Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

MSU Police officers serving on the department’s Bike Patrol recently attended specialized training to become certified for the patrol. An Emergency Vehicle Operations curriculum for bike officers is combined with patrol procedures, tactics, night operations, possible scenarios, basic bike maintenance and on-the-road repairs. The Bike Patrol is one of several units in the department working 24 hours a day and seven days a week to keep university students, employees and visitors safe. PHOTO: Alyson Strom | Public Affairs

MSU encourages community stakeholders to attend workshop on resiliency improvements
Mississippi State will host the Disaster Resilient Food Energy Water Systems workshop this Wednesday [June 29] at The Mill at MSU. A first-of-its-kind event, DIRE-FEWS is hosted by a team of researchers from the university’s Department of Sustainable Bioproducts in the College of Forest Resources and funded by a National Science Foundation Sustainable Regional Systems planning grant. Beth Stokes, MSU associate professor and scientist in MSU’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center, said the program is one of three workshops focusing on improving resiliency in Gulf South communities, with the others held this summer at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Maintenance project impacts MSU Libraries Special Collections' services
Mississippi State’s Mitchell Memorial Library’s third-floor Archives and Special Collections (ASC) offices and Reading Room will close Monday [June 27] and remain shuttered indefinitely as workers complete an air-conditioner replacement project. During this closure, university researchers may meet with ASC faculty and staff and access materials in the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library Reading Room, located on the building’s fourth floor. On-campus and community patrons must contact the department for an appointment and request materials at least two full business days in advance of their proposed visit. For more information about ASC’s services during this closure, please email sp_coll@library.msstate.edu.

Faculty and staff invited to candidate presentations for State Chemist/Mississippi State Chemical Lab director
Faculty, staff and students are invited to participate in three upcoming candidate presentations for the position of State Chemist and director of the Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory. The three finalists for the position will give presentations that are open to the MSU community on June 14, June 24 and June 27 in the Bost theatre. Each presentation will take place at 2 p.m. and will be livestreamed. MSCL is a state-funded agency housed on the MSU campus. The lab works in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce to develop regulations for and conduct analysis of animal feeds, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural limes and petroleum products sold in Mississippi. The lab assures the quality of retail foods, fuels, livestock feeds, crop protection products and more.

Apply today: Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program
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.

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.

Office of Public Affairs, MSU Foundation win international CASE advancement awards
Mississippi State is among a select group of award recipients from colleges and universities around the world earning 2022 Circle of Excellence honors from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. MSU’s 2021 national commercial, a product of the Office of Public Affairs, took silver in the Video/Commercial category, while the MSU Foundation won bronze in the Fundraising/Annual and Fund Reports category. “CASE awards speak to how our MSU OPA team’s efforts in advancing Mississippi State have performed in competition with our peers across the country,” said MSU Chief Communications Officer and Director of Public Affairs Sid Salter. “We’ve had remarkable support from MSU President Mark Keenum and the rest of our university leadership team and are grateful for the collaboration with the many talented marketing and communications professionals across our campus. It’s evident that working together enhances the university’s reputation and image.”

MSU partnership with Italy’s University of Salento bolsters utilization of smart technology, advancing sustainable agriculture
A new partnership between Mississippi State University and Italy’s University of Salento will benefit both institutions as faculty work together advancing solutions to global food supply challenges through digital technology and smart agriculture. University of Salento Rector Fabio Pollice and Vice Rector Maria Antonietta Aiello recently met with MSU Associate Vice President for International Programs Dan Reynolds, High Performance Computing Collaboratory Director Trey Breckenridge and Professor Alex Thomasson, head and endowed chair in MSU’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. MSU Senior Advisor for European and Data Science Development Domenico “Mimmo” Parisi also was part of the MSU delegation.

Petrolia works to close ‘big research gap’ in coastal restoration investment
A Mississippi State agricultural economist is working with colleagues from The Nature Conservancy to analyze the value of coastal restoration projects along the twin states’ shores. Daniel Petrolia, agricultural economics professor and scientist in the university’s Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, and The Nature Conservancy’s Judy Haner and Thomas Mohrman, have been awarded a Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant project to compare the dollar amount invested in these coastal restoration projects to the benefits they provide. While the intangible value and ecological benefit to coastal communities is evident, very little study has been done to put a dollar valuation on such restoration projects.

R&B legend Dionne Warwick to open 75th MSU Lyceum Series
Mississippi State’s Lyceum Series will begin its 75th year of shows with a performance by legendary R&B singer Dionne Warwick. The performance, scheduled for Sept. 29, begins a five-show season featuring a variety of acts, from theater and dance troupes to a brass band. Each show will be held at 7 p.m. in Lee Hall’s historic Bettersworth Auditorium. Warwick, a six-time Grammy Award winner and the 2019 recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, is one of the most-charted singers of all time. A Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, three of her songs -- “Walk on By,” “Alfie” and “Don’t Make Me Over” -- were also inducted into the organization’s hall of fame.