Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Fall semester classes at Mississippi State end on Wednesday. PHOTO: Megan Bean | Public Affairs

Criss Christmas Concert coming up Friday
To help launch the Golden Triangle’s 2016 yuletide season, the annual Criss Christmas Concert will take place Friday at Mississippi State. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. in historic Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium, the free performance by the Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra is being sponsored by the campus Lyceum Series.

Applications sought for ORAU's Powe award
The Office of Research and Economic Development at Mississippi State is now accepting preproposals for the annual Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Ralph E. Powe Jr. Faculty Enhancement Award. The awards provide seed money for research by junior faculty at ORAU member institutions. These awards are intended to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty and result in new funding opportunities. The deadline to submit preproposals to ORED is Dec. 9.

MSU calendars, holiday cards on sale now
The 2017 Mississippi State University hanging wall calendar and holiday cards are now on sale. The MSU calendar 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. There are also two holiday card options this year debuting original artwork by Mississippi State alumni.

'Tis the season to volunteer with the MVC
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 2016 Guide to Holiday Giving, Almost Like Home Christmas Dinner, Starkville Christmas Parade float decorating for Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army Red Kettle bell ringers, and more.

White papers sought for NASA EPSCoR funding
The Mississippi jurisdiction may submit two proposals to the 2017 NASA EPSCoR program for three years of funding for a maximum $750,000 per award, or roughly $250,000 a year. This announcement is to solicit a two-page white paper from potential proposers at Mississippi universities. Two of these papers will be selected by the Mississippi Research Consortium for development into a full proposal to this NASA EPSCoR program.

Registration open for SEC Academic Conference
Registration is open for the 2017 SEC Academic Conference to be hosted by Mississippi State University March 27-28. The new academic event focused on SEC university research collaboration will examine “The Future of Water: Regional Collaboration on Shared Climate, Coastlines, and Watersheds.” For complete conference details, visit www.secconference.msstate.edu.

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, 11/28/16
Men's Basketball hosts Northwestern State on Monday at 6 p.m., Oregon State at 8 p.m. on Thursday, and Georgia State on Sunday at 4 p.m. ... Women's Basketball visits Ames on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff against Iowa State.

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University monitoring impact of federal judge's FLSA overtime ruling
Mississippi State officials are monitoring the impact of a preliminary injunction by a federal judge that appears to halt the implementation of the new U.S. Department of Labor’s federal overtime pay rule which would have doubled the Fair Labor Standards Act’s salary threshold for exemption from overtime pay. The university's Office of Human Resources Management and the MSU General Counsel’s Office are now reviewing and monitoring the impact of the federal injunction. MSU personnel will be provided with additional information when the review process is complete.

Blackjack Road improvements in works
Mississippi State and Oktibbeha County are working together to improve safety and traffic flow on the areas of Blackjack Road adjacent to the MSU campus. Kathy Gelston, MSU’s associate vice president for corporate engagement and economic development, said identifying funds for improving Blackjack Road has been a priority since coming to MSU in 2014. “There’s still some more actions that have to happen to get final approval, but everything is on track for that,” she said.

College of Business hosts international Fulbright Scholar from U. of Glasgow
An international cyber security researcher and visiting Fulbright Scholar will spend six months working with a Mississippi State University professor of information systems as part of the prestigious international exchange program. Karen Renaud, a computer scientist with the University of Glasgow in Scotland, is the recipient of one of the first Fulbright Cyber Security Awards. She will spend her time in the U.S. working with MSU Professor of Information Systems Merrill Warkentin.