Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

mississippi State's Elizabeth Williams (left), ACCESS coordinator for Student Support Services, and Julie Capella (right), assistant dean and director of Student Support Services, visited with Melody Musgrove (center), director of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, during the State of the Art Conference in Fairfax, Va., last month. The university's ACCESS program is an inclusive and comprehensive plan to promote the successful transition of students with intellectual disabilities into higher education.

DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Melvin Gipson
Melvin Gipson turned his experiences growing up on a farm into a full-time job as a research technician at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station. Gipson works primarily with forages and beef cattle. He manages the day-to-day animal husbandry tasks and works closely with scientists to oversee research projects from start to finish.

DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Lisa Stewart
When Lisa Stewart was in 4-H, she never imagined she would one day be responsible for the same program. Stewart serves as the MSU Extension Service county coordinator in Webster County. She works with a family and consumer sciences agent to provide educational programs in agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer education, 4-H youth development, and enterprise and community resource development.

Fisackerly to speak at fall commencement
Fall semester graduates at Mississippi State will hear from university alumnus and utility company executive Haley R. Fisackerly before receiving their degrees at Saturday's commencement. A Columbus native and 1987 management graduate, Fisackerly is president and CEO of Entergy Mississippi, Inc. The graduation program begins at 10 a.m. in Humphrey Coliseum. More than 1,200 students are candidates for degrees.

Reeves to give Meridian commencement address
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves will be the graduation speaker for fall commencement ceremonies at Mississippi State University-Meridian on Friday. The program gets under way at 11 a.m. at the MSU Riley Center for Performing Arts and Education. More than 100 students are candidates for degrees. Elected to statewide office in 2011, Reeves leads the 52-member Mississippi Senate.

B&N double discount day for faculty and staff
The Barnes & Noble Bookstore on the Starkville campus will have a special appreciation day for Mississippi State University faculty and staff on Dec. 15. MSU faculty and staff will be able to double their existing 10 percent discount to 20 percent during the special one-day event.

Volunteers needed for the holidays
The Maroon Volunteer Center at Mississippi State details a number of volunteer opportunities for the campus community in its newsletter this week. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to make a difference by volunteering during the holiday season.

MSU Foundation's 2015 calendar sale underway
The 2015 Mississippi State hanging wall calendar is now available from the MSU Foundation. This window to MSU features a sleek, modern design, with 13 beautiful campus scenes. Featuring images by the university's own award-winning photographers, it's truly a one-of-a-kind treasure.

International working group grant program open
The International Institute is requesting proposals from faculty and research and Extension staff interested in creating interdisciplinary, cross-college international working groups at Mississippi State. The main goal of this competitive program is to encourage interdisciplinary international research. Proposals are due Dec. 15.

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, 12/08/14
Women's Basketball hosts Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. on Friday, and then visits Hattiesburg on Sunday for a 2 p.m. tipoff against Southern Miss... Men's Basketball is on the road to Corvallis to play Oregon State at 3 p.m. 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.

Mauldin to lead Adkerson accounting school
A well-known Louisiana educator is the newly named head of Mississippi State's Richard C. Adkerson School of Accountancy. Shawn Mauldin will begin serving April 1 in the major academic unit of the university's College of Business. "We are very excited to have someone as reputable as Shawn Mauldin to join the college," said Dean Sharon Oswald.

Elmore receives national advising award
A Bagley College associate professor has earned recognition as one of the best faculty advisers in the nation. Bill B. Elmore, interim director of the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, received the 2014 Outstanding Advising Award from the National Academic Advising Association. Selected based on their dedication to students, this year’s faculty and staff awardees were honored during the organization’s annual conference in Minneapolis.

University joins worldwide effort to fight hunger
Mississippi State is one of nearly 50 universities worldwide that have banded together to address the global issue of hunger. On Tuesday, MSU President Mark E. Keenum and leaders from the other universities will sign the Presidents' Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security at the United Nations in New York City.

B&N double discount day Monday for faculty, staff
The Barnes & Noble Bookstore on the Starkville campus will have a special appreciation day for Mississippi State University faculty and staff on Monday. MSU faculty and staff will be able to double their existing 10 percent discount to 20 percent during the special one-day event.

MSU, partners developing early college high school
Mississippi's flagship research university is leading a collaborative effort to launch an innovative learning experience for high school students in Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties that is expected to enhance the state's skilled labor assets. "We believe the Golden Triangle Early College High School is going to be another tool to help more Mississippi students move successfully from high school to college and into the workforce," said RCU Director Julie Jordan.