BRC Steering Committee Finalizes Draft Implementation Plan
During a two-day retreat this week, the Executive Steering Committee for the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Redesign of Teacher Preparation (BRC) formulated the draft implementation plan for redesigning the state's teacher education programs. The Steering Committee used resources from recent site visits to Emporia State University in Emporia, KS, and Alverno College in Milwaukee, WI, as well as extensive feedback from the BRC to formulate the implementation plan. The draft plan is currently being reviewed by the Steering Committee for final edits, and it will be presented for approval to the full BRC when it next convenes on June 30. Retreat participants included Dr. Daphne Buckley, associate superintendent at the Mississippi Department of Education; Dr. Earl Fox, teacher at South Side Elementary; Ms. Gail Gettis, teacher administrator at the Mississippi Department of Education; Dr. David Hebert, professor of mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences at Delta State University; Dr. Terry Jayroe, director of field space learning at Mississippi State University; Dr. Sue Jolly, chair of education at the Mississippi University for Women; Mr. Jack Linton, principal at Petal High School; Dr. Barry Morris, chair of education at William Carey University; Mr. Donald Pendergrast, director of instruction at the Mississippi Private School Association; Dr. Kaye Pepper, director of assessment at the University of Mississippi School of Education; Dr. Josephine Posey, dean of education at Alcorn State University; Dr. Lillie Gail Smith, director of field experiences at the Mississippi University for Women. To learn more about the BRC, contact IHL Director of P-16 Initiatives Dr. Susan Lee.
| System to Confer 9,085 Degrees The IHL Board of Trustees is pleased to confer 9,085 degrees this spring and extends best wishes to the graduates. The numbers of degrees to be conferred by each institution are as follows: - Alcorn State University - 676
- Delta State University - 537
- Jackson State University - 981
- Mississippi State University - 1931
- Mississippi University for Women - 309
- Mississippi Valley State University - 450
- University of Mississippi - 2046
- University of Mississippi Medical Center - 434
- University of Southern Mississippi - 1721
Mississippi's University System graduates about 14,000 students each year. These graduates give back to the state in countless ways. They earn higher wages than their peers without degrees, contribute more to the state's tax base, volunteer more, enjoy better health, and raise children better prepared for school. They are employed at higher rates, incarcerated at lower rates, and receive public assistance at lower rates. Congratulations to the graduates and the universities that have educated them. | Monthly Board Meeting May 21-22
The regularly monthly meeting of the IHL Board of Trustees is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21 and Thursday, May 22 in the IHL Board Room in the Universities Center, 3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211. Please check the IHL website next week for a schedule of committee meetings and agenda items to be addressed. A live webcast of the meeting will be available for viewing online. | System Review Shifts to Bi-monthly Summer Schedule
During the summer months, the System Review will shift to a bi-monthly publication schedule. The e-newsletter will be distributed every other Friday, with the next issue circulating on Friday, May 23. A special edition of the System Review may be circulated in the event of an emergency or important announcement. | |  Items included in the "University News" section of the System Review are submitted each week by the universities. The news items are listed in rotating alphabetical order by university.DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
 Coach Dave Boo Ferriss to be Conferred with Honorary Degree at Delta State University
Delta State University will pay tribute to one of its own during Spring Commencement Services to be held on Saturday, May 10 at 10 a.m. inside Walters Sillers Coliseum on the campus. Delta State will bestow one of its highest honors - an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree - to Delta State's legendary baseball coach, Dave "Boo" Ferriss. The honorary degree was unanimously approved by the Institutions of Higher Learning's Board of Trustees. Ferriss, born in Shaw, graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was the first baseball player to receive a full scholarship to Mississippi State University. Ferriss pitched there successfully on the 1941 and 1942 teams. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1942, but was then called up for military duty during World War II. He served in the military from 1942 to 1945. Ferriss went on to pitch for the Red Sox and set the major league record with 22 scoreless innings to start a career. He spent six seasons playing for Boston, compiling a 65-30 mark with a 3.64 earned run average. After his successful stint as a player, he served as a pitching coach for the Red Sox from 1955-59. He came to Delta State in 1959 as athletic director and baseball coach. In early 1967, Ferriss left Delta State to become assistant athletic director at Mississippi State, but he returned 18 months later as director of the Delta State University Foundation, a position he held until June 1987. Learn more. Delta State's College of Education and Sunflower County Schools Plan Oral History Project Delta State's Tabb Presents Lucas with Women in Higher Education Leadership Award DSU Athletics to Release Limited Edition DVD of Grisham Event; Autographed Copies of Grisham Books Still Available JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
