I hope your fall semester is going well as we quickly approach Fall Break in just a few weeks. It’s always hard to believe how quickly the days go by with the start of a new academic year. We had a great first day of classes, followed by an exceptional Fall Convocation at Dudy Noble Field – and the weather cooperated too! I want to thank the entire team for their work to once again organize another successful outdoor event to celebrate academic life on our campus. From Spring Commencement in Davis Wade Stadium to Fall Convocation in Polk-DeMent Stadium, the challenges were many, but these events were very successful and meaningful to our students and all who participated. Of course, I think we’re all ready to return to Humphrey Coliseum for future events! While it is a busy time on our campus, please let me take a few minutes of your time for an update from the Division of Academic Affairs.

President Provides University Update at Fall General Faculty Meeting

It was good to see many of you join us for the Fall General Faculty Meeting at the end of August, and I know many others watched the livestream. It’s another important event in academic life here at MSU, and while focused on faculty, it also serves as a forum for every member of our campus community to hear from President Mark Keenum. Dr. Keenum highlighted our record-breaking freshman enrollment, record fundraising success, and growing research portfolio. He also shared his priorities for the upcoming legislative session, as well as where we are with a number of large construction projects that are nearing completion, including The Hump, and others that are getting started, including the Jim and Thomas Duff Center and the new residence hall. I always appreciate hearing from Dr. Keenum at our general faculty meetings, and I thank his office and the Robert Holland Faculty Senate and President Robert Banik for their work to coordinate these meetings every fall and spring.

MSU Again Named ‘Great College to Work For’

It was great to see that Mississippi State has once again been named a “Great College to Work For.” It’s the eighth year in a row we’ve received this recognition, and we were also named to the Great Colleges Honor Roll for achieving outstanding results in multiple recognition categories. The Great Colleges to Work For program is one of the largest and most respected workplace recognition programs in the country. Additionally, we also came in at No. 2 on this year’s list of America’s Best Employers By State recently published by Forbes – trailing only NASA’s Stennis Space Center. It’s gratifying to see positive feedback from so many who work at MSU in both The Chronicle and Forbes. It’s a reflection of Mississippi State’s commitment to supporting faculty and staff and further enhancing our workplace culture whenever we can.

Kudos and Congratulations

Every month, I look forward to sharing faculty and staff success stories with you, and here are a few that have crossed my desk recently:

* Kudos to Raja Reddy, William L. Giles Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station scientist, who is the recipient of the Soil Science Society of America’s L.R. Ahuja Ag Systems Modeling Award. The award recognizes Dr. Reddy’s groundbreaking four decades of modeling the effects of environmental stressors on agricultural production crops. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7198.

* Congratulations to David Hoffman, as associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures and the director of the Office of Prestigious External Scholarships, who has been awarded a Fulbright International Education Administrators Award. Dr. Hoffman will spend two weeks in Germany in October with the U.S.-Germany International Education Administrators (IEA) Program. In 2017, I was able to participate in the Fulbright IEA Program in France, and I know Dr. Hoffman will have an experience that benefits him professionally and personally and will also benefit our university with all he learns. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7226.

* Kudos to Frank Owens, an associate professor in the Department of Sustainable Bioproducts, who has been named vice president of the Forest Products Society. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7252.

* Congratulations to Missy Hopper, a professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Leadership, whose Teaching Reading in the Secondary Schools course has earned the Quality Matters Certification Mark following a rigorous review process. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7254.

* Kudos to Megan Stubbs-Richardson, as assistant research professor at the Social Science Research Center, and her colleagues who have received new funding from the National Science Foundation to expand access to their COVID-19 Online Prevalence of Emotions in Institutions database (COPE-ID). Co-PIs are SSRC Assistant Research Professor Sujan Anreddy and Terri Hernandez, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7253.

* Congratulations to Ross Smith, an instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who has been awarded approximately $10.5 million to expand workforce development opportunities for ME students as part of the collaborative Advancements in Manufacturing program and IDEELab. The IDEELab provides students with a platform that offers cutting-edge, hands-on and critical thinking opportunities. The grant phase also includes community outreach to elementary and secondary school students. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7236.

* Kudos to Bobbie Jo Bensaid, an instructor in the Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion and the MSU Extension Service, who has been selected to serve on the national Extension Foundation’s Mental Health and Well-Being Committee. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7247.

* Congratulations to Jenny Du, the Bobby Shackouls Endowed Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who has been named the new editor-in-chief of the Journal of Applied Remote Sensing (JARS). Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7231.

* Kudos to Tanmay Bhowmik, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, who has received a prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. The Faculty Early Career Development Program is an NSF-wide activity that supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education. Dr. Bhowmik joins the ranks of multiple Bagley College of Engineering faculty members who have recently received NSF CAREER awards. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7225.

* Congratulations to Eric Vivier, an associate professor in the Department of English and a Shackouls Honors College faculty fellow, who has been named MSU’s newest Grisham Master Teacher, and Danielle Young, an instructor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, who is this year’s Zacharias Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award winner. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7212.

* Kudos to Sadik C. Artunç, professor and head of the Department of Landscape Architecture, who has been awarded the Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7213.

* Congratulations to Meg Tian, an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, who has been awarded the Manufacturing and Design Division Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7196.

* And a welcome to Syed Ahmed, who has joined the College of Architecture, Art and Design as the new head of the Department of Building Construction Science. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7204.

Final Words

Thank you for reading this month’s letter. As always, I welcome your thoughts, questions, concerns, and ideas about these topics or anything else on your mind.

Hail State!

David

Dr. David R. Shaw is Provost and Executive Vice President at Mississippi State University. His email address is david.shaw@msstate.edu.