Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Bulldogs soon will enjoy viewing a new video board at Davis Wade Stadium. The summer months have been utilized for many campus upgrades, including the jumbotron screen replacement. Football kicks off in just over a month, with the Bulldogs set to host Memphis on Sept. 3. For tickets and more information from MSU Athletics, visit hailstate.com. Alyson Strom | Public Affairs

MSU assesses industry precision tools for planting, better crops, grower success
Mississippi State is conducting research with global precision agriculture company Ag Leader to assess the functionality of planting technology for more defined crop growth. Assistant Professor J. Wes Lowe in the university’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, along with researchers in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, is conducting research on the performance of advanced planting technology at multiple sites with geographically different soil types. While the technology is widely used and adapted to farming and soil types in the Midwest, Lowe and his team -- all scientists in the university’s Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station -- aim to test the adaptability and the precision of the tools for the range of soil types in the South.

Three MSU-bred switchgrasses hit the market
Mississippi State scientists have developed switchgrass varieties that are waking up the industry with exceptional germination rates and are ready for commercial use in the Deep South. Switchgrass is used for biofuels, soil and water conservation and carbon sequestration. Professor Brian Baldwin, Associate Extension and Research Professor Brett Rushing, and Assistant Research Professor Jesse Morrison, all MAFES scientists in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, have co-developed these varieties over the last 15 years to increase germination rates and reduce seed dormancy. Their focus, which has little historic precedence, has been breeding varieties of native grasses that are adapted to the humid Southeast. Together, these three switchgrass varieties offer superior commercial options for clientele throughout the Southeastern United States.

MSU Riley Center announces new season lineup
The Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts announces a new slate of shows for the 2022-2023 Fall-Winter season. The season is full of headlining musical acts, complemented by a Broadway star and a ubiquitous comedian. “We are selling more tickets each season than we ever have, far exceeding pre-pandemic levels,” said Terry Dale Cruse, associate vice president and head of the Meridian campus. “While we’ve been steadily presenting shows for over 15 years now, the energy and renewed interest in downtown and our community’s collective arts and culture offerings is palpable. To anyone considering a show or coming downtown for a weekend, my advice is do not hesitate.”

Street art strengthens MSU-Starkville bonds
Mississippi State and Starkville volunteers are hopeful new street art along University Drive will give a newfound sense of place and increase pedestrian safety for a vital physical link between city and campus. Volunteers spent July 22 painting a large cowbell-themed mural in the center of University Drive near its intersection with Camp Street -- an area in the Cotton District close to MSU’s campus -- and adding similar motifs to nearby crosswalks as part of the University Drive Corridor Connections project. Similar murals and crosswalk art were painted at University Drive’s intersections with Fellowship and North Nash streets. “The key idea behind this project is to strengthen the corridor between campus and the city of Starkville. By creating murals, we are physically connecting the two entities and creating nodes of creativity along the way,” said Leah Kemp, director of the MSU Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center.

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.

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Two College of Architecture, Art and Design degree programs gain departmental designation
Two degree programs in Mississippi State’s College of Architecture, Art and Design are now elevated to full departments. The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning recently approved departmental status for MSU’s Building Construction Science and Interior Design programs. Dean Angi Elsea Bourgeois said both programs already have been operating internally like departments, as independent academic units with their own leadership under the college umbrella. George Ford, who has led BCS for the past four years, said it has doubled in student enrollment since 2016 and will continue to grow as new programs are added. Beth Miller, department head, said the new designation has been a longtime goal for Interior Design, which also houses minors in interior design studies and lighting design.

Shoup named head of PSPA department
A Mississippi State faculty member with more than a decade of research and service in comparative politics and public policy is the new head of the university’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration. Associate Professor Brian D. Shoup officially began his role as department head July 1 after serving as interim department head since last summer. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Rick Travis said Shoup is “well acquainted with the scope of the department.” Shoup said he plans to continue the department’s service to Mississippi as “a leading center of research, outreach and service-oriented teaching.”

West publishes sole book on life and work of acclaimed author Robert Morgan
Robert M. West, interim head of Mississippi State’s Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures and professor of English, has published the first book dedicated to poet, short story writer and novelist Robert Morgan. West’s book, “Robert Morgan: Essays on the Life and Work,” published this summer by McFarland and Co., was co-edited by Jesse Graves, professor of English at East Tennessee State University. West’s edited collection of Morgan’s works include an array of essays by some of Morgan’s most dedicated readers, including other poets, authors, critics and scholars, who reflect on and analyze his work.

Hagenston awarded Mississippi Arts Commission literary artist fellowship
Becky Hagenston, a professor in Mississippi State’s Department of English, is receiving a literary artist fellowship for fiction from the Mississippi Arts Commission. Established in 1968 by the Mississippi Legislature as the state’s official grantmaking and service agency for the arts, the MAC provides financial and technical assistance to artists, arts organizations and educational institutions. “I’m so grateful to the MAC for this fellowship and for their support of the arts in Mississippi. I’ll be using the funds to develop my fifth story collection, and I look forward to seeing where that will take me,” said Hagenston.