Alumni Association honored area students planning to begin their college careers at Mississippi State University in Starkville this fall with a send-off party July 22 at Clarkco State Park. Seated from left are Wayne Academy graduate Noah Hearn of Quitman; Meridian Community College transfer Serena Blackwell, a homeschooled student from Quitman; and Quitman graduate Javarious Pace of Shubuta. All three students will receive monetary awards applied to their student accounts in addition to receiving MSU Cowbells and other items. Standing are members of the Clarke County Chapter of the MSU Alumni Association, from left, Rob Riley, President Lisa Riley, Secretary Sandi Blackwell and Vice President Carl Blackwell, Lacia Donald, Elaine and William Read, and Jimmy Donald. The annual MSU Alumni Association Send-Off Parties began July 19 and conclude August 10 at various locations across the state. To join the Clarke County/MSU Alumni Association chapter, contact Lisa Riley, 601-480-6052 or email rileydawgs@gmail.com. |
| SPD assists in multi-agency drug investigation that yields 10 arrests | |
| Ten Mississippi men were arrested in relation to their alleged involvement in a fentanyl and methamphetamine conspiracy and money laundering. The arrests were made as a part of a Federal Bureau of Investigation-led, multi-agency operation that included the U.S. Marshals Service, Winston County Sheriff's Office and the Louisville Police Department. Other agencies, including Starkville Police Department, provided additional assistance, the press release said. "(The Starkville Police Department) provided technical and investigative support," said Public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady in a text to The Dispatch. "Some criminal incidents in our jurisdiction were related to events occurring in Louisville, MS. This was (an) organized criminal group and required a multi-jurisdictional approach." The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, an independent part of the Department of Justice, which identifies and attacks high-level criminal organizations that threaten the U.S. in a multi-agency approach, OCDETF's website said. "It really just provides a framework by which our office and federal agencies and state and local agencies can all work together, hopefully pretty seamlessly, and that was the case here," U.S. attorney Clay Joyner said. |
| Mississippi to see 'oppressively hot days' to begin the week, per NWS | |
| The National Weather Service is warning of "a string of oppressively hot days" ahead as above-normal temperatures continue to define July. A bulk of Mississippi has been placed under a significant or elevated heat stress due to a combination of high temperatures and high humidity. Heat index readings Monday through Wednesday will range between 110 and 120 degrees. The good news, according to the NWS offices in the region, is that relief from the heat should come later in the week. Thursday's highs are forecast to drop into the low 90s before weekend weather on Saturday and Sunday could land between 73 and 89 degrees. "We have a string of oppressively hot days ahead of us," NWS Jackson officials wrote on social media Monday morning. "But also, some (temporary, at least) light at the end of the tunnel later this week." |
| Chief Sanders calls for action after violent weekend | |
| Meridian Police Chief Malachi Sanders is calling for the community to take action after a series of shootings took place over the weekend. At a press conference Monday, Sanders said two shootings took place Saturday, July 26, and a third happened just after midnight Monday morning. While no one was injured, the violence, he said, is unacceptable. "One shooting is too many. One shooting is ridiculous, and when you've got individuals July 26 shooting from a car at another individual that's shooting, obviously, what appears to be an automatic weapon, that's a problem," he said. "That's a problem in our community." Just shy of a month into the job, Sanders said he has yet to roll out heavy policing techniques, but that is a possibility if violence in the community is not otherwise resolved. He called on community leaders, family members and everyday residents to step up and talk to those involved in the violence and urge them to stop the senseless shooting. Law enforcement can enforce the laws, but a lasting solution to the violence starts at home, Sanders said. MPD will do its part, he said, but the community needs to take action as well. You do what you're supposed to do at home, and we'll back you up," he said. "But we're not going to have people going around Meridian shooting up Meridian." |
| Q&A: Billionaire Tommy Duff talks brain drain, tariffs, Trump as he mulls run for Mississippi governor | |
