| Thursday, September 25, 2014 |
| Business Leaders at Mississippi State Talk Bringing Jobs Back to the U.S. | |
 | The state's top entrepreneurs and business leaders met at Mississippi State University on Wednesday to discuss bringing jobs back to the U.S. Reshoring is an effort to convince American companies to move production back to the US by selecting domestic suppliers or bringing production in-house. President and CEO of the Mississippi Manufacturing Association Jay Moon says with labor costs rising overseas, now is a good time to bring those jobs back home. The re-shoring initiative is also credited with helping former Mississippi State students manufacture signature cowbells. "We started importing. We got connected to Innovate Mississippi MEP and they partnered us with Long Branch Fabrication in West Point Mississippi. It's been a great partnership ever since," says John Howell, co-founder of BattleBells. |
| Reshoring manufacturing jobs in focus at Mississippi State summit | |
 | It may have resembled just another seminar taking place at Mississippi State. But if you look again, you will find representatives here from big companies like Walmart looking to buy more products made in Mississippi and the U.S. "As many people know, years and years ago we lost a lot of manufacturing jobs to China and to overseas. And fortunately people are starting to reevaluate those decisions," said Clay Walden, the director for the CAVS Extension at MSU. |
| Mississippi State Holds Career Fair | |
| Mississippi State students got a chance to shake hands and pass out resumes to reps from some of the largest employers in the country this week. The university's annual career fair began its two-day event on Tuesday for business and non-technical job seekers. On Wednesday, students in engineering and technical careers came out to meet with companies like Toyota and Nissan. About 175 employers and over 1,200 students and alumni are expected to attend this year's job fair. |
| MSU faculty, staff reads banned books as part of 'Read-Out' event | |
 | In protest of censorship, Mississippi State University Libraries leaders organized a "Read-Out" for faculty and staff to share sections of historically suppressed books. As part of MSU's recognition of Banned Books Week, Sept. 21-27, eight university representatives selected and read from often-banned books, six of which are generally considered children's books. "I hope this entire event has encouraged you to go read and to keep reading," said Rachel Cannady, assistant professor of library instruction and moderator of the Read-Out. "That's the pure job of literature." |
| Mississippi State Celebrates National Women's Health, Fitness Day | |
| Women's health and fitness took center stage Wednesday afternoon at Mississippi State University. MSU celebrated National Women's Health and Fitness Day by hosting several fitness events on campus. The free event was open to the public, and treated participants to a free early morning yoga class at the Sanderson Center, as well as an afternoon fitness fair. Health education information was dispersed to individuals throughout the events. |
| MSU, Local Communities to 'Paint the Campus Pink' in Early October | |
| Mississippi State's health education and wellness department is sponsoring its first "Paint the Campus Pink" breast cancer awareness event early next month. Open to the public, the family-friendly series of activities Oct. 7 begin at 10 a.m. in front of the university's Colvard Student Union. "Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer," said JuLeigh Baker. "About 232,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in 2014." Baker, MSU's campus health and wellness educator, emphasized that, while more prevalent among women, breast cancer also affects men. |
| MBJ Marketplace the venue for state's businesses | |
| Dozens of Mississippi businesses showcased their goods and services last Friday as the Mississippi Business Journal held its inaugural Business Marketplace at the Trademart in Jackson. Colleges turned out to promote their undergraduate and graduate degree programs, including Belhaven University, University of Alabama, Mississippi State University's Center for Distance Education, Mississippi State University Extension Service, Mississippi College and Holmes Community College. |
| 'An Evening with the Romantics' to Feature MSU, MUW Artists | |
| Music faculty members at Mississippi State University and Mississippi University for Women will present a classical recital Friday at the Starkville First United Methodist Church. Free to all, the 7:30 p.m. performance by Rosangela Sebba and Elizabeth Jones, her former MSU music department colleague, will feature a Romantic Era-inspired repertoire that includes seven works by German, Czech and Russian composers. |
| MSU alum Lynn Wolfe joins Neel-Schaffer Inc. | |
| Lynn Wolfe, P.E., has joined Neel-Schaffer Inc. as a senior project manager and will be based in the firm's McComb office. A native of Oxford, Wolfe spent the last eight-plus years working in construction management for private firms in Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen and Kazakhstan. Wolfe holds a bachelor of science in construction engineering from Mississippi State University. |
| Co-Lin student shines in academics, athletics | |
 | Caroleah Brister is a triple threat at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. She is an athlete, homecoming queen and student. "She is an outstanding student leader on campus," said Co-Lin Director of Public Information Natalie Davis. "Co-Lin gets you ready for the next level," Brister said. The sophomore is majoring in marketing at Co-Lin, and plans on attending Mississippi State University. |
