The end of the spring semester is quickly approaching. The last regularly scheduled class day is April 29, with exams set to begin on May 2. And then we’ll “commence” with our commencement celebrations. Graduation is a very special time for our students, their families, and the entire campus community. It’s especially meaningful for our faculty who have taught and mentored our new graduates, and I encourage all of you to participate in your college’s designated commencement exercise on May 9 or May 10. I hope to see many of you there.

First Destination Survey for Spring Graduates

I also want to remind you to ask your graduating students to complete the First Destination Survey. The Career Center is deploying the First Destination Survey to all Spring 2024 graduates through the following link: https://msstate-csm.symplicity.com/surveys/fds24. The data gathered not only gives us an understanding of what our students are doing after graduation but also identifies underserved populations, directs programming, and is essential to gauge our institution's contribution to the state, region, and country. If you have questions or would like additional information, please call the Career Center at (662) 325-3344 or visit www.career.msstate.edu.

Successful Meeting of Deans, Associate Deans, and Department Heads

Our department heads, associate deans, deans, and members of our Academic Affairs leadership team had a very productive discussion about the importance of faculty evaluation during a meeting last month, and I appreciate the insights and ideas that were shared. We touched on several topics, including the importance of using multiple methods to evaluate teaching, best practices for evaluating the new criteria incorporated from IHL, and how we can all contribute to a culture of continuous improvement. The discussion from this meeting, as well as a follow-up survey that was shared with department heads and college leadership, will inform a series of department head training sessions that Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Jim Dunne will lead beginning this fall. I encourage all those interested to learn more about faculty professional development opportunities offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at www.ctl.msstate.edu.

Teacher Appreciation Luncheon Coming Up in May

Speaking of the Center for Teaching and Learning, I hope you will join my office and CTL for our third-annual Teacher Appreciation Luncheon on May 7 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Colvard Student Union’s Foster Ballroom. At this event, we will acknowledge the efforts of faculty and staff across campus who have helped make the 2023-2024 academic year one of continuous improvement in teaching and learning. We’ll recognize and celebrate recent achievements too. We will also have time for an intentional discussion to review the instructional lessons of this past year. We hope you will join us for dining and discourse as we celebrate the accomplishments and reflect on what we’ve learned this past year. Please register at www.ctl.msstate.edu to reserve a seat. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact CTL Director Michael Seymour at michael.seymour@msstate.edu.

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:

* Congratulations to our faculty and staff who have been honored recently with teaching and advising awards: Harish Chander, Alumni Association Graduate and Professional Teaching Excellence Award; Hasan Tekedar, Alumni Association Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor; Zachary Gillen, Aaron Grimes, Aswathy Rai, Sheida Riahi, Jennifer Sexton, Benjamin Tkach and David Wallace, Donald Zacharias Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award; Kylie Crossland, Irvin Atly Jefcoat Excellence in Advising Staff Recipient; Julie Jessop, Irvin Atly Jefcoat Excellence in Advising Faculty Recipient; OP McCubbins, Foil-Wyatt Outstanding New Faculty Advisor; Alison Stamps, Wesley Ammon Outstanding New Staff Advisor; and Sheida Riahi, Center for Distance Education Online Teaching Excellence Award. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7543.

* Kudos to our faculty members who have completed this year’s Faculty Leadership Program: Rachel Allison, Shanti Bhushan, Harish Chander, Ben Crider, Joseph Emerson, Nick Fitzkee, Larry Hanson, Michele Herrmann, Trent Irby, Attila Karsi, Santanu Kundu, Dominic Lippillo, Melanie Loehwing, Andrew Mercer, Margaret Ralston, Karen Spence, Peter Summerlin, Gregg Twietmeyer, and Robert West. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7542.

* Congratulations to Dan Gadke, the head of the Department of Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations, who is the recipient of the national Presidential Appreciation Award from the Trainers of School Psychologists. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7519.

* Kudos to Anastasia Elder, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Discovery and associate dean in the Shackouls Honors College, for coordinating the university-wide spring Undergraduate Research and Creative Discovery Symposium on April 11-12 in the Colvard Student Union. This year’s symposium was the largest in its history, with 268 student presentations from every academic college on campus. Additional kudos to faculty and staff who provided comments on the student presentations and who served as judges.

* Congratulations to Maxwell Young, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and MSU doctoral student Trisha Chakraborty, who – along with a colleague at the University of New Mexico – were awarded the Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Distributed Computing and Networking. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7533.

* Kudos to Dean Jousan, an extension professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences and 4-H livestock specialist for the MSU Extension Service, who has been awarded the Paul F. Newell Award by the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association, and also recognized by the American Youth Horse Council with a distinguished service award. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7527.

* Congratulations to Christine Coker, an extension and research professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and a MAFES horticulturist based at the Beaumont Horticultural Unit, who has been elected president of the American Society for Horticultural Science’s southern regional chapter. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7550.

* Kudos to Joseph Thompson, an assistant professor in the Department of History, whose new book – “Cold War Country: How Nashville’s Music Row and the Pentagon Created the Sound of American Patriotism” – was released by the University of North Carolina Press on April 2. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7536.

* And a welcome to Thomas Broadus, who joined the university as chief marketing officer on April 1. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=7532.

Final Words

Thank you for reading this month’s letter. As always, your thoughts, suggestions, questions, and concerns are welcome at david.shaw@msstate.edu.

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.