Maroon MEMO: Employee News (Mississippi State University)

Mississippi State’s T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability invites families and individuals of all ages to “Trick or Trot” during its 13th annual fun run Oct. 18 on the university’s campus. The center’s largest annual fundraiser kicks off at 9 a.m. with on-site registration and activities for children, and the fun run starts at 10 a.m. Participants are encouraged to wear child-friendly costumes as they run, walk or stroll the 1-mile loop through campus beginning at the center. Cheer stations will be set up along the route to encourage participants, provide candy and hand out other goodies. Registration for the fun run and cheer stations is available at www.ecommerce.msstate.edu/tkmartin/funrun. PHOTO: Grace Cockrell | Public Affairs

Rome Center to be temporary home in Eternal City for MSU students
Mississippi State University students studying abroad will benefit from a generous gift from Mike and Laura McDaniel, of Houston, Texas, which makes possible a new center in Rome to house students traveling in Italy. MSU is renovating a building to house its students after signing an agreement this summer with Pontifical University Antonianum, an Italian school headquartered in Rome. “Mississippi State University has been finding solutions and creating opportunity here at home and around the world for nearly 150 years. The McDaniels’ gift will help us create a home away from home for our students as they meet new people, broaden their perspectives and gain new insights into their fields of study. The new center in Rome will also enable us to grow our highly successful academic and research partnerships in the city and well beyond,” MSU President Mark E. Keenum said.

MSU Extension launches Walk Mississippi challenge
A new exercise and nutrition initiative is challenging Mississippians to improve their health and fitness, one step at a time. Walk Mississippi and Live Healthy... One Step at a Time is a six-week wellness program developed by the Mississippi State University Extension Service that encourages youth and adults to be more physically active and adopt healthier nutritional habits. The objective is for everyone who signs up to virtually walk 180 miles (the equivalent of the width of Mississippi), learn strategies and tips from MSU Extension’s Walk-a-Weigh wellness program, and improve dietary and lifestyle behaviors. This no-cost program officially begins Oct. 11 and wraps up on Nov. 21.

Airport shuttle departure schedule adjusted to meet airline baggage check changes
A 45-minute cutoff for checking baggage with Delta and American airlines has changed the express shuttle times offered by Mississippi State Transportation to Golden Triangle Regional Airport. The GTRA express shuttle now departs The Mill at MSU two hours before flight time and arrives at the airport one and a half hours before flight time. This is 30 minutes earlier than the previous schedule. Shuttle pickups from the Starkville campus and hotels along Highway 12 also can be scheduled with MSU if reservations are made at least 24 hours prior to the requested departure time from these locations. This service is available by emailing GTRShuttle@transportation.msstate.edu or calling 662-325-5204.

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 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.

The Office of Public Affairs provides Maroon MEMO as a general information
resource for Mississippi State University employees.

Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.

President Keenum takes part in Baptist celebration of OCH Regional Medical Center purchase
Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum will join Baptist Memorial Health Care leaders, employees and physicians, as well as Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors President Marvell Howard for a Monday [Oct. 6] event celebrating the purchase of OCH Regional Medical Center. Baptist Memorial Health Care and the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors finalized the sale of OCH Regional Medical Center on Oct. 1. Baptist leaders, including the new hospital Administrator/CEO Mac Flynt and Chief Nursing Officer Lauri Sansing, will be joined by Oktibbeha County representatives and other local leaders to celebrate the purchase and future of healthcare in the county. This Monday’s event takes place at 10 a.m. at the Baptist Memorial Hospital-Oktibbeha County (formerly OCH Regional Medical Center) Community Room, 400 Hospital Rd. in Starkville.

Peterson named biochemistry, nutrition and health promotion department head
Daniel Peterson has been named head of Mississippi State’s Department of Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion. The department is home to three undergraduate programs, five master’s and four doctoral programs. These programs include 32 concentrations and a post-bachelor dietic internship. The department houses nearly 40 faculty members and serves approximately 600 undergraduates and 50 graduate students. Peterson said his vision is to continue to position the department as a hub for human health. “Our programs span biochemistry, nutrition, health promotion and food science, all united by a focus on health,” Peterson said. “Most of our biochemistry undergraduates pursue pre-professional tracks in medicine, pharmacy and optometry. It makes sense that students pursing health-focused careers study in a department where health is the common thread.

Atkinson's book explores TVA’s ‘monumental’ legacy
A new book by Mississippi State English Professor Ted Atkinson explores the Tennessee Valley Authority, a New Deal agency that reshaped parts of seven southern states through flood control, rural electrification and social programs. The work highlights TVA’s enduring relevance at a time when the U.S. continues to debate climate change, fossil fuel dependence and sustainable development. “Monumental Designs: Infrastructure and the Culture of the Tennessee Valley Authority,” a University Press of Mississippi publication released in September, examines how cultural productions -- from photography and documentary film to theater, fiction and novels -- have promoted, defined and interrogated the TVA’s infrastructure initiatives. Atkinson has taught at MSU since 2009. He serves as editor of Mississippi Quarterly and is the author of “Faulkner and the Great Depression: Aesthetics, Ideology, and Cultural Politics” (University of Georgia Press, 2006).