| Thursday, April 16, 2015 |
| Mississippi State's 'Infinite Impact' campaign exceeds $500M | |
 | Campaign counting for Mississippi State's Infinite Impact has surged past the $500 million milestone, tallying $503.1 million as it continues to climb, placing the overall goal of $600 million well within reach. "The continued success of Infinite Impact shows the confidence that alumni and friends are placing in Mississippi State and its ability to excel as a premier institution of higher learning," said MSU President Mark Keenum. "MSU continues to play a critical role in moving our state forward and in forging a path of national and global impacts in education and research." |
| Mississippi State Campaign Tops $500 Million | |
 | Campaign counting for Mississippi State's Infinite Impact has surged past the $500 million milestone, tallying $503.1 million as it continues to climb, placing the overall goal of $600 million well within reach. "Infinite Impact is already by far the most successful campaign in our institution's history," said John P. Rush, vice president for development and alumni who serves as MSU Foundation CEO. "Three years remain in our initial time frame, however we anticipate surpassing the $600 million mark ahead of schedule because of record years of support from generous contributors." |
| Mississippi State Students Win During Entrepreneurship Week | |
| Twenty-five Mississippi State students are winners of the university's fourth annual "Investing in Innovation," or I-3 Day. "We have so much positive momentum because of a great team we have at so many different levels that is committed to strive for excellence and innovation," said MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development David R. Shaw. "I am certainly proud of the innovation atmosphere and spirit that we're continuing to encourage and see thrive here at Mississippi State University." |
| SSD, EMCC exploring lease of West Oktibbeha High School | |
 | The Starkville School District is exploring a deal with East Mississippi Community College that would allow the junior college to offer general education testing and college-level classes at West Oktibbeha County High School, a Maben campus that will close after July 1's state-mandated consolidation. The Starkville School District Board of Trustees took no formal action on the matter Tuesday but directed Superintendent Lewis Holloway to continue discussions that stemmed from a previous meeting with EMCC officials and Maben aldermen. Although a formal deal is not set, a lease could allow the upcoming Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District to pass off maintenance and upkeep responsibilities of the facility to EMCC in turn for physical presence in the western portion of the county. |
| West Point approves TIF for new golf course | |
| The West Point Board of Selectmen agreed Tuesday to contribute to the construction of Clay County's latest attraction. Joe Max Higgins, CEO of the Golden Triangle Development LINK, addressed the board about agreeing to a tax increment financing bond that will reimburse costs associated with the construction of Mossy Oak Golf Course. Old Waverly Golf Club owner George Bryan, who will co-own the new course with Mossy Oak founder Toxey Haas, has agreed to put up $750,000 out-of-pocket to get access to water, sewer and road improvements near the incoming course. The TIF would reimburse Bryan that $750,000, Higgins said, via a pledge of a new ad valorem tax. |
| Bryant has 'sense of urgency' about MDA post | |
| Gov. Phil Bryant appears to be keeping his options open in selecting the state's next top economic developer. "He does have a sense of urgency about it," said spokeswoman Nicole Webb. "But at the same time he wants to be deliberative and make sure he gets the right person." Bryant is looking for a new executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority after Brent Christensen announced last week he is leaving to head the Greensboro Partnership in North Carolina. Christensen had been in the MDA post for three years. Because of the emphasis the first-term Republican governor has placed on economic development, filling the slot will be a priority. |
| MDA to lead Pacific Alliance delegation | |
 | Representatives from the Mississippi Development Authority will lead a delegation of Mississippi companies on a Pacific Alliance business development mission July 13-21. The trip is designed to connect Mississippi businesses that want to expand trade and create new business relationships with qualified buyers in Colombia, Peru and Chile. Top U.S. exports to these countries include military equipment, oil and gas machinery and services, medical equipment, mining equipment, construction equipment and automotive parts and accessories. |
| Governor's export summit sets sights on boosting Mississippi exports | |
 | Open the door to your business's export opportunities with the Governor's 2015 Export Summit scheduled for May 7, 2015, 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., at the Jackson Convention Center in downtown Jackson. Gov. Phil Bryant will be the keynote luncheon speaker at the event, designed to provide direct access to export and trade-related experts across the industry to Mississippi's small and medium-sized firms. One-on-one, pre-arranged meetings with these export facilitators will provide valuable information on export planning, financing options and assistance, required documentation and regulations, market research, and more. |
| Toyota to move assembly of Corollas to new $1 billion plant in Mexico | |
