A rose to Tiffany Sturdivant, who has been selected as one of nine people to be honored with the Presidential Medal for the National Endowment for the Humanities, a list that also includes Star Trek actor LeVar Burton and the late chef and author Anthony Bourdain. Studivant has long been active in her hometown of Columbus but this award comes in recognition of her work as executive director of Appalshop, a nonprofit focused on cultural preservation and organization in Appalachia. The work helps create a better understanding of Appalachia through celebrating achievements of a much-maligned group of people. Although Columbus is not considered part of Appalachia, many of the stereotypes and prejudices that residents of those areas are subjected to are shared here, especially among the area’s poor. Sturdivant flew to Washington, D.C., last month with her father and a group of other Appalshop employees. They toured the White House and eventually received their award from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in the Oval Office, followed by a ceremony with the chairwomen of the National Endowments of the Arts and Humanities. We congratulate Studivant on this honor and for the work she is doing on behalf of those who are often marginalized and mischaracterized.
A rose to the East Mississippi Community College for its Golden Triangle Chopped competition. The event, now in its second year, brings together teams from area culinary arts programs for a competition based on the popular “Chopped” series on The Food Network. Three-student teams from Lowndes County School District, West Point High, Columbus High and Starkville High competed. The competition gives these young chefs experience of some of the pressures professional chefs face while learning to adapt and innovate and work with a team in the kitchen, something that all professional chefs encounter. The competition also serves to bring attention to our excellent culinary programs. In the end, Columbus edged Starkville for the honor of being the 2024 Chopped Champion, but in reality all of the participants were winners by virtue of the knowledge gained through the event.
A rose to Mississippi University for Women and East Central Community College (Decatur, Mississippi) for providing a program that allows students to earn advanced business degrees in less time and at a lower cost. Under a memorandum of understanding signed by both institutions’ presidents Tuesday, students in select career and technical education programs have a streamlined opportunity to earn an associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degree in certain fields in only five years. After earning their associate’s degree over three years at ECCC, students on the “3+1+1” pathway will transfer to The W to earn their bachelor’s of applied sciences degree in a year. Then they have the option to also secure a master’s degree in on 17 degree pathways at MUW. The goal of the program is to help students transfer seamlessly without transfer credit loss, which can be difficult normally because many universities don’t accept credit transfer students have earned for technical classes, Larson said. At a time where there are serious concerns about student loan debts, this collaboration helps students earn degrees in less time than the traditional graduate degree schedule.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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