Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Mississippi State celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Riley Center at MSU-Meridian last Thursday [Sept. 8] with the opening of the 2016-17 season. Riley Center Executive Director Dennis Sankovich and MSU-Meridian Administrative Director and Head of Campus Terry Dale Cruse addressed the crowd at the Riley Center Grand Opera House prior to last week's Vince Gill concert. PHOTO: Megan Bean | Public Affairs

Gootee’s work in national, international exhibitions
The work of Mississippi State art professor Marita Gootee is featured in two prestigious exhibitions this fall. Gootee’s work “The Ocean,” a lumin print, was selected for the 2016 SECAC Juried Exhibition, and she will be exhibiting four works from her series “Talking to Ghosts” and three images from her series “Recreation of Memories” in the Berlin Foto Biennale.

University welcomes Barr to writers series
Award-winning, North Carolina-based educator and poet Tina Barr will deliver a public reading Tuesday at Mississippi State. Free to all, Barr’s presentation begins at 7 p.m. in Colvard Student Union’s third-floor Fowlkes Auditorium. A public reception and book signing will follow. Barr also will visit classes and interact with students during her campus visit, which is sponsored by the MSU Department of English’s Price Caldwell Visiting Writers Series.

'Fame - The Musical' Dances into Riley Center
“Fame - The Musical” will bring youthful exuberance and a whole lot of singing and dancing to the MSU Riley Center Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Like the 1980 movie “Fame” that inspired it, this musical adaptation follows a diverse group of talented teenagers through four years of love, heartbreak, disappointment and triumph at New York’s elite High School of the Performing Arts.

Craft creative designs with Mississippi foliage
Mississippi-grown foliage, flowers and value-added floral products will be the focus of creative demonstrations at Mississippi State University on Thursday. The free demonstrations will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Bost Extension Center. Jim DelPrince, horticulture specialist with the MSU Extension Service, is overseeing the educational, informative and entertaining program.

Kick off fall with the Maroon Volunteer Center
The Maroon Volunteer Center at Mississippi State details a number of volunteer opportunities for the campus community on its website and in its newsletter this week, including Mississippi flood relief, First Responders Appreciation Day, Food Recovery Network, Montgomery Leadership Program, Linking Internationals in the Community, and more.

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, privacy and more.

This Week in Mississippi State Sports, 09/12/16
Men's Golf starts play Monday in the Sam Hall Intercollegiate in Hattiesburg... Volleyball hosts Florida International at noon and Troy at 7 p.m. on Saturday, and Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m. and Portland at 7 p.m. on Saturday... Cross Country competes Saturday at the Commodore Classic in Nashville... Football visits Baton Rouge on Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff against LSU... Soccer hosts Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The Office of Public Affairs provides Maroon MEMO as a general information
resource for Mississippi State University employees.

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Mississippi State announces record enrollment
Ranked among the nation’s leading research universities, Mississippi State is touting another historic enrollment along with the largest freshman class in university history. A total of 21,622 students are enrolled for the fall semester, an increase of 749 students from last year. "This is an exciting time in MSU history," said President Mark E. Keenum. "We are growing in many positive ways, including broader degree partnerships, international collaboration, and life-changing research and development initiatives."

Black new biological sciences academic coordinator
Michael Black has joined the Department of Biological Sciences at Mississippi State as academic coordinator. Black began his career at the East Mississippi Community College-Golden Triangle Campus as recruiting coordinator. During his 13-year tenure with EMCC, the college experienced record growth in enrollment, academic prominence, and athletic success.

Food safety specialist Crist joins MSU Extension
A food safety specialist with industry and public service experience recently joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Courtney Crist began work as an assistant Extension professor Aug. 16 in the MSU Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion. “I am looking forward to developing relationships with communities, faculty, industry and agents across the state, as well as continuing to learn and explore Mississippi,” she said.

Templeton named a telehealth champion
Charles H. “Chip” Templeton, director of the Small Business Development Center, College of Business at Mississippi State University, and previous telehealth education manager at the MSU Extension Service, was presented with the Curtis L. Lowery Telehealth Champion Award at the fourth annual South Central Telehealth Forum.