Announcement Expected Following MVSU Second Round Interviews
Members of the IHL Board Search Committee for the next President of Mississippi Valley State University, chaired by Trustee Bettye Neely, will meet Monday, October 13, beginning at 7:30 a.m., in the IHL Board Room in the Universities Center in Jackson for the purpose of conducting second round interviews. The day-long interview session will be followed by a meeting of the IHL Board, beginning at approximately 3:30 p.m., also in the IHL Board Room, for the purpose of determining the Board's preferred candidate. Then, the Board will hold a press conference in the Universities Center lobby adjacent to the IHL Board Room to announce its preferred Mississippi Valley State University presidential candidate. During the interviews, the Board Search Committee will be joined by Mississippi Valley State University's Interview Search Advisory Committee, a subset of the original campus Search Advisory Committee formed to review all resumes and recommend candidates to the Board Search Committee. A listing of the members of the Interview Search Advisory Committee can be found here. An executive session for the interview session and following meeting may be held in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. IHL's institutional executive officer search process allows Mississippi to be on the consideration list of the highest caliber professionals in higher education. The process is open, transparent and representative-based, and works in accordance with today's recruitment standards for high-level institutions of higher learning. Learn more about the MVSU institutional executive officer search process, including a timeline of events.
| IHL Board Committee and Monthly Meetings Oct. 15-16 in Hattiesburg
The IHL Board will hold various committee meetings on Wednesday, October 15, and its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, October 16. All meetings will take place in Ballroom I of the Thad Cochran Center at the University of Southern Mississippi, 104 Memorial Lane, Hattiesburg, MS, 39046. On Wednesday, the Real Estate and Facilities Committee will meet, beginning at 1:30 p.m.; followed by the Budget, Finance, and Audit Committee, beginning at approximately 2:00 p.m.; the Educational Policies and Programs Committee, beginning at approximately 2:30 p.m.; and finally, the Ayers Investment Committee, beginning at approximately 3:30 p.m. Committee meeting start times are approximate as committee meetings will begin following the conclusion of the preceding committee. On Thursday, the full Board will convene at 8:30 a.m. and then conduct business as a committee of the whole. Various Board committees, including Educational Policies and Programs; Budget, Finance, and Audit; Real Estate and Facilities; Governance/Legal; and the Gulf Coast Special Committee, will meet as part of the Board meeting. For all committee meetings and the Board meeting, an executive session may be held in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. Learn more about the IHL Board. | |  Items included in the "University News" section of the System Review are submitted each week by the universities. The news items are listed in rotating alphabetical order by university.MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
 MSU Cyber Security Awareness Week to Raise Electronic Issues
Computer-related issues ranging from "phishing" to cyber stalking will be examined in detail next week [Oct. 13-17] as Mississippi State observes Cyber Security Awareness Week. Public lectures and panel discussions by national, state and local professionals in the field will spotlight the dangers of computer hackers, as well as the latest safety measures used to protect sensitive information, said Thomas Ritter, security and compliance officer for the university's Information Technology Services. He also is a member of the campus Information Security Committee, which is co-sponsoring the events with the Division of Student Affairs, Provost's Office and Center for Computer Security Research. "Computer users face increasingly sophisticated challenges, ranging from complying with copyright regulations for downloading music to recognizing scams that seek to collect personal information such as Social Security numbers," Ritter said. The latter is termed phishing, a contemporary term possibly coined by hackers in the 1990s to describe any criminally fraudulent attempt to gain information that may lead to identity theft or other unauthorized uses. "Our goal is to raise awareness and provide tips that can guard against potential dangers," Ritter explained. Learn more. Paul Grimes of MSU Named Top Economic Education Center Director Grad-rate Award Again Garnered by MSU Women's Athletics MSU Recognized by National Group for Commitment to Diversity MSU Exploring Additional Waste-handling Methods MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND VETERINARY MEDICINE NEWS
MSU Extension Entomologist Details West Nile Virus Prevention