| Golden Triangle jobless rates dip | |
 | While state and local unemployment levels remain well above the national average, newly released figures show signs that people around the Golden Triangle area are finding jobs. Oktibbeha County improved more than 1 percent last month over the previous August with a rate of 7.7 percent. For each of the first eight months of 2014, Lowndes County's unemployment rate has been lower compared to those months in 2013. Last month, the rate was 8.7, almost 1 percent lower than August 2013. Clay County, who for several years has had one of the highest rates in the state, still did in August with a 15.7 percent jobless rate. But it's nearly 3 percent lower than it was in August 2013. |
| New advertising agency in the Golden Triangle | |
| Robbie Coblentz and Kathy Kenne have joined to form Tellos Creative. The business is based in Starkville. Coblentz comes over from Broadcast Media Group, which still exists, and Kenne comes over from Quest Group, which also still exists in Birmingham. "After years of collaborating on video production projects, we decided to pool our resources and form a new company," Coblentz said. The new company's clients include Airbus Helicopters Inc., Mississippi State University and Yokohama Tire Corporation, according to a press release. Tellos Creative has seven employees in Starkville and one in Jackson. |
| Starkville aldermen decline raise for city employees | |
| Unlike their county peers, Starkville city employees will not receive a pay raise in the upcoming fiscal year. A last-minute motion to institute an across-the-board, 1.5 percent wage increase died at the table Tuesday without a second, but Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn, the representative who called for the adjustment, vowed to continue fighting for higher salaries for workers during the rest of this term. |
| Recusal saves plus-one insurance expansion in Starkville | |
| Starkville will again allow its employees to place same-sex partners on the city's insurance plan after the board of aldermen fell one vote shy of overturning Mayor Parker Wiseman's veto of their action to limit the expansion to only legally married couples Tuesday. Wiseman's veto was guaranteed to survive when Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn recused herself from the vote and physically left City Hall. By being absent from the table, Wynn's vote could not be counted as an abstention, therefore would not be counted with the majority. Five votes are needed to override a mayoral veto. |
| Starkville citizens warned of package thefts | |
| Starkville police are warning citizens of multiple cases of stolen packages in the area. Authorities say packages left by home delivery companies, such as UPS and FedEx, are being taken from residents' front porches. To avoid the situation, Starkville citizens are advised to track their packages online so they know an expected arrival date, try to have someone home or a neighbor watching for when packages are delivered or require a signature on deliveries. Police say citizens should also be aware of any suspicious vehicles cruising through neighborhoods to gather knowledge on homes to target. |
| West Point mayor touts city accomplishments | |
| West Point Mayor Robbie Robinson opened his address to the Columbus Rotary Club on Tuesday with a question: "What can little bitty West Point tell Columbus, Mississippi, what we're doing?" Between seeing new businesses flourishing, hosting a major senior women's golf tournament, preparing for the opening of a tire manufacturing plant and renovating a city landmark into a center for the arts, the city with a population of 11,217 has plenty it could talk about. Perhaps the best news, Robinson said, is that there is more room for growth. |
| Taking off: Delta Group finds ready market for drones | |
| Though its roots go all the way back to the 1920s, Delta Group has shown that it is not afraid to embrace new technology. As example, the company that is best known as a farm equipment dealer began offering precision agriculture products when the high-tech devices first arrived on the market in the 1980s. Now, Delta Group is at it again, this time offering a high-tech product not commonly associated with agriculture -- drones -- and the company has been pleasantly surprised that it has found customers both on and off the farm. The company has approximately 150 employees on the payroll, and has operations in Leland, Yazoo City, Belzoni, Greenwood, Cleveland and Rolling Fork. |
| Cochran attorneys prepare arguments for Mississippi high court | |
 | Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran's attorneys were preparing legal arguments trying to block a rival's attempt to overturn the senator's Republican primary victory. Cochran's team faced a midnight Wednesday deadline to file arguments with the Mississippi Supreme Court, and attorney Mark Garriga said the papers could be filed late in the day. The attorneys were expected to say a circuit judge correctly dismissed a lawsuit by state Sen. Chris McDaniel. McDaniel is asking the state Supreme Court to revive his lawsuit that claims election fraud. Justices are scheduled to oral arguments Oct. 2. |
| The worst campaigns of 2014 | |