 | Toyota announced Wednesday that it would invest $1 billion in a plant in central Mexico, giving the world's top automaker a bigger footprint in a nation that's become a magnet for auto manufacturing. Toyota said the plant in Celaya, in Guanajuato state, would produce up to 200,000 of its best-selling Corollas each year. Production will begin in 2019. Stephanie Brinley, a senior analyst at IHS Automotive, a market research and industry analysis firm, said Toyota had decided to build the compact Corolla in Mexico not only because of cheaper labor costs but also because Mexico had free-trade accords with 45 countries. "The Corollas that will be built in Mexico can be shipped to far more locations than the Corollas built in Mississippi," she said. Toyota is consolidating production in geographic areas for certain common platforms, with compact production in Mississippi and Mexico. |
| Bryant has no plans to recall Legislature | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said Wednesday that he has no plans to call a special legislative session. During a brief interview at the Capitol, Bryant said good news or bad news could prompt him to bring lawmakers back to the Capitol. The good news would be an economic development project requiring state financial incentives, he said. The bad news would be response to a natural disaster. |
| Jeb Bush visits Mississippi to show support for a new education law | |
 | Jeb Bush is spending part of Thursday in Mississippi at a bill-signing ceremony for legislation backed by his education foundation. Bush is scheduled to be at the Mississippi state Capitol as Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signs a bill that provides vouchers to parents of children with special needs to spend up to $6,500 annually in taxpayer funds to pay for private schools or other services to help the child. The presumed GOP presidential candidate's stop in Mississippi comes a day after he attended a fundraiser in Louisiana for Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who is preparing to run for governor next year. |
| Bryant unsure on new group to recommend school standards | |
| Republican Gov. Phil Bryant said Wednesday that he is still deciding whether to sign a bill that would create a group to recommend whether Mississippi should ditch Common Core academic standards. Bryant said he's no fan of Common Core, but he doesn't want to create an advisory commission that would be powerless to force the state Board of Education to make changes. The governor has an April 24 deadline to either sign or veto Senate Bill 2161. |
| Bill would prevent early disclosure of inventions from denying patent rights | |
 | People shouldn't lose the rights to their inventions because they publically disclosed their discoveries before filing a patent application, according to Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. The senators said the 2011 American Invents Act unintentionally left ambiguous the continuation of the traditional one-year tradition to protect publically disclosed finds before the patent application has begun. And that has left inventors without that grace period, which would be restored by their bill. "Inventors and researchers shouldn't be punished for sharing their discoveries," Vitter said. "Our legislation would fix this unintended issue so we can protect future young inventors and encourage important collaboration." |
| Replica Chickasaw burial urn donated to MUW | |
 | The Mississippi University for Woman has a new display item at the Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center. School officials say the replica of a burial urn was donated to the school by the family of Bill Yarbrough. Crews working on the construction of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Clay County during the early 1980's uncovered the urn with the remains of a child. The urn remained in the family of Yarbrough, who owned the land where the urn was found. They recently returned the urn to the Chickasaw Nation so the remains could be reburied on tribal land. |
| Sellers to retire as UM campus police chief | |
| University of Mississippi Campus Police Chief Calvin Sellers says he will retire May 31, closing the books on a more-than-30-year career in law enforcement. The 62-year-old Sellers says in a news release that he will spend more time reading, golfing and skeet shooting. He wants to ride his Harley-Davidson up the Pacific Coast. He's also engaged to be married. Sellers spent 25 years at Ole Miss. |
| Southern Arena Theatre canceled due to USM cuts | |
 | University-wide budget cuts have forced the University of Southern Mississippi Theatre Department to cancel the summer Southern Arena Theatre. John Warrick, SAT producer and department chairman, sent a letter to theater patrons, informing them of the cancellation and saying it was the first time in 40 years there will not be a summer repertory theater at Southern Miss. "Right about this time every year, we are putting together the planning for SAT," Warrick told the Hattiesburg American. "We needed to let our patrons know we suspended SAT for the summer. We can't afford it." In his letter to patrons, Warrick said the university had experienced recent revenue loss associated with low enrollment for the 2104-15 academic year. |
| Autism law and USM autism program feted at Capitol | |
