A rose to the University of Southern Mississippi, which offered this week full-tuition scholarships to each of the 106 seniors at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. USM President Joseph Paul announced the scholarships during a ceremony Wednesday at the school. They carry a four-year value of $40,000, and Paul said the university hopes to do this again next year. In a state that sees about 50% of its college graduates leave the state within three years of graduation – not to mention the number of gifted high school graduates that go to college elsewhere – a step like this shows commitment from USM to stem the growing brain drain problem.
A thorn to Columbus City Council, which moved ahead Tuesday with an annexation plan that adds a mere 2,000 citizens as well as a disproportionate amount of overhead to service those new citizens. The annexation proposal includes areas to the south and east of the current city limits, but data from the Golden Triangle Development LINK shows the plan would significantly weaken the city’s economic metrics. The addition will cause median household income city-wide to drop nearly $2,000, and the poverty rate would increase by 3%. Median home values would decline, as would the rate of home ownership. Successful annexations typically aim to achieve some sort of strategic goal. There is no strategy here that benefits the city as a whole.
A rose to MUW, which is hosting the eighth annual Music by Women Festival. The three-day event started Thursday and features 15 concerts with music written by female composers, along with various academic presentations. There’s great value in having a university in your community, and it goes beyond the higher education degrees you can earn there. Events like these invite the public to unique experiences on campus. Whether it’s events or classes available to the general public, that type of engagement promotes a stronger sense that the university is part of the community’s fabric. We hope to see more of it.
A rose to Bob Fuller, whose words of optimism regarding the contemporary public education landscape starkly contrast with the doom and gloom we so often hear on the subject. A retired public educator who now chairs Mississippi University for Women’s Department of Education, is quick to point out the progress Mississippi public education has made, even in just the last 40 or so years. Graduation rates are higher, he notes, and the skills being taught to eighth- and ninth-graders exceed what high school seniors learned in the 1980s. But what’s most refreshing about Fuller is the joy with which he talks about his long career. “I feel sorry for people who don’t live this life and don’t experience education. It’s fun,” he said. “You get to build relationships with kids and their families and the community.”
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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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
