Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Students crossing the university's historic Drill Field explored options to get involved on campus and in the community during Shades of Starkville last Wednesday [Sept. 6]. Sponsored by MSU's Center for Student Activities, the annual student organization fair promotes the many ways Bulldogs can find their niche community through extracurricular activities. Local Starkville businesses also made appearances, promoting services, products and chances to win prizes. PHOTO: Grace Cockrell | Public Affairs

School of Architecture celebrates 50-year milestone
The School of Architecture at Mississippi State University is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a series of events for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends. Professor and Director Emeritus Michael Berk, who led the school from 2009-2019, is proud of the impact the school has made on the state. “Having been a part of this prestigious program for many years, it is humbling to know that our school is solely responsible for educating the vast majority of the licensed architects currently practicing in Mississippi and also knowing that many others have major roles in some of the best national and international firms,” Berk said. Current Director and F.L. Crane Professor Karen Spence, who took on this role in 2021, said the school is continuing to build on its legacy of quality and strength of its curriculum.

‘American exceptionalism’ conversation opens 2023 Institute for the Humanities season
Mississippi State University’s Institute for the Humanities kicks off its 2023-2024 season this month with an in-depth discussion on American exceptionalism from the Civil War era through present times, led by Associate Professor Andrew F. Lang, a Civil War expert in MSU’s Department of History. The Sept. 19 event -- “Understanding American Exceptionalism from the Civil War to Today” -- will be held at 2 p.m. in the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library Auditorium, on the fourth floor of Mitchell Memorial Library. The event is free and open to the public. Lang will offer insights into his book, “A Contest of Civilizations: Exposing the Crisis of American Exceptionalism in the Civil War Era,” a 2021 University of North Carolina Press publication and finalist for the 2022 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize. He will take questions following the talk.

MSU authors confront global challenges, discuss solutions through fall Faculty Book Talk series
Mississippi State faculty members will tackle issues ranging from remote warfare to underrepresentation in public relations to the biology of wetland plants in this semester’s MSU Faculty Book Talk series hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences. Free to all, the first talk is 3:30 p.m. Sept. 20 in Mitchell Memorial Library’s John Grisham Room and will include a public reading and book signing. Peter DeGabriele, an associate professor in MSU’s Department of English, will present selections from his recently released University of Virginia Press publication “Drone Enlightenment: The Colonial Roots of Remote Warfare.” His book delves into drone warfare and questions about responsibility, war and sovereignty. “The MSU Faculty Book Talk series hopes to highlight and celebrate academic books and the MSU faculty who write them,” said Eric Vivier, MSU associate professor of English and series director.

Award-winning Theatre MSU celebrates 60 years, opens 2023 season with improv
Mississippi State’s Theatre MSU debuts its 60th season this month with a play steeped in improvisation as part of its Theatre for Young Adults program. With four annual mainstage productions, the 2023-2024 season opens with “Pants on Fire: A totally made up musical for kids,” from Creede Repertory Theatre in Colorado. MSU’s Lab Rats Comedy -- an improv student theatre club -- also will sponsor the show. Jesse Wade, MSU assistant clinical professor and technical director for “Pants on Fire,” said the improv show is “completely different” from other productions. “As the audience arrives each day, the kids will be asked to submit ideas of locations, villains, heroes, problems, etc. and the cast will then completely improv the show based on the prompts they receive,” Wade said.

SMART Business Act proof-of-concept funding application now open
The SMART Business Act proof-of-concept funding application is now open. The SMART Business Accelerator Initiative provides proof of concept funding to support the development of Mississippi State University intellectual property into products and services. Grants up to $85,000 per project may be used by public universities or affiliated university research corporations to validate the commercial viability of state-owned intellectual property through activities such as the development of early product concepts, conducting proof-of concept studies and manufacturing prototypes. Preference will be given to teams already working with the Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach, the Office of Technology Management, or InnovateMS to protect and commercialize an innovation, but is not a requirement.

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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Student Affairs promotes Brooks and Forrester
Two newly promoted Division of Student Affairs leaders with almost 50 years of combined student and professional service at Mississippi State are helping elevate the university’s commitment to student life and experience. Raymond Brooks is the newest executive director of Colvard Student Union, Event Services and Special Projects, and Kylie Forrester now serves as director of the Center for Student Activities. Forrester moves into her new role after serving as the center’s associate director, while Brooks previously was associate dean of students. Jackie Mullen, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, said the two promotions will help the division “contribute to the university’s transformational plan especially around student engagement through programs and services, student organizations and student life.”

Mechanical Engineering's Smith has big plans for $10.5 million grant
Dalton “Ross” Smith, a Mississippi State University James Worth Bagley College of Engineering faculty member, has been awarded approximately $10.5 million to expand workforce development opportunities for Department of Mechanical Engineering students as part of the collaborative Advancements in Manufacturing program and IDEELab, an innovative training site. The grant, which includes $7 million provided by the Department of Defense (DoD)’s Innovation Capability and Modernization (ICAM) office under its Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, will support the lab’s mission of achieving a novel teaching model in which students can learn the fundamentals of mechanical engineering in the context of real-world contemporary technology challenges.

Electrical and Computer Engineering's Du appointed next editor-in-chief of Journal of Applied Remote Sensing
On January 1, 2024, Qian "Jenny" Du of Mississippi State University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering will become the new editor-in-chief of the Journal of Applied Remote Sensing (JARS). Du, who holds the Bobby Shackouls Endowed Professorship in MSU’s Bagley College of Engineering, served on the SPIE Publications Committee in 2021-2022, and has several years of experience working as an associate editor for JARS. She also has extensive journal editorial experience through her work as editor-in-chief for the Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing (2016-2020), and as an associate editor for multiple journals. “I’m deeply honored to be elected as the new editor-in-chief of JARS, and I will follow the footsteps of my predecessors to continue to move the journal to the next level,” said Du.

MSU Extension helping Mississippi build statewide digital resources inventory
In Mississippi, 230,000 residents lack access to high-speed internet and the many benefits it offers, but the Mississippi State University Extension Service is working to help change that. Devon Mills, an assistant Extension professor of agricultural economics, is leading an effort to build an inventory of all the organizations in the state working to promote digital skills and literacy. This effort, called the Mississippi Digital Asset Mapping Project, is helping spread the word about a survey to help construct that inventory. The project is in partnership with leaders of the Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi, or BEAM, office. Results will help BEAM understand the best way to distribute the $1.2 billion in federal grant funding the state received from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the expansion of high-speed internet service.