| Four-year-old Fraiser Johnson of Madison nuzzled his mother's chest Wednesday morning at the state Capitol where dozens of strangers affirmed their commitment to help children who, just like him, have autism. Those strangers included Gov. Phil Bryant, who hoisted little Fraiser up to a podium so the lad could explore its microphone. And Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who briefly lost composure while explaining a new state law Fraiser's parents support. All had gathered to fete the new law, which requires health insurance policies in Mississippi to cover autism therapy, and to announce a new university program that will train future therapists. The University of Southern Mississippi this fall will offer a master's level program to produce qualified ABA therapists, said Joe Olmi, who heads USM's Department of Psychology. Mississippi State University also is preparing a offer an ABA program starting this fall, said Daniel Gadke of MSU's School of Psychology. |
| 'We deserve to be angry': Louisiana college students rally against funding cuts | |
 | Louisiana college students shouted Wednesday from the State Capitol steps and took turns pleading with members of a key legislative budget panel to avoid potentially catastrophic cuts to higher education funding in the coming year. "We're sending a message today that we're taking notice of this," said Jesse Elliott, Student Government president at LSU-Alexandria. About 150 students took part in the rally against cuts to higher education funding on the third day of the state Legislature's 2015 session. Lawmakers are working to craft a spending plan for the budget that begins July 1. But with Louisiana facing an estimated $1.6 billion shortfall, spending for colleges and universities could end up on the chopping block. |
| UGA professor's lawsuit dismissed, but another could still go forward | |
 | A Fulton County Superior Court judge has dismissed a University of Georgia professor's lawsuit against state Attorney General Sam Olens and three University of Georgia employees, but Dezso Benedek's days in court are not yet finished. Benedek and his Athens lawyer, Stephen Humphreys, are still awaiting a decision from the Georgia Court of Appeals that could keep alive a separate lawsuit, filed before the one that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter dismissed last week. Benedek, a comparative literature professor, filed his first lawsuit in Fulton County State Court in 2013, alleging that UGA officials and Olens conspired to kill his academic career when Benedek faced a tenure revocation procedure in 2010. |
| Five years after Deepwater Horizon, Texas A&M researchers continue to study impact on Gulf | |
 | Five years on, many questions remain on the impact the 200 million gallons of oil released during the Deepwater Horizon spill will have on the environment. But, if there's a silver lining, it's the amount of research the Gulf of Mexico has undergone, in part from Texas A&M professors. "At the end of the day, the deep Gulf of Mexico might be one of the best studied deep-sea environments on earth," said Tracey Sutton, director of DEEPEND Consortium, which is composed of several institutions and universities, including Texas A&M. |
| U. of Missouri Libraries proposes fee for expanded hours, upgrades, collections | |
 | University of Missouri students could see a new fee starting in the 2016-17 school year. MU Libraries proposed a November ballot measure that would add a $5 per credit student library fee. The fee would fund building upgrades as well as expanded services, including new electrical outlets, better wireless Internet access, 24/7 library hours and expanded collections of books, databases and films. MU students can vote on the proposal as part of the Missouri Students Association election in November. The libraries are the only division at MU without a student fee. Jim Cogswell, director of libraries, said the library system has been trying to enact a fee for over 10 years. |
| Police fatally shoot suspect Wednesday night in U. of Missouri parking garage | |
| The Columbia Police Department and the University of Missouri Police Department said early Thursday that a man matching the physical description and appearance of Mark W. Adair, 51, was shot and killed on the second floor of the Hitt Street Garage at MU. Jill Schlude, deputy chief of Columbia police, said that positive identification would be determined by a fingerprint scan conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. At the Hitt Street Garage, an MU police officer found Adair in the northwest corner of the second floor. The officer approached Adair, and shots were fired after an "altercation between the two where the officer cornered him." A Columbia police officer arrived, and more shots were fired. The MU officer was wearing a body camera, and footage will be released as part of the investigation. |
| A Higher-Ed Guide to 4 Presidential Contenders | |
 | Over the past few weeks, four candidates have officially announced that they're running for president. The Republican field includes three U.S. senators: Florida's Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who is pitching himself as the fresh face of the GOP; Texas' Ted Cruz, a conservative Christian and Tea Party hero; and Kentucky's Rand Paul, a libertarian who is positioning himself as the candidate for young people. The Democratic field has just one contender so far: Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former first lady, senator, secretary of state, and household name. Here's where they stand on three issues that matter to colleges: affordability, immigration, and science. |
| For U.S. Universities, the Rich Get Richer Faster | |