A physically active Greenwood woman is working from a wheelchair today rather than on horseback a year into her battle with West Nile virus that left her with polio-like symptoms and partial paralysis. Leann Hines contracted the virus in August 2007 and came down with West Nile virus polio syndrome, which caused asymmetrical paralysis. Before she was bitten by the virus-carrying mosquito, Hines, then 51, was a nurse in Greenwood and worked on her family's farm training horses and giving riding lessons. One day she went home from work a little early because she felt bad and her knees felt weak. The next day she did not go to work and had a temperature of 103 degrees. She spent the next day in the emergency room. Tests determined she had a virus, and she was referred to a neurologist because her right leg was not working properly. As of Sept. 15, the Mississippi Department of Health reported 108 human cases of West Nile virus in the state this year, with four of them resulting in death. Last year, there were 57 human West Nile cases at this same time. These cases are scattered, although the central and southern parts of the state have the majority of affected counties. Blake Layton, an entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said there are about 60 species of mosquitoes living in Mississippi, but the most important one is the Southern house mosquito. Learn more. MSU's Farmweek Marks 30 Years on MPB-TV MSU Extension Specialists Predict Wet Harvest Trouble for State Corn Crop MSU Extension's 4-H Marks National Youth Science Day MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN NEWS
MUW Eudora Welty Writers' Symposium Oct. 16-18
Acclaimed novelist John Dufresne will be joined by 11 other authors in honoring the legacy of Mississippi University for Women alumna Eudora Welty during the 20th annual Eudora Welty Writers' Symposium to be held Oct. 16-18 on the MUW campus, organized by the Department of Languages, Literature, and Philosophy. The weekend will also include an art exhibit hosted by the Department of Art and Design and a dramatic reading presented by the Department of Music and Theatre. This year's theme is "Mirrors for Reality: the Past and Future Wrapped Like Butterfly Wings." According to Dr. Kendall Dunkelberg, Symposium director, this theme was inspired by a review Welty wrote of Virginia Woolf's posthumous volume of stories, "Monday or Tuesday." In her essay, published in the New York Times, Welty describes Woolf's writing as looking at reality in a mirror, where "elongation, foreshortening, superimposing are all instruments of the complicated vision which wants to look at truth." She adds that in Woolf's writing "the opaque character is revealed opalescent in its cocoon, with its past and future wrapping it like butterfly wings. Its flicker of life ticks like a heart under our eyes, and as it emerges from its dull contemplation we almost see it fly in the sun - but not quite." Dunkelberg noted the same can be said of Welty's writing. "When mirrors figure prominently, as in her story 'The Burning,' they reflect the trials of the present and the disturbing events of the past, to give a hopeful, if at times tenuous, vision of the future." Learn more. MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ONLINE
 Mississippi Valley State University Online
www.mvsu.edu UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI NEWS
UM Unveils Submarine Technology and Development Lab
A yellow, torpedo-shaped submarine and a box-like submersible with cameras and a robotic arm were displayed Wednesday as the University of Mississippi held the grand opening of its Undersea Vehicle Technology Center. Housed at UM's Field Station northeast of Oxford, the new 2,600-square-foot, three-bay undersea vehicle technology shop and development laboratory is part of the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology partnership. Established in 2002 for ocean exploration, research and advanced technology development, NIUST is a collaboration among UM, the University of Southern Mississippi and NOAA's Undersea Research Program. "This new facility allows us to consolidate our efforts for vehicle design," said NIUST Director Ray Highsmith at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "We now have the capability for all our engineers and operators to work side-by-side at a single location, which helps to create better ideas in a more efficient manner." Two of those vehicles, the Eagle Ray submarine and the box-like submersible Station Service Device, were on display for the nearly 100 people on hand at the ceremony. The Eagle Ray is designed to perform high-resolution sea floor mapping, as well as serve as a cargo unit to test and develop new underwater sensors and devices. The SSD was designed to service NIUST's Seabed Technology Research Center's sea floor observatory, which is 100 miles south of Biloxi at 900 meters beneath the Gulf of Mexico in Mississippi Canyon 118. Learn more. Honors Student Reaches Out to Hispanic Community with Heart-Health Help An Apple Offers Valuable Environmental Lessons in Project Learning Tree Workshop UM Administrator Named NMCC's Alumnus of the Year Alumnus Leaves $1.4 million to UM for Scholarships in Liberal Arts, Medicine UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER
Vance's Efforts Lead to Smoke-free Jackson
Dr. Ralph B. Vance's term as president of the American Cancer Society may have ended, but his crusade against tobacco use - and secondhand smoke in particular - is far from over. Vance, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the first physician from Mississippi to serve as ACS president, provided valuable information about the dangers of secondhand smoke to Jackson City Council members, who approved changes to the Ordinance of 2003 in June. Section 86-161 of Article 6 of Chapter 86 of the Code of Ordinances for the City of Jackson bans smoking in all businesses except stand-alone bars effective February 2009. Learn more. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI NEWS
Concert to Recognize Southern Miss Director of Bands for Service
Marking 25 years as director of bands at The University of Southern Mississippi, Dr. Thomas Fraschillo and the Wind Ensemble, the university's premier concert band, will give its first performance of the 2008-09 academic year at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Bennett Auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus. The concert program will include a wide selection of classics, including Bach's "Pasacaglia and Fugue in D minor," John Philip Sousa's "Sound of March" and Luigi Zaninelli's "Roma Sacra." A new arrangement of the "Wizard of the West March" by John Martin, a doctoral candidate in the School of Music band program, will also be performed. Prior to coming to Southern Miss, Martin served as assistant director of bands at the University of Tennessee. "This is a terrific band. It is the reason that I came to Southern Miss-- it and Dr. Fraschillo," Martin said. Fraschillo, who earned his undergraduate and master's degrees from Southern Miss, received a doctorate of musical arts from the University of South Carolina. He has served as catalyst and mentor for the music profession in the area of wind music for 38 years. His influence has set high standards of performance felt by virtually every wind music organization in the Southeast and his performances, either on the high school level or university level, serve as models throughout the world, whether in the professional or academic arena. Learn more. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to be presented Oct. 8 at Southern Miss Southern Miss Researchers Find Decrease in Obesity Among Mississippi Children Southern Miss College of Health Presents Hattiesburg Clinic Scholar Series IHL Approves Doctorate in Instructional Technology and Design at Southern Miss UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST NEWS
Southern Miss Gulf Coast to Pilot New Class Schedule Format for Students
The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast will pilot a new class schedule format for the university's Gulf Park campus in Long Beach, Gulf Coast Student Service Center in Gulfport and Jackson County Teaching Site in Gautier beginning in January. The new schedule format was created as a way to accommodate students' schedules and make the most of their time spent on campus. By changing the schedule format to offer Monday and Wednesday classes identical to the popular Tuesday and Thursday classes, students may have gas-saving benefits depending on the arrangement of their course schedules. Day classes held on Fridays will be used for weekend classes, including executive format classes and classes that meet once each week that will follow a format similar to night classes. Additionally, with the new schedule format, Southern Miss will have more opportunities to maximize the use of the university's facilities. Dr. James Pat Smith, who chaired the effort to change the class schedule format, said the new schedule will allow faculty to better spread courses through the day on Mondays and Wednesdays and present better choices with fewer schedule conflicts to students. Learn more. Autism Assessment Clinic Opens at Southern Miss Gulf Coast Student Service Center Southern Miss Staff Council Honors Coast Employees with Award, Scholarship Southern Miss Gulf Coast Contributes to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS ONLINE
Mississippi Valley State University Online
www.alcorn.edu DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
Delta State Recipient of a $2 Million Grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education
Delta State University's Division of Biological and Physical Sciences is the recipient of a grant from the U. S. Department of Education Title III program. The award, a first in Title III funds for Delta State, provides $2 million in funding over the next five years. To address barriers to student success in science education, the funds will be directed towards extensive course redesign, faculty development, and equipment. "It's a tremendous boost for each and every program in the sciences," says Dr. Barry Campbell, Chair of the Division. "It's the type of funding that benefits all students coming to Delta State since it impacts the delivery of science instruction to majors and non-majors alike." Delta State's successful Title III proposal, "Increasing Student Success and Retention through the Transformation of Laboratory Science Instruction," involves multiple strategies that are intended to significantly and positively impact students' academic outcomes and thereby their success at the university. Learn more. Cleveland Dentist Celebrates Forty-two Years of Providing Dental Care to Needy Delta State Students Statesmen Climb into Top-10 After Win at No. 1 Valdosta State JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