| Thomas Duff has used his wealth from a tire empire he and his brother created to become a political power broker and sought-after philanthropist. Duff, of Hattiesburg, has been involved in state politics, but only peripherally or behind the scenes. Now, the tire baron is considering a political run of his own. His entrance into the 2027 Republican primary for governor could reshape a field of candidates likely to include several statewide officials. Duff served an eight-year stint on the state Institutions of Higher Learning Board, first appointed by former Gov. Phil Bryant. He has been a major contributor to many Republican campaigns in Mississippi, and earlier this year formed and funded a political action committee to help elect Republicans to city and legislative offices. He and his brother are major supporters of higher education and have donated millions to Mississippi universities. As he mulls a run for governor, the billionaire businessman sat for a wide-ranging interview with Mississippi Today. |
| District 16 candidates talk goals, prepare for upcoming primary | |
 | Residents of Mississippi District 16 will get a chance to have their voices heard with a special election to decide their state House Representative. Democrat Brady Davis is hoping to unseat incumbent Democrat Rickey Thompson with the upcoming special election primary for Mississippi House District 16, set for Aug. 5. Thompson first took the seat in 2019. District 16 encompasses Chickasaw, Lee, Monroe and Pontotoc counties and includes portions of Tupelo, Verona and Shannon. Following recent redistricting, District 16 took in much of southwest Pontotoc County, northwest Chickasaw County and expanded further south of Monroe County. This redistricting caused the special election. Thompson defeated former State Rep. Steve Holland for his first election and ran unopposed in his second term, which was interrupted by the redistricting special election. Because the race features neither Republican nor third-party candidates, the position will be decided through the August primary. |
| Glen Davidson hits judicial milestone | |
| U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson wasn't even a teenager when he decided he wanted to be a lawyer. The Pontotoc County native's storied legal career recently notched 40 years on the federal bench. Davidson's four decades as a district judge spans seven U.S presidents and three chief justices, but the 84-year-old is not ready to step down and take up fishing. "After all these years on the bench, anything else would be boring," Davidson said. "I can't imagine sitting on a bank fishing. I am still working because I enjoy it. I enjoy the court." Growing up in Pontotoc County, Davidson's father was a high school principal and later the county school superintendent. But he knew he wanted to be a lawyer from a young age, "All my life, I have wanted to be a lawyer. I knew it when I was 12 years old," Davidson said. "My father was the school superintendent, and his office was in the courthouse. Where other kids watched baseball games, I watched trials." The U.S. District Court of North Mississippi has three slots for active judges. At the moment, two of those slots are open. It is not known if there are any recommendations waiting for confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Until they are filled, the district's three senior status judges -- Davidson, Sharion Aycock and Michael Mills Sr. -- will continue to handle full loads along with active Judge Debra Brown. |
| Medicaid advisory committee meets for the first time since 2023 | |
| The committee tasked with advising the Mississippi Division of Medicaid met Friday for the first time in a year and a half. The meeting in Jackson was a primer on Medicaid programs and provided a financial update for new members, most of whom were appointed in 2024 but have not yet participated in a meeting. The Medicaid Advisory Committee offers expertise and opinions to the state Medicaid program about health care services. It is made up of doctors, hospital executives, managed care organization representatives and other Medicaid stakeholders. It includes two members of the recently formed Beneficiary Advisory Council, a group of Medicaid members and their families who advise Medicaid on their experience with the program. New federal policy seeks to heighten the role that beneficiaries play in shaping Medicaid programs and policy by mandating that members of the council serve on the Medicaid Advisory Committee. Ten percent of the group must be composed of beneficiaries or their families, a proportion that will rise in the coming years. |
| USDA's reorg rollout | |
 | USDA chief Brooke Rollins is rolling out her department's reorganization plan -- but not without some concern. The Senate Agriculture Committee will hear from USDA's No. 2 official Wednesday about the department's reorganization plan, which includes shifting much of its Washington-area staff to five hubs around the country. The hearing -- featuring Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden -- comes after the panel's top two lawmakers expressed disappointment that Congress wasn't consulted before the announcement. On Thursday, Rollins unveiled her plan to significantly shrink the size of the department's D.C.-based employees and close several USDA buildings in the capital region. Committee Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) and ranking member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) both called for a hearing shortly after the plan was made public to better understand the details of Rollins' decision. Rollins said Friday that her "best guess" is that 50 to 70 percent of USDA workers based in the Washington area will relocate to the five new hubs. Rollins, speaking on Fox News' "America's Newsroom," said USDA may fill vacant positions with people based in the areas of Salt Lake City; Fort Collins, Colorado; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Rollins suggested that the USDA workers based in the capital region who don't relocate should seek jobs in the private sector. |
