Mississippi State University will close at noon on Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving. MSU President Mark E. Keenum announced last week that the early closure is to thank employees and take advantage of an energy-savings opportunity. “In spite of the many challenges related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our university is strong and growing,” Keenum said in an internal university email. “Thank you for your commitment to your work and your dedication to our students and the many communities we serve.” Campus offices will reopen and classes will resume on Nov. 29 after the Thanksgiving holiday. PHOTO: Robby Lozano | Public Affairs
Patriot Award presented to Kouba and Dacus
Two Mississippi State University faculty are being honored for support of an MSU guardsman in ceremonies on Veteran’s Day. Andy Kouba, professor and head of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Chad Dacus, Extension instructor and director of the Wildlife Services National Training Academy, both were recognized with the Patriot Award, a U.S. Department of Defense program that recognizes supervisors for their support of National Guardsmen. Scott Edwards, an Extension instructor who nominated both recipients, along with representatives from the DoD’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve presented the awards. Edwards thanked Kouba and Dacus for facilitating a professional environment where he can balance professional responsibility and commitment to the country.
Correa's work in Amazon River Basin featured at UN Climate Change Conference
A Mississippi State researcher is part of a historic scientific consortium presenting its findings on the Amazon River Basin at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Assistant Professor Sandra B. Correa in the College of Forest Resources’ Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, is part of the Science Panel for the Amazon, or SPA, a group of over 200 prominent scientists who created a comprehensive report that addresses climate adaptation and mitigation in the Amazon. The report was launched at an in-person event at the COP26 summit last week. “The Amazon Assessment Report is a powerful tool to guide the path to sustainability,” said Correa, who is also a scientist in the MSU’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center.
Reddy to repeat as president of Mississippi Academy of Sciences
For the first time in its 86-year history, the Mississippi Academy of Sciences has elected a Mississippi State faculty member to serve a consecutive second term as president. K. Raja Reddy, research professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in MSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and scientist in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, will continue his term as president of the state’s science organization through 2022. Reddy has been serving the Mississippi Academy in different capacities for the past six years. Last year, under his leadership, the MAS initiated a fellows' program, the first in the history of the MAS. He also introduced a special issue in the Journal of Mississippi Academy of Sciences. In Spring 2020, he received the Contribution to Science Award, the academy’s top research award.
Dodds wins Best Article Award for work on women and gender in early women’s writings
Mississippi State University English Professor Lara A. Dodds received the 2021 Best Article Award from the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender for her paper highlighting the lack of women’s inclusion in early literary history. She garnered a membership into the SSEMWG as part of the award.
Dodds and her co-author Michelle M. Dowd, a professor of English at the University of Alabama and director of the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies, published “Happy Accidents: Critical Belatedness, Feminist Formalism, and Early Modern Women’s Writing” in 2020 in the journal, Criticism. Exploring the academic context for the study of early modern women’s writing -- works written before 1800 -- Dodds’ paper argues that literary history is incomplete without full integration of research about these women’s works, and spotlights two specific examples raised by the works of Elizabeth Cary, a dramatist, and Hester Pulter, a poet.
Campus Landscape works to reintroduce native grasses and flowers in select areas
Taking inspiration from a renowned local golf course, Mississippi State is working to reintroduce native grasses and flowers in select areas on campus. MSU Campus Landscape crews have selected test areas to pilot the reintroduction process, which includes removing the current Bermuda grass, making it appear dormant, then thatching and sowing native grasses and wildflower seeds in the spring. A team from MSU visited Mossy Oak Golf Club in West Point to learn the “ins and outs” of using native grasses as a complement to highly-manicured green spaces. Since opening in 2017, the golf course has received national acclaim for its design that is mindful of sustainability and natural surroundings. “Native grasses and flowers placed in the appropriate areas will be beautiful, environmentally beneficial to the land around them, and return vegetation that once grew abundantly in this area,” said Bart Prather, who oversees MSU’s campus landscaping efforts.
Cobb Institute to work with Mississippi’s Native American nations as part of National Park Service grant
A new National Park Service grant will help Mississippi State faculty in the university’s Cobb Institute of Archaeology work to assess and return human remains found at the local Lyon’s Bluff historic site, in coordination with the Native American nations of Mississippi. “Administrators of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act grant collaborate with several Native American nations who have cultural affiliations in Mississippi,” said Shawn Lambert, principal investigator and an assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures. “The first goal is to reassess NAGPRA-related human remains from the Lyon’s Bluff site, a culturally and historically significant late prehistoric Native American mound center just a few miles from Mississippi State University.” Located in the Black Prairie region of northeastern Oktibbeha County, Lyon’s Bluff is a large Native American mound and village complex.
Reminders about MSU golf carts, low speed vehicles, side-by-sides, utility carts
All Mississippi State University golf carts, low speed vehicles, side-by-sides, utility carts, etc. are required to behave as a vehicle by only driving in an open roadway, obeying all traffic control devices, and parking in valid parking spaces. These vehicles, unless they have an approved or a work-related duty to be off-road are not to be driven or parked on sidewalks, landscaped or turfed areas, plazas, etc. No private vehicle may operate on campus without a state issued license plate or park on campus without a valid MSU parking permit. Given the recent policy change in the City of Starkville that allows golf carts and low speed vehicles to operate on city streets, all MSU vehicles are required to register with Parking and Transit Services and purchase a permit for $5. This permit will assist Parking and Transit Services and the University Police in being able to differentiate between official MSU vehicles and private vehicles and provide a point-of-contact and responsible party for MSU vehicles that are permitted to operate on campus. Beginning Dec. 1, any unregistered golf cart, low speed vehicle, side-by-side, utility cart, etc. that is operating or parked on campus will be immobilized with a boot and/or towed.
International Institute shares passport reminders
Mississippi State's International Institute is encouraging all students and faculty who are considering travel within the next six months to apply or renew (if needed) their passport now. Current U.S. passport processing times are significantly longer than normal, so it is more important than ever that you plan early. First-time passport applications and renewals are taking up to 18 weeks for routine service and up to 12 weeks for expedited service (additional $60). If you aren't sure if you need to renew your passport, check the expiration date and make sure it is valid for six months after the end of your potential travel dates. Additionally, keep in mind that if your travel requires a visa, you often need to send your passport to the embassy to receive your visa prior to travel.
Smoke-free policy enhances healthy environment
Mississippi State University is a smoke-free campus. Official policy prohibits the use of any combustible or vapor products anywhere on campus property including university buildings, university grounds, university vehicles, parking areas and sidewalks. The smoke-free campus policy is part of the university's commitment to creating a healthy environment for all members of the campus community. Use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah or other similar devices are prohibited by this policy. The complete policy is available at www.policies.msstate.edu/policy/91301.
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