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Volume 1, Issue 1
Friday, October 20, 2006
Edited by Jennifer Rogers

Mississippi's Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning
News from the System University News
yellowarrowWelcome from the Commissioner yellowarrowUniversity Hospital Dedicated
yellowarrowBlue Ribbon Committee for Teacher Preparation Appointed yellowarrowNIH Awards UM $11 Million Grant
yellowarrowIEO Search Process Web Site Launched yellowarrowASU to Name Cafeteria for Bristow
yellowarrowIHL Board Met Wednesday and Thursday at Med Center yellowarrowRendon to Direct Veterans Center
  yellowarrowThad Cochran Center Dedicated
  yellowarrowUSM Recreation Program Ranked Best
For more IHL News, click here. To subscribe to this e-newsletter, click here.


Commissioner Meredith
Welcome from the Commissioner
Welcome to the first edition of the System Review, the e-newsletter of the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL). This e-newsletter is designed to facilitate communication both between the IHL Board office and constituencies at Mississippi's eight public universities and among the universities. Although our universities are individual institutions with unique missions, they function as one unified system with a common goal to change Mississippi's future through education. That common goal will be more easily met through communication, shared best practices, and synergy.

You can expect to receive the newsletter every Friday afternoon, unless you receive advance notification of a break in circulation. Good news or other information to share in the newsletter is welcome. Faculty, staff, and students are also encouraged to subscribe to the e-newsletter. To subscribe, click here.

Sincerely,
Dr. Thomas C. Meredith
Commissioner of Higher Education
Blue Ribbon Committee for Teacher Preparation Appointed
IHL has joined forces with the Mississippi Department of Education, the Governor's office, state legislators, and the Mississippi Economic Council to appoint a Blue Ribbon Committee for the Redesign of Teacher Preparation (BRC). The BRC aims to increase the quality and quantity of teachers in Mississippi by creating an accountability system linking student achievement with teachers from particular teacher preparation programs; increasing teacher retention rates; developing stronger teacher education articulation agreements between two-year and four-year schools; aligning certification/licensure requirements with national/state standards and federal mandates; and improving teacher recruitment processes. The BRC, which is being coordinated by IHL's Office of Academic and Student Affairs, will include approximately 36 educators, business/industry leaders, parents, and legislators who represent Mississippi's demographic diversity and diversity of perspectives on education. The BRC will hold its first meeting November 9-10, at the Edison Walthal Hotel in Jackson.
IEO Search Process Web Site Launched
The IHL Board has begun the search process for institutional executive officers (IEOs) at Alcorn State University and the University of Southern Mississippi. Extensive information, including a detailed description of the search process, a timeline of events, answers to frequently asked questions, contact information for the search consultant, and links to search-related press releases, is now available on the Institutional Executive Officer Search Process web site. IHL's institutional executive officer search process allows Mississippi to be on the consideration list of the highest caliber professionals in higher education. The process is open, transparent and representative-based, and works in accordance with today's recruitment standards for high-level institutions of higher learning.

IHL Board Met Wednesday and Thursday at Med Center
The IHL Board of Trustees held its regular monthly meeting Wednesday, October 18, and Thursday, October 19, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). The Board voted unanimously to name the new student cafeteria at Alcorn State University in honor of its beloved President, the late Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr. The Board also heard a presentation from Southern Regional Education Board President Dr. David Spence, who stressed the importance of college readiness, and encouraged Board members to work with postsecondary school leaders to achieve this common goal. Board members toured the UMMC campus and attended the dedication of the new University Hospital, the fourth and final hospital in the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s replacement of the original teaching hospital that opened in 1955.


Items included in the “University News” section of the System Review are submitted each week by the universities. The news items are not listed in alphabetical order by university, and the order will change each week.

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER NEWS
University Hospital Dedicated
The University of Mississippi Medical Center's fourth hospital dedication in 10 years signaled the completion of the multi-million-dollar construction project to replace the original teaching hospital, which opened in 1955. The new, seven-story, $53 million University Hospital follows the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children, completed in 1997, the Winfred L. Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants, completed in 1999, and the Wallace Conerly Hospital for Critical Care, dedicated in 2001. Dr. Dan Jones, UMC vice chancellor for health affairs, presided over the dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, October 19. Read more.