| Farmers are facing a fork on Trump's immigration highway. So what's next? | |
 | For Candice Lyall, cherry harvest is always a race against the clock. Eastern Washington is famous for its cherries, and in the fourth-generation farmer's lush orchards, not far from Columbia River, there's just a short window when they are the perfect ripeness. Wait too long and they are too soft for sale. And they must be picked by hand. Lots of them. Finding those hands locally can be a challenge. Like other growers, some of her workers are foreign-born, whose presence is reflected in the Hispanic restaurants in the nearby 3,300-resident town of Mattawa. But this summer the harvest coincided with President Donald Trump's mass deportation sweeps. Rumors swirled of roadway checkpoints. More than 100 workers who started Lyall's harvest dwindled to 30 by the second week, leading her farm to struggle to get cherries picked in time. Some were picked too late, she said, but the financial hit to her farm was likely to be far less than what some other growers experienced. "There's a lot of farms that didn't pick because they didn't have enough labor," she said. Lyall is a Trump supporter in a conservative farming region. She favors stricter border security because of worries of drug cartels. But she wants to see a path toward a stable workforce. "There needs to be some solutions put on the table," Lyall told USA TODAY. |
| 'We Have All the Trees We Need.' Trump Wants to Revive the Lumber Industry. | |
 | This slice of southern Washington is home to some of the most lush and productive timberland in the world, carpeted by Douglas fir and hemlock from the slopes of Mount St. Helens to the Columbia River Gorge. The local lumber industry has shriveled nonetheless. Sawmills have been closing across the Pacific Northwest over the past 30 years. There is just one left in Skamania County, down from six during its logging heyday. Limited log supply from the region's national forests has cut off their raw material, while cheap lumber from Canada has taken market share for their finished product. Owners of the remaining mills have high hopes that President Trump will deliver relief by increasing logging in national forests and raising trade protections against Canadian exports. Although the latter can be achieved with a stroke of the president's pen, meaningfully boosting the federal timber harvest could take years and be impeded by litigation and red tape. "We have all the trees we need," Trump said early in his term while threatening broad tariffs on Canadian trade. Trump's push to build up domestic production capacity of raw materials has the White House considering tariffs on lumber imports in the name of national security. |
| Senate GOP quietly urges House to shift approach on shutdown talk | |
 | Senate Republicans say President Trump has made it clear that he doesn't want a government shutdown, and they're urging House GOP lawmakers to tone down their approach to the Sept. 30 funding deadline. House Republicans jammed Senate Democrats in March with a partisan funding bill, which Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) reluctantly voted for to avoid a shutdown. But the political dynamics are different now. Schumer is under heavy pressure to fight harder against Trump and his MAGA-allies, heightening the chance of a shutdown if Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) tries to use the same playbook. "I know that our side won't want a shutdown, Trump hates that and rightly so," said a Republican senator, who requested anonymity to discuss conversations with the White House. The senator said "the fate of the approps bills" to fund the government in fiscal year 2026 will be the focus of the GOP conference before it leaves for a four-week August recess. |
| Trump to Senate: Confirm more nominees before August recess | |
