Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum presents a cowbell to Julie Darty, MSU’s new women’s head volleyball coach. Darty was named MSU’s 12th volleyball coach in December and met with Keenum in Lee Hall last week. Before coming to MSU, she served as the head volleyball coach at Jacksonville State University. The Oviedo, Florida, native and Mercer University alumna has eight years of collegiate coaching experience. PHOTO: Russ Houston | Public Affairs

Harkess establishing Plant and Soil Sciences Success Scholarship
Professor Richard Harkess of the Mississippi State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is establishing the Plant and Soil Sciences Success Scholarship to aid in student recruitment, retention and success in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. “With all the news concerning student debt upon graduation and working with students as undergraduate program coordinator, I see many students struggling to pay for their education,” he said. “As a land-grant institution, Mississippi State is charged with providing access to education to all students, and this scholarship will help achieve that mission.”

Parsons attains hazardous materials transportation certification
Michael Parsons, Mississippi State University's hazardous materials transportation subject matter lead, recently achieved the Certified Dangerous Goods Professional designation from the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management. One of only a handful worldwide and the first in Mississippi, he joins an elite and unique group of professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to transport and secure hazardous materials and dangerous goods in accordance with international regulations.

Annual golf tournament raises funds for communication scholarships
The communication department at Mississippi State University raised more than $5,000 in scholarship money and honored the memory of a beloved professor with its 11th annual golf tournament. The annual event seeks to raise scholarship money for students within the communication department as well as help offset living and travel expenses for department majors who earn internships in distant locations. Over 20 scholarships have been awarded to date.

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, 01/15/18
Men's Basketball hosts Vanderbilt on Tuesday at 6 p.m. (SEC Network), and then travels to Tuscaloosa for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Saturday against Alabama (SEC Network) ... Track & Field competes Thursday at the Samford Pentathlon and the Vanderbilt Invitational on Friday and Saturday ... Men's Tennis hosts South Florida on Friday at 1 p.m. and Miami at noon on Sunday ... Women's Basketball visits Knoxville on Sunday for a Top 10 showdown against the Lady Vols at 2 p.m. (ESPN2).

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Ellis to keynote Monday's MLK Jr. Day Unity Breakfast at The Mill
Former State Rep. Tyrone Ellis will be the featured speaker at Mississippi State during the university’s 24th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity Breakfast on Monday. The program begins at 9 a.m. in The Mill at MSU Conference Center located at 600 Russell St. in Starkville. The free, public celebration of King’s life and legacy as a Baptist minister, civil rights activist and humanitarian gets underway with an 8 a.m. complimentary breakfast. Doors open at 7:30 a.m., and seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Institutional Repository preserves and promotes work of faculty and students
Mississippi State University’s Institutional Repository helps broaden the accessibility and impact of scholarship produced by the MSU community. “The purpose of the IR is to preserve and make accessible any scholarship that’s produced at the university by faculty, students and staff,” MSU Libraries Associate Professor Claudia C. Holland said. “It’s not limited to text-based content. We’re also interested in images, music, video and data sets. You name it, we’ll take it. We want to make our community’s scholarship and creative works discoverable and easily accessible.”

Online programs receive high marks in U.S. News & World Report rankings
Four of Mississippi State University’s distance education programs are recognized in the 2018 U.S. News & World Report online programs rankings, with two programs ranking in the top 50 nationally in the analysis released last week. “Having nationally ranked programs by U.S. News illustrates that Mississippi State is providing a challenging and supportive online educational experience and preparing our distance students for success,” said MSU Center for Distance Education Executive Director Susan Seal.