Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

New Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach greets fans shortly after landing at the Starkville airport last week. MSU Director of Athletics John Cohen on Thursday [Jan. 9] named the former Washington State coach and two-time national coach of the year as MSU’s 34th head football coach. PHOTO: Logan Kirkland | Public Affairs

‘From idea to reality’: Bully’s Closet and Pantry opens to serve MSU students
Mississippi State held a ribbon cutting ceremony last Friday [Jan. 10] to celebrate the opening of Bully’s Closet and Pantry on the Starkville campus. The 120 Morgan Ave. location offers nutritious food, professional clothing, toiletries and other basic items free of charge to MSU students. Students only need to present their current MSU I.D. to access these resources. MSU Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Young Hyatt thanked multiple campus and community organizations for contributing their time, energy and resources to this “wonderful gift for our students.”

Starkville/MSU Symphony presents 'Winds of Time'
The Starkville/MSU Symphony’s 51st season continues with the “Winds of Time” concert on Saturday [Jan. 18] at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium on the Starkville campus. Free and open to the public, the concert will feature wind music from the 19th and 20th centuries. Performers will showcase their skills on two substantial compositions -- Emil Bernard’s “Divertissement for Wind Instruments, Op. 36” and Arthur Bird’s “Serenade for Wind Instruments, Op. 40.” Other song selections include Gaetano Donizetti’s “Sinfonia for Winds in G Minor” and Gordon Jacob’s “Old Wine in New Bottles.”

Rotary Classic Rodeo set for Feb. 7-8
While the Rotary Classic Rodeo is a competitive tournament featuring bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling and other contests, the event offers something for the whole family. Hosted by the Starkville Rotary Club, the annual rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association is returning to the Mississippi Horse Park Feb. 7-8. The Mississippi Horse Park, a partnership of Mississippi State University, the city of Starkville and Oktibbeha County, is a division of the MSU Extension Service.

MSU Golf Course offering membership special
Throughout the month of January, the Mississippi State University Golf Course is offering a spring membership special. Available to MSU students, faculty and staff, the $550 special includes unlimited golf green fees, golf car rentals and practice tee access for the entire spring semester. This special can be purchased in the golf shop until Jan. 31 and is valid through May 15.

Sanderson Center offers two special promotions for current members
Mississippi State's Joe Frank Sanderson Center is offering two special promotions for current members. Current Sanderson Center members with annual memberships will receive two months added to their current membership when they refer a friend who purchases a one-year membership. The referred friend also will receive two additional months of membership. There is a limit of two referrals per current member.

Information needed for 2020 youth summer camps
The MSU summer camp page is ready to be updated with your 2020 camp information. Please login at http://ce.extension.msstate.edu/add-summer-camp to enter information about your upcoming summer camps. Only MSU employees have the ability to access the summer camp information site using their MSU NetID and Net Password. Once submitted, your camp information will be reviewed, approved and posted. If you have any questions or have any trouble entering your information, please contact Amber Shultice at 662-325-1457 or ams257@msstate.edu.

Smoke-free policy enhances healthy environment
Mississippi State University is a smoke-free campus. Official policy prohibits the use of any combustible or vapor products anywhere on campus property including university buildings, university grounds, university vehicles, parking areas and sidewalks. The smoke-free campus policy is part of the university's commitment to creating a healthy environment for all members of the campus community. Use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah or other similar devices are prohibited by this policy.

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

Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.

Applications for MSU's 2020 Community-Engaged Learning Fellows program due by Feb. 21
Feb. 21 is the deadline to submit an application for Mississippi State's 2020 Community-Engaged Learning Fellows program. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, the Center for Community-Engaged Learning and the Center for Teaching and Learning, this three-week program supports instructional faculty and staff in integrating community-engaged learning into their formal or non-formal teaching. The CEL Fellows program will meet in May 2020, and CEL Fellows will learn community-engaged learning theory, course design, and pedagogy.

Collini expands MSU Extension role
Renee Collini began her role with the Mississippi State University Extension Service as a climate science educator Jan. 1. Collini, who has served as an Extension associate since 2018 while working on her doctorate at MSU, will continue her work to help observe, understand and manage for sea-level rise. She is located in the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi. She holds a bachelor’s in biology from the University of Texas at Dallas, a master’s in marine science from the University of South Alabama and is working on a doctorate in wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture.

DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Janet Jolley
As a family and consumer science agent, Janet Jolley works with both adults and children in Marshall County to teach them skills to improve their lives. “I have always had a love for the family and consumer sciences field, and knew that I wanted a career related to it,” she said. “Being an Extension agent has provided me the opportunity to help others and to share my love of family and consumer sciences.” She was actively involved in 4-H has a child and said she had wonderful 4-H agents who influenced her throughout her life.

DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Jenna Schilling
MSU Extension associate Jenna Schilling coordinates TummySafe, a Food Managers Certification program for child care providers in Mississippi. She says her main role is to help those in the program overcome their fears to obtain their certification. “My advice to a student is to never stop learning,” she said. “Technology is changing constantly and we have to adapt as well. I do so many things today that were not part of my job 15 years ago.”