Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Teresa Jayroe, associate dean of MSU's College of Education, joined other university officials, Louisville Municipal School District administrators, and city officials last week to announce a nearly $2 million Mississippi Department of Education grant that will benefit LMSD at-risk students in kindergarten-fourth grade. College of Education Dean Richard Blackbourn praised the new program for being "an example of what we try to do in MSU's College of Education -- build a better life for boys and girls in local communities." PHOTO: Megan Bean | University Relations

DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Marilyn Goff
Marilyn Goff can answer most of the questions clients pose when they call or stop by the Greene County Extension office. But early on in her career as an office associate, she got a question she didn’t know how to answer. “When I first started my job, I got a call from a client who had a hickory tree that he loved because it shaded his house, but he hated the nuts dropping on his tin roof,” Goff said. “He didn’t want to cut down the tree, so he asked if there was a way to sterilize the tree so it wouldn’t produce any more hickory nuts. I didn’t know of one, so I simply said, ‘Let me let you talk to our county agent.’”

DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Sam Tackitt
Sam Tackitt likes to be outside and spends his days managing the day-to-day operations of the Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Branch Experiment Station. As the farm supervisor, Tackitt works with the station’s researchers to manage their research plots. In addition to maintaining the station, Tackitt helps plant and harvest the research plots and other crops grown on the farm. “Our primary focus is sweet potato research, but we also have the major row crops -- corn, cotton and soybeans,” Tackitt said.

Argonne National Lab Day on campus next week
Mississippi State University will host officials from one of the world’s leading research facilities next week. During the visit on Sept. 9-10, MSU faculty, staff, administrators and students will have opportunities to meet with Argonne National Laboratory leaders and researchers and explore partnership and funding possibilities, among other topics.

Volunteer to help 'Get Swept Up'
The Maroon Volunteer Center at Mississippi State details a number of volunteer opportunities for the campus community in its current newsletter, including Revolution Tutoring Program, Get Swept Up, Humane Society Volunteer Orientation, Habitat Resale Store, and more.

P.R.E.P/Emergency Preparedness Week this month
Will your family be prepared when disaster strikes? Learn from the experts in disaster preparedness. The MSU Campus-Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT) and the Maroon Volunteer Center are hosting Emergency Preparedness Week from Sept. 16-21, offering free disaster preparedness training sessions that are open to all students, faculty, staff, and community members.

Policy reminders from University Health Services
University Health Services at Mississippi State reminds the campus community of several important policies for its patients to keep in mind when seeking treatment, parking, refilling a prescription online, and privacy.

Employee assistance program available
Life is filled with change, opportunities and challenges. The issues may be large or small. Knowing that you have someone who can listen, understand and suggest next steps can make a big difference. And that is where Mississippi State University's new employee assistance program (EAP) and work-life program helps.

Mississippi State first university to join Fancred
Mississippi State University has become the first college in the country to have a Fancred profile, MSU Social Media Coordinator Kyle Niblett announced Aug. 27. Fancred is a sports-only social media platform, which gives fans of all sports a way to discover, connect and share their favorite sports content.

This Week in Mississippi State Sports, 09/02/13
Soccer travels to Hammond for a match against Southeastern Louisiana at 4 p.m. on Friday, and then plays Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on Sunday at 1 p.m.... Volleyball travels to Waco for the Baylor Classic and plays Texas-Arlington on Friday at 4:30 p.m., and faces Tulsa at 12:30 p.m. and Baylor at 7 p.m. on Saturday... Football hosts Alcorn State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Wear maroon. (CSS-TV)... Women's Golf opens play in the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C., on Sunday.

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.

Wills to contribute to global food efforts
The demand for safe, affordable food products is increasing rapidly as the world's population is forecast to reach 9 billion in the next 40 years, and Mississippi State University is positioned to help find solutions for this growing issue. Dr. Robert Wills, an epidemiologist and associate professor with the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine, has been appointed as a loaned expert to the Food and Agriculture Organization with the United Nations, or FAO, in Rome.

Bryce named assistant women's tennis coach
Mississippi State head women’s tennis coach Daryl Greenan has named James Bryce as the new assistant coach for the Lady Bulldogs, replacing Courtney Steinbock, who accepted the same position at Oklahoma State this summer. The hiring is pending the approval of the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning. Bryce comes into the Bulldog family from Saint Leo University, where he has served as the head coach of the men’s and women’s tennis teams.

Cross-college, interdisciplinary proposals sought
The Office of Research and Economic Development is again soliciting proposals from Mississippi State faculty who desire to create interdisciplinary, cross-college research groups on campus. These grants will be in the amount of $2,000 each and limited to a period of 12 months (renewable one time for a total of 24 months and $4,000). The grants are intended to facilitate interdisciplinary interaction between faculty and students that have a common research theme.

Men of Color Summit kicks off Thursday evening
Mississippi State University's 2013 Men of Color Summit will feature African-American leaders whose management and guidance have improved quality of life in Mississippi and beyond. "As the most diverse university in the Southeastern Conference, Mississippi State is again taking the lead in addressing issues important to students of color," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "We look forward to the chance to provide this forum for the exchange of ideas and to explore new opportunities on our campus and beyond." Events begin Thursday.