 | The 2014 election is being driven by sweeping national forces --- an unpopular president, a shaky economy and, increasingly, national security. Yet for candidates, the fundamentals of running a strong campaign matter as much as ever. And this year, some campaigns are turning out to be doozies -- of the worst variety, including Chris McDaniel's. For a while, it looked like McDaniel would be one of 2014's brightest stars. In a June GOP primary battle, he nearly knocked off 36-year Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran. But McDaniel fell just short in a runoff three weeks later. Then things really went south. McDaniel has challenged the legitimacy of Cochran's election, charging that Democrats illegally cast ballots in the runoff. A Mississippi judge threw out the challenge. But McDaniel hasn't stopped pushing to overturn the results. He's now trying to take a case to the state Supreme Court. |
| Childers offers Cochran 20 debate dates | |
 | Since Senator Thad Cochran hasn't responded to invitations to debate Democratic opponent Travis Childers, Childers has given him 20 possible debate dates in October. Childers said that WLBT extended an invitation to both candidates on September 4 to a debate to be aired by local news stations across Mississippi. Childers accepted the invitation, but Cochran has yet to respond. "Although I have been seeking a debate in each congressional district and see no reason why we cannot have a series of debates to allow the public to actually see and hear from their candidates, I am now calling on Senator Cochran to join me for at least one debate to reach Mississippians," Childers said. |
| Blogger says recording proves AG 'politically targeting' | |
 | The California political blogger who by his own account ignored a subpoena this week to appear before a Lauderdale County grand jury has posted an audio recording he claims proves Attorney General Jim Hood is "politically targeting" him and the Chris McDaniel campaign. The audio Charles C. Johnson has posted at Gotnews, which is a little hard to understand at points, is a phone conversation between McDaniel campaign communications director Noel Fritsch and Stevie Fielder of Meridian. Much of the conversation appears to be Fielder asking for the McDaniel campaign to pay for him to hire an attorney. Hood has declined further comment on any investigation, grand jury or subpoenas. |
| In a Mississippi Jail, Convictions and Counsel Appear Optional | |
 | On Tuesday, civil liberties groups filed a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of inmates in jail in Scott County, a rural area about a 45-minute drive east from Jackson, the state capital. The suit charges that inmates at the jail have been "indefinitely detained" and "indefinitely denied counsel," in violation of their constitutional rights. The suit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the MacArthur Justice Center, says that when arrests are made, steep and "arbitrary" bail amounts are set, with no consideration of a person's ability to pay. According to Brandon Buskey, a lawyer with the A.C.L.U.'s Criminal Law Reform Project, 53 of the 129 inmates in the Scott County Detention Center have not been indicted. |
| Deltans furnish legislative ideas to Gunn | |
 | People from five counties attended a town hall meeting Tuesday hosted by Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn at Cleveland City Hall. "We started three years ago to bring the Legislature to the people," said Gunn. "We wanted to come to you to see what was on your mind, what your concerns were and it was well received. ...We have been in 27 cities in this state over three years and we make a point to visit the Delta." Most of the comments from the audience were about education, building infrastructure and attracting more jobs. Bolivar County District Attorney Aelicia Thomas voiced a request for a serious investment in education by funding early childhood education programs at Head Start. |
| House Speaker Gunn hears many requests on listening tour | |
 | Residents of Lee County and surrounding areas greeted state lawmakers Wednesday at Tupelo City Hall, looking for support from Philip Gunn, speaker of the House of Representatives, one of Mississippi's most powerful elected leaders. They delivered requests to invest state resources into a broad spectrum of issues, many familiar topics, a few obscure. Gunn, a Republican from Clinton, visited Tupelo midway through an eight-city tour to hear taxpayers' concerns and requests before budget hearings begin next week. State lawmakers representing the area also attended this part of the listening tour. |
| Eric Holder To Step Down As Attorney General | |
 | Eric Holder Jr., the nation's first black U.S. attorney general, is preparing to announce his resignation Thursday after a tumultuous tenure marked by civil rights advances, national security threats, reforms to the criminal justice system and 5 1/2 years of fights with Republicans in Congress. Two sources familiar with the decision tell NPR that Holder, 63, intends to leave the Justice Department as soon as his successor is confirmed, a process that could run through 2014 and even into next year. A former U.S. government official says Holder has been increasingly "adamant" about his desire to leave soon for fear that he otherwise could be locked in to stay for much of the rest of President Obama's second term. |
| Politics G.O.P. Error Reveals Donors and the Price of Access | |
