Jackson Free Press

Jackson State University President Thomas K. Hudson, Interim Vice President for Institutional Advancement Gwendolyn Caples and College of Science, Engineering and Technology Dean Wilbur Walters recently held a ceremony to unveil the Brigadier General Robert Crear CSET atrium on the JSU campus.

John Nau, president and CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors, L.P., contributed $1 million to JSU as part of the atrium dedication. Crear and Nau serve together on the Friends of the Vicksburg National Military Park Board of Directors.

JSU will use the funds Nau donated for scholarships for students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math, including those enrolled in JSU’s ROTC program, a release from the university says.

Crear is chairman of Rye Development, which develops new hydroelectric power sources for existing dams in the United States. Crear is also president and CEO of the Crear Group LLC, a governmental relations and business development consulting firm in Vicksburg. Crear also organized and served as Commander of Task Force Hope, the Corps of Engineers’ $14.6 billion infrastructure recovery and restoration effort in Mississippi and Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Alumnus Joe N. Tatum Donates $50,000 to JSU College of Business

Jackson State University recently received a $50,000 donation from alumnus Joe N. Tatum, an attorney with 25 years of experience, for the College of Business to provide students with the concrete life skills necessary to function within the business world, a release from JSU says.

Tatum was the only one out of thirteen children in his family to attend college. He graduated Cum Laude from JSU, earning his bachelor’s degree in accounting.

He later received his Juris Doctorate from Mississippi College School of Law, where he received the American Jurisprudence Award in secure transactions. Tatum was also a Fredrick Douglass Moot Court Semi-Finalist and served on the Moot Court Board.

MSU and U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Host ERDC Day

Mississippi State University and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center partnered to host ERDC Day on Thursday, April 14, at MSU’s James Worth Bagley College of Engineering.

Leaders from the research center conducted a public panel discussion during which 600 College of Engineering students heard presentations from ERDC leaders on career pathways, sustainability efforts, future uses of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Based in Vicksburg, ERDC is the research unit of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 2014, MSU and ERDC partnered to create the Institute for Systems Engineering Research, which is also housed in Vicksburg. MSU and ERDC collaborate on high performance computing, materials science, military engineering, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

MSU launched a military engineering concentration in 2018, in part to help ERDC meet its training needs with a local academic partner, a release from the university says. MSU researchers are developing advanced materials and conducting autonomous vehicle modeling and simulation for navigation in cold environments.