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Legislative
Budget Committee Recommends Funding Cut for
Mississippi’s Public Universities
On
Tuesday, the State’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee
(JLBC) released its FY 2009 budget recommendation.
Compared to IHL’s FY 2009 request as well as the current
year’s FY 2008 appropriation, the JLBC recommends
cutting funds to many System units, including education
and general support; subsidiary programs; the University
of Mississippi Medical Center; the agriculture unit at
Alcorn State University; and Mississippi State
University's Agriculture and Forestry Experiment
Station, Cooperative Extension, Forestry and Wildlife
Center, and College of Veterinary Medicine. “Our initial
reaction to the budget recommendation is extreme
disappointment,” said Commissioner of Higher Education
Dr. Thomas C. Meredith. "The cuts to our universities
and the state’s only medical center are very difficult
to understand or explain. It is obvious we need to
enlist the entire statewide university community to make
our case in the next session.” Consistent, stable
funding for Mississippi’s University System is required
if Mississippi is to gain ground competitively in the
national and global economy. From 2001 to 2006, IHL
received flat or declining funding dollars from the
Legislature. If IHL’s appropriation is cut in FY 2009,
the System will lose the ground gained through the
state's last two fiscal year budgets. Highlights of
the recommendation can be found here. For more
information, contact Assistant Commissioner of
Governmental Affairs Dr. Jim Borsig.
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Board
Gulf Coast Committee Discusses Future of Higher
Education on
Coast The
IHL Board’s Gulf Coast Committee, chaired by Trustee Amy
Whitten, met Tuesday on the University of Southern
Mississippi’s Gulf Park Campus to discuss issues
relevant to the future of higher education on the
Mississippi Gulf Coast with Gulf Coast legislators,
other elected officials, and leaders within the Gulf
Coast business community. “The higher education
landscape on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is wide open,
and the potential positive impacts are limitless,” said
Trustee Whitten. “The Board’s Gulf Coast Committee is
committed to making sure we take advantage of every
opportunity as we help plan Mississippi’s future.” Dr.
Martha Saunders, President of the University of Southern
Mississippi, presented the institutions’ program plans
for the Cross Creek Campus; the report can be found
here: http://www.usm.edu/strategicplanning/.
The group also heard an update regarding the status of
Cross Creek from Mr. John Hairston, Co-Chief Executive
Officer of Hancock Holding Company. For more
information, contact Robert Bass or
visit http://www.mississippi.edu/gulf_coast/.
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December
Economic Review and Outlook
Released The
December 2007 issue of the Mississippi Economic
Review and Outlook is now available on the IHL website. The first article, on the
national economy, notes that the national housing market
has not yet hit bottom. Housing starts are down 54
percent from the first quarter of 2006, and housing
prices are falling. By 2009, housing prices may be as
much as 11 percent lower than they were at the market
peak. While any fall in housing prices will be less in
Mississippi, foreclosures and delinquency rates remain
high in the state, and a further worsening of the
situation is expected since the Gulf Coast post-Katrina
moratorium on foreclosures just expired in October. The
second article on the state economy notes that a slower
growth rate is predicted in 2008 than in 2007. A map
showing trends in per capita income by county in
relation to the U.S. average is provided. The full
economic forecast is also available. The economic status
of African-Americans in Mississippi is examined in the
final article. Although there has been a rapid growth of
firm ownership by African-Americans and a rapid increase
in levels of education attainment as well, the income
gap between white and black households has widened since
1999. "Mississippi's programs need to be evaluated not
only on the basis of their overall impact on the state,
but also in terms of their impact on each demographic
group. For example, the fact that black women here earn
only 69 percent of what their sisters earn nationally
merits attention, considering that white males earn 88
percent of what their peers earn nationally." states Dr.
Marianne Hill, Senior Economist, the study's author.
Read Mississippi Economic Review and
Outlook.
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#2
- Universities Prepare State to Meet Job Market Demands
(Top
15 Ways Mississippi's Universities Benefit the
State)
Mississippi's universities prepare
the state to meet the job market demands by sending into
the workforce approximately 14,000 quality,
baccalaureate degree holders each year. According to
U.S. Department of Labor statistics, by 2014, the
workforce will have openings for 9 million more degree
holders than will be available. There will be 3 million
surplus openings for 2-year degree holders, 4 million
for 4-year degree holders, and 2 million for advanced
degree holders. Of the nation's 30 fastest-growing jobs,
70 percent require a postsecondary degree or other
training beyond high school. Moreover, between 1998 and
2008, the growth rate for jobs requiring a college
degree was predicted to be about 21.5 percent, which is
nearly twice the growth rate (11.1 percent) predicted
for jobs requiring less than a college degree.
