Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Alicia Brown, a senior chemical engineering major from Petal, is congratulated by MSU President Mark E. Keenum for being named the university’s 19th recipient of the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship. As one of approximately 65 students selected from the 50 states this year, Brown is Mississippi’s only awardee and is committing to a career in public service following graduation. PHOTO: Logan Kirkland | Public Affairs

Mississippi State celebrates grand opening of Marvin B. Dow Stitched Composites Development Center
Mississippi State University celebrated last week the grand opening of the Marvin B. Dow Stitched Composites Development Center, a new research center that will continue to move the fields of composite materials and aerospace forward. “This center matches so well for the vision that we have for the university in terms of strategic partnerships,” said MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development David Shaw. “Our best days for collaboration are definitely in our future, rather than in the rearview mirror.”

Extension offering assistance as south Delta farmers wait for flood waters to recede
Most of the land between Mississippi Highway 465 and U.S. Highway 61 in the south Mississippi Delta is supposed to be cropland, but it’s a lake right now, full of backwater from the Yazoo River. The Mississippi State University Extension Service has personnel trained to provide relief in the immediate aftermath of flooding and to conduct damage assessment when the waters eventually subside. “Extension personnel helped coordinate volunteers and food for a week for displaced residents,” said Emily Carter, MSU Extension agent in Issaquena and Sharkey counties.

Staff Council seeks nominations for the Zacharias Distinguished Staff Award
Staff Council needs your help nominating outstanding Mississippi State University employees for the Zacharias Distinguished Staff Award. Twelve winners will be presented with a plaque of recognition and a check for $1,000. Awards will be announced at the annual Luncheon in the Junction. Nomination forms will be accepted from MSU’s administrators, faculty, staff and students. The nomination deadline is April 19.

Applications sought for Academic Leadership Program
The Office of Research and Economic and Development and the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President at Mississippi State will be leading a newly restructured Academic Leadership Program in the upcoming 2019-2020 academic year for faculty who aspire to be administrators. The format of the leadership program consists of two-hour seminar sessions once per month from August to April. A wide variety of topics will be covered by senior leaders at MSU. Applications are due by May 24.

Butler Hall parking lot construction to cause temporary closure
Construction to improve the parking lot adjacent to Butler Hall will cause temporary closures of the lot beginning Monday [April 8] and lasting through Aug. 6. The MSU Office of Planning, Design and Construction Administration is administering a project to replace a retaining wall, curbs and sidewalks in the area. The parking lot also will be milled, overlaid and striped.

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President’s Commission on the Status of Women holds annual awards ceremony
Five outstanding women were recognized at Mississippi State last week during the annual President’s Commission on the Status of Women Awards Ceremony. MSU President Mark E. Keenum said many women perform with excellence at the university’s highest levels and are integral to the institution’s administration and operation. More young women are choosing to enroll at Mississippi State every year, he added.

Sherman-Morris receives Excellence in Teaching Award from UPCEA
A Mississippi State associate professor and director of the university’s Geosciences Distance Education programs is receiving a national honor from the leading association for professional, continuing and online education. Kathy Sherman-Morris is the University Professional and Continuing Education Association’s selection for the 2019 Excellence in Teaching Award. MSU’s geosciences programs are nationally recognized, with nearly 35 percent of all current broadcast meteorologists having ties to MSU.

Razzaghi gains European education partners through Erasmus+ program
A Fulbright scholar and Mississippi State department head is spearheading international partnerships and realizing new scholastic opportunities with European institutions for the university’s students and faculty. Mohsen Razzaghi, professor and head of MSU’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, has facilitated memoranda of understanding with the Romanian University Politehnica of Timisoara and University of Bucharest for joint Erasmus+ educational partnerships with Mississippi State.

White elected treasurer of Council for the Study of Community Colleges
A faculty member in Mississippi State University's College of Education is now serving in a leadership role for the Council for the Study of Community Colleges. In March, CSCC members elected Carol White to a three-year term the organization's treasurer. She is an assistant professor of community college leadership in the Department of Educational Leadership. Council members include university-based researchers and community college practitioners who further scholarship on the community college enterprise.