| In politics, it is sometimes better to be lucky than good. Republicans and Democrats, and groups sympathetic to each, spend millions on sophisticated technology to gain an advantage. They do it to exploit vulnerabilities and to make their own information secure. But sometimes, a simple coding mistake can lay bare documents and data that were supposed to be concealed from the prying eyes of the public. Such an error by the Republican Governors Association recently resulted in the disclosure of exactly the kind of information that political committees given tax-exempt status usually keep secret, namely their corporate donors and the size of their checks. That set off something of an online search war between the association and a Washington watchdog group that spilled other documents, Democratic and Republican, into the open. |
| FAA ready to approve drones for Hollywood | |
 | The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday is expected to approve permits allowing seven film production companies to use drones. The move could give a major shot in the arm to the use of non-military drones, which is still largely illegal in the United States. Earlier this year, seven film companies filed a petition asking the FAA to let them use the drones -- technically known as unmanned aerial systems -- to get broad, sweeping shots for their movies and television shows. The request was supported by the Motion Picture Association of America. |
| Mass shootings in U.S. have tripled in recent years, FBI says | |
 | The number of sudden mass shootings in the United States has nearly tripled in recent years, the FBI said Wednesday, prompting the bureau to expand its work with state and local officials to identify potential gunmen before they attack. In a study of active-shooter incidents, FBI officials said there were 160 cases from 2000 through 2013, with the numbers growing from an average of 6.4 incidents in the first seven years to 16.4 in the last seven years. Seventy percent of the shooters attacked in schools or workplaces, and 60% of the shootings happened so fast that they were over before the police arrived. In 40% of the cases, at least three people were killed, not counting the shooter. |
| Group fights renaming UM's Confederate Drive | |
| A Confederate history organization is asking Lafayette County Chancery Court for an injunction and temporary restraining order to keep the University of Mississippi from making changes to Civil War memorials on its Oxford campus. The Sons of Confederate Veterans Mississippi Division's petition was filed Sept. 18 by attorney Holmes Sturgeon of Natchez. It claims the university's Diversity Plan indicates that the Confederate Monument at the entrance to University Circle may be "moved or repositioned or otherwise damaged or desecrated in some manner." "One week we hear from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the next week we hear from the Sons of Confederate Veterans," university attorney Lee Tyner said. "You never know what you're going to deal with." |
| UPD discusses action plans for campus crisis at UM | |
 | With the anonymous threats of violence causing campus-wide lockdowns at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the University Police Department is being questioned about their own crisis plans. Students at the University of Mississippi have never had to react to an active shooter on campus. UPD Chief of Police Calvin Sellers said the only threats he's had to respond to in his time at the department have been bomb threats and unidentified packages left at buildings. An evolving problem found at college campuses involves threatening anonymous posts on social media apps. |
| Crowd celebrates beloved educator at MUW | |
| There wasn't much space in the reception room at the Education and Human Sciences Building on the campus of Mississippi University for Women on Tuesday afternoon. The crowd was sharply dressed and joyful. They came from offices on campus and as far away as Riverside, California. They were there to honor Dr. Alma Turner, a woman whose impact on local education has been felt by many throughout the Golden Triangle. She stood in the doorway before the reception, warmly greeting the many who came to visit and share the moment with her. "She represents the best in education -- what we want our students to aspire to be," said Dr. Sue Jolly-Smith, MUW's current dean of education and human sciences. |
| Fruitful enterprise: Class, jam, sleep pays off for one young entrepreneur | |
| When college student Quinterrall Brown started job hunting this past summer, he had no idea he would end up being his own boss. That's what can happen at the crossroads of necessity and invention. The 19-year-old became a small-scale entrepreneur, and the results are pretty sweet. Frustration about the seasonal job market turned into inspiration when the Mississippi University for Women culinary arts student from Grace, Mississippi -- near Rolling Fork -- made a trip to Georgia around July. "We went to see some family friends, and one of them was making jams and jellies; she taught me how," said Quinterrall. "I did really well back home, so I figured I'd see what happened here," he said. "Here" is in Columbus, at the Hitching Lot Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings. |
| Bond set for USM student charged with posting threat | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi student charged with posting a threat on social media had a 3.7 grade-point average and comes from an excellent family, said his attorney, Glenn White, during a bond hearing Wednesday. Bond was set at $40,000 for Brandon Hardin, 20, of Carriere, who was arrested Monday night and charged with posting a computer threat to cause injury, a felony offense. He is accused of having made an anonymous post on the social media application Yik Yak on Monday morning that threatened members of the university community at Joseph Greene Hall on Tuesday. |
