Jackson Free Press

The University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize a program called Teachers College on Monday, Feb. 25.

The program will be open to MGCCC Collegiate Academy students looking to earn degrees to become licensed teachers from USM. A release from the university states that many of these students are high-school juniors and seniors who are earning college credit before receiving their diploma. Students who graduate from MGCCC's Collegiate Academy can transfer into an education degree program at USM and satisfy the university's graduation requirements.

After entering the Teachers College program, students will choose one of three degree options: elementary education for kindergarten through sixth grade, which includes USM's online Teacher Assistant Program; special education for kindergarten through 12th grade; or a dual elementary-education and special-education degree.

Students who complete the program will satisfy all of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning graduation requirements within two years and will be eligible for a five-year traditional teacher education license from the Mississippi Department of Education, USM's release states.

Teachers College will also include a curriculum to prepare students for teaching K-12 students, a flexible course schedule, and collaborative advising services from high school, MGCCC and USM counselors.

For more information, visit usm.edu or mgccc.edu.

Women's History Month at USM

University of Southern Mississippi's Committee on Services and Resources for Women is organizing and supporting events at the university throughout March in honor of Women's History Month. The programs will include lectures, roundtable discussions and panels on issues women face in Mississippi and beyond, as well as dance performances. All of the events are free and open to the public.

USM launched its Women's History Month programming on Wednesday, Feb. 27, with a panel titled "Six Women and the Black Experience in Hattiesburg, 1950-2018" at the Hattiesburg Public Library. USM assistant professor of history Rebecca Tuuri served as moderator. The panel also served as the end of Black History Month programming.

The first panel in USM's Women's History Month events, "Mississippi Methodist Women and The Woman's Society of Christian Service: Leaders of Social Justice in the South," will take place on March 7. Other dates for panels are March 19-22, and 25 and 27. CSRW will host the closing ceremony for Women's History Month on Friday, March 29, at noon in the Cook Library Art Gallery.

For more information on Women's History Month at USM, visit usm.edu, email Laurel Abreu at [email protected].View a full calendar of the panels and other programming here.

MSU 2019 Alumni Association Awards Banquet

Mississippi State University will recognize Ridgeland native Richard A. Rula as its National Alumnus of the Year during the MSU Alumni Association awards banquet tonight, March 1, at 6 p.m.

Rula earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from MSU in 1970. After graduating, he worked for W.J. Runyon Construction Company and Lester Engineering before joining Hemphill Construction Company in Florence in 1979. Rula became owner and president in 1984. The company performs highway construction and commercial and industrial site development throughout the Southeast. He is also the proprietor of contracting company Suncoast Infrastructure Inc., and water and wastewater treatment company Maintenance Systems Inc.

At MSU, Rula is supporting the construction of a new 70,000-square-foot facility for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, which the university will name the Richard A. Rula Engineering and Science Complex in his honor when it opens. He is also supporting the construction of an indoor facility for the MSU tennis team.

The university has previously named Rula as a Distinguished Engineering Fellow in 2006 and as the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering Alumnus of the Year in 2017. Rula also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Associated General Contractors of America and is a member of the Society of Civil Engineers.

In addition to Rula, MSU is also honoring one graduate from each of the university's eight academic colleges during the banquet. The 2019 MSU College Alumni of the Year group includes Samuel Duda of Salinas, Calif., from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Cynthia Stevens of Alexandria, Va., from the College of Arts and Sciences; Sarah Foley of Brooklyn, N.Y., from the College of Architecture, Art and Design; Helen Currie of Houston, Texas, from the College of Business; Wanda Dean of Lafayette Springs, Miss., from the College of Education; Randy Cleveland of Fort Worth, Texas, from the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering; Edward J. Penny of Jackson, Miss., from the College of Forest Resources; and Thomas Kevin Smith of Picayune, Miss., from the College of Veterinary Medicine.

MSU will also honor its Outstanding Young Alumnus or Alumna, four winners of its 2018 Distinguished Service Awards and the MSU Alumni Association's most outstanding chapters for 2018 during the ceremony.

The university will simulcast the alumni awards banquet live over the Internet at 6 p.m. For a broadcast link and more information on the MSU Alumni Association, visit alumni.msstate.edu.