Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

As new students and their families arrive on campus soon for the fall semester, they’ll be welcomed by Mississippi State entrance signs flanked with colorful flowers like this one on Stone Boulevard. They’ll also be greeted by a new traffic circle that’s nearing completion. The roadway improvements are expected to enhance traffic flow and safety for the upcoming school year. PHOTO: Grace Cockrell | Public Affairs

Registration open for New Faculty Teaching Academy
If you are a new MSU faculty member with minimal background or training in teaching, we invite you to participate in the 2026 New Faculty Teaching Academy. The asynchronous portion of the program will be open in Canvas from July 20 to Aug. 7 Two, in-person sessions will be held on Aug. 11 and Oct. 13. The course is designed by the Center for Innovation in Teaching Excellence and will be taught this summer by Shannon Harmon, CITE instructional support specialist. The New Faculty Teaching Academy is a free and optional program designed for faculty within their first three years of teaching at MSU.

MSU AI Community: Join the conversation!
Mississippi State University is taking steps to advance artificial intelligence adoption across campus. Whether you’re a researcher, educator, or staff member, these resources are designed to help you learn, collaborate, and stay informed about AI initiatives at MSU. The AI Innovation Hub is now a website at aihub.msstate.edu. This site is a starting point for AI-related learning opportunities, workshops, user guidance, and updates. You can also connect through the MSU AI Community Teams Site. If you have any questions about AI at MSU, please contact Senior Advisor for AI and Data Governance Julie Jordan at julie.jordan@msstate.edu.

Free learning opportunities via LinkedIn Learning available to faculty, staff and students
Sharpen skills. Explore new interests. Increase professional value. These and other results are available via no-cost learning opportunities to Mississippi State faculty, staff and students through MSU’s agreement with LinkedIn Learning. A popular, online education platform, LinkedIn Learning’s 20,000-plus courses are available to campus via a quick login using their MSU NetID email addresses. With self-paced learning, courses are presented in various formats, including bite-sized video, audio only and in-depth content. The platform is directly integrated with Canvas, the university’s learning management system. MSU faculty can use it to supplement course material or even develop and load their own content onto the platform.

Standing committee and council chairs encouraged to review and update info
Mississippi State faculty, staff, and students bring a wealth of talent and expertise to the university in a broad range of subjects. Collectively, the people of our university offer a valuable knowledge resource the university can draw on in making decisions on a wide array of issues and in planning for an increasingly complex future. The structure that allows this reservoir of human potential to be applied to specific problems is the university's system of standing committees and councils. Information about MSU's standing committees and councils is available at https://www.msstate.edu/directory/standing-committees. Committee and council chairs are encouraged to review committee information to ensure accurate details and current membership are posted. Please send updates or corrections to Jim Laird at jim.laird@msstate.edu.

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.

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Brown earns prestigious PRSA College of Fellows recognition
Mississippi State’s Karyn Brown has been named a Public Relations Society of America Fellow, one of the profession’s highest honors, and is among just seven communication professionals nationwide selected for induction this year into the organization’s College of Fellows. Established in 1989, the PRSA Fellow designation recognizes public relations practitioners who show excellence through leadership, service and lasting contributions to the profession. “I am deeply honored to be named to the PRSA College of Fellows,” said Brown, who serves as assistant dean for communication and media in MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

MSU research identifies farming practices that improve irrigation efficiency
Mississippi State scientists are building on two decades of irrigation research to identify production practices that help growers save water while improving crop yields. Dave Spencer, plant and soil sciences associate professor and scientist in the university’s Mississippi Water Resources Research Institute, is studying how tillage, row spacing, fertility management and irrigation practices affect crop productivity and water use at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station’s Black Belt Branch in Brooksville. This project builds on more than 20 years of irrigation research at the university’s Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville where Drew Gholson, plant and soil sciences associate professor and MAFES scientist, has studied how conservation practices affect soil moisture, irrigation demand and water-use efficiency in cotton production.

Mississippi State ranks 4th nationally for Registered Behavior Technician exam pass rates
Mississippi State ranks fourth nationally for Registered Behavior Technician examination pass rates, according to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. The recently released ranking is based on 2025 examination data from 51 entities nationwide that met the BACB’s criteria. MSU is the only university in the state and Southeastern Conference to be listed among the top nine training providers. “We are incredibly pleased to see MSU recognized among the top programs in the nation for RBT exam pass rates,” said Daniel Gadke, department head and College of Education associate dean of research. “This is a real testament to the hard work of our faculty, the commitment of our students and the strength of the ABA training we are building at MSU.”

University expands global partnerships with new Universidad ORT Uruguay MOU
A new Memorandum of Understanding between Mississippi State and Universidad ORT Uruguay highlights the significance of research and global exchange between the two partners. MSU’s Lourdes Cardozo Gaibisso, assistant professor of Teaching English as a Second Language, or TESOL, and linguistics, has been instrumental in the collaboration, along with partners for her MSU Global Development Seed Grant. GDSG projects are organized and funded by the International Institute, continuing MSU’s commitment to building impactful international partnerships and positioning faculty for competitive external funding. MSU Associate Vice President for International Programs and International Institute Executive Director Dan Reynolds said this MOU is an illustration of the scaling work intended through the GDSG funded projects.