Husband, Wife from Louisiana Graduating with Doctorates from JSU
Convenience or family tradition may have made some students choose historically black Jackson State University, but for Catherine and Tommy Estis, it was neither. The husband and wife are white and travel about 120 miles from Monroe, LA, to make it to class. On Friday, May 9, they will earn their doctorates at JSU's Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center. "We chose Jackson State because they are receptive to people from other backgrounds," Tommy Estis said. "Their programs were highly recommended by some of our colleagues, and their programs were flexible." Tommy Estis, 53, a licensed counselor in areas such as marriage and addictions, will earn his Ph.D. in social work, while Catherine Estis, 52, a counselor for the Talent Search program at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, will earn a doctorate in public policy (policy analysis). The Estises, high school sweethearts who have been married for 35 years, said juggling the demands of work and marriage while both pursuing their degrees was difficult but doable. "Traveling long miles and getting home late, like around midnight, then having to turn around and get up the next morning for work, was extremely challenging," Catherine Estis said. But, her husband said, they did what they had to do. "Home didn't get much attention, but we complement each other and we can juggle." The couple also was able to get financial assistance for their studies. Learn more. NPR's Michel Martin Hosted Wednesday's Edition of 'Tell Me More' Live at WJSU Mississippi Students Win Chemistry Awards at JSU JSU Volunteering Program Positive Experience for Students MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
Award-winning MSU Challenge X Vehicle Begins Final Journey
Matthew Doude walks around the mid-sized sports utility vehicle in the Mississippi State University "showroom," pointing out the electric motor under the back cargo area and the dash-mounted personal computer. The McCool resident casually points out that it averages 38 miles-per-gallon and runs on B20 biodiesel or standard diesel fuel. Clad in blue jeans and T-shirt, Doude then sits in the driver's seat and demonstrates how to use the wireless Internet and MP3 player on the built-in hard drive of the front display. He points to the dashboard display of the vehicle's battery charge and average fuel economy. Standing beside the white vehicle striped in maroon along the bottom, Doude sounds like a car salesman working on a commission. He isn't. Instead, the casually dressed young man is a mechanical engineering graduate student, and his showroom is a high-technology laboratory at MSU's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems. Known usually by the acronym CAVS, the laboratory was created several years ago to develop vehicle designs that utilize next-generation materials and concepts. Over the past year, Doude has shown many people around the Challenge X vehicle he and other MSU students redesigned. They were winners of a three-year competition sponsored by General Motors that attracted entries from 17 institutions of higher learning--all working to convert a standard 2005 Chevrolet Equinox crossover SUV into a hybrid gas-saving vehicle. From May 12 to 22, 15 team members will take their creation on a final spin as required by the competition rules. Traveling from East Brunswick, N.J., to Washington, D.C., they will participate in a Challenge X Road Race with the goal of raising additional public awareness of the technologies and concepts used in redesigning the vehicle. Learn more. Alexander Named Head of MSU Diversity and Equity Office MSU Wind Ensemble Taking Their Talents to the 'Islands' Boles Named to Board of Former MSU Track Star, Olympian MSU Mathematician Named 2008 Fulbright Scholar MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND VETERINARY MEDICINE NEWS
MSU Student Drive Nets 1,500 Pounds of Food
Mississippi State University students collected more than 1,500 pounds of canned goods in their War on Hunger food drive at semester's end to help stock local pantries in the Mississippi Food Network. The Committee of 19 campus organization sponsored the food drive, held the last week of April. Although many students had to study for final examinations, they honored their commitment to make a difference, said Chiquita Briley, committee faculty adviser and MSU Extension Service nutrition specialist. "One fraternity donated more than 700 cans, and other student organizations collected significant amounts of food," she said. "Many faculty members made an effort to motivate students to participate." The cans are being distributed among seven food pantries in Oktibbeha, Clay, and Lowndes counties. In keeping with the request for a variety of foods rich in nutrients, student volunteers sorted soups, canned tuna and chicken, beef stews, pineapple chunks, and green beans brought to the Hearnsburger Food Processing Plant on campus. The committee partnered with the Mississippi Food Network, the Society of St. Andrew's, and Students Team Up to Fight Hunger to conduct the drive. The donations will help pantries maintain their stocks that often are depleted in summer when more people seek assistance. Learn more. Nine of Ten MSU Animal and Dairy Science Grads Begin Career within 6 Months MSU Specialist Reports that Rice Headlines Inspire Mississippi Growers MSU Veterinary Medicine Early Entry Program Streamlines Professional Education MSU Hosts Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show in the John W. Starr Memorial Forest MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN NEWS
