Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Dharani Matharage, a biological sciences master's student from Sri Lanka, uses a microscope in a Harned Hall lab as part of an ongoing research project on nematodes and the evolution of meiotic recombination. Matharage is working under the direction of Amy Dapper, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. PHOTO: Megan Bean | Public Affairs

MSU selected to join U.S. Cyber Command Academic Engagement Network
Mississippi State University is among 84 institutions across the country selected to join a new Academic Engagement Network facilitated by the U.S. Cyber Command, known as CYBERCOM. As a member of the network, MSU will join other universities in supporting CYBERCOM efforts in areas such as future workforce, applied cyber research, applied analytics and other strategic issues. “We are excited to expand our cybersecurity research and training relationships with the Department of Defense through this academic network,” said MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development Julie Jordan. “MSU’s selection is a testament to the outstanding personnel within our cybersecurity-focused academic programs and research centers, and I look forward to the new opportunities to support U.S. cyber efforts that will arise out of these collaborations.”

Alliance fosters 'New Beginning' for Choctaw students
The Mississippi State University Extension Service has been awarded a grant that will help educate, recruit and retain tribal students from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) to succeed in college and in a career. MSU and the Choctaw Division of Education signed a memorandum of understanding designed to strengthen partnerships between the university and the Choctaw tribe. The memorandum is associated with the grant, “New Beginning for Tribal Students,” awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The $500,000 grant includes a $250,000 match from MSU and MSU Extension. As the administrating organization of the state’s 4-H program, MSU Extension will offer a college and career readiness program called Build Your Future to MBCI high school students.

University announces Excellence in Community Engagement Award recipients
Mississippi State is recognizing eight outreach projects with the university’s fourth annual Community Engagement Awards. Two awards -- winner and honorable mention -- are given in four categories. These include community-engaged research; community-engaged teaching and learning; community-engaged service; and scholarship of engagement. Winning projects receive $3,000, and honorable mention projects receive $750 to further their activities. MSU’s Center for Community-Engaged Learning, Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, Office of Research and Economic Development and the Division of Student Affairs selected the recipients.

MSU hosts blood drive on campus this week
Mississippi Blood Services will conduct a blood drive at MSU Jan. 18, 19 and 20. The MBS Donor Coach will be parked in front of the Sanderson Center daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Successful blood donors will receive a $10 gift card. MBS suggests that all donors eat at least four hours within giving blood and drink plenty of fluids prior to and after making a donation. For more information about MBS, call (888) 90-BLOOD or visit www.msblood.com.

Spring general faculty meeting set for Feb. 1
The Office of the President and the Robert Holland Faculty Senate invite all faculty to the spring meeting of the General Faculty at 2 p.m. on Feb. 1 in Colvard Student Union’s Foster Ballroom, Section U. Interested members of the campus community are also welcome. The program will include updates from President Mark E. Keenum, Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw, Vice President for Research and Economic Development Julie Jordan, and Vice President for Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Keith Coble. The MSU Television Center will provide a livestream of the meeting at https://vimeo.com/event/1739170 for those unable to attend in person or who prefer to watch online.

Luckyday Foundation significantly advances scholarship support through 2025
Mississippi State’s scholarship offerings continue to grow with the Luckyday Foundation of Jackson pledging to significantly increase its support of the university’s Luckyday Scholars Program. “We are proud of the very productive partnership we have with the Luckyday Foundation as we work together to ensure that promising students have the resources they need to earn a college degree and develop valuable leadership skills. And now with this significant expansion, we can connect even more students with the financial and academic support they need,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. “I am grateful for Luckyday’s investment in these young people through the Luckyday Scholars Program -- it truly is an investment in a better and brighter future for all of us.” Students selected for the program are awarded $6,000 per year for a total of $24,000 over four years.

Association of Retired Faculty presents student achievement awards
One graduate and three current Mississippi State students are the newest recipients of outstanding achievement awards from the university’s Association of Retired Faculty. Founded in 1986, the association presents awards that serve as tributes or memorials to colleagues and association members who made major contributions to student development during their careers at the 143-year-old land-grant institution. Chosen by MSU faculty members in their respective academic disciplines, recipients each receive a $500 award. Honorees are Mari-Todd Stidham Brown, Charles E. Lindley Leadership in Agriculture Award; Lindsey B. Downs, Peyton Ward Williams Jr. Distinguished Writing Award; Serena E. Liles, Harry Charles Fleming Simrall Award for Engineering Excellence; and Alysia E. Williams, William L. Giles Award for Excellence in Architecture.

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 complete policy is available at www.policies.msstate.edu/policy/91301.

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Turner Ford keynotes MSU’s annual MLK Jr. Unity Day virtual celebration
District 16 State Sen. Angela Turner Ford will serve as keynote speaker for Mississippi State’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Day virtual celebration and Day of Service on Monday [Jan. 17]. One of the university’s largest annual special events, this year’s program will continue virtually online and broadcast on MSTV in observance of COVID-19 safety protocols. The event will be broadcast at 8 a.m. on MSTV and livestreamed at www.mstv.msstate.edu, in addition to being made available on the MSU website. It will re-air on MSTV throughout the day with showings at 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Monday’s event also will feature a performance from the MSU Black Voices Gospel Choir and remarks from President Mark E. Keenum. Associate Professor of Philosophy Anthony Neal will serve as emcee.

Coble honored as Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Fellow
Keith Coble, vice president of Mississippi State’s Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine, has been named a fellow by the international Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. The William L. Giles Distinguished Professor, one of only six fellows selected for 2022, considers the accolade a shared honor. “I have been blessed with great mentors and collaborators in my career, so this designation makes me reflect on those individuals. I think it also says a great deal about Mississippi State and shows our university as a national leader in my discipline. I have spent the last 24 years at MSU and have been successful at an institution that generates fellows across many disciplines,” he said.

Shmulsky elected International Academy of Wood Science Fellow
The International Academy of Wood Science is honoring Mississippi State’s Rubin Shmulsky with the designation of fellow, recognizing his significant scientific achievements and research contributions to the field. Newly elected for 2022, the Warren S. Thompson Professor of Wood Science and Technology and head of the MSU’s Department of Sustainable Bioproducts joins 145 IAWS Fellows throughout the U.S., in addition to international honorees who hold this distinction. “The academy recognizes all types of wood science-related research,” Shmulsky said. “It is often interdisciplinary, and in MSU’s Department of Sustainable Bioproducts, we have some of the best and brightest minds in the world researching and discovering new ways to use forest resources sustainably.”

NSF grant seeks to improve technological solutions to natural disasters
A Mississippi State sustainable bioproducts faculty member is joining scientists throughout the Southeast to study the most effective way to reach underserved communities impacted by natural disasters. Beth Stokes, associate professor in the Department of Sustainable Bioproducts, is part of a $150,000 National Science Foundation’s Sustainable Regional Systems Research Networks planning grant, to focus on disaster-prone and impacted rural areas in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. “Our goal is to initiate dialogue with underserved communities through outreach,” said Stokes, who is also a researcher in the MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center. “We can then determine which technologies we should synthesize into modular community support systems to provide food, infrastructure, energy and water resources following disasters, and to establish a network of distribution locations for eventual rapid deployment of these systems.”