Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Mississippi State students, faculty, staff and mentors joined university leaders to celebrate the new location of the Office of Prestigious External Scholarships in Nunnelee Hall. Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College Dean Tommy Anderson, left, OPES Director David Hoffman and Shackouls Honors College Associate Dean Anastasia Elder celebrated with a ribbon cutting last Monday [April 14]. OPES supports and mentors all MSU students applying for national, merit-based scholarships and fellowships including Rhodes, Gates Cambridge, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater and more. PHOTO: Grace Cockrell | MSU Public Affairs

New pedestrian, vehicle traffic patterns begin Monday around Duff Center, McCarthy Quadrangle construction
President’s Circle from Creelman Street to Bully Boulevard will permanently close Monday [April 21] as construction begins on the new McCarthy Quadrangle that will anchor the Duff Center. As part of the project, the south end of the former McCarthy Gymnasium parking lot will also permanently close. The Allen west parking lot will be accessible from Magruder Street and Morrill Road. The bollards at the south entrance of the lot will be removed. The section of Bully Boulevard between The Fresh Food Company and President’s Circle will close from April 21 through Aug. 9 to complete construction of the Duff Center. Please plan accordingly to adjust your campus route.

AI can help MSU Extension Service provide better help to users
Artificial intelligence is the most recent tool in the toolbox for the Mississippi State University Extension Service in its ongoing efforts to provide the best research-backed information to the residents of the state. MSU’s Agricultural Autonomy Institute, or AAI, hosted the National AI in Agriculture and Natural Resources Conference on March 31-April 2 in Starkville. ExtensionBot was the first item to be addressed at the conference. Angus Catchot, director of the MSU Extension Service, told those at the conference that AI can help Extension Services across the country continue to provide the information the public needs. “As you conduct the research and advance our capacity in AI, don’t forget about Extension. We can be the messengers for you,” Catchot said. “Extension can partner with you. As you go back to your own states, we can help carry that message for you.”

Starkville-MSU Community Band wraps up spring concert series with April 27 free show
A diverse selection of music will fill the afternoon air on April 27 as the Starkville-MSU Community Band concludes its spring concert series with a free, public performance. Scheduled for 2 p.m. at Mississippi State’s Kent Sills Band Hall, 72 Hardy Road, the concert will include Samuel Hazo’s “Novo Lenio,” which paints a musical picture of Hazo’s old school being torn down and replaced, and Starkville native Quincy Hilliard’s “Rejoice, Dolce and Dance,” among other pieces. A Starkville High School and MSU graduate, Hilliard is the Heymann Endowed Professor and a composer-in-residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he received the school’s Eminent Faculty Distinguished Professor Award in 2023.

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 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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resource for Mississippi State University employees.

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Mississippi State, Department of Public Safety sign forensics agreement
Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety have formally agreed to work together on forensic investigations, including recovery of human remains, exhumations, surface scatter and burial recoveries, as well as identification of human skeletal remains. President Mark E. Keenum joined Public Safety Commissioner Sean J. Tindell for a Memorandum of Agreement signing in Jackson last week. “As the state’s leading research university and land-grant institution, Mississippi State is called to serve the entire state,” Keenum said. “MSU will be helping the State of Mississippi meet a critical need for forensic science, expertise, resources and personnel. This partnership is an example of how we can deploy the expertise and capacity we have at MSU to make a difference for our fellow Mississippians who have been affected by crime.”

ACCESS program joins Institute on Disabilities, adding services for intellectually, developmentally disabled students
A life-changing program at Mississippi State is integrating with the university’s Mississippi Institute on Disabilities, a move that increases services, resources, facility space and more for this thriving initiative serving families statewide. With the transition to the College of Education’s MIoD, the ACCESS program is further complemented through the institute’s many units, which include the T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability, Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic, and Career Horizons Center, according to Kasee Stratton-Gadke, MIoD executive director. She said capabilities of the T.K. Martin Center alone include assistive technology like adapted driving, dyslexia and reading strategies, and even exposure to creative expression through art.

MSU names Parker National Alumnus of the Year
Mississippi State is honoring Hal Parker with its highest alumni honor. In a campus ceremony on May 30, the Mississippi native will be recognized formally as the university’s 2025 National Alumnus of the Year. A 1969 graduate of MSU’s College of Business, Parker has built a distinguished career marked by 50 years of entrepreneurial success and leadership. “We are proud to celebrate Hal Parker on behalf of Mississippi State University for his remarkable professional accomplishments and ongoing commitment to his alma mater. Among more than 166,000 living alumni, Hal exemplifies the spirit of the Bulldog community, and his exceptional achievements, both professional and personal, showcase the dedication MSU encourages in all its graduates,” said Jeff Davis, executive director of the MSU Alumni Association.