MUW's TVA Investment Club Earns $3,000 in 2007
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Investment Club at Mississippi University for Women won an award of $3,000 for its performance in 2007, bringing the club's award total to $43,000 since 2001. Dr. Joyce Hunt, interim dean of the College of Business, said, "We are extremely proud of our students and their faculty advisory team, Dr. Glenn Rhyne and Mr. Scott Tollison." Rhyne, professor of economics, has served as the club's director since 2001. Tollison, a management information systems instructor, has assisted with the club for the last two years. To win, Rhyne said students must "outperform the Standard and Poor's 500 Index and the other universities over the year from January through December. Each school develops and manages a portfolio of actual stocks . . . [and] buys and sells stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. The schools with the highest return on their investments are the winners." Currently, MUW's TVA Investment Club has 27 stocks in its portfolio at a value of approximately $400,000. Rhyne said TVA provided the seed money to start their investments and the club has "increased the value of our investments to over $800,000. However, TVA decided to reduce the holdings of each university by 50 percent." Learn more. MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
 Mississippi Valley State University Online
http://www.mvsu.edu UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI NEWS
Law Graduation Saturday Includes First-ever Certificate in Space Law
Michael Dodge earns a special distinction Saturday at the University of Mississippi when he is awarded his juris doctor degree. Dodge, of Long Beach, becomes the first graduate to also receive a special space law certificate, the only one of its kind in the country. One of 177 graduates to be awarded degrees at the law school's commencement ceremony in the Grove, he is to be awarded the space law certificate through the law school's National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law. "For me the certificate provides both a tremendous sense of achievement, and also a potential enticement for employers," Dodge said, adding that nowhere else could he have gained such a comprehensive education in space, air and remote sensing law. "The professors and personnel here are the highest quality that can be found anywhere in the world, and I have learned from them the necessary skills I will need to effectively practice space law," he said. "Ole Miss is, simply put, the space law expert, and anyone wishing practice in this field should get their legal education here." Joanne Gabrynowicz, director of the center, said the new concentration provides Dodge and students to come with a competitive edge in the aerospace industry. "Students in this program have unparalleled opportunities to participate in the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court competition, the Journal of Space Law, center conferences and events, and internships that strengthen their future employment options," she said. Learn more. Students Find Satisfaction, Friendship in Big Brothers, Big Sisters Program Two Seniors Win $5,000 Prizes in Gillespie Business Plan Competition MBA Program Revamp Includes Offering All Classes at Night Buchannon Named Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER NEWS
Barksdale Foundation Extends Scholarship Funding "Indefinitely"
The Barksdale family will continue to fund full-ticket scholarships to medical students at the University of Mississippi Medical Center indefinitely. The Bryan Barksdale, MD, Scholarship, the Fred McDonnell, MD, Scholarship and the Don Mitchell, MD, Scholarship will be extended to attract more students to the Medical Center, according to David Barksdale, director of the Barksdale Foundation. "Mr. (James) Barksdale has again made a commitment to funding scholarships that will change the lives of individuals, strengthen our School of Medicine by allowing us to recruit the brightest and by allowing us to continue to improve our diversity, and change the lives of many Mississippians when these health professionals complete their training and begin their practices in Mississippi communities," said Dr. Dan Jones, vice chancellor for health affairs. Learn more. IQH Recognizes HCHC, Medical Center for Initiatives Sterile Professional Society Selects Lynch for MSCSP Presidency SOD Grad Manufactures Home, Office Dentistry Career Students SOAR to Awards Apex at Science Fairs UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI NEWS
Southern Miss Names Arts and Letters Dean, School of Music Director
The University of Southern Mississippi has selected two veteran professors, administrators, and researchers as the new dean of the College of Arts and Letters and director for the School of Music. Dr. Denise K. von Herrmann, who has served as interim dean of the college since February 2007, will become the college's second dean since it was formed in 2003. She was chosen from an experienced group of candidates in a national search. Having served Southern Miss as department chair of Political Science, International Development and International Affairs before her appointment as interim dean, von Herrmann, 45, was associate dean for academic affairs in the college from January 2004 to April 2006. She also served as interim dean of the Gulf Coast from May to October 2003, when she directed all academic operations of the Gulf Park campus in Long Beach. In his seventh year as chair of the Department of Fine Arts at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Dr. Michael A. Miles was named director of the School of Music. He will assume his position in July 2008, replacing Dr. Charles Elliott, who is retiring. Miles brings a teaching career that spans a spectrum of musical instruction to the School of Music director's position. He taught applied trumpet for 22 years, conducted wind ensembles, brass ensembles, and symphony orchestras, directed marching bands, taught general education lecture courses, and directed a highly-regarded jazz ensemble. Learn more. Southern Miss Doctoral Student Receives National Science Foundation Fellowship Student Vocalist Earns Scholarships to Prestigious Summer Music Programs Southern Miss History Student Named 2008 History Scholar Finalist Southern Miss Professor, Former Student Add Titles to Publication Series UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST NEWS