 | With the House away, nominations and appropriations remain at the forefront of the Senate's agenda for what is scheduled to be the final week before August recess. Advancing President Donald Trump's nominations is straightforward but laborious, with Democrats showing little willingness to expedite the process. That's led Trump and some GOP senators to call for slashing the regular August recess period. "Very Important. Republicans must play to win. Clear the 135. So badly needed!" Trump posted on social media Saturday, in response to an earlier social media post from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, saying the Senate should not leave for the August break without addressing 135 pending nominations (or actually recess and not hold pro forma sessions --- potentially to try to allow recess appointments). Trump spent the weekend in Scotland at his golf club, hitting the links while mixing in work, including announcing a deal on trade with the European Union. Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, posted on X Sunday that he would support working on nominations in August if Trump called for it. The call to cancel the August recess is a familiar one when the party controlling the Senate is the same as the president's. |
| As Trump shows off his golf courses for Britain's leader, crisis in Gaza looms | |
 | U.S. President Donald Trump once suggested his golf course in Scotland "furthers" the U.S.-U.K. relationship. Now he's getting the chance to prove it. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived Monday for a meeting with Trump at a golf course owned by the president's family near Turnberry in southwestern Scotland. Starmer and his wife, Victoria, lingered on the steps chatting at length with the president, who pointed proudly to parts of the property. Later, the leaders will be at Abderdeen, on the country's northeast coast, where there's another Trump golf course and a third is opening soon. During his first term in 2019, Trump posted of his Turnberry property, "Very proud of perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world. Also, furthers U.K. relationship!" Starmer is not a golfer, but toggling between Trump's Scottish courses shows the outsized influence the president puts on properties bearing his name -- and on golf's ability to shape geopolitics. However, even as Trump may want to focus on showing off his golf properties, Starmer will try to center the conversation on more urgent global matters. He plans to urge Trump to press Israel to allow more aid into Gaza and attempt to end what Downing St. called "the unspeakable suffering and starvation" in the territory, while pushing for a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas. |
| Trump and EU Reach Tariff Deal, Avoiding Trade War | |
| President Trump said he reached a trade agreement on Sunday with the European Union, avoiding a damaging trade war with the U.S.'s largest trading partner and marking his biggest deal so far in his attempt to remake the global trading system through higher tariffs for U.S. trading partners. Trump said the U.S. would set a baseline tariff of 15% for European goods, including automobiles. He said the EU had agreed as part of the deal to buy $750 billion of energy products from the U.S. and invest an additional $600 billion in the U.S. "I think it's going to be great for both parties," Trump said, following face-to-face talks Sunday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Trump's golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland. The European deal is the most consequential agreement Trump has so far announced. The EU is America's biggest regional trading partner when the bloc's 27 member states---which share a common trade policy -- are considered together and its top source of foreign investment. The two sides exchange more than $5 billion worth of goods and services every day. "Today's deal creates certainty in uncertain times," von der Leyen said. The deal should ease anxieties that Trump's drive could lead to a broader trade war and provide some clarity for business. |
| A Kennedy Toils in Mississippi, Tracing His Grandfather's Path | |
 | Joe Kennedy III, the former Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, gazed out his window at endless fields of cotton and soybeans as he drove across the Mississippi Delta one sweltering afternoon last month. He was a long way from home, but in a sense returning to it. Mr. Kennedy, 44, was retracing the steps of his grandfather, Robert F. Kennedy, the former attorney general and candidate for president, who toured the Delta in 1967 and encountered the kind of hunger and poverty more often associated with the developing world. Mr. Kennedy is on a mission to continue the legacy of an American political family that has in recent years lost some of its liberal luster. It angers him that his uncle Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, is a key figure in an administration that is overturning core values of his family. Mr. Kennedy's response is not to run for president as his grandfather did and his uncle might, or at least not yet. Instead he has formed the Groundwork Project, a nonprofit that seeks to develop a network of grass roots resistance in four deep-red states -- Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma and West Virginia -- that have received little attention from left-leaning organizations. Without any meaningful opposition, Mr. Kennedy said, those states have become havens for right-wing initiatives. |
| AI ruling? Attorneys baffled by federal judge's order that lists incorrect parties, wrong quotes | |
