Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Squirt, the last of a group of cold-stunned sea turtles rehabilitated and released into the Gulf of Mexico by the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in December, received excellent care under Mississippi State University veterinarians Dr. Debra Moore and Dr. Christa Barrett. Second year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine student Jessica Sparks of Seneca, South Carolina, second from left, was proud to participate in the release and to give turtle #182 the swimmingly good name of Squirt. Through its partnership with IMMS, MSU is one of only two universities in the nation to offer marine animal rescue training to all veterinary medicine students. PHOTO: Tom Thompson | College of Veterinary Medicine

Undergraduate Research and Creative Discovery website connects students, faculty
The Undergraduate Research and Creative Discovery website is designed to connect Mississippi State undergraduate students seeking research experiences or creative discovery opportunities with faculty who have projects and are interested in undergraduate help. Now is the time to submit (or revise) your entries to the URCD website at www.urcd.msstate.edu. This is open to faculty in all disciplines who are seeking undergraduate researchers. MSU research personnel can submit details about their project, and students can search for available opportunities. Students are seeking opportunities now, so please do not hesitate to share your projects. Questions can be directed to Director of Undergraduate Research Anastasia Elder at ace24@msstate.edu.

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.

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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‘Old Main’ documentary delivers MSU landmark’s fateful day in January 1959
The national award-winning University Television Center at Mississippi State premiered a short documentary on Sunday [Jan. 23] that takes viewers back more than 60 years for a look at an iconic campus landmark. “Old Main,” a tribute to MSU’s best-known building that burned in January of 1959, is an 11-minute film developed by the MSU Films initiative, a UTC project to tell stories of the institution through those that witnessed them. “Reportedly the largest in America at the time, Old Main dormitory was home to thousands of students through the decades. The massive fire changed everything on January 23, 1959, and this documentary short provides a firsthand account of that night, told through the words of one student who was there,” said David Garraway, UTC director.

Bostic's original art to be featured on postage stamp
A faculty member in Mississippi State’s College of Architecture, Art and Design is putting his stamp on American culture and history with help from the U.S. Postal Service. Alex Bostic, an MSU associate professor of art and illustrator with more than 40 years of experience, will see his original art “Edmonia Lewis” featured on one of several new USPS stamps being issued in 2022. “I am proud to have my art on a U.S. postage stamp. I have done stamps for other countries, but this is my first for the United States,” said Bostic, who has taught at MSU for 11 years. “Edmonia Lewis was a perfect subject for me because of what she went through to be an artist, particularly as an African American.”

Tanner collaborates on new lunar-based telescope
A Mississippi State physics and astronomy faculty member is part of a group of scientists landing a new telescope on the moon’s surface. Angelle Tanner, an MSU associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Physics and Astronomy, is collaborating with other researchers from Louisiana State University, the SETI Institute and AstronetX PBC, a Boston, Massachusetts-headquartered corporation dedicated to enabling frontier research from space. A grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to AstronetX is the primary funding source for the work, which aims to launch a small lunar-based telescope camera, known as L-CAM1, in 2024.