Mississippi's university system is committed to ensuring
access to and success in college for all students in
order to raise the educational attainment level in
Mississippi.
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 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 DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE,
FORESTRY AND VETERINARY MEDICINE NEWS
 MSU Students Score International Award for Genetically
Engineered Machine
Mississippi State University students
are pioneers in a field that did not even exist when they were born.
Combining biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering, MSU
biological engineering and biochemistry and molecular biology
students are constructing DNA “machines.” The new field of study
that emerged in the late 1990s is called “synthetic biology.” The
students brought home a bronze medal from the International
Genetically Engineered Machine, or iGEM, competition held Nov. 3-4
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Last year, our team
received an honorable mention. This year, they competed with
world-class teams from 54 prestigious universities from around the
world and brought home a medal,” said team advisor Filip To, a
Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station engineer in
the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. The MSU
entry in the 2007 iGEM competition was a method to allow faster
determination of how plants make oil. The team’s design includes a
fluorescent protein that can be tracked using ultraviolet light to
discover a genetic pathway. This new field of science, To said, has
tremendous potential for agriculture and other applications,
including the development of new energy sources. “The work our
students and research scientists are doing is helping develop
standardized ‘parts’ that can be used in genetic engineering in ways
similar to how transistors were used in the development of
electronics in the 1950s,” To said. Learn more.
Forget the Worms - Producers May Put Fish on Insect
Diet Developed at MSU
MSU Veterinary Horse Unit adds Frozen Embryo Transfer
MSU Coastal Research Lab Supports Seafood
Industry
MSU Family Specialists Say “‘Tis the Season to
Strengthen Families”
MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN NEWS
Five Inducted into Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers at
MUW
The Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers ceremony at
Mississippi University for Women recently recognized five educators
for exemplary dedication. The Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers
was established in 1991 to recognize educators for their excellence
to teaching. To be eligible, teachers must have at least 15 years of
teaching experience, including at least seven years of teaching in
Mississippi schools. Teachers were judged on the basis of their
professional activities, educational leadership, contributions to
curriculum and course development, teaching philosophy, and influence
on students and other teachers. Involvement in extracurricular
activities also was a part of the evaluation. The Hall now has 102
members, including graduates of almost every teacher education
program in Mississippi, plus several from other states. The
Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers was held in conjunction with the
Institute for First-year Teachers, which was initiated in 1993 to
advise and encourage beginning teachers. The Kelly Gene Cook Sr.
Charitable Foundation sponsored both events. Learn more.
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS ONLINE
Mississippi Valley State University
Online
http://www.mvsu.edu/
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI NEWS
Ken
Cyree Named Interim Dean of Business School at Ole
Miss
Ken Cyree has been appointed interim dean of the
School of Business Administration at the University of Mississippi
effective Jan. 2. Dean Brian Reithel, who has held the post since
2003, is stepping down to return to full-time teaching and research.
A member of the Ole Miss faculty since 2004, Cyree is an associate
professor of finance and the Frank R. Day/Mississippi Bankers
Association Chair of Banking. Cyree was highly recommended by his
colleagues in the business school, said Provost Carolyn Staton. "He
is a dedicated teacher and scholar and has deservedly earned the
respect of the faculty and students," she said. "In addition, as the
Chair of Banking, he brings experience in working with external
constituencies, which is an important rule for the school. I am
pleased that he is willing to assume these duties and that the
faculty is fully supportive of him." Although he plans to return to
the faculty when a permanent dean is appointed, Cyree said he
intends to be proactive during the interim period and help the
faculty continue to provide quality teaching and scholarship. "We
have some wonderful faculty members in the School of Business and I
look forward to working with them to achieve our goals of educating
students, providing meaningful research in our disciplines and
positively impacting the business environment in the state and
region," he said. "We will need the help of business leaders and
alumni to achieve our goals, and I look forward to working them as
well." Learn more.
10th Annual 'Books & Bears' Program Gives Campus
Way to Say 'Thanks'
Three Scholars Selected for Prestigious Aerospace Law
Scholarships
Remembering the 1982 Education Reform Act: UM Hosts
Panel Discussion
Business School Professor Elected to Serve on National
Insurance Board
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER NEWS
UMMC
Simulation Lab Offers Nursing Students Huge Dose of
Clinical Reality
The simulators may not be human, but
they do have feelings. A birthing mother screams with pain and asks
for medication. Her newborn child barely survives the difficult
birth, evident by a bluish color and lack of a heartbeat. The
nursing students kick into high gear and make all the right moves to
revive the infant, who moves like a real baby, even offering up a
cry of distress after leaving the warmth of his mother’s belly.
