Jackson Free Press

Jackson State University is one of several historically Black colleges and universities convening with major corporations in September at the inaugural HBCU Technology Conference, which aims to address the racial divide in STEM education and careers.

HP, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel and Microsoft will give presentations at the event to promote efforts to add more qualified Black candidates for tech positions. Speakers will include JSU President Thomas K. Hudson and Dr. Joseph A. Whittaker, associate provost and vice president for Research and Development at JSU.

Dr. Almesha L. Campbell, assistant vice-president for the Division of Research and Economic Development at JSU, is on the planning committee for the student track of the conference together with Dr. Deborah Dent, chief information officer. Dr. Tangelia Kelly, assistant marketing director at JSU, is working with the conference marketing team.

Virtual conference sessions are set for Sept. 16, Sept. 22, Sept. 28 and Sept. 30. HP’s chief transformation officer, Greg Baxter, will lead the tech discussion, which will begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 30. To register for the conference, visit https://web.cvent.com/event/002363c7-3efe-4171-b9a5-e6c0762d8a38/.

MSU and Mississippi Aquarium Launch MSU-SEAS Program

Mississippi State University’s Northern Gulf Institute is partnering with the Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport to turn the state’s Gulf Coast into an outdoor laboratory for local middle and high school students as part of the Science and Education at Sea program.

MSU-SEAS recently launched its first cohort, which included 27 public and homeschooled students. The group of sixth through 12th grade students boarded the Glenn L. Swetman oyster schooner in Biloxi with NGI faculty and staff and sailed to the National Park Service Barrier Islands and Horn Island. There, they gathered water quality samples and seafloor sediment and learned to identify different marine species as well as invasive aquatic plants. The course also covered positive behavioral practices that promote sustainable choices in safeguarding the Gulf of Mexico’s marine ecosystem, a release from MSU says.

MSU faculty and team members also serving as MSU-SEAS teachers include associate NGI director and professor of meteorology and climatology Jamie Dyer and Gray Turnage, an NGI invasive aquatic species researcher and assistant extension professor. Instructors from the Mississippi Aquarium include education program analyst Lauren Fuller and lead education specialist Lizzie Whigham.

For more information on the MSU-SEAS Program, email [email protected]. For information on the Mississippi Aquarium, visit https://www.msaquarium.org/.

USM Opens Gulf Park Pantry

The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park campus recently opened the Gulf Park Pantry inside the university's Hardy Hall building. The USM Gulf Park Office of Student Affairs operates the pantry, which provides food and essential items such as toiletries and hygiene products. USM Gulf Park students and members of its faculty and staff are eligible to receive items.

Gulf Park Pantry features shelf-stable items such as breakfast bars and cereal, pasta and sauce, canned soups and vegetables, rice and dried and canned beans among other items. The pantry also stocks a limited amount of housewares and baby formula.

The facility currently distributes pre-packaged food supplies through its office in Hardy Hall 242. Food supplies are available by request via an online request form that also allows users to schedule pickup and provide information about family size, special requests and allergy concerns.

For more information about the Gulf Park Pantry or pickups, call 228-214-3341 or email [email protected] or [email protected].