Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

President Mark E. Keenum discusses Mississippi State University’s many recent accomplishments during last week's spring general faculty meeting in Colvard Student Union's Foster Ballroom. PHOTO: Logan Kirkland | Public Affairs

Parisi taking leave of absence to lend expertise to Italian government
The executive director of Mississippi State University’s National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (NSPARC) will be tackling a new set of challenges in the coming months. Domenico “Mimmo” Parisi will be taking a year-long unpaid leave of absence from the university to serve as president of an Italian government agency charged with improving unemployment in that country. He will begin his new role with Italy’s National Agency for Active Labour Policies, or ANPAL, on March 1. Allen Parrish, MSU’s associate vice president for research development, will lead NSPARC during the interim period.

Lang to present American Civil War lecture, book signing Thursday afternoon
Mississippi State Assistant Professor of History Andrew F. Lang is presenting a Thursday campus lecture on military occupation during the American Civil War. Free to all, Lang’s 3 p.m. talk in Mitchell Memorial Library’s John Grisham Room also will include a signing session for his first book, "In the Wake of War: Military Occupation, Emancipation and Civil War America" (LSU Press, 2017). The 2018 Tom Watson Brown Book Award-winning work earned Lang a $50,000 prize for his original contributions to the understanding of the Civil War time period.

Congress establishes water research center in Delta
A new research center in the Mississippi Delta is tasked with studying agricultural water management to protect this critical natural resource. Jeff Johnson, head of the Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center, said the center primarily focuses on waters in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri. Plans for establishing the facility began in 2014 after several meetings with researchers, regional farmers and stakeholders to discuss water-related research in the Lower Mississippi River region.

Nominations for Irvin Atly Jefcoat, Wes Ammon academic advising awards now open
The Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President at Mississippi State is now accepting nominations for the 2019 Irvin Atly Jefcoat Excellence in Advising Awards and the 2019 Wes Ammon Outstanding New Advisor Awards. The Jefcoat and Ammon awards honor both a full-time MSU faculty adviser and a full-time staff adviser for contributions to student advising. Interested faculty and staff must submit an application in PDF form to Nancy Fultz at nfultz@provost.msstate.edu. The deadline to submit nominations for both awards is 5 p.m. on April 1.

Construction area near Allen Hall causes temporary closure on west side
To allow a contractor to complete sidewalk and parking lot construction in the area, a portion of sidewalk and parking spaces on the west side of Allen Hall will close temporarily. Please use entrances on the east, north and south sides of Allen Hall through March 1. For questions or more information, please contact the Facilities Management Service Desk at (662) 325-2005.

Faculty and staff may update online information about summer youth camps
Faculty, staff and deans, directors and department heads: The MSU summer camp page is up and ready to be updated with 2019 camp information. Having this information in one location is a help for people wanting to know what camps MSU will offer this summer. Your help getting this information centralized in one location is very much appreciated and a great way to ensure parents can find camp information easily. If you have any questions or trouble entering your camp information, please do not hesitate to contact Amber Shultice at the Center for Continuing Education, (662) 325-1457 or ams257@msstate.edu.

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Leaders discuss university’s positive impact, advancement at spring general faculty meeting
Mississippi State leaders discussed several important accomplishments, and the university’s impact on the Magnolia State, during last week's spring general faculty meeting. “This university has a very bright future and the state of Mississippi has a very bright future because of Mississippi State University and the work that our faculty and staff are doing, not only on this campus, but in offices all across the state of Mississippi,” MSU President Mark E. Keenum said. Provost and Executive Vice President Judy Bonner, Vice President for Research and Economic Development David Shaw and Vice President for Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Greg Bohach also provided updates.

MSU, Alcorn partner to offer poultry science dual-degree program
Mississippi State University and Alcorn State University are partnering to launch a dual-degree program that will prepare more leaders for the state’s top agricultural industry. MSU President Mark E. Keenum and ASU Interim President Donzell Lee signed a memorandum of understanding last week to establish the program that will allow students to earn bachelor's degrees from both universities. Mary Beck, professor and head of the MSU poultry science department, said the partnership extends the university’s academic outreach in the state and meets the needs of Mississippi’s largest agricultural commodity.

141st birthday party, annual Hail State Giving Days this week
Mississippi State University is celebrating its 141st birthday Thursday during Hail State Giving Days. This year marks the sixth consecutive year for the online philanthropy event that seeks to raise funds for all university areas beginning Wednesday and running for 48 consecutive hours. “We love that Hail State Giving Days falls on MSU’s birthday. Pairing a celebration of the birthday with a celebration of giving makes the event truly meaningful,” said Georgia Carter, the MSU Foundation’s director of annual giving. “We hope that everyone participates by making a gift and also sharing the message to the larger Bulldog family using the hashtag #GiveToMSU.”