Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

In this MSU Office of Public Affairs file photograph, a Christmas tree brightens the Robert E. "Bob" Wolverton Sr. rotunda in the Old Main Academic Center. With the completion of the fall semester last week, the university community now turns its focus to winter session classes, a break for the holidays, and the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida, featuring Mississippi State and the University of Illinois on January 2.

Tuesday power outage scheduled for routine assurance test of generation plant
On Tuesday [Dec. 13], MSU Campus Services will conduct the annual Power Assurance Test of the Generation Plant to verify its ability to operate during a prolonged area-wide power outage. During this testing, further outages are unlikely but may occur. Normal utility power will be restored from Starkville Utilities’ system before 7:30 a.m. This outage will not affect the areas served by 4-County Power Association or Starkville Utilities connections, such as Research Park, North Farm, Softball & Tennis, and South Farm. “The generation plant has been in place since 2005. Although the facility operates frequently in peak-shaving mode, we have employed back-up power capabilities of the plant a few times when TVA and Starkville Utilities had system disruptions or were performing maintenance on their electrical distribution infrastructure,” MSU Director for Facilities Management Tommy Verdell said. “Those area-wide utility outages demonstrate the benefit of this plant to our campus.“

Stay protected during severe flu season
Flu hospitalizations in the U.S. have reached the highest level in a decade, but it is not too late to get protected during these peak months. “At this time in the season, flu hospitalization case numbers are higher than normal, and they’re only going to escalate more,” said David Buys, health specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. The most effective prevention against influenza is a vaccine. Flu shots are available at most pharmacies, doctors’ offices, health departments and urgent care centers. While September and October are typically the best months to receive the vaccine, it is still beneficial for people who get one in December. “A flu shot can reduce the risk of going to the hospital by 82%," Buys said. “Even if the shot doesn’t keep you from getting the flu, it will mitigate the worst symptoms and help you recover more quickly.”

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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Keenum: MSU graduates ready to ‘make a difference in this world’
A new class of Mississippi State graduates is ready to make a positive difference in the world, said President Mark E. Keenum during fall commencement ceremonies. The university honored more than 1,100 graduates who participated in in-person ceremonies last week at the Starkville campus. Keenum, a three-time MSU graduate with degrees in agricultural economics, served as the keynote speaker. “All that you’ve accomplished here has helped prepare you for the next step in your life’s journey, for the new memories you’re about to create, for the next years and decades to come here in the 21st century, which belongs to you -- this is your century,” Keenum said. “You are prepared to make a difference in this world, to be a change agent for good, to impact the lives of the many, many people you will encounter.”

Department of Energy awards Li, colleagues grant
Like Li, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and also affiliated with the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, and his team members at Mississippi State and others from a national laboratory and universities have been awarded a Department of Energy grant of $3 million. Mississippi State’s grant members, including Li, Heejin Cho and Ben Xu, all from the mechanical engineering department, will receive a total of $430,000 of the $3 million. The money will fund a project entitled “Light Trapping, Enclosed Planar-Cavity Receiver for Heating Particles to Enable Low-Cost Energy Storage and Chemical Processes.” In addition to his MSU team members, the project is being led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Other key team members include colleagues from MSU, Purdue, Colorado School of Mines and industrial partners.

DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Matt Goins
As a small animal rotating intern at the Animal Health Center (AHC), Matt Goins spends most of his time rotating through the internal medicine, surgery, and emergency/ICU departments. The AHC is the clinical service unit of Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and serves as a teaching hospital. “Doing my internship at the Animal Health Center has provided a wide variability in cases. There is something new and different every day,” said Goins. Goins has always loved animals but serving as a volunteer for several years at Big Cat Rescue in his hometown of Tampa, Florida solidified his decision to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine.

DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Annie Weaver
Annie Weaver loves everything about her job -- from the people she interacts with to cleaning. Weaver enjoys meeting new people and views her career as a ministry by showing kindness to clients whose pets are receiving medical care at the animal hospital and encouraging students. “Sometimes I interact with students. When I see them upset because they maybe didn’t do well on a test, I try to comfort them and tell them it’s going to be okay. Try again, and you’ll get it next time.” “I just love the Vet School and Mississippi state -- from the bottom of my heart, said Weaver. “It’s a great place to work. When it comes time for me to retire, I don’t think I’m going to be able to leave.”