| USM alumni association installs new board members | |
| The Southern Mississippi Alumni Association has installed its executive committee for the 2014-15 fiscal year, welcoming six appointed board members, who will serve a three-year term. New board members include Ember Ahua of Hattiesburg, Vicki Adkison of Moss Point, Mary Dayne Gregg of Hattiesburg, Lance LeFan of Hattiesburg, David Leiva of Hattiesburg, J. R. Robinson of Hattiesburg and Gene Smith of Petal. |
| Joyce Dixon recently appointed VP of business and finance by Mississippi Valley State | |
| Joyce A. Dixon was recently appointed as vice president of business and finance by Mississippi Valley State University. Dixon, a Valley alumnus, has over 20 years of leadership experience in finance, where she has previously served as interim vice president of business and finance at Valley. She received her bachelor's degree in business administration from Mississippi Valley State University and a master of business administration degree with a concentration in finance from Mississippi State University. |
| Jonathan Ambrose appointed associate dean of students at Mississippi College | |
| Jonathan Ambrose has been appointed associate dean of students at Mississippi College in Clinton. Ambrose completed a doctorate in urban higher education at Jackson State University. He also holds degrees from St. Peter's College in New Jersey and the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Ambrose is a native of Amory. |
| William Carey sees enrollment increase for fall trimester | |
| Slow and steady wins the race, and that old adage seems true at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, where enrollment has increased steadily over the past five years. During the fall 2010 trimester, the university had just more than 3,600 students enrolled at its Hattiesburg and Tradition campuses. Fast-forward five years to the fall 2014 trimester, and Carey now has 4,145 students. The 2014 enrollment is about a 1 1/2 percent increase over fall 2013 trimester when the university had 4,076 students. Administrators attribute the steady growth to recruitment. |
| Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College named a 'Military Friendly School' | |
 | Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College has once again been named as one of the nation's most "Military Friendly Schools." G.I. Jobs magazine named MGCCC to the list for 2015, marking the sixth time the Mississippi coast school has earned the recognition. The 2015 Military Friendly Schools list honors the top colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America's military service members and veterans as students. "Our veteran services initiative promotes the academic, professional, and personal development and success of student veterans through support services and campus resources that include mentoring and building camaraderie," said Dr. Mary S. Graham, MGCCC president. |
| Documents say U. of Alabama student sent text messages to two women | |
 | Court documents made public Wednesday detail more information about a University of Alabama student arrested on a charge of harassing communications earlier this week. Dakota John Timm, 20, admitted that he sent text messages to two women, stating that they "would be spared from the coming day of retribution if she would deliver one sorority member and one fraternity member" to an off-campus residence, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Investigators quickly traced the message to Timm and arrested him Tuesday. The text message came a day after a comment posted to YouTube threatened "retribution" against racist students. UA officials are working to determine the origin of the message, which has caused concern among students and their parents. |
| End of an era: U. of Alabama yearbook ceasing publication | |
 | A 122 year-old University of Alabama tradition is ending. The Corolla student yearbook is ceasing publication, university officials have decided. Even the university's record enrollment of 36,155 students this fall wasn't enough to sustain the publication. It reportedly sold just 24 copies last year. The decision was made by the Media Planning Board, the group that oversees student publications including the Crimson White student newspaper, student yearbook and the university's student operated radio station. |
| Leaders discuss future of Louisiana college systems' budgets | |
 | Three of Louisiana's college and university systems are just hoping the state Legislature won't cut higher education funding next year. Meanwhile, the Southern University System is facing significant funding issues next year, as officials suspect the Baton Rouge campus will fail to meet state benchmarks necessary to raise tuition for a second year. Higher education leaders gave general overviews of their budget outlooks to the state Board of Regents on Wednesday. For the LSU System, University of Louisiana System and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, the Legislature's decision not to cut funding for higher ed this year, after years of repeated cuts, and to allow universities to keep the tuition dollars they bring in with tuition increases through the 2010 GRAD Act has meant some "breathing room." |
| UGA to replace its coal boiler with an electric option | |
