Jackson Free Press

Jackson State University recently announced that it is one of four recipients of the inaugural Getty Images Photo Archive Grant for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, an initiative aimed at preserving and amplifying the visual history of historically Black colleges and universities. Claflin University, North Carolina Central University and Prairie View A&M University were the other recipients of the grant.

The initiative aims to digitize roughly 50,000 archival photographs from JSU's library, including stories of activism, literary and performing arts, civil rights and police violence, education and portraits of women teachers, a release from the university says. The project will also feature images of the Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival and illustrations from artist Tracy Sugarman, as well as the Freedom Summer Photograph Collection and the Gibbs Green Memorial Collection.

Available on gettyimages.com, the “Historically Black Colleges & Universities Collection” is slated to receive thousands of more photos throughout 2022, the release says. The JSU Archivist and librarians from the H.T. Sampson Library at JSU will work alongside Getty Images’ team of archivists and Adnet Global, a post-production agency that specializes in the digitization, restoration and discoverability of visual analog historic libraries, in the photo digitization process.

JSU will retain all copyright of its photos and once digitized, the historical content will be placed in a stand-alone Getty Images photo collection titled the “HBCU Photo Collection,” which will be available for licensing in early 2022. All revenue generated from the images that are preserved through the Grants will be funneled back into impact programs. Fifty percent will go to grant recipients; 30 percent will support a financial donation to a scholarship fund focused on furthering the education of students at HBCUs; and 20 percent will be reinvested to fund the Getty Images Photo Archive Grants for HBCUs each year.

For more information, visit jsums.edu or gettyimages.com.

JSU Receives Grant from Mississippi Department of Education

The Mississippi Department of Education is awarding $2,038,589 in grants to Jackson State University through its Mississippi Teacher Residency program. The funding will cover tuition and expenses for individuals seeking a graduate degree in elementary and secondary education. MDE also awarded four other universities with grants totaling more than $9.8M for up to 240 individuals.

MTR will provide grants to the university educator preparation program to enroll diverse participants to work toward their graduate degree and Mississippi teacher certification, a release from JSU says. MTR will also include training alongside a mentor teacher, testing support, professional development, ongoing assessment and a commitment to teach in a geographical critical shortage school or district serving low-income children, racial or ethnic minorities and children with disabilities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

Due to the pandemic and closure of testing sites for licensure examinations, Mississippi’s State Board of Education temporarily waived many of the licensure exam requirements for new teachers and test score requirements for students entering teacher preparation programs in March 2020.

Individuals accepted into the program will receive full scholarships, testing fees, books and mentor stipends. Applications will be available on MDE’s website [mdek12.org] by April 2022.

For more information, visit jsums.edu or mdek12.org.

USM Spring 2022 University Forum

The University of Southern Mississippi will host its spring 2022 University Forum programming beginning Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 6:30 p.m. with an online presentation by author, art historian and curator Dr. Sarah Lewis.

This year's University Forum programming is dedicated to exploring the role of the arts in people's lives and how artists, writers, and composers use their creativity to explore the politics and culture of their times, a release from USM says.

Other University Forum spring 2022 programming speakers include novelist, poet, playwright and essayist Joyce Carol Oates on March 22; USM alumna and historian of Southern history and culture Dr. Karen Cox on April 12; and musician and composer Xavier Foley on April 19.

USM Honors College presents University Forum lectures and programs with support from the USM Office of the President. All forum presentations are free and open to the public. Updates on online access instruction are available at usm.edu/forum. For information, email [email protected] or visit usm.edu.