 | The higher-education wealth gap is growing -- not just between those who do or don't have college degrees but among colleges themselves. The coffers of the nation's 40 wealthiest universities, including Harvard University, Stanford University and the University of Michigan, are filling at a faster rate than those of other schools, thanks to particularly strong investment performances and generous donors, according to a report to be published Thursday by Moody's Investors Service. "It's really a tale of two college towns, if you will, or cities," said Karen Kedem, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's. "Looking ahead, the expectation is that this [gap] will only widen." |
| Students suspended after charges in Florida spring break sex assault | |
| Two Alabama college students have been suspended after authorities discovered a cellphone video that allegedly shows them sexually assaulting a woman at a Florida beach while a large crowd of spring-break revelers watches. Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen described the video as "very, very graphic" and called it the "most disgusting, sickening thing" he had ever seen. He said the footage shows several men surrounding an incapacitated woman on a beach chair. The victim told authorities that she thought she had been drugged at the time, and she did not remember the incident well enough to report it. Both students attended Troy University. |
| BRIAN PERRY (OPINION): Power and value of votes | |
 | Jackson-based consultant and columnist Brian Perry writes: "This year in Mississippi, thousands of people are running for office. Literally, thousands, from coroner to legislator to governor: candidates want your support. They want your vote; they want campaign contributions to help them reach other voters; they want you to volunteer to get other votes; they want you to ask your friends, family and neighbors for their votes. We all have one vote. Or most of us do." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): Tax day brings home contradictions | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "Among the many lessons I learned from my all-too-brief time with the late broadcaster Jack Cristil was his pointed, rather surprising take on paying his taxes. ...Like many of his generation, Jack was a 'fiscal conservative' long before that phrase came into political vogue. ...But on the topic of paying his federal taxes, Jack Cristil -- the son of first generation Russian and Lithuanian immigrants -- had a resolute position: 'Taxes? No matter how much it is, it's cheap rent to live in a free country. There's no such thing as a free lunch.' That 'cheap rent to live in a free country' declaration makes a bit more sense in context." |
SPORTS
| Fulton's McDonald wrapping up a stellar college career at Mississippi State | |
| Two-time All-American Ally McDonald has accomplished a lot during her career at Mississippi State. The Fulton native has represented the nation on the Curtis Cup team and has led the Bulldogs into national prominence with back-to-back NCAA Regionals and is currently vying for a third. Individually, McDonald has five tournament victories -- one shy of the school record set by Christi Sanders (1983, 1986-87). McDonald has continued her success as a senior winning the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Okla., and the Old Waverly Bulldog Invitational in West Point in October and has four top 25 finishes in the eight events she's played this year. While McDonald's future in the professional ranks is on the horizon, she is taking things one step at a time which is currently postseason play at MSU. "That'll be the plan after nationals and we'll see where it goes," McDonald said of turning pro. |
| Dak Prescott: QB. Heisman contender. Motivational speaker? | |
| Add motivational speaker to the long list of accolades on Dak Prescott's resume. Mississippi State's quarterback spoke to the school's women's golf team on Wednesday. Ally McDonald and Company play in the Southeastern Conference Tournament that begins Friday at Greystone Country Club in Birmingham. The Bulldogs head into the tourney as the No. 2 team in the country according to BirdieFire.com. The NCAA Tournament begins on May 6 with the championships commencing on May 22. |
| Mississippi State concludes historic season with team-award ceremony | |
| Mississippi State closed the books on its historic 2014-15 season with the annual Hail State Hoops Awards Banquet on Wednesday. Prior to handing out the team awards in Mize Pavilion, Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin presented head coach Vic Schaefer with his SEC Coach of the Year award. When the team awards began, Victoria Vivians added to her collection of accolades. The AP All-America honorable mention and second team All-SEC selection received MSU's Most Valuable Player and Miss Offense honors. The awards came as no surprise. |
| Mississippi State's Alwal, Grant eager to pursue professional careers | |
| Martha Alwal still can't grasp the enormity of her situation. Four years ago, Alwal was a shy, 6-foot-4 center then-Mississippi State women's basketball coach Sharon Fanning-Otis "found" and offered a scholarship to leave Worthington, Minnesota, to come to Starkville to play basketball in the Southeastern Conference. On Wednesday night, Alwal showed off a new hairstyle for the MSU women's basketball program's Hail State Hoops Award Banquet at Mize Pavilion. The hairdo easily could have been arranged to make sure Alwal was ready for an even bigger occasion tonight: the WNBA draft. The event, which will be broadcast at 7 tonight on ESPN2, will be the next step for 36 players who hope to pursue a professional career. Alwal and senior guard Kendra Grant are MSU's most likely players to get selected tonight or to receive an invitation to attend a tryout for a WNBA team. |