| A ruling from a federal judge in Mississippi contained factual errors -- listing plaintiffs who weren't parties to the suit, including incorrect quotes from a state law and referring to cases that don't appear to exist -- raising questions about whether artificial intelligence was involved in drafting the order. U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate issued an error-laden temporary restraining order on July 20, pausing the enforcement of a state law that prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools and universities. Lawyers from the Mississippi Attorney General's Office asked him to clarify the order on Tuesday, and attorneys for the plaintiffs did not oppose the state's request. On Wednesday, Wingate replaced the order with a corrected version. "Our attorneys have never seen anything like this," a Mississippi Attorney General's Office official told Mississippi Today, speaking only on background because the litigation is pending. Christina Frohock, a University of Miami law school professor who studies the dangers artificial intelligence poses to the integrity of the legal system, said a common way attorneys are getting caught using AI is due to "hallucinations," or instances where AI programs cite cases that don't exist or use fabricated quotes. Frohock was hesitant to draw conclusions about the errors in the Mississippi ruling and attribute them to AI, but she was similarly perplexed by how basic facts from the case record were incorrect. |
| MUW holds 2025 Summer Commencement Graduation ceremony | |
 | Nearly 300 Mississippi University for Women students now have a new title: Graduate. The W held its Summer Commencement ceremony Friday morning, July 25. Hundreds of family members and friends were on hand to support their graduating seniors. The university also presented its Harvey M. Craft Award for the student with the highest GPA. Bachelor's and master's degrees were conferred. The W may have helped put a dent in the state's nursing shortage. More than 230 of the graduates were from the nursing program. |
| Magnolia Mornings: Oxford-Lafayette Economic Development Foundation relocates to Ole Miss' Insight Park | |
| According to Ole Miss, the Oxford-Lafayette Economic Development Foundation has relocated its headquarters to Insight Park, creating a "one-stop shop" for economic and entrepreneurial development in the region. William Nicholas, director of economic development and Insight Park, said Insight Park, the University of Mississippi's research park, is a natural fit for the foundation which leads regional economic development efforts and connects businesses with local, state and university resources. "This is the first time that we have been co-located with the university," foundation CEO Ryan Miller said. "We have been collaborators for years, but being here in the same space is going to make us a one-stop-shop for entrepreneurs, researchers and students." |
| Should LSU have its own ZIP code? Here's why Rep. Julia Letlow and others think so. | |
 | LSU could be in line to get its own ZIP code thanks to a bill the U.S. House of Representatives passed last week. U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, and the university say the change would make mail deliveries to the campus more efficient. "The House passed a bill I cosponsored and strongly supported to give Louisiana State University its own zip code," Letlow said in a post on X. "It's time for a unique campus ZIP code so we can ensure efficient services for the growing community at LSU!" Most of LSU is contained in the 70803 ZIP code. But as the campus has grown, other departments -- such as the Board of Supervisors, the Office of Communications and University Relations and the LSU Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool --- have fallen into other ZIP codes, according to Letlow's office. In a statement, Zach Labbé, LSU's public relations coordinator, said having multiple ZIP codes can result in missorted mail, meaning time-sensitive items like checks and grant applications may occasionally be delayed. Having a single ZIP code would reduce that risk, he said. |
| 'Access ... is not DEI': U. of Tennessee addresses Blackburn after secret recording | |
 | University of Tennessee at Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman fired back at accusations lobbed at the campus that claim UT is hiding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs under different names. Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent letters to three universities in Tennessee, including one directed at Plowman, sharing her concerns about the schools either hiding DEI programs and initiatives or enrolling undocumented students. Blackburn's letters came after covert recordings were published showing university employees talking about how to navigate the federal government's attack on DEI programs while staying true to the campus mission. "We take your concerns and the matter of compliance seriously," Plowman wrote in a letter to Blackburn, "and we can assure you that the statements made by these individuals strongly misrepresent the policies and practices of the university." The UT office in question is the Division of Access and Engagement. During a July 23 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on DEI, Blackburn brought up concerns regarding UT and two more Tennessee universities -- Vanderbilt University and Belmont University -- citing a recent story and video published by Fox News Digital. |
