Mississippi State University alumnus Ray Gildea (front) recently served as a special guest for Honorable Mentions, the new official podcast of the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College. Gildea's family made a generous 2017 donation that enabled the university's continued partnership with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which this year honored students Hannah Scheaffer of Ruston, Louisiana, and Zoe Fowler of Columbus. Gildea is pictured here with Wade Leonard, back left, the honors college's outreach and student services coordinator, and David Hoffman, back right, interim director of the college's Office of Prestigious External Scholarships. PHOTO: Megan Bean | Public Affairs
University and City of Starkville evaluating cooperative recycling plan
Mississippi State University and the City of Starkville are evaluating a possible cooperative recycling program. The city recently suspended its recycling program after incurring increased contractor costs for recycling services. Saunders Ramsey, MSU’s executive director of Campus Services, said Starkville officials reached out to the university about a potential recycling partnership through Waste Pro. He said the university has a long history of effective collaboration with the city, but a recycling partnership would require some structure to make the proposal financially feasible. “The building blocks of a successful partnership from MSU's perspective would be location, control of the site, cost, and education,” he said.
Closed captioning available for Webex meetings
Closed captioning is now available through Webex Assistant, which has been configured for MSU Webex meetings under a trial license from Cisco. The university has been assured the trial license will remain active through June 30, 2021. Those hosting Webex meetings must have Webex Assistant enabled on their accounts to make the following key features available for all meeting participants. Please contact the ITS Service Desk at servicedesk@msstate.edu or 662-325-0631 to request enabling of Webex Assistant for your Webex account.
Caution urged due to plaza construction near McCool Hall and Colvard Student Union
Due to construction of a new plaza on the northeast corner of McCool Hall and the southeast corner of Colvard Student Union, those accessing these buildings and nearby sidewalks are urged to use caution. The construction is expected to continue through the end of December 2020. We apologize for any inconvenience of the construction and appreciate your patience and support. Please contact the Facilities Management Service Desk at 662-325-2005 if you have any questions.
Reminder: University policy addresses employee political activity
With political campaigning underway this fall, Mississippi State's Office of General Counsel offers the following reminder of the university’s policy on political activities. There are several basic guidelines that university employees should keep in mind when engaging in any form of political activity. MSU employees are encouraged to review OP 01.14: Political Activities in its entirety and to understand their rights and responsibilities.
Looking for a way to help? Give to the MSU Student Relief Fund
The Mississippi State University community continually exhibits a great sense of responsibility and caring for enrolled students that make the land-grant institution such a special place. The MSU Student Relief Fund, built with private gifts, helps those members of the student body affected with day-to-day crises or like now, the impact to their daily lives posed by COVID-19. The Dean of Students' Office assesses needs and administers the fund for acute crises that may impact students’ ability to succeed academically. The MSU Foundation accepts gifts year-round for the MSU Student Relief Fund. Contributions for this effort can be made online or by contacting the Annual Giving office at (662) 325-2466.
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.
The Office of Public Affairs provides Maroon MEMO as a general information
resource for Mississippi State University employees.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to
Jim Laird.