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI NEWS
NIH Awards UM $11 Million Grant for New Biomedical Research Center
University of Mississippi pharmacology professor and Director of the Center of Research Excellence in Natural Products Neuroscience (CORE-NPN), Rae R. Matsumoto, has been awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to establish an $11 million natural products neuroscience research center. The five-year grant will allow investigators to conduct state-of-the-art research to identify components and properties of natural products that affect the nervous system. "This research will lead to a better understanding of the health-promoting aspects of dietary supplements," said Dr. Matsumoto. "It will also lead to the development of new medications to treat neurological and psychiatric diseases and the identification of valuable scientific research tools." Read more.

Teaching English as Second Language Program Provides Global Instructors

NEH Awards Grant for UM Workshops to Assist 2-Year College Teachers in Civil War History

Business, Accountancy Honor Society Recognized Nationally as 'Exemplary Chapter'

MFA in Creative Writing Alum Wins Prestigious National Award

ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
ASU to Name New Cafeteria for Late President
During its regular monthly meeting, the IHL Board voted unanimously to name the new student cafeteria at Alcorn State University in honor of its beloved President, the late Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr. The new student cafeteria is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in late 2007. "President Bristow was an extraordinary individual who was deeply committed to Alcorn State, and especially to the lives of his students," said Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Thomas C. Meredith. "I am pleased Dr. Bristow's legacy will be honored on campus." Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr., 57, was named President of Alcorn State University on August 24, 1995. During his nearly eleven years as university president, Dr. Bristow was committed to increasing the percentage of minority students attending graduate and professional school. Under Dr. Bristow's leadership, Alcorn State was the first and only of Mississippi's historically black institutions to receive Ayers endowment dollars for its success in the area of diversity enrollment. Read more.

Partnering for Healthy and Sustainable Communities

Tutors Tout Tutoring, Collaborate with Tutors from Other Universities

Professor from Russia Visits Alcorn under Consortium of Scholars Series Program

ASU Department of Biological Sciences Participates in MHIRT for the 4th Time

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
Rendon to Direct Montgomery Veterans Center
Starkville native and Army Reserve captain Andrew S. Rendon has been named director of Mississippi State University's new G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans. Rendon will serve as the primary link to military veterans who enroll at the university, providing academic and career enhancement and job placement assistance. He also will work off campus to recruit others to pursue their higher educations at Mississippi State. The Montgomery Center is named for the late 3rd District congressman and MSU alumnus G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery. Read more.

MSU president talks U.S. foreign policy issues with Russian students

MSU alum, major benefactor extends reach to touch JSU students

DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS
Thad Cochran Center Dedicated
Delta State University dedicated The Thad Cochran Center for Rural School Leadership and Research on Tuesday, October 17, with a ceremony honoring the United States senator, who has long been a proponent of education in Mississippi. Housed in the College of Education, the Center prepares educational leaders to address the unique challenges of the Mississippi Delta region by improving leadership effectiveness, teacher quality, and student achievement. The Senator was on hand for the event. Read more.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI NEWS
Southern Miss Recreation Program Best in the Country
The University of Southern Mississippi was recognized by the National Institute on Recreation Inclusion (NIRI) for innovation and excellence in their mission to empower individuals with disabilities. The NIRI presented the Excellence in Inclusion Award, an award given to only one program in the United States each year, to Southern Miss' School of Human Performance and Recreation (HP&R) for its ACCESSRecreation program. "The recognition from fellow colleagues and experts is evidence that ACCESSRecreation is on the cutting edge of inclusive recreation programming," said Dr. Brent Wolfe, a HP&R professor at Southern Miss. ACCESSRecreation advocates and facilitates the inclusion of nearly 600 participants a year into the community via family-oriented activities, conferences and academics, which provides HP&R students with opportunities for professional hands-on learning experiences. Read more.

Student Printz Editor Wins Scripps Howard Top 10 Scholarship

Goldwater Scholarship Awarded to Southern Miss Student

Southern Miss Student Wins Prestigious National Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship

Southern Miss Graduate Student Chosen Marine Science Knauss Fellow


Oct. 17-Nov. 4 - MUW Art Gallery Presents "Maude Schuyler Clay: Photographs" Exhibition

Oct. 20-21 - MSU Ag Division Hosts Fall Flower and Garden Fest

Oct. 21 - DSU Hosts Computing Competition and Tech Fair

Oct. 24-25 - MSU Sponsors Lean Manufacturing Conference

Oct. 25 - UM Hosts IHL Today Luncheon in Nesbit

Look for the next issue October 27.
FOR FURTHER COMMUNICATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Mississippi's Institutions of Higher Learning
Attention: Public Affairs
Jackson, Mississippi 39211-6453
Fax: (601) 432-6891

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