Southern Miss Gulf Coast Selects Students for Who's Who Honor
The University of Southern Mississippi has selected 17 students earning their degrees from the Gulf Park campus for the 2007-2008 Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. This is the first year Southern Miss Gulf Coast has selected students for the Who's Who recognition. Students were selected based on leadership, extracurricular activities, and community contributions throughout their academic career. Additionally, students must graduate in the current academic year. Undergraduate students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 and graduate students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.75. "Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges represents one of the highest achievements a student can accomplish," said Dr. Joseph Paul, vice president for student affairs at Southern Miss. "These honorees have distinguished themselves not only in the classroom, but through their leadership, community service, and character." Learn more. Southern Miss College of Business Awards Outstanding Gulf Coast Students for 2007-08 Southern Miss Gulf Coast Earns Six Awards from the Public Relations Association of Mississippi ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
Alcorn State Alumna Receives Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree
Congratulations to Krista Nettles, a 2004 Alcorn State University graduate with a Bachelor of Science in animal science degree, who received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine on Wednesday, April 30, 2008. Dr. Nettles graduated from a class of 66, which one university official called "the most unique class to date," as the graduates originated from 21 states and Canada. Her future plans are to complete a residency in small animal medicine at the university. Learn more. Alcorn's 137th Commencement Will Air Live Via Webcast Alcorn State Students Attend Beta Kappa Chi Conference Alcorn Professor Completes Two Back-to-Back Review Papers for Top International Journals 
May 10 - Fox News anchor Shepard Smith delivers the address for the University of Mississippi's 155th Commencement. The main ceremony is at 9 a.m. in the Grove, with individual school ceremonies to follow in various campus locations. Learn more. May 10 - For the eighth year in a row, the Ole Miss men's tennis team hosts an NCAA Regional event. The Rebels face Marist in the first round at 11 a.m., and Vanderbilt and Indiana square off at 2 p.m. The final is set for noon on May 11, with the winner advancing to the "Sweet Sixteen" in Tulsa, OK. Learn more. May 10 - Commencement for The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast begins at 10 a.m. in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi. Learn more. May 11-18 - Southern Miss celebrates AmeriCorps Week. Learn more. May 13 and May 15 - Alcorn Extension Program and the MS Small Farm Development Center is hosting a produce sale on Tuesday, May 13, and Thursday, May 15, at 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Collard, turnip, and mustard greens will be sold for $1.00 per bunch at the ASU Extension Country Store at the fruit orchard on main campus. Learn more. May 14 - "Don't Spread Lead," an intensive workshop for professionals and do-it-yourselfers will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at select MSU Extension Service video conference sites statewide. To register or learn conference locations, contact Dr. Bobbie Shaffett at (662) 325-3080 or bobbies@ext.msstate.edu. Learn more. May 16 - The Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi presents the Rebel Classic golf tournament, a four-man scramble at the Country Club of Oxford. Registration is from 9 to 9:45 a.m., with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. Head football coach Houston Nutt will be on hand to meet and greet. Learn more. May 17 - Mississippi State University Meridian presents the Coasters, Platters, and Marvelettes performing at the Riley Center at 8 p.m. The 1950's music takes center stage, bringing legends and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers to Meridian. For ticket information, call (601) 696-2200. Learn more. May 17 - Spring Garden Day at MSU's North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona is for anyone interested in beautifying a home landscape. Attendees can stroll the beautiful gardens and enjoy the day talking to gardening experts. Contact Dr. Lelia Kelly at 662-566-2201 or leliak@ext.msstate.edu. Learn more. May 20-22 - The Mississippi Homemaker Volunteer State Council holds its annual meeting at Mississippi State University. Contact Marylin Winters at (662) 325-3360 or winm@ext.msstate.edu. Learn more. June 16-19 - Jackson State University will celebrate its 32nd Annual Church Music Workshop of America with nationally acclaimed gospel artists Norman Hutchins and Myrna Summers. The workshop features a variety of seminars relating to various aspects of worship service music. For more information, call (601) 979-2141. Learn more. |