| Kentucky Professor Calling for Global War to End Israel Removed From Teaching | |
 | Since Oct. 7, 2023, scholars and members of the broader public have debated whether Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza actually constitutes a genocide of Palestinians. Fights have erupted over scholarly association resolutions, course descriptions and assignments calling it such. Ramsi Woodcock, a University of Kentucky law professor, says it's a genocide. On his website, antizionist.net, he says that the ongoing genocide -- combined with his expectation that Israel would violate any future ceasefire and continue killing -- creates a "moral duty" for the world's nations. That duty, he writes in the "Petition for Military Action Against Israel," is to wage war on Israel until it "has submitted permanently and unconditionally to the government of Palestine everywhere from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea." He asks fellow law scholars to sign the petition, adding that Israel is a colony and war is needed to decolonize. This month -- just after Woodcock says he was promoted to full professor -- the university removed him from teaching. In a July 18 message to campus that doesn't specifically name Woodcock, UK president Eli Capilouto wrote that legal counsel was investigating whether an employee's "conduct may violate federal and state guidance as well as university policies." |
| Texas A&M System's new leader hints faculty senates in state leaders' crosshairs will stay | |
| When Glenn Hegar was first admitted to Texas A&M University as a teenager, he decided not to go. The College Station school felt like too big a leap from his small, rural hometown of Hockley. A first-generation student who only knew life on a rice farm, he chose to start at North Harris Montgomery Community College District, now known as Lone Star College. He transferred to Texas A&M a year later when he felt ready for the move. At the time, he didn't know what a university system chancellor was, let alone that they lead and advocate for an entire web of campuses. More than 30 years later, Hegar left his job as the state's chief accountant to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System at a time when the stakes couldn't be higher. At the same time Republican state and federal lawmakers are threatening to cut funding unless universities align with their conservative vision, young people are increasingly questioning whether a college degree is worth the cost. While his predecessor's tenure was marked by big, bold ideas, the sense of feeling overwhelmed as a student has Hegar focusing first on making Texas A&M feel accessible. "There are different paths," he said, "and you need to promote those for different people." |
| Rural Oklahoma kids were getting more counselors -- then federal cuts pulled funding | |
 | Anna Olson is set to finish her master's degree in school counseling at the University of Oklahoma next spring. Once that happens, she'll be able to provide much-needed mental health services. She says she never would have considered becoming a counselor if it weren't for a federally funded program that covered all the costs of her education. "I really didn't know where I was going with my life prior to hearing about it," Olson said. "This is exactly the culmination of what I feel like I would be good at." "I can see the impact of the work that I've done with those students," she said. "And that has been just so fulfilling on so many levels." But at the end of December, the federal grant that has been funding her education will likely end -- two years earlier than expected. Olson's education was paid for by the "Project Rural Innovation for Mental Health Enhancement," or PRIME program, which OU researchers launched in 2023. The program was funded by a $5.6 million federal grant stemming from the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The bill, among other things, poured federal dollars into schools, training programs and other efforts to address rising concerns about a youth mental health crisis. |
| Ohio State University president: Ivy League presidents 'in survival mode, quite frankly' | |
| The Ohio State University (OSU) President Ted Carter said on Sunday that he thinks Ivy League schools are in "survival mode," when asked about Columbia University's settlement with the Trump administration. In an interview on CBS News's "Face the Nation," moderator Margaret Brennan asked Carter whether he's troubled by the "precedent" that the settlement sets and whether he would have agreed to a similar deal to resolve a hypothetical dispute with the administration. "I can't speak to those institutions because I'm not leading them," Carter responded. "I know both President Shipman and some of the other Ivy League presidents are colleagues, and they're having to do, I think, what I would call, be in survival mode, quite frankly," he said, referring to acting Columbia University President Claire Shipman. "We're not going through any of that here at Ohio State, and nor do I think that we will," Carter added. |