 | The University of Georgia plans to replace its controversial coal-fired steam boiler with a more efficient electric one, UGA officials announced Wednesday. "We won't be taking deliveries of coal in the future," said Ryan Nesbit, UGA vice president for finance and administration. Student groups and others have lobbied university administrators for years to get rid of the aging boiler. A year ago, UGA administrators were leaning toward replacing the coal boiler with one that would burn natural gas, even if that would leave UGA with no good backup source of fuel if natural gas supplies were interrupted. They had ruled biomass out for a variety of reasons. |
| Forum points to mental health crisis locally | |
 | It's early in the school year, but Shari A. Robinson said she has already seen an unprecedented and concerning trend at the University of Florida. During a Wednesday evening community forum on mental health issues, Robinson, the interim director of the UF Counseling and Wellness Center, said she has seen more students than ever seeking mental health counseling. She said the center is now up to 300 appointments a week and new student clients now have to be placed on a waiting list. "We have freshmen coming in the door with some type of mental health issue or concern," Robinson said. That situation was but one example of what forum participants described as an ongoing mental health crisis. |
| U. of Florida will no longer run WIC program | |
| The Florida Department of Health is ending a more-than-three-decade arrangement for the University of Florida College of Medicine to run the Women, Infants, and Children program in a 10-county region of North Central Florida. The move has created some job uncertainty for the majority of the program's current employees. For about 35 years, the state has contracted with the UF College of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology to run the program. The current three-year contract pays UF about $2.7 million annually, according to information provided by the College of Medicine. Alachua County Health Department Administrator Paul Myers said the arrangement with UF was unique in the state. |
| U. of Florida Online considers how to sell studying online to high school graduates | |
 | How do you tell high school students they're going to attend -- but not actually go to -- college? It's a conversation the University of Florida is having with potential students, parents and school counselors about UF Online, the institution's degree-granting online arm. Now facing its first full academic year, UF Online is hitting its course development and enrollment targets, but it has so far attracted few first-time-in-college students. "We have not met that expectation," said W. Andrew (Andy) McCollough, associate provost for teaching and technology at UF. "We have only recruited first-time-in-college students for the first time this fall, and we have a total of 22 out of a class of right about a thousand." |
| Texas A&M plans to save $130 million through recommended changes | |
 | An administrative review of Texas A&M University conducted by the school's Leadership Steering Committee and carried out by a London-headquartered firm has identified more than $130 million in total funds available to be reallocated back into the university between 2015 and 2019. According to the LSC report, the savings will free up more than $13 million in annual recurring funds and almost $3.5 million in one-time funds for reinvestment into the university's main campus, Health Science Center and Galveston campus. Interim President Mark A. Hussey appointed the six-person leadership committee in May to evaluate the comprehensive review commissioned by Chancellor John Sharp and carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Hussey stated in an email to A&M faculty and staff Wednesday that he accepted all recommendations made by the committee and will begin implementing them in the coming weeks. |
| U. of Missouri professor takes legal action to get documents, another shot at tenure process | |
 | A University of Missouri professor took legal action Wednesday against the institution and a handful of administrators, demanding documents he argues he is entitled to after an unfounded research misconduct investigation and his tenure denial and asking for another chance to go through the tenure review process. Dylan Kesler, assistant professor of the Fisheries and Wildlife Department in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, filed the writ in Boone County circuit court with the help of Columbia-based lawyer George Smith. Kesler has worked at MU since 2007. Smith and Kesler allege in the 30-page filing that multiple university administrators, including Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, interim Provost Ken Dean and Mark Ryan, director of the School of Natural Resources, mishandled his tenure case during multiple stages of the process. |
| Annual U. of Missouri crime and fire safety report released | |
 | Crime data in the University of Missouri Police Department's annual Campus Crime and Fire Safety Report shows a 42 percent increase in alcohol-related arrests and a 29 percent decrease in drug-related arrests in 2013. MU police sent out the report by email Wednesday morning. The data reveals that there were 444 arrests for liquor law violations last year, 42 percent more than the previous year (313 arrests). There were 412 alcohol-related arrests in 2011. Meanwhile, there were 29 percent fewer arrests for drug law violations and 46 percent fewer in 2013 than in 2011. Over those three years, the number of arrests dropped from 386 to 293 to 208. |
| UM System opens up Providence Point for events | |
