With Spring Break just a few short days away, I’d like to give you a brief update from the Division of Academic Affairs. I’ll begin by mentioning that the MSU International Institute continues to closely monitor the current situation in Ukraine. At this time, university travel and faculty-led study abroad programs to Europe may continue as planned, except to Ukraine. Any future changes will be communicated as quickly as possible. I would also add that as a university community, we stand ready to assist students, faculty, and staff who may have been affected by this crisis.

Mills to Lead MSU Career Center as Executive Director

In mid-February, we announced that Bethany Mills is our new director of the MSU Career Center. As I stated in the news release from the Office of Public Affairs, we are pleased to welcome her to campus as both a highly qualified leader for the Career Center and as an alumna. She understands our university’s needs in this position and our efforts in interdisciplinary collaboration as the center works to create career success stories across campus. I appreciate Vice Provost Brent Fountain for serving so capably as interim director, and I thank everyone who served on the search committee for this incredibly important role on our campus. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6513

Owen Named Director of Career and Technical Partnerships

I also hope you saw the recent announcement of Sean Owen as the university’s new director of career and technical partnerships. In this role, Dr. Owen will be furthering development and growing our partnerships with community colleges, business and industry, and the military. Specifically, he will be raising awareness of the Bachelor of Applied Science program, which allows students to apply existing technical credits toward a bachelor’s degree. I met with Sean last week and am impressed with the number of contacts he’s already made. The BAS degree program has been a welcome addition with students and employers, and I’m confident that he will help lead it to even greater success in the future. Read more https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6523

Nominations for University Academic Advising Awards Due March 21

A reminder that nominations for the 2022 University Academic Advising Awards — the Irvin Atly Jefcoat Excellence in Advising Awards, the Wes Ammon Outstanding New Staff Advisor Award, and the Foil-Wyatt Outstanding New Faculty Advisor Award — are due later this month. Nominations should be submitted to my office via email at nfultz@provost.msstate.edu by 5 p.m. on March 21. Guidelines, nomination forms, and criteria for each award are available at https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2022/02/nominations-open-until-march-21-university-academic-advising-awards

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 Christopher Hunter, an assistant professor in the School of Architecture, and Rachel Welborn, associate director of the Southern Rural Development Center, who were recently recognized as the university’s recipients of the 2022 IHL Diversity and Inclusion Awards, which are given annually during Black History Month by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6522

* Congratulations to Tara Sutton, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, who has been recognized with a New Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Women and Crime. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6530

* Kudos to Julie Parker, an associate professor in the School of Human Sciences and MSU Extension Service, who has been honored with the 2022 Professional Research Recognition Award from the Association of Child Life Professionals. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6534

* Congratulations to Judy Ridner, a professor in the Department of History, who is the university’s 2022 Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher of the Year. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6531

* And welcome to Bimal Balakrishnan, who has joined the College of Architecture, Art and Design as associate dean of research, and to Steve Bullard, who has joined the College of Forest Resources as associate dean and the Forest and Wildlife Research Center as associate director. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6505 and https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6529

Final Words

Thank you for taking the time to read this month’s letter. I hope that each one of you has a great Spring Break and a strong finish to the semester. Your questions and comments 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.