| Colleges, Accreditors and States Embrace 3-Year Degrees | |
| Last month, Manchester University, a private liberal arts college two hours north of Indianapolis, became the first college in Indiana to win approval to offer reduced-credit bachelor's degrees. The college has long offered students the chance to graduate early by taking more courses each semester, an option called Fast Forward. But it wasn't until recently that its accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission, began allowing institutions to develop three-year bachelor's programs, which require students to earn about 90 credits rather than the usual 120. (In most cases, electives are eliminated.) As soon as HLC granted permission, Manchester president Stacy Young said, the university started looking into which programs it might be able to offer on a reduced-credit basis. "The opportunity to do the reduced credit really kind of opened up our eyes to say, what could this mean to our students?" Young said. The first three-year degree programs in the country -- online programs at Brigham Young University–Idaho and Ensign College in Utah -- gained approval just two years ago. Since then, the number of shortened degree programs has expanded exponentially, with nearly 60 colleges nationwide now offering or working toward developing such programs. |
| As Trump Upends Funding for Research, These Scholars Turn to GoFundMe | |
 | It's a long-running joke among academics waiting for news on their grant proposals: "If it's not funded," they say, "we'll just have a bake sale." Now, facing a reduction in funding under the Trump administration, members of one cancer-research lab are turning a version of that gag into reality: They're crowdsourcing money via GoFundMe to keep the lights on. The once-stable compact between universities and the federal government has foundered, as the Trump administration has proposed caps on funding for indirect costs and slowed down grant reviews, among other recent moves. All of this has made Joyce A. Schroeder uneasy. Her breast-cancer research lab at the University of Arizona relies on two major funding sources: the National Cancer Institute, housed within the NIH, and the Department of Defense, both of which faced major upheaval. While Schroeder, a professor of molecular and cellular biology, didn't have any grants terminated, the chaotic turn in federal policy still injected considerable uncertainty into her lab's operations, and she figured her funding prospects at these already highly competitive agencies were dimmer than ever. Danielle DiFranco, a Ph.D. candidate in Schroeder's lab, suggested starting a GoFundMe campaign. The idea actually came from DiFranco's mother, who told her daughter that family members would likely be willing to chip in to support her research, particularly since several relatives have had breast cancer. |
| Can a Mississippi newspaperman prevail over Google? | |
| Columnist Bill Crawford writes: Federal District Judge Amit P. Mehta in Washington, D.C., will soon decide if Mississippi's Wyatt Emmerich will be a potential St. George about to slay the Google dragon or just a modern Don Quixote hopelessly tilting at Google windmills. Google, of course, is the colossal technology company that dominates online advertising, search engine technology, and more. Emmerich is the Harvard educated, third generation scion of the Mississippi newspaper publishing family of the same name who abandoned a Wall Street career to take over the family business. Mehta has gained notoriety for presiding over cases related to the January 6th U.S. Capitol attack and the Department of Justice antitrust case in which he ruled "Google is a monopolist" in search and advertising markets. ... "We're fighting for intellectual property rights and the future of local news," he said, arguing that it is in Google's best interest to settle the lawsuit. "Our goal is to institute a system of micro royalty payments." The court record is fascinating. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State football's 4 key position battles to watch in preseason practices | |
 | Some, but not all, of Mississippi State football's starting positions are locked up entering preseason practices this week. Blake Shapen, now healthy after a season-ending shoulder injury in 2024, will be the MSU starting quarterback. Davon Booth and Fluff Bothwell should get the bulk of the running back carries. Isaac Smith will be on the field in his hybrid linebacker/safety role. Outside of them, there is uncertainty about who will secure starting positions in the final month before the season kicks off Aug. 30 at Southern Miss. Here are four key position battles to watch for the Bulldogs when preseason practices begin July 31: cornerback, defensive line, offensive line and tight end. |