Walking into the School of Nursing’s Clinical Simulation Center
(CSC) at the University of Mississippi Medical Center is like
walking onto the set of the television series “ER.” There are
hospital beds with privacy curtains, supply cabinets with the
necessary contents, flashing monitors, roll-away carts, and saline
solution hanging from racks. All this equipment and more is in the
CSC, including “patients” of all sizes and genders. The
mannequin-like simulators have one distinct advantage over real
patients – they don’t mind needles.The lab offers near real-life
patients to give the students all-important reality training without
the worry of mistakes that could harm the patient. Cooper said the
CSC was established to prepare professional nurses who provide
patient-centered care, work in interdisciplinary teams, employ
evidenced-based practice, apply quality improvement, and use
information technology. She said it prepares quality professional
nurses with enhanced clinical readiness, critical-thinking abilities
and clinical competence. Learn more.
Hairston Gift Gives Significant Boost to Alzheimer's
Research At UMC
UMMC Surgical Residents Take Top Marks at ACS
Laparoscopic Skills "Shoot-out"
UMMC Ob-gyn Residency Director Selected for National
Women's Health Program
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI NEWS
Southern Miss College of Business Hosts Third Annual
Golden Eagle Challenge
Graduate students from the
University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business are gearing
up for the third annual Golden Eagle Challenge on Friday, Dec. 7.
This competition pitches teams of students against one another in
the state’s first collegiate business plan competition. These teams
have developed product and service ideas, company branding and
business plans. The plans will be presented to a panel of mock
investors who will judge the plans on their feasibility as business
opportunities worthy of financial investment. Dr. Jon Carr,
associate professor of management and director of the Golden Eagle
Challenge, teaches the graduate course that requires students to
develop plans for the competition. “It gives them a taste of the
hard work and planning that real-life entrepreneurs face, and at the
same time, it has the economic development potential to create new
businesses and jobs in south Mississippi,” said Carr. Karen Wilkins,
a member of last year’s winning team, has turned her idea into her
own business, LiveWell Health Screens LLC. Wilkins anticipates that
the new service, which will provide mobile, diagnostic health
screenings to detect cardiovascular and other diseases at an early
stage, will be up and running by the end of this year. Learn more.
Leading Education Consultant Trains Southern Miss
Faculty
Center for Higher Learning Inks Agreement with Global
Company
Southern Miss Student Studies Indigenous Foods in
Louisiana Bayous
Cartoonist Offers Insights to Southern Miss Students
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST NEWS
Expert on Afghanistan to Speak at Southern Miss Gulf
Coast
The International Development Ph.D. program at the
University of Southern Mississippi will present one of its own
students in a public lecture at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, at the
Advanced Education Center auditorium on the Gulf Park campus in Long
Beach. M. Ashraf Haidari, counselor for Political, Security and
Development Affairs at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington,
D.C. will present "State, Security, and Reconstruction in
Afghanistan: Challenges and Opportunities." In his professional
position with the embassy, Haidari maintains bilateral relations
with the U.S. administration and Congress, while coordinating the
Government of Afghanistan's defense, security and law enforcement
relations with U.S. counterparts. In addition, Haidari manages
Afghanistan's expanding non-resident diplomatic relations with
Brazil and Colombia and plays an active role in the Embassy’s public
diplomacy efforts in support of Afghanistan's reconstruction. He has
represented Afghanistan in major public, bilateral and multilateral
forums and discussed the country’s state-building process in
numerous interviews with international media. Learn more.
Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale to Perform
Holiday Favorites
ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
Alcorn Professor Appointed Editor-in Chief of an
International Journal
Dr. Alex D. W. Acholonu,
Professor of Biology at Alcorn State University, was recently
appointed Editor-in-Chief of an international journal Advances in
Science and Technology. It is a quarterly publication of research
work, results and findings in science and technology and related
fields of Human and Veterinary Science, Medical Sciences,
Pharmaceutical Sciences and Engineering. One of the goals is to
promote scientific research and technological advancement through
provision of recent scientific results to the global scientific
community. It is proposed to scientifically link- up the developing
world with the developed world. Dr. Acholonu encourages faculty
members to submit articles for publication in this Journal. Please
contact him for more information at chiefacholonu@yahoo.com
or by
phone at: 601-877-6236. Dr. Acholonu recently attended the Annual
Meeting of The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in
Philadelphia, PA, where he presented a paper on New Castle Disease
Virus in pigeons in Nigeria. New Castle Disease is an acute rapid
spreading nervous and respiratory disease in birds of all ages. The
most virulent strain can cause rapid onset of disease and kill
almost 100% of infected birds. It is one of the most severe
infectious diseases affecting village chickens in developing
countries. Learn more.
DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
Delta State to Award Pulitzer Prize Winner Honorary Degree
Saturday
Delta State University will award its
sixth honorary degree in university history to 2007 Pulitzer
Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey at the 2007 Fall Commencement
service, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 8, at 10 a.m. inside Walter
Sillers Coliseum. It was announced earlier this semester during
Trethewey’s initial visit to the Delta State campus that the
Mississippi native would be recognized with an honorary degree from
the institution. She had originally visited in October for a public
reading and master class with students. “Ms. Trethewey is an
accomplished poet who has achieved international recognition. Her
Mississippi heritage makes all of us proud. We’re pleased that she
will accept an honorary doctoral degree,” Delta State President Dr.
John M. Hilpert offered. “Her success is a wonderful story for our
students and graduates to hear.” This will be the first honorary
degree of her career. Delta State is expected to graduate
approximately 400 students during its fall commencement exercise.
Graduation is free; however, a ticket is required for entrance. For
more information on Delta State’s upcoming fall graduation, please
contact University Relations at (662) 846-4675. Learn more.
Hutchens to Keynote Delta State Graduation
Garfield Set to Celebrate Holidays at BPAC
Delta State to Host Grant Training Center Workshop,
Led by Renowned Grant Expert
Delta State's Eubanks Named One of Three Finalists For
Harlon Hill Trophy
JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
JSU, MC Partnership Sends Students to Law
School
A revised agreement between Jackson State
University and Mississippi College School of Law will allow another
Jackson State student to study law tuition-free. "The Jackson State
University Fellowship to Law School ensures that at least two of our
best qualified students do not have to worry with costs associated
with attending Mississippi College School of Law," said Deshun
Martin, a Jackson State graduate and Jackson attorney who heads the
university's Pre-Law and Professional School Program. "This is an
additional opportunity for a Jackson State student to achieve a
worthwhile goal of earning a degree in law to help effect change in
his or her community." Often, Martin added, financial commitments
deter bright students from pursuing law careers. "It costs about
more than $20,000 per year to attend Mississippi College School of
Law," said Martin. "Generally a three-year process, the price tag of
law school would be upwards of $60,000." The total package now
totals $120,000 for two students. Mississippi College School of Law
has benefited from the Jackson State students who have attended the
school and gone on to become leaders in the legal community and
government, said Jim Rosenblatt, dean of the law school. "We believe
we offer the type of quality education with a skills component and
the type of environment that make our students successful in school
and successful on the bar examination," Rosenblatt said. Learn more.
Chemistry Journal Editor to Speak at Jackson
State
JSU Urban, Regional Planning Department Candidate for
Accreditation
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
MSU Links Academic Agreement with Two Community Colleges
Students planning to transfer to Mississippi State from
two state community colleges will find the process much smoother
because of "two-plus-two" agreements signed recently between the
institutions. Raymond-based Hinds Community College and Scooba-based
East Mississippi Community College now have formal partnerships with
the university that link completion of two years at the respective
institutions to two final years on the Starkville campus leading to
a bachelor's degree in eight specific curriculums. "We strongly
believe in working with our very fine community college system, and
we're pleased that these partnership agreements will assist students
in achieving their academic goals," said university President Robert
H. "Doc" Foglesong. "Our hope is that students participating in the
program will enroll more smoothly and graduate more quickly,"
Foglesong said. The two-plus-two agreement applies to majors in
elementary education, secondary social studies education, secondary
mathematics education, and history. The others include land
surveying, animal and dairy sciences, human sciences/apparel,
textile and fashion merchandising, and human sciences/human
development and family studies. Learn more.
MSU-Meridian to Offer Venture Launch Class
MSU Leader Returns to Russia on POW/MIA Assignment
MSU Administrator to Help Lead National Research
Efforts
MSU Profs, Grad Student Honored for Research at
Regional Meeting
Dec. 7 - ASU International Holiday
Celebration will be held on the Lorman campus in the Rowan Hall
lobby, Noon-1:30pm. International students, faculty and staff share
their holiday traditions. Sponsored by Student Engagement (Title
III) and International and Multicultural Student Organization. Learn more.
