Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum, right, MSU-Meridian Associate Vice President Terry Dale Cruse, MSU Distance Education Executive Director Susan Seal, and Meridian Community College President Tom Huebner visited during Meridian Day at the Neshoba County Fair last week. An annual summertime tradition for generations of Mississippians, the Fair concluded Friday after a week of political speeches, harness racing and carnival rides. PHOTO: Logan Kirkland | Public Affairs

Police Department receives incident-based reporting certification from FBI
The Mississippi State University Police Department has received National Incident-Based Reporting System certification from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. MSU Chief of Police Vance Rice was notified of the certification after a review by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division determined MSUPD met all required criteria in the areas of system compatibility, system responsiveness, statistical reasonableness and satisfactory error rate. “We are proud to be the first university police department in the state to achieve NIBRS certification,” he said. “NIBRS allows for much more detailed and in-depth reporting.”

DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Tesheila Moore
Tesheila Moore may have started her MSU career through a temporary agency, but she quickly realized the College of Veterinary Medicine was a place she wanted to stay. While her job duties focus on keeping the Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine offices and bathrooms clean and the trash cans emptied, she sees her work as part of CVM’s larger educational mission. Being attentive to the needs of the people around her and the relationships she has formed have made going to work every day a positive experience for Moore.

DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Clarissa Doss
Clarissa Doss is a preschool teacher for 4-year-olds at the Child Development Center on the Mississippi State University campus. Her main responsibilities include developing lesson plans for her 16 students, making sure all the children are well cared for and supervising MSU students as they fulfill their lab credits working with children. One of her favorite aspects of the job is working with lab students. Doss said she loves to see the children interact with the students, and she loves watching the students grow in this new experience of teaching young children.

Wellness conference open to colleges, community
Mississippi State’s Department of Health Promotion and Wellness will host its first wellness conference Tuesday with registration open to community colleges, universities, community organizations and the general public. Registration cost for “Stay Well Under the Umbrella of Health” is $30 and available online at https://forms.gle/xuCp9ztF9TF3guhs5. Attendance is free for the first 200 MSU students who register online and place “student” under the title on the registration form.

Reminder: University policy addresses employee political activity
With political campaigning for local and statewide races currently underway, Mississippi State's Office of General Counsel offers the following reminder of the university’s policy on political activities. There are several guidelines that employees of the university should keep in mind when engaging in any form of political activity. The Office of General Counsel encourages each employee to review this policy in its entirety to make certain you are fully aware of your rights and responsibilities.

Volunteers needed for MVNU2MSU
Mississippi State’s Department of Housing and Residence Life is seeking volunteers for two move-in days as part of the university’s annual MVNU2MSU event. Individuals and groups of volunteers will welcome and assist new Bulldog students with moving into the Starkville campus’s 17 residence halls. Volunteers will receive a free T-shirt. Students participating in Panhellenic recruitment, New Maroon Camp, Famous Maroon Band and Spirit Groups may move into their residence halls on Aug. 11 from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. All other students may move in from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on Aug. 17.

Lyceum mini-series tickets now available
Mini-series tickets for Mississippi State University’s 2019-20 Lyceum Series are now available for purchase. Starting Monday, mini-series tickets are available to the general public for $75 and $65 for MSU employees and senior citizens. The mini-series ticket option includes attendance to three programs and features guaranteed reserved seating at a discounted rate. The annual series supports performing arts in the Starkville and MSU communities.

Construction for new parking garage underway, to continue through July 2020
Construction for a new parking garage on the north side of Mississippi State's Starkville campus is underway and expected to last through July 2020. During this time, those navigating campus are advised to use caution when approaching this construction area. Due to construction, a section of sidewalk along Bailey Howell Drive and adjacent to the construction site will be temporarily closed, requiring pedestrian traffic to be re-routed. Please see the accompanying map for details.

Summer read: 2019 Maroon Edition book, ‘Hold on with a Bulldog Grip’
Mississippi State students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, as well as members of the local community, are encouraged to include the university’s Maroon Edition book, “Hold On with a Bulldog Grip,” in their summer reading selections. The book is being made available to incoming freshman students and transfers in their summer Orientation packets, and others can purchase the book at MSU’s Barnes & Noble bookstore or through other booksellers. Purchases also can be made online from the University Press of Mississippi at www.upress.state.ms.us/books/2240.

MSU, ed2go offering online professional development courses
Mississippi State’s Center for Continuing Education, in partnership with leading online continuing education provider ed2go, is offering more than 300 online professional development courses. “Whether you want to enhance your professional skills or just learn something new, these classes are informative, affordable and can be taken entirely online at any time from the comfort of your home or office,” said Dixie Cartwright, CCE manager. New course sessions begin each month.

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

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Campus construction projects underway to enhance academics, research, student experience
As Mississippi State prepares for the fall 2019 semester, several capital improvement projects are underway to help the university meet growing demand for academic, research and student living spaces. “We are excited about these projects that will benefit our growing campus community in a way that maximizes efficiency and impact,” MSU President Mark E. Keenum said. “Our campus planning team does a tremendous job of ensuring that every project meets the current and future needs of the university. We greatly appreciate the investments that the Mississippi Legislature and others have made in improving our facilities, which will help our students, faculty and staff continue to make a substantial impact every day in Mississippi and around the world.”

Inaugural Luckyday Scholars Program launches annual support for MSU students
The Luckyday Foundation of Jackson has pledged significant support benefiting Mississippi State University students who are residents of the Magnolia State. The $650,000 commitment will provide scholarship awards and promote student success through enhanced programming and engagement over four years. “We are grateful to partner with the Luckyday Foundation in growing opportunities for more of our state’s ambitious students to achieve their goals through much-needed financial and academic support,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. “The Luckyday Foundation’s commitment to developing outstanding leaders within our state is evident by the investments it is making in the lives of these deserving scholars.”

Psychology faculty researchers receive $1.6 million suicide prevention grant
Faculty researchers in Mississippi State’s Department of Psychology are receiving $1.6 million in federal support to develop a more comprehensive approach to statewide youth suicide prevention and intervention. Awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the five-year subgrant will be led by co-principal investigators Michael R. Nadorff and Emily S.H. Stafford, as well as four MSU psychology colleagues -- Sam Winer, Mitchell Berman, Hilary DeShong and Danielle Nadorff, to address several gaps identified in the Magnolia State’s youth suicide prevention program.

Bagley College of Engineering earns national diversity honor
Mississippi State University’s Bagley College of Engineering is one of the inaugural honorees of the American Society of Engineering Education’s new diversity recognition program. “The Bagley College of Engineering has a strong legacy of graduating a large number of students from diverse backgrounds,” said Jason Keith, dean of the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State. “This recognition by the ASEE is the result of recruiting activities from our outreach office, mentoring by our faculty and diversity office, and of course the hard work and dedication of our students.”