| Without Sobiesk, Devon Bell returns to role as kicker for Bulldogs | |
| Logan Cooke's first start interrupted a conversation about hunting. The kicker discussed duck hunting with fellow true freshman Josiah Phillips prior to Mississippi State's matchup with Texas A&M last year. Devon Bell interjected the discussion with the news he had pulled his groin. Cooke was his backup. "I was like, 'OK.' Then I started talking again," Cooke said. "He said, 'No, you need to start warming up.' At first I thought, Devon was being a big brother to me. Your head's not focused. Get you head focused." Then MSU's coach Dan Mullen talked to Cooke. "Then I figured out it was real," Cooke said. |
| U. of Missouri's Alden stresses relationships in the era of budget booms | |
 | When Mike Alden came to Missouri in 1998, the school agreed to bump its athletic budget up to $15 million. Last year, that number was $83.7 million. Next year, Alden expects it to be around $95 million. The year after that, he expects it to hit nine digits. When Alden cedes the athletic director role to successor Mack Rhoades on April 27, the bullet-point rundown of his 17 years in charge will include guiding Missouri through an age of acceleration in athletic revenues and steering the school into the Southeastern Conference. That's how he'll be remembered, but it's not why he got into the business in the first place. And, as big-time college athletics continues to expand, he thinks that's a bit of a shame. |
| Charges reduced against two U. of Florida pitchers | |
 | Third-degree felony charges against Florida pitchers A.J. Puk and Kirby Snead have been reduced to misdemeanor trespassing, State Attorney Bill Cervone said Wednesday. Cervone said Puk and Snead will be offered deferred prosecution in the case. If they sign the agreement and meet all of its requirements, their records will be clean. Puk and Snead were arrested by University Police on Sunday night and charged with third-degree felony trespassing for climbing onto a crane at a construction site on campus. They were suspended from the team by coach Kevin O'Sullivan on Monday. Cervone said the felony charge did not match the crime. |
| Vols' Coleman Thomas reinstated after theft charge dropped | |
 | The felony theft charge against Tennessee offensive lineman Coleman Thomas was dropped during a Wednesday morning court appearance. Thomas was arrested and charged last month in connection to a student's report of a stolen Xbox and video games from a university dormitory on March 13. "Since obtaining the arrest warrant in this case, (the University of Tennessee Police Department) conducted additional investigation into the matter," Knox County deputy district attorney general Kyle Hixson said in a press release. "This investigation included discussions with Mr. Thomas and with other witnesses. Following this additional investigation, UTPD concluded that there was a lack of evidence that Mr. Thomas knew that the item was stolen at the time he possessed it." Jimmy Stanton, associate athletics director for communications, said that Thomas has been reinstated to the team. |
| Some presidents face steep learning curve with athletics | |
 | In an era when presidential search committees are placing increasing emphasis on the medical and technology fields, it's not uncommon for a leader with limited experience with college athletics to take the helm of a Division I institution with a renowned sports legacy. And several of these new presidents have found themselves in the middle of sports controversies early in their tenures. Presidents without experience in sports must quickly learn how to navigate the NCAA, communicate with athletics administrators and mitigate scandals. When search boards choose an untested pick, they're taking a risk. |
| N.C.A.A. Proposes New Settlement in Lawsuit on Head Injuries | |
 | The N.C.A.A. filed a new proposed settlement late Tuesday night in a class-action lawsuit brought against the association over its handling of concussions and head injuries. It is the second attempt by plaintiffs' lawyers and the N.C.A.A. to settle the case after a federal judge asked for changes to the original proposal in December. The core terms of the new plan are similar to the original -- a $70 million medical monitoring fund for athletes, $5 million for research and stricter return-to-play guidelines for athletes who sustain head injuries -- but several tweaks were made to satisfy Judge John Z. Lee, according to the plaintiffs' lawyer Steve Berman. |
| New College Tennis Rule Is a Scream | |
| In the Big 12 Conference this college tennis season, schools are saying pish-posh to polite crowds and umpires who announce "Quiet, please!" at the slightest provocation. Tennis fans there have permission to scream, scream, scream -- even during rallies and as players try to serve. These are tense times for college tennis, which is desperate to remain relevant. Schools all over the country continue to drop varsity tennis programs: About 600 have disappeared since the early 1970s, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. To attract more fans and keep them in their seats, many conferences, including the Big 12, have shortened matches this season with no-ad scoring (at deuce, the next point wins the game). Free pizza, T-shirts, contests for prizes, and bouncy castles and coloring stations for kids have become match-day staples. |
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