Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

The dogwood trees are blooming next to Mitchell Memorial Library. Each blossom is a modified leaf forming the outer perimeter of the true flowers, the small yellow and green blossoms on the inside of the "flower." PHOTO: Megan Bean | Public Affairs

'Investing in Innovation' conference April 25
Mississippi State University's economic impact on the advancement of innovation will be on display later this month in a series of public campus events. "Our theme of 'Accelerating Progress' is in full swing, and we've introduced more industry partners to the Thad Cochran Research, Technology, and Economic Development Park including C-Spire and Bomgar in the last few months," said Office of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer director Joshua Jeanson.

Three ways to help local students this week
The Maroon Volunteer Center at Mississippi State details a number of volunteer opportunities for the campus community in its current newsletter, including state testing proctoring, Emerson playground cleanup, Oktibbeha County Body Walkers and more.

Faculty leadership program seeks nominations
In the upcoming 2014-2015 academic year, the Office of Research and Economic Development and the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President at Mississippi State will again be conducting an Academic Leadership Orientation Program for selected faculty. This program has been very successful in the past, and many of its participants serve in key leadership positions on campus. Nominations for the program are now being accepted.

Policy addresses employee political activity
With political campaigning underway this year, Mississippi State's Office of General Counsel reminds employees to be aware 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.

Maroon Alert: Sharing emergency updates with MSU
Every spring, weather becomes more of a factor in our day-to-day lives at Mississippi State. The Maroon Alert system is how we communicate with the campus community about emergency situations. Maroon Alert is a family of communication outlets to communicate about emergency situations. In most situations the primary means of communication are web, e-mail, Twitter via @maroonalert and sometimes instant messaging.

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.

This Week in Mississippi State Sports, 04/14/14
Men's Golf competes Monday and Tuesday in the BancorpSouth Intercollegiate at Madison... Softball visits Jackson State on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. ballgame, and then travels to Knoxville to open a weekend series with Tennessee on Friday at 5 p.m.... Baseball hosts Alcorn State at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and then visits Columbia for a weekend series against Missouri beginning on Friday at 6 p.m.... Men's Tennis and Women's Tennis begin SEC Championship play on Wednesday... Track & Field begins competition at the Mt. Sac Relay in California on Wednesday and at the Auburn Invitational on Friday... Women's Golf begins play in the SEC Championships at Birmingham on Saturday.

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.

#HailStateDay: Online philanthropy event Monday
Join your fellow Bulldogs this week for the first-ever online philanthropy event at Mississippi State: #HailStateDay. MSU’s goal is to raise 1,001 donations from alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students and friends over a 36-hour period. #HailStateDay starts on Monday at noon and ends on Tuesday at midnight.

Retired professors establish endowed scholarships
Two retired engineering professors and Mississippi State alumni have established new scholarships in the Bagley College of Engineering. The Philip and Susan Bridges scholarships will benefit students in aerospace engineering and computer science and engineering -- departments they have served for more than 20 years. A $2,000 scholarship in each department will be awarded annually beginning in the fall of 2014.

'Fresh Food' construction underway
Mississippi State will be offering a new kind of all-you-care-to-eat dining in fall 2015. Construction has begun on The Fresh Food Company, a 29,000 sq.-ft. residential dining facility on the former site of the university's intramural tennis courts at the south side of campus. The total project cost of $14 million includes construction of the facility and six new state-of-the-art tennis courts that opened recently at the RecPlex.