Mar 21
0

Delta State recognized in Architect Magazine

By | Academics, College of Arts and Sciences, Delta Music Institute, Faculty/Staff, GRAMMY, Students | No Comments

Delta State University and its signature Delta Music Institute program were recently mentioned in an Architect Magazine article about Grammy Museum® Mississippi.

The article credits the Delta Music Institute for having the most unique audio recording facilities in the South.

The article also praises the new 28,000-square-foot museum, housed on Delta State’s campus, for its distinct state-of-the-art architectural design, inside and out.

Read the full story at http://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/grammy-museum-mississippi.

Learn more about opportunities with the Delta Music Institute at http://www.deltastate.edu/artsandsciences/delta-music-institute.

Mar 21
0

Students to present at Posters in the Rotunda

By | Academics, IHL | No Comments

Students from all eight of Mississippi’s public universities will share their research and creative activities on a variety of topics Thursday with legislators and state leaders at Posters in the Rotunda, held in the Rotunda of the State Capitol. Students will show how their research solves some of Mississippi’s most pressing problems and benefits the citizens of the state.

Participating Delta State students and their topics included:

  • Kristina Hong: Game-Based Student Response Systems and Academic Performance
  • Brittany Hulsey: Paleocommunity of Rancholabrean Age Megafauna Found Along Lower Mississippi Delta Gravel Bars
  • Kiersten Page: Using VARK Modalities to Increase Retention in Organic Chemistry
  • William Weeks: Electrospinning Alginate-Based Nanofibers

The event provides opportunities for legislators to visit with students from their districts, allows students to network with each other as they learn about work on other campuses, and showcases the cutting-edge research conducted by undergraduates that benefits the residents of Mississippi.

“Posters in the Rotunda epitomizes both the diversity and high quality of the scholarship being done by students and their faculty mentors,” said Dr. Marie Danforth, chair of the steering committee for the Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research at The University of Southern Mississippi, and coordinator of the event. “This year, we’ve been able to expand the event to include more undergraduates from each university. Two students representing Mississippi INBRE, a statewide program focusing on biomedical research, are also participating.”

Scheduled speakers include Governor Phil Bryant and Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves, with introductions given by Dr. Gordon Cannon, vice president for research at The University of Southern Mississippi.

“I am so pleased that the Posters in the Rotunda event has been expanded to include even more students for its second year,” said Dr. Glenn Boyce, Commissioner of Higher Education. “This is an excellent program that highlights the value of undergraduate research and the impact university research has on solving Mississippi’s most pressing problems. Participating in undergraduate research projects provides a great experience for the students, strengthening their academic, leadership and presentation skills and preparing them for research on the graduate level.”

Modeled after the Posters on the Hill event in which students from across the country share their work in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Mississippi’s event is similar to ones held in 17 other states.

More information on the Posters in the Rotunda event is available at http://postersintherotundams.org.

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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.

Mar 21
0

Delta State recognized nationally for teaching and student success

By | Academics, Faculty/Staff, Students | No Comments

Delta State was one of just 14 institutions nationwide recognized for its commitment to great teaching and student success.

The recognition came at the American Council on Education’s 99th annual meeting in Washington, D.C., considered one of the nation’s most distinguished higher education events.

Delta State and the 13 other institutions recognized have adopted the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) as a scalable solution to train faculty in effective teaching. The 14 schools were introduced as the founding class of ACUE’s partners. ACUE was founded by leaders in higher education to ensure that all college students receive great instruction. Through a landmark collaboration with the American Council on Education, ACUE provides the only comprehensive, scalable, and high-quality program to credential faculty in the evidence-based teaching practices necessary for student success.

Delta State University Provost Dr. Charles McAdams attended the meeting.

“Our participation in the ACUE program and our efforts to raise funds and implement our Center for Teaching and Learning are critical for one very important reason — the single most important factor in student success is good teaching,” said McAdams. “While there are many other factors that can impact students in significant ways, effective teaching is still critical to our students staying in school and completing their degree. We have several initiatives that address important factors of student success, such as 15 is Full-Time, Academic Maps, or Proactive Advising. By emphasizing quality teaching we help all of our students be successful.”

“I was pleased to be at the American Council on Education annual meeting when Delta State was recognized as a partner with ACUE,” added McAdams. “We were congratulated for our efforts to focus attention on the importance of good teaching and its relationship to student success. It is part of the responsibility of administration to support our faculty with the tools and professional development needed to maximize our effectiveness and increase student success.”

McAdams added that the course in “Effective Teaching Practices” by ACUE is the best professional development tool available to support faculty.