JSU College of Business Presenting 'An Economic Summit'
Jackson State University's College of Business is sponsoring "An Economic Summit" on October 16, 2008 from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., in the College of Business auditorium, room 134 on the university's main campus. The summit will focus on ways to help better understand the Wall Street problem and its impact on our daily lives. Specific emphasis will be placed on the effect the financial crisis will have on the Mississippi economy and its citizens. Social and political organizations, community leaders, business professionals, financial advisors and local ministers will gather to give a perspective on how to protect our workers and businesses during this financial crisis. Other economic experts will offer strategies for the survival of families and businesses. Summit speakers will include: Ms. Lori Wright, Director of Treasury Management for BankPlus; Mr. Michael Booker, President, BankcorpSouth, Clinton, Miss; Mr. Johnny Estes, Financial Advisor, Morgan Keegan & Co.; and Berlinda Weems and Brenda Smith, Mortgage Brokers. Learn more. JSU Hosting Live Documentary Presentation, 'This Little Light of Mine' College of Lifelong Learning Issues Call for Proposals for S.O.S. Conference 
Oct. 11 - The UM Artist Series kicks off its 70th season with The Ahn Trio, three sisters who have fused chamber music with works by dancers, pop singers, DJs, painters, installation artists, photographers, ecologists and even kite makers. Tickets for the 8 p.m. performance at the Ford Center are $20 and $28. Learn more. Oct. 13 - Mississippi State's information security committee presents as part of Cyber Security Awareness Week a discussion on the history and future of malicious code. Fred Cohen, known for inventing computer virus prevention techniques, will speak. Learn more. Oct. 13 - Mississippi State University's Office of Admissions and Scholarships presents MSU Fall Preview Day at the Sanderson Center. Prospective high school and transfer students are encouraged to learn what MSU has to offer. Learn more. Oct. 13 - The UM music department opens its fall Faculty Series with a flute recital by new faculty member Linda Pereksta. The 8 p.m. performance in Nutt Auditorium is to include music by Franz Schubert, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, David Lobe and Francois Poulenc. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students. Learn more. Oct. 14 - Jackson State University and NASA will offer the workshop, "NASA & You," for Mississippi and Louisiana educators from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on the University's main campus. For more information, call (601) 979-2662 or (601) 979-1177. Learn more. Oct. 14 - Mississippi State University's information security committee presents a lecture on cyber crime/cyber stalking in the Grisham Room of the Mitchell Memorial Library at 2:30. Jean Vaughn, director of the Mississippi attorney general's Cyber Crime Fusion Center, will speak. Learn more. Oct. 15 - The 52nd Edward C. Martin Landscape Design Symposium is hosted by the MSU Department of Landscape Architecture and The Garden Clubs of Mississippi Inc. It will be at Bost Auditorium on the MSU campus. Contact Debbie Whitfield at (662) 325-4224 or dww12@lalc.msstate.edu. Learn more. Oct. 15 - U.S. Rep. Travis Childers and his Republican opponent, Greg Davis, meet to discuss the issues of their contest for the First Congressional District seat at the UM Overby Center Auditorium. The 4:30 p.m. event, moderated by Jonathan Scott of the Oxford Eagle, is free and open to the public. Learn more. Oct. 15-17 - MSU's 23rd Annual Tomato Disease Workshop is geared for university, extension and industry employees at the Eagle Ridge Conference Center in Raymond. Contact David Ingram at (601) 857-2284 or davidi@ext.msstate.edu. Learn more. Oct. 17-18 - The 30th Annual Fall Flower and Garden Fest at MSU's Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station will feature the best flowers and vegetables for autumn gardens in Mississippi. Contact Rick Snyder at (601) 892-3731 or ricks@ext.msstate.edu. Learn more. Oct. 23 - Delta State University will present "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" a School-Time Matinee, in the Bologna Performing Arts Center at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. For ticket information, please call the Box Office at (662) 846-4626. Learn more. Nov. 15 - Jackson State University will host its first Latasha Norman Memorial 5K Walk/Run on the main campus. Registration must be postmarked by Oct. 31. For more information, call (601) 979-0374. Learn more. |
