I want to begin by thanking all of you who contributed to the success of our spring graduation celebrations and commencement exercises this month. These special events require incredible planning, attention to countless details, coordination, cooperation, and hard work. They could not have gone any better – even the weather was perfect!

Of course, getting through the final few days of the spring semester turned out to be more challenging than expected. As I shared in an earlier message, the cyberattack that affected Canvas systems across the country and here at MSU demonstrated once again how we as the Bulldog Family always pull together in the face of adversity. Throughout this incident, I heard wonderful stories of how our faculty adapted and extended grace to our students in a highly stressful situation. The options provided, the adaptability, and the sympathy for our students made me yet again proud to count myself as a part of this great group of educators.

As we look forward to a long holiday weekend – and for many of you, a longer summer break – please let me take a few minutes of your time for an update from the Division of Academic Affairs.

Excellence in Teaching, Advising Honored with Prestigious Faculty, Staff Awards

Teaching and advising are at the heart of everything we do at Mississippi State, and they are essential to our students’ success. It was an honor to help recognize our faculty and staff who have excelled in these areas this year during a special recognition program earlier this month:

• Ryan Folk, assistant professor, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Alumni Association Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor Award
• Will Davis, assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Alumni Association Graduate and Professional Teaching Excellence Award
• Jenna Johnson, assistant teaching professor for MSU Engineering on the Coast, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Bagley College of Engineering, Donald Zacharias Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award
• Emily Marett, instructor II, Department of Management and Information Systems, College of Business, Online Teaching Excellence Award
• Amy McMinn, academic advisor for the College of Education and student services coordinator, Student Affairs, MSU-Meridian, Irvin Atly Jefcoat Excellence in Advising Award Staff Recipient
• Aswathy Rai, associate teaching professor and undergraduate coordinator, Department of Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Irvin Atly Jefcoat Excellence in Advising Award Faculty Recipient
• Shannon Bacot, lead academic advisor in the College of Architecture, Art and Design, Center for Advising, Wesley A. Ammon Outstanding New Staff Advisor Award

Read more at https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2026/05/excellence-teaching-advising-honored-prestigious-msu-faculty-staff-awards.

MSU Libraries Elected to Association of Research Libraries Membership

I hope you’ve seen the great news about the MSU Libraries’ election to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). ARL voted at its Spring 2026 Association Meeting to invite the MSU Libraries to join ARL, effective July 1. MSU is now the only Mississippi university to have been granted ARL membership. As I said in an Office of Public Affairs news release, our MSU scholars – from faculty to staff to students – depend on the quality of our library and our librarians to advance their work, and ARL represents the best of the best in university research libraries. Kudos to Dean Lis Keith and our MSU Libraries faculty and staff for this achievement. Read more at https://www.memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=8531.

Emeritus Status Nominations Due by June 12

As a reminder, the nomination period for emeritus status is open. In accordance with OP 13.01, nominations should be submitted through the appropriate administrative channels, beginning with the department head, followed by the dean or director, and finally my office. Each nomination must include a letter outlining the justification for the request, along with all information requested on a completed nomination form. My office will forward recommendations to President Keenum for review. Nomination letters and completed forms should be submitted to mailstop 9723 or jfp3@msstate.edu no later than June 12, 2026.

Kudos and Congratulations

Every month, I look forward to sharing faculty and staff success stories with you, and here are a few that have crossed my desk recently:

* Congratulations to Colleen Scott, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, who has been selected for the Bayh-Dole Coalition’s 2026 American Innovator Award, one of the nation’s most prominent honors given annually to researchers whose federally funded work leads to real-world impact. Read more at https://www.memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=8548.

* Kudos to College of Education faculty and staff – Kyle Baggerly, Stephanie Lemley, Beca Spencer, Michelle Stubbs and Mark Wildmon – who were recently recognized with annual awards for their outstanding contributions that advance the mission, effectiveness and impact of the college. Read more at https://www.memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=8532.

* Congratulations to Alexis Gregory, an associate professor in the School of Architecture, who has been elected to serve a three-year term as a director on the National Architectural Accrediting Board, the only accrediting institution of architecture degrees in the U.S. Read more at https://www.memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=8533.

* Kudos to Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Zahra Saadatizadeh, MSU Data Science Instructor Pedram Chavoshipour Heris, and College of Veterinary Medicine Clinical Professor Andy Shores, who have been awarded $84,961 through the SMART Business Accelerate Initiative Application to lead a project titled “Physics-Informed AI-Driven Precision-Power Electrosurgical System with Reduced Collateral Tissue Damage.” Read more at https://www.bagley.msstate.edu/news/mississippi-state-university-researchers-receive-smart-act-grant-to-advance-ai-driven-surgical-technology.

* Congratulations to Barbara Kaplan, a professor in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences and the Center for Environmental Health Sciences, who was recently elected vice president-elect of the Society of Toxicology. Read more at https://toxchange.toxicology.org/blogs/matthew-campen/2026/03/05/announcing-the-new-20262027-sot-officers-and-elect.

Final Words

Thank you for reading this month’s Academic Matters. Your comments, questions, suggestions, and concerns about these or other topics are welcome at david.shaw@msstate.edu. 

David

Dr. David R. Shaw is Provost and Executive Vice President at Mississippi State University. His email address is david.shaw@msstate.edu.