| The University of Missouri is opening up Providence Point, formerly the president's residence, as a venue for meeting space for internal and external groups starting next week. Administrators decided to use the space for programming after UM System President Tim Wolfe moved out of the home last fall, but have been compiling proposal packets for the building's new use. Providence Point will not be used for political events, promotion or sale of a product or for personal use, according to a news release. The nearly 13,000-square-foot home was built in 1971, with an addition completed 14 years later. Each of current UM System President Tim Wolfe's eight predecessors has lived at the presidential home. |
| Clemson halts fraternity activities | |
 | Two days after the tragic death of a 19-year-old whose body was found Monday in Lake Hartwell, Clemson University has suspended all fraternity activities involving new members, or pledges. Initiation activities for all 24 fraternities were halted in the wake of reports that students were violating the law or the student conduct code, not in reaction to Tucker Hipps' death, officials said Wednesday. "There have been a high number of reports of serious incidents involving fraternity activities, ranging from alcohol-related medical emergencies to sexual misconduct," Student Affairs vice president Gail DiSabatino said in a statement. "These behaviors are unacceptable and mandate swift and effective action to protect students." |
| Academic Skills on Web Are Tied to Income Level | |
| Wealthier students tend to perform better on tests of reading comprehension than their poorer peers, a longstanding trend that has been documented amply. But with the Internet having become an indispensable part of daily life, a new study shows that a separate gap has emerged, with lower-income students again lagging more affluent students in their ability to find, evaluate, integrate and communicate the information they find online. The new research, led by Donald J. Leu at the University of Connecticut, is appearing this month in Reading Research Quarterly. Although the study is based on a small sample, it demonstrates a general lack of online literacy among all students, indicating that schools have not yet caught up to teach the skills needed to navigate digital information. |
| OUR OPINION: Maintain proportion in honoring the past | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal editorializes: "Names of structures in public places convey identity at several levels -- location, history, personality and specific events among them. College campuses almost everywhere have their beloved places, statues, buildings and even cemeteries held in fond, honored regard by students, alumni and friends. The University of Mississippi is like its peer institutions in age and collective experience. People of note, heroic acts and signal achievement often are honored. ...Mississippi, its campus withstanding the Civil War and federal occupation, became an icon of Confederate admirers, but times change and images can become liabilities. ...there's no dishonor in changing a street name from Confederate Drive to Chapel Drive, as a court petition now seeks to prevent. Moving a statue or explaining it is not the same as destroying it." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): 'Yik Yak' app represents a deep descent into irresponsibility | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "I know absolutely nothing about the facts surrounding the arrest of a University of Southern Mississippi student on charges that he charged with felony 'posting a computer threat to cause injury' on the social media application Yik Yak. But I know the danger posed by anonymous social media is real. Every time a one of these false anonymous threats on social media is made, the more desensitized young people became to threats of any kind. That leads to ignoring legitimate safety warnings and that can lead to injury or worse." |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs work on fundamentals during bye week | |
| When asked about how their bye week is being spent, each Mississippi State football player interviewed Wednesday night gave a different version of the same answer. "It's all about fundamentals," said MSU wide receiver Jameon Lewis. "We're just going back, looking and film and cleaning up some things we have to work on." MSU quarterback Dak Prescott gave a similar answer. "We are just working hard to fix the little things," said Prescott. "We have some basic stuff we are working on, just making sure our fundamentals are where they need to be." With one of the biggest wins in recent program history still fresh, the Bulldogs can afford to go back to basics this week. |
| Lesson learned: What Dan Mullen would have changed vs. LSU | |
| Coaches never stop learning. Mississippi State 34-29 win in Baton Rouge was the latest lesson for Dan Mullen. The sixth-year coach picked up his first win against a top-10 ranked team. He'll never forget the win, but also what he learned from the experience. His Bulldogs dominated the game in almost every aspect, yet the scoreboard only reflected a five-point margin. "I would have done an awful lot differently," Mullen said. |
| Daughter motivates Mississippi State's fast-rising DL Smith | |