| An LSU administrator is reportedly in line to be named Rutgers' next athletic director | |
| Rutgers is reportedly close to hiring a top-level LSU administrator as its next athletic director. According to multiple reports on Sunday, LSU executive deputy athletic director Keli Zinn is now on the verge of following former LSU president William Tate IV to the east coast. Zinn, a West Virginia native, has worked at LSU since 2022. She's directly overseen the school's football and gymnastics programs, while also helping its athletic department craft an athlete revenue-sharing plan and plot the early stages of a potential construction project for a new arena. In June, Zinn told The Advocate that every LSU athletic program will receive a portion of the $20.5 million the athletic department is now allowed to distribute among its athletes. Tate's tenure as LSU's president started in 2021 and ended in May, when he left the university to take the same job at Rutgers. Vice president for agriculture Matt Lee is LSU's interim president. |
| Football season looms with no clear guidance in athlete battles to win more eligibility from NCAA | |
| The stream of lawsuits across the country from college athletes trying to grab another season of eligibility appears ready to fizzle out for a bit. With fall football practice cranking up this week, players still hoping for a judge allowing them to take the field may be left waiting for a ruling that likely won't help them compete again. "We're at a point in the summer where I think any athlete out there is going to know that it's probably too late to file a case and be able to get relief on it," said Sam Ehrlich, a professor of legal studies at Boise State studying the 2021 Alston ruling's affect on college athletics. Relief on a larger question surrounding eligibility may be a while coming, too: In cases from California to Wisconsin, judges have provided inconsistent results for players seeking legal help for another season and it may very well be a topic settled for good by a higher court. |
| Saving SFA Sports? Title IX Plaintiffs Cite Trump Executive Order | |
| While it's debatable how much legal weight President Donald Trump's executive order last week on college sports will ultimately carry, it has already become a tool for at least six female athletes suing Stephen F. Austin State University. On Sunday, the plaintiffs -- five beach volleyball players and one bowler -- filed a notice of supplemental authority, citing the executive order titled "Saving College Sports." They pointed to its language affirming the administration's policy that "opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic competition in women's and non-revenue sports must be preserved and, where possible, expanded." The athletes are challenging the school's decision in May to cut its women's beach volleyball, bowling and golf teams, as well as its men's golf program, arguing the decision continues SFA's history of depriving women equal opportunities to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics. In invoking Trump's executive order, the plaintiffs' argument appears to be shaped as much by the political climate as by legal doctrine. SFA is located in Texas, a state that backed Trump by over 1.5 million votes in the 2024 presidential election. The case, which is seeking class action status, has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Michael J. Truncale, a Trump appointee. |
| Inside the Union Mess That Threatens the NFL | |
| When Lloyd Howell was hired in 2023 as the next executive director of the NFL players' union, executives across the league had reason to be optimistic that he could help them grow the league and make billions more dollars. Howell, the former chief financial officer of Booz Allen, seemed to think like NFL owners -- in terms of bottom lines. That all crumbled earlier this month when Howell resigned following a series of reports that called into question his judgment, all while a federal investigation continues into whether union officials improperly enriched themselves. But while the recent revelations drew widespread attention, people familiar with the matter say that the dysfunction within the union had existed for far longer. And it's already threatening the NFL's grandest ambitions. From a desire to extend the regular season to 18 games, which commissioner Roger Goodell has openly discussed, to further international expansion, the NFL has been angling for major changes in the years to come. Only Goodell can't snap his fingers and make those overhauls unilaterally. They're collectively bargained with the NFL Players Association, the organization that Howell was paid millions to lead. Yet a series of missteps have brought any progress to a screeching halt. There is now a gaping void at the highest level of the game's power structure, with no quick fix. |
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