The announcement marks the first anniversary of ACE and ACUE’s landmark collaboration to promote excellence in college teaching. Inaugural ACUE partners represent a diverse set of institutions, from every sector of higher education, including large public flagship universities, a state system of higher education, a community college, and a private liberal arts school among others.

Nationwide, higher education employs over one million college educators whose responsibility is to teach. These instructional faculty rarely receive comprehensive training in the evidence-based teaching practices that promote student retention, graduation and deeper levels of learning. ACE and ACUE’s collaboration was born out of this recognition.

Faculty at each of the 14 founding partner institutions are participating in ACUE’s online course in Effective Teaching Practices, the first comprehensive and scalable program to train and credential instructional faculty in the essentials of college teaching. As part of the collaboration, ACE has completed an independent review of ACUE’s course and endorsed the program and certificate awarded to faculty who complete the course.

“Given the needs of today’s students and the transformation of the professoriate, the omission of a comprehensive instructional development program is glaring,” said Kevin Reilly, president emeritus of the University of Wisconsin System and a member of ACUE’s board of advisors. “Institutions can and should do more to involve their faculty in student success initiatives. ACUE provides the training and support that these faculty seek.”

On Sunday, leaders from ACUE’s inaugural class participated in a panel to discuss their partnerships and share insights about how they are implementing ACUE’s program. The panel included Miami Dade College Provost Lenore Rodicio, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Provost Jane Gates, and The University of Southern Mississippi Vice Provost Amy Chasteen Miller.

The 14 institutions honored were:

-Delta State University
-Arizona State University
-California State University, Los Angeles
-The City College of the City University of New York
-Colorado State University
-The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system
-Goucher College
-Miami Dade College
-New Jersey City University
-Rutgers University—Newark
-The University of Colorado Denver
-The University of Nevada, Reno
-The University of Southern Mississippi
-West Virginia University

For more information, visit acue.org.

Mar 21
0

Chinese Heritage Museum included in NPR documentary

By | Archives | No Comments

National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition” recently paid tribute to the Chinese population in the Mississippi Delta, including the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum housed at the Charles W. Capps, Jr. Archives and Museum at Delta State University.

Listen to the NPR segment and view the story online at http://www.npr.org/2017/03/18/519017287/the-legacy-of-the-mississippi-delta-chinese.

University Archivist, Emily Jones, welcomed NPR during their recent stop in the Delta.

“Where Chinese grocery stores once dominated our small towns, today their influence is markedly less notable,” said Jones, in a previous press release. “It is because of their physical absence that documenting, preserving and retelling their stories becomes vital.”  

The museum is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at no charge. Weekend or after-hours tours can be set up by calling Jones or Cindi Lofton at 662-846-4780.

Mar 20
0

Lebanese in America exhibit now on display

By | Archives | No Comments

In partnership with The Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies at North Carolina State University, Delta State university is hosting the traveling exhibit “The Lebanese in America: An exhibition exploring 150 years of history.”

The exhibit will remain on display until April 16.

The detailed exhibit explores the history and memories of Mississippi’s Lebanese American community. It comprises eight narrative HopUp displays with photographs, graphics and QR Codes linked to supplementary materials and an e-reader. The panels describe the history, conditions and impact of Lebanese immigration nationally, offering a framework in which to consider the substantial Lebanese immigration to the Mississippi Delta and beyond between the 1880s and the end of World War I.

“This Delta is shaped daily by the people who invest in it,” said Emily Jones, university archivist. “The communities, celebrations, historic places and even place names tell of the colorful cultures who have immigrated to the Mississippi Delta and left their mark on our landscape. The exhibit prepared by the Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture is a beautiful representation of the Lebanese families who have contributed to the richness of our regional heritage. The more we explore the threads that have woven together to create our current communities, I believe we will grow to appreciate each other more and more.”

Seeded in 2010 and formalized in 2014, the Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies is dedicated to research about Lebanese immigrants in the U.S. and throughout the world, and to preserving and sharing that knowledge with the scholarly community and general public. The center examines the historical and contemporary Lebanese Diaspora in all of its dimensions — social, political, economic and cultural — through such activities as a biennial conference, physical and digital archives and publications.

Project partners for the exhibit include the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies, the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, Delta State’s QEP program, the Charles W. Capps, Jr. Archives and Museum, Delta State Diversity Committee, and the University Special Programs Committee at Delta State.

All DSU students, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend the exhibit opening. The event is free and open to the public. For those unable to view the exhibit at Delta State, it will be traveling to the Museum of the Mississippi Delta in Greenwood in April.

For more information, contact the Jones at ejones@deltastate.edu or Keith Fulcher at kfulcher@deltastate.edu.

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