President Mark E. Keenum was the featured speaker for the Starkville Rotary Club’s meeting last Monday [June 10]. He gave a general update from the university, discussing a strong town-and-gown relationship between MSU, Starkville and Oktibbeha County, and he thanked Rotarians for their service and leadership in the community. Keenum also shared his perspective on college athletics, both from the perspective of president of an SEC university and as chairman of the College Football Playoff Board of Managers. PHOTO: Grace Cockrell | Public Affairs
Tanner part of $19 million NASA mission focused on ‘true brightness’ of stars, secrets of ‘dark energy’
A Mississippi State University astrophysicist is going lightyears beyond star-gazing as she helps lead the science portion of a recently approved collaborative $19.5 million Landolt NASA Space Mission that will put an artificial star in orbit around the Earth. This artificial star will allow scientists to calibrate telescopes and more accurately measure the brightness of stars ranging from those nearby to the distant explosions of supernova in far-off galaxies. Angelle Tanner, an MSU associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, serves as the science-PI on the Landolt Mission, part of the NASA Astrophysics Pioneers program. Tanner’s work on the mission relies on cubesats -- small satellites orbiting Earth.
DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Savannah Blair
Not everyone is cut out for taking caring of multiple infants, but Savannah Blair handles the job like a professional. As a teacher in the infant room at the Child Development and Family Studies Center at Mississippi State University, Blair, along with another teacher provides care for eight babies under 12 months of age. “The children's development is important, but my most memorable moments come from being able to play one-on-one with them and snuggle,” said Blair. Like grade-school teachers, infant room teachers write lesson plans for daily activities highlighting the goals and objectives. The children are exposed to music with motions to help them associate words and actions, art to hone their fine motor skills, flash cards of animals or the alphabet, and strolls outside.
DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Robert Oakley
It’s not every day that you get to hang out with unique animals like an alpaca or a camel, but for Robert Oakley, it’s one of the perks of his job. As the Laboratory Animal Technician at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University, Oakley works with ruminant and food animals. “Keeping the stalls sanitary is important to reduce the spread of diseases, and it also keeps the animals comfortable,” said Oakley. A love for animals is where Oakley’s professional and personal lives intertwine. He grew up on a dairy and cattle farm in the Oktoc Community on the outskirts of Starkville, where he and his family live today.
Free learning opportunities via LinkedIn Learning available to faculty, staff and students
Sharpen skills. Explore new interests. Increase professional value. These and other results are now available via no-cost learning opportunities to Mississippi State faculty, staff and students through MSU’s new agreement with LinkedIn Learning. A popular, online education platform, LinkedIn Learning’s 20,000-plus courses are available to campus via a quick login using their MSU NetID email addresses. With self-paced learning, courses are presented in various formats, including bite-sized video, audio only and in-depth content. The platform is directly integrated with Canvas, the university’s learning management system. MSU faculty can use it to supplement course material or even develop and load their own content onto the platform.
Reminder: University policy addresses employee political activity
With campaigning for elected offices underway this year, Mississippi State's Office of General Counsel offers the following reminder of the university’s policy on political activities. There are several basic guidelines that university employees should keep in mind when engaging in any form of political activity. MSU employees are encouraged to review OP 01.14: Political Activities in its entirety and to understand their rights and responsibilities.
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.
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Jim Laird.
