Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Members of MSU's Famous Maroon Band march past the Greetings From Starkville mural during the local Christmas parade last Monday [Nov. 28]. The annual event showcases the strong town-and-gown ties between the university and community, and this year's Grand Marshals were Mississippi State Volleyball and Softball Coaches Julie Darty Dennis and Samantha Ricketts. Click here to check out more parade photos. PHOTO: Megan Bean | Public Affairs

Fall commencement ceremonies this week
Mississippi State will honor fall 2022 graduates with two days of celebrations on Thursday [Dec. 8] and Friday [Dec. 9] in Meridian and Starkville. “Graduation is truly a meaningful time for our students and university. I always look forward to celebrating the many accomplishments of our outstanding graduates with their families and friends,” MSU President Mark E. Keenum said. The in-person events are limited to invited guests only; however, those who wish to watch the programs remotely can do so via the MSU Television Center’s livestream at www.livestream.com/mstv/live and the MSU Facebook page at www.facebook.com/msstate. The Ph.D. ceremony will be streamed at www.vimeo.com/event/2671473.

MSU, Habitat for Humanity break ground on Maroon Edition home and new neighborhood
Volunteers from Mississippi State and Oktibbeha County will transform a former local dairy farm into a 30-home community through the next decade. Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity and university representatives broke ground last week on a new home benefiting an MSU family as part of the 14th annual Maroon Edition home-building partnership between the two entities. Amanda Henry, Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity executive director, said the organization plans on constructing two or three homes per year and could finish the neighborhood in about a decade. “Homeownership is a life-changing event that affects generations. Starkville Area Habitat has been here since 1986, and we can see that generational effect,” she said. “There are children who grew up in Habitat houses who now own them. It really does make a difference."

New search committee training and resources in place
Mississippi State University is announcing a new online training module and handbook for university personnel serving on hiring committees. As part of the hiring process, all search committee members will be required to complete the online training offered through Human Resources Management. It is required for all faculty positions and professional positions that have a search committee. The goal of the training and focus on job search process is to ensure the university is attracting the broadest and most diverse applicant pools possible as the university seeks personnel to fulfill its learning, research and service missions. The training also helps to ensure candidates have a positive experience at all stages of the hiring process.

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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University celebrates research excellence with annual awards
Mississippi State University celebrated its 2022 research achievements and honored distinguished faculty and staff at its annual research awards celebration last week. MSU President Mark E. Keenum, along with Vice President for Research and Economic Development Julie Jordan, and Vice President for the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Keith Coble, applauded the impactful work carried out every day by the university’s researchers and support staff. Robert Moorhead, Billie J. Ball Professor in MSU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of MSU’s Geosystems Research Institute and Northern Gulf Institute, was presented the program’s top honor, the 2022 Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence Award.

MSU showcases future of UAS technology with unveiling of Teros
Mississippi State marked another milestone last week in the university’s history of innovation in aviation. MSU leaders officially unveiled the Teros, the newest addition to Raspet Flight Research Lab’s fleet of uncrewed aircraft systems, or UAS. At 1,800 pounds and with a 40-foot wingspan, it is the largest UAS at any U.S. academic institution. During Thursday’s event, MSU President Mark E. Keenum noted some of the key milestones in MSU’s aviation history. MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development Julie Jordan highlighted MSU’s many UAS-related collaborations with local, statewide and national partners that continue to generate impactful results for stakeholders and the broader aviation community.

Crider part of multi-institution groundbreaking experiment to ‘push elements to the limit’
Benjamin Crider, a Mississippi State associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is part of the first -- and groundbreaking -- experiment at the new Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, measuring how long exotic nuclei can survive at the edge of stability. The work is published in Physical Review Letters and aims to advance research in areas such as astrophysics and nuclear physics, providing better understanding of how elements form in exploding stars or how processes unfold in nuclear reactors. Led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Crider and his colleagues -- more than 50 participants from 10 universities and national laboratories -- have used the one-of-a-kind FRIB to better understand the collection of protons and neutrons found at the heart of atoms, or nuclei.