Students from Mississippi’s public universities are preparing to unveil their ideas for solving Mississippi’s most pressing problems and helping reach the goals established by Blueprint Mississippi.
Delta State Students are encouraged to partake in the Blueprint Mississippi Social Business Challenge Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. in the Baioni Conference Center. The winning team from campus will advance to a state competition next March in Jackson, going up against fellow IHL institutions.
The challenge invites teams of students to put their heads together and come up with a business plan to address one of Mississippi’s most pressing problems. Open to any public university students, the challenge requires students to work in teams of six with at least one faculty adviser.
In 2012, Blueprint Mississippi, an independent cooperative of organizations and leaders, conducted an objective review of Mississippi’s economic opportunities and recommended actions for putting Mississippi in the place of greatest opportunity. BM helped identify nine goals to enable a more prosperous, vibrant and resilient Mississippi, built upon a foundation of economic opportunity for all its citizens.
The nine Blueprint Mississippi goals include:
- Increase the Educational Achievement of Mississippians
- Cultivate a More Robust Workforce in Mississippi
- Strengthen and Expand Mississippi’s Economy
- Promote Health Care as an Economic Driver
- Support Mississippi’s Creative Economy
- Continually Develop the Infrastructure for a Competitive Economy
- Increase Availability of Financial Capital
- Cultivate Diversity, Community Cooperation and Racial Reconciliation
- Improve Communication and Coordination Among Public, Private and Non-profit Leaders
Students are asked to focus their efforts in support of one of the nine goals identified by BM.
Delta State judges include: Dr. Vicki Bingham, chair of Academic Programs, Robert E. Smith School of Nursing, associate professor of Nursing; Dr. Cheryl Cummins, director of Field Experiences; Dr. Paul Hankins, chair, Department of Music; Dr. Rebecca Hochradel, chair of Management, Marketing & Business Administration, associate professor of management and marketing; and Don Allan Mitchell, interim chair, Division of Language & Literature, associate professor of English.
More information is available on Mississippi Public Universities’ website at http://www.mississippi.edu/msbc/and will be posted on Twitter @MSPublicUniv.
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The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi.
