Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Mississippi State officials, Starkville Habitat for Humanity representatives, community members and student volunteers gathered last week to break ground on the 16th Maroon Edition Habitat home. Pictured from left to right are Director of Student Leadership and Community Engagement Kathy Jones; Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Hyatt; Pastor Willie Edwards; Habitat home recipients Khalil and Chiquita Brown; Starkville Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors President Alyssa McKinley; and MSU President Mark E. Keenum. PHOTO: Jonah Holland | Public Affairs

Alumnus Lipscomb headlines Fall Convocation
A Mississippi State alumnus and Mississippi deputy attorney general will be the featured speaker at MSU’s Fall Convocation ceremony on Tuesday [Aug. 27]. Whitney Lipscomb will welcome new MSU students at the annual event that kicks off the new academic year. In addition to Lipscomb, MSU President Mark E. Keenum and other senior leaders will welcome the newest Bulldogs to the MSU family in Humphrey Coliseum at 6 p.m. Lipscomb is a 2009 summa cum laude MSU graduate who earned a degree in political science. During her time at the university, she was recognized as Miss MSU, a John C. Stennis Scholar, Student Association secretary and recipient of the Spirit of the State award for her campus involvement.

Writing Center moves to library, enhances accessibility with a central campus hub
The Writing Center -- a resource dedicated to aiding writers of all levels and facilitated by the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences -- invites the Mississippi State community to an open house for their new location, Mitchell Memorial Library, followed by a reception for new MSU faculty members. On Monday [Aug. 26] at 5 p.m., tour the new location on the 2nd floor of the library, Room 2335. The reception will begin at 5:30 on the 3rd floor in the dean’s event space. “We are excited about the Writing Center’s new location in the library because the centralized location will make our services more accessible and convenient for all writers on campus,” said English Department Head Lara Dodds.

Hopper receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award
A distinguished faculty member in Mississippi State’s College of Education has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to teach and conduct research abroad during the 2024-25 academic year. Missy Hopper, professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Leadership, will focus on education, teaching and English language learning at the University of Bahrain. The prestigious award from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board allows her to teach classes, carry out research centered on teacher quality, as well as work with students in their educator preparation programs. “This prestigious recognition highlights Dr. Hopper’s dedication to advancing education,” said Teresa Jayroe, dean of MSU’s College of Education.

Turkish landscape architecture association honors Artunç
A Mississippi State faculty member will be honored at an international meeting of landscape architects next month. Sadik Artunç, a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, will be honored next week by the Chamber of Turkish Landscape Architects at its 15th National Landscape Architecture Awards. He will accept the “Onur Ödülü,” or honorary award, at the joint meeting of the chamber and the 60th International Federation of Landscape Architecture (IFLA) World Congress, to be held Sept. 4-6 in Istanbul. “This award is personally gratifying, and I thank the Turkish Chamber for recognizing my work over the years, both in Turkey and in the U.S., and for highlighting the global importance of our profession,” Artunç said. “I’m grateful for the invitation to the meeting and look forward to speaking there.”

Fall general faculty meeting coming up next week
The Office of the President and the Robert Holland Faculty Senate invite all Mississippi State University faculty to the fall general faculty meeting at 2 p.m. on Sept. 4 in Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium. Interested members of the campus community are also welcome. The meeting will feature an update from President Mark E. Keenum. The MSU Television Center will provide a livestream of the meeting for those unable to attend in person or who prefer to watch online. The livestream will be available at https://vimeo.com/event/3997666.

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.

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.

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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‘This home will be yours’: MSU family breaks ground on 16th Maroon Edition Habitat home
Chiquita Brown held her five-year-old son Khalil’s hand while she stood on the foundation of her future home. By this time next year, Brown and her son will have the keys to her home built by volunteers from Mississippi State University and the Starkville Habitat for Humanity. “I feel really blessed and really grateful,” she said. MSU President Mark E. Keenum, along with Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Hyatt, Director of Student Leadership and Community Engagement Kathy Jones and Starkville’s Habitat for Humanity President Alyssa McKinley, celebrated the groundbreaking along with Brown last week. “It’s great for us to be able to provide these opportunities for our students, to come out and see and experience firsthand the impact they can have in serving and helping others,” Keenum said.

MSU celebrates USAID-funded food security program and university’s global impact
U.S. Agency for International Development Chief Scientist Robert Bertram visited Mississippi State University last Thursday [Aug. 22] to mark five years of successful work promoting global health and sustainability by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish -- managed by the Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security at MSU. In addition to celebrating five years of successful implementation, leaders of the Fish Innovation Lab are looking ahead to continue alleviating poverty and improving nutrition through aquatic foods with a five-year grant extension, awarded in 2023 and adding up to $15 million to the initial effort, which launched in 2018. “MSU is a long-standing and proud partner in the struggle to achieve global food security by putting sustainable, quality, nutritious and affordable foods within the reach of all," Bertram said.

University partners with Mississippi College to offer accelerated law degree program
Mississippi State students who aspire to become attorneys now have a new accelerated pathway into the legal profession thanks to a new university partnership with Mississippi College. Mississippi State and MC’s School of Law formally signed an agreement last Wednesday [Aug. 21] allowing qualified MSU students to enter MC’s Juris Doctor program before fully completing an MSU bachelor’s degree, accelerating the total length of undergraduate studies plus law school by one full year. MSU President Mark E. Keenum and MC President Blake Thompson signed the Memorandum of Understanding alongside MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw, MSU Executive Vice Provost Peter Ryan, MC Provost and Executive Vice President Mike Highfield, and MC School of Law Dean John Anderson.

Lovely takes leadership of chemistry department
Mississippi State’s new head of the Department of Chemistry in the university’s College of Arts and Sciences originally hails from England, but most recently was a University of Texas at Arlington faculty member with more than 20 years of experience in organic chemistry and biochemistry. Professor Carl Lovely began his MSU role on August 1. He served as the chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UTA for three years and also was associate chair. “I am excited about the possibilities he will open for us as we chart a course that expands our basic research and our impact on this state, its people and the students at this university. I am convinced that we will benefit from his leadership of the chemistry department,” said MSU Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Rick Travis.