Dec. 7 - The International Development
Ph.D. program at The University of Southern Mississippi will present
M. Ashraf Haidari in a public lecture at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7,
at the Advanced Education Center auditorium on the Gulf Park campus
in Long Beach. The lecture is free and open to the public. Learn more.
Dec. 8 - The MSU Extension Service’s
youth development program marks its 100th anniversary with the
dedication of the 4-H Learning Center and Pete Frierson 4-H Museum
in Jackson’s Agriculture and Forestry Museum complex at 10:30 a.m.
Contact Morris Houston at (601) 906-1694 or mhouston@ext.msstate.edu
. Learn more.
Dec. 9 - Start the holidays in style at 3
p.m. in the University of Mississippi Ford Center with musical
favorites featuring the Tupelo Symphony Orchestra, alumni Mary
Donnelly Haskell and Laurie Gayle Stevens, and baritone Steve
Amerson. Tickets, at $35, $32 and $29, are available by calling
(662) 915-7411. Learn more.
Dec. 11-12 - MSU’s annual cotton short
course features Extension specialists, researchers, and
professionals from MSU and other institutions and agencies reviewing
research-based practices in cotton fertility, disease, weed and
insect management, pest management, production practices, and
emerging technologies. Learn more.
Dec. 14 - The Jackson State Executive
Ph.D. Program will host the 2007 "Delta Jewels" Gala at 6:30 p.m.,
Friday, Dec. 14, at the Mississippi e-Center @ JSU, 1230 Raymond
Road, Jackson. Proceeds from the gala will go to scholarships for
students from Mound Bayou, Miss. and the surrounding Delta region.
Learn more.
Dec. 14-15 - Mississippi State
University presents its fall commencement on Dec. 14 and 15 at
Humphrey Coliseum. Speakers will be Kent Hull, retired Buffalo Bills
center and Jenny Reeves Manley, Sen. Thad Cochran's chief of staff.
Learn more.
Dec. 15 - All are invited to the Ole Miss
Ballroom Dance club's semi-formal Christmas party at 7 p.m. in
Johnson Commons Ballroom, featuring a group lesson in romantic
waltzing followed by open social dancing. Admission is $5 for
student members, $8 non-student members, $9 student non-members and
$12 others. Learn more.
Dec. 15 - The Southern Miss Gulf Coast
Civic Chorale will perform their annual Holiday Concert on Saturday,
Dec. 15, at 7 p.m., in the auditorium of the Advanced Education
Center on the Southern Miss Gulf Park campus in Long Beach. The
concert is free and open to the public. Learn more.
Dec. 16 - An encore performance of the
Southern Miss Gulf Coast Civic Chorale Holiday Concert will take
place on Sunday, Dec. 16, at 2 p.m., at the Cathedral of the
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Biloxi. The concert is free
and open to the public. Learn more.
Dec. 16 - The registration deadline is
fast approaching for the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium's
Jan. 17 Biloxi, Miss., workshop on setting priorities for a Gulf of
Mexico regional marine research plan. Similar workshops will be held
in Spanish Fort, Ala., Jan. 15; St. Petersburg, Fla., Feb. 19; Baton
Rouge, La., Feb. 26; and Galveston, Texas, Feb. 28. Anyone who
sponsors, conducts, or uses Gulf coastal or marine research may
attend. There is no registration fee. Register online at http://masgc.org/gmrp/workshop.htm or contact
Steve Sempier at stephen.sempier@usm.edu.
Jan. 15 - The early registration deadline
for the Creating Futures Through Technology Conference is fast
approaching. Register now for the conference, which will take place
February 6-8 at the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, Miss. The
conference, a collaborative effort of IHL and the State Board for
Community and Junior Colleges, will explore the use of technology in
higher education. Learn more.
Jan. 15-16 - The Mississippi State
University Extension Service coordinates the Delta Ag Expo,
Mississippi’s oldest regional farm show, in the Bolivar County Expo
Center in Cleveland. Contact Ben Spinks at (662) 843-8361 or
bspinks@ext.msstate.edu. Learn more.
Mar. 27 - Delta State University will
present “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” in the Delta and Pine Land
Theatre of its Bologna Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Mar. 27
at 7:30 p.m. For ticket information, please call the Box Office at
(662) 846-4626. Learn
more.
Mar. 30 - Delta State University will
present “Chicago” in the Delta and Pine Land Theatre of its Bologna
Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Mar. 30 at 3:30 p.m. For ticket
information, please call the Box Office at (662) 846-4626. Learn
more. |