| That 2 a.m. phone call changed everything for Preston Smith. Mississippi State's defensive end left the ringer on its loudest setting even though it wasn't needed. He couldn't sleep inside his room at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. He waited for the phone to ring. When it finally did, the sound on the other end is something he'll never forget. "I heard my daughter crying in the background," Smith said. His daughter, Lauren, was born early in the morning on Dec. 31, 2013. Later that day her father took the field for Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl. He finished with a game-high six tackles en route to earning the bowl's defensive MVP award. Since then, he's only gotten better. |
| MSU notebook: Beckwith could slide over to center | |
| Mississippi State knows it will be without the services of center Dillon Day during its Oct. 4 against Texas A&M while serving an SEC mandated one-game suspension. With a bye week this week, the Bulldogs have an opportunity for Ben Beckwith to shed some rust on his snapping. The senior is the leading candidate to shift to center from his right guard spot. "This is going to help me a lot because I haven't played center since last spring when Dillon hurt his arm," Beckwith said. "It's also going to help Devon Desper and Jamaal Clayborn get in there (at right guard) and get into a rhythm with us. It's not a good thing that happened (with Day) but it works out that it happened now so we can get our timing down pat." |
| Mississippi State teammates support Day after suspension | |
| One day after the Southeastern Conference announced a one-game suspension for Mississippi State center Dillon Day, several Bulldogs' players rallied around Day Wednesday afternoon. "Dillon has great character," said MSU sophomore linebacker Richie Brown. "I think he feels bad for the way his play is being perceived and he's working on fixing that. I know the guys are behind hum over on the offensive line...Guys like Archie (Muniz), Ben (Beckwith), they are rallying around him." Both incidents happened within the framework of a play, and Day was following the action each time. In his Tuesday press conference, MSU head coach Dan Mullen said of Day's actions, "I didn't see anything wrong with it. |
| Maroon Madness returns to downtown Starkville | |
| Maroon Madness is returning to the streets of downtown Starkville. On Oct. 10, the Mississippi State men's and women's basketball teams officially tip off their seasons with the 4th Annual Maroon Madness. Scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., this event will be held in conjunction with Pumpkinpalooza, the city's fall festival that features trick-or-treating, late-night shopping and dining and other action-packed events for the entire family. Face painting will be available for kids of all ages, and there will also be a Pumpkin Patch featuring locally-grown pumpkins and mums for sale. |
| Salter sees unique opportunity with Mississippi State women's hoops program | |
| When you grow up running with players who enjoy passing the basketball, it's only natural for you to learn the value of sharing. Usually the pass-first, shoot second mentality is found in point guards. After all, they are the floor generals who have the ball in their hands the most and are responsible for finding the right player at the right time. But don't be surprised if LaKaris Salter plays the role of facilitator or distributor more than you would expect her to be as a power forward. That's because the Mississippi State freshman has a knack for finding open teammates. Salter is part of a five-player freshman class that is primed to make its impact at MSU. |
| Mississippi State baseball to host drop-down pitching camp | |
| Mississippi State baseball's nationally-acclaimed pitching coach Butch Thompson will host his second drop-down pitching camp, to be held Dec. 13. Joining the Bulldogs' associate head coach from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. will be former Major League Baseball players Chad Bradford and Scott Sullivan, who boast 20 combined years of Major League Baseball experience. "We were so honored to have more than 75 pitchers from nine different states attend last year's camp that we decided to make this an annual event," Thompson said. |
| Biloxi, USM bid to host C-USA baseball tournament; school set to unveil new logo options | |
 | Southern Miss athletic director Bill McGillis said Wednesday that Biloxi has put in a bid to host the 2015 Conference USA baseball tournament at MGM Park, which is under construction on U.S. 90. USM also bid last month to host the 2015 C-USA Tournament in Hattiesburg. McGillis said he believed the new stadium would be a boost for the Coast and he looked forward to USM playing baseball games in Biloxi. McGillis touched on a wide variety of topics during his Wednesday speech to an Eagle Club luncheon at Mugshots Bar & Grill. McGillis said that USM will soon unveil two or three options to replace the current eagle head logo that was unveiled in 2002. |
| Lutzenkirchen's father counsels Georgia players on making wise decisions | |
 | In the midst of a football season, coaches normally want their players thinking about nothing but today's homework and Saturday's game. But Georgia coach Mark Richt welcomed a visitor to practice on Wednesday to talk to the team about something far weightier than winning an athletic contest. Mike Lutzenkirchen spoke to the Bulldogs about the importance of making wise decisions. If you recognize his last name, he is the father of former Auburn star and NFL player Phillip Lutzenkirchen. Phillip Lutzenkirchen and former Georgia baseball player Ian Davis were killed in an alcohol-related car accident that injured two other individuals in June in LaGrange. Lutzenkirchen was 23; Davis was 22. |
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