Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Flowers are in bloom across the Mississippi State University campus, including these tulips in front of Allen Hall. Students, faculty and staff are enjoying sunnier and warmer days as the spring semester enters its final few weeks with classes ending May 2. PHOTO: Megan Bean | Public Affairs

Mississippi Poet Laureate pledges to increase accessibility to poetry
Award-winning author and Mississippi State English Professor Catherine Pierce is dedicating her work as the state’s current Poet Laureate to helping all Mississippians gain access to poetry in a meaningful way. Pierce was honored last week as MSU’s first Poet Laureate during a public presentation in Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium, where she spoke about her deep belief that poetry is for everyone -- a medium for all to both create and enjoy. The event was hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences and its Institute for the Humanities. Pierce thanked the university for “being a place where the arts are valued and championed.” “I am grateful for, though not surprised by, Mississippi State’s unflagging commitment to this crucial part of our university and our lives,” she said.

MSU celebrates Earth Week this week, welcomes prominent speakers this month
Mississippi State will promote sustainability and environmentally friendly standards of living during Earth Week, beginning Tuesday [April 19] and culminating with students, faculty and staff wearing green on Earth Day this Friday [April 22], instead of the university’s traditional maroon. Then, MSU will welcome a series of prominent speakers who will continue the environmental focus through the end of the month. The MSU Office of Sustainability is partnering with numerous departments and campus groups for daily events, including a sustainability bootcamp, campus clean-up day and an Earth Day fair at the Drill Field.

Annual Insurance Day conference provides continuing education credit opportunities
Mississippi State is hosting its annual Insurance Day Tuesday [April 19] and Wednesday [April 20] at The Mill Conference Center at MSU. Hosted by the MSU College of Business’ Risk Management and Insurance Program, the continuing education program for professionals provides opportunities to earn up to 12 continuing education credit hours. Students also may learn about internships and jobs with industry professionals during the event. For more than 30 years, Insurance Day annually has attracted hundreds of insurance professionals for sessions that focus on current industry issues. Other topics covered during the event include life, cyber, home, health, flood, property and employment practice insurance, as well as ethics.

MSU Athlete Engineering Summit to highlight how collaboration improves human performance
An upcoming conference hosted by Mississippi State University will highlight the ways unique collaborations can cultivate human performance success. The inaugural Athlete Engineering Summit will be held May 11-12 at East Mississippi Community College’s Communiversity. Organized by MSU’s Athlete Engineering research group, the conference theme is “Secret Sauce: Sharing how unique collaborations collide to cultivate human performance success.” MSU alumnus Dr. Allen Sills, chief medical officer for the National Football League, will serve as keynote speaker for the conference. In addition to Sills, speakers include representatives from professional sports teams such as the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Brewers; industry partners such as PACCAR, Toyota and Camgian; and sports performance professionals from multiple universities, including MSU.

Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program underway
Mississippi State has a long association with the Fulbright Scholar Program with over 50 MSU faculty from a variety of disciplines having received Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards since 1954. MSU has also welcomed many international scholars to our campus through the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program recently opened its 2023-24 competition with over 400 awards in 130 countries featured in the Catalog of Awards, which includes teaching, researching and professional project opportunities. The MSU International Institute welcomes questions from faculty who are interested in applying. If you have questions, please email Fulbright scholar liaison Cathy Curtis at ccurtis@international.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 complete policy is available at www.policies.msstate.edu/policy/91301.

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Mlsna named Chemist of the Year for Mississippi
Mississippi State University Professor Todd Mlsna is the 2022 Chemist of the Year for the state of Mississippi, an honor awarded by the American Chemical Society at their recent spring awards banquet in Starkville. Mlsna, a faculty member in MSU’s Department of Chemistry since 2009, said this award not only honors him, but also the individuals he has taught and worked with for the last 13 years. “This award really represents a group effort. I think it validates the tireless efforts of my students and colleagues,” Mlsna said. Mlsna has garnered more than $19 million in external funding throughout his career, including grants from the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, and the Departments of Energy and Homeland Security, to name a few.

Students, faculty honored internationally for excellence in poultry research
Four Mississippi State students and a Department of Poultry Science faculty member have been honored for their cutting-edge research at the recent International Poultry Scientific Forum and International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta, Georgia. Receiving honors are Samantha Plocher, a poultry science sophomore from Salem, Ohio; Marissa Powell, a poultry science master’s student from Guyton, Georgia; Peyton Taylor, a poultry science master’s student from Irvington, Alabama; and Tannah Christensen, a December 2021 human sciences master’s graduate from Ackerman. “As one of only six poultry science degree-granting departments in the U.S., MSU is an innovative place for poultry science education, research and outreach, and our involvement in the international forum and expo has been an ideal place to showcase this,” said Wes Schilling, interim head of MSU’s Department of Poultry Science.

National Academy of Inventors chapter established
The National Academy of Inventors is announcing its newest chapter at Mississippi State University. MSU’s chapter has been created in collaboration with the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, its Department of Mechanical Engineering and the iDEELab, an educational resource for engineering students. “The Bagley College of Engineering is excited to be part of MSU’s membership in the prestigious National Academy of Inventors,” said Dean Jason Keith. “As a land-grant university we are committed to fostering real-world innovation to promote our state economy, including industry assistance and start-up companies.” Haitham El Kadiri, mechanical engineering department head, said it is an honor for the department to join NAI.

MSU, ERDC celebrate successful partnerships promoting cutting-edge, collaborative research
Mississippi State University and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center celebrated their longstanding partnership as part of ERDC Day on the MSU campus. Leaders from the research center spent last Thursday [April 14] morning interacting with students in MSU’s James Worth Bagley College of Engineering before taking part in a public panel discussion. Approximately 600 College of Engineering students heard presentations from ERDC leaders on a variety of topics throughout the day. MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw noted that several MSU research centers have ongoing collaborations with ERDC, including the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Raspet Flight Research Laboratory and the Center for Cyber Innovation. “Those are just the tip of the iceberg of the activities that we have going on already,” Shaw said. “The opportunities that we can see coming in the future are really only limited by our imagination.”