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The W celebrates National Transfer Week

Published: 18 October 2022
Written by Tyler Wheat
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Categories: News

National Student Transfer week, Oct. 18-21, shines a light on the achievements of more than 33% of the students that attend Mississippi University for Women. It also is an opportunity to showcase the diverse group of students that chose The W to continue their education.

Matthew L. Robinson, Student Success navigator, observes, guides and cheers for all The W students. According to Robinson, incoming transfer students face many challenges, such as balancing a previous community and the issues that occur from credit loss.

“The W has done a good job of trying to combat credit loss by forming multiple partnerships with community colleges around the state. These partnerships ensure that the classes students take early in their career will continue to count as they come to The W and complete their degree,” said Robinson.

Although credit loss is an issue for students nationwide, there are other obstacles transfer students must overcome in a new environment.

Robinson said, “The other big challenge is trying to balance life and school. Many transfer students have outside commitments that may have influenced their decision to transfer to The W. For some being closer to home was the biggest factor. For others, it may have been a career move. Whatever the reason, finding a balance between The W and life outside can be a hurdle that is difficult to manage. Thankfully, The W offers an abundance of support services for our transfer students.” 

Robinson also added that The W values its transfer students and cannot wait to see the events celebrating the transfer students and the professionals who guide them toward their careers.

National Transfer Student Week is organized by the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS) to celebrate transfer students and the professionals who support them on their journeys. According to the NISTS, National Transfer Student Week offers the perfect opportunity to highlight transition struggles and successes and unite campus partners in advocating on behalf of your specific transfer population.

“My favorite thing about transfer students is that many of them have a goal in mind by the time they get to us. While I love helping students explore all of their options, being able to help a student set a concrete plan for success is always fulfilling. To see them execute and achieve brings a great deal of professional and personal satisfaction,” Robinson said.

Learn to build a digital archive with free online workshop

Published: 18 October 2022
Written by Tyler Wheat
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Categories: Academic Affairs, News

Coordinators of the Deep South Digital initiative are inviting the digitally curious to attend “Sharing Your Digital Collections,” a full-day, online workshop Friday, Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“This workshop is an exciting opportunity for those of us who are interested in sharing our stories and memories online, but who are a little unsure of how to get started, or who might be a little wary when it comes to computers,” said Hillary Richardson, associate professor and coordinator of Undergraduate Research at Mississippi University for Women.

The workshop is for anyone wishing to build an online home for items in a collection – for example, old family papers, letters, photographs, journals, art works or other materials – with tools that are free and relatively easy to learn. This workshop is free and open to the public, and no prior experience or institutional affiliation is required.

This hands-on workshop will consist of two sessions, to which attendees can come and go. The first session, which will begin at 9 a.m. and end at noon, will discuss the big picture questions that drive the creation of digital collection. Attendees will discuss why digital versions of paper documents should be shared online, what digital archives can look like and what best practices for building them include.

The second session will run from 1-4 p.m. It will feature Devin Becker, Olivia Wikle and Evan Williamson: a team of librarians based at the University of Idaho who have developed a project called CollectionBuilder. CollectionBuilder is a series of templates, instructions and tutorials for building a website for a modest-sized digital collection. In the weeks following the workshop, the hosts will hold three remote “office hours” sessions for anyone who needs additional help or consultation.

The Deep South Digital Humanities initiative is run out of the Mississippi University for Women’s library in collaboration with the Digital Welty Lab at Millsaps College, and the workshop is spearheaded by Richardson and Dr. Michael Pickard, Eudora Welty chair of southern literature at Millsaps College.

Richardson has worked on two extensive digital humanities projects, one of which has used CollectionBuilder. “I’m excited to share this tool, but I’m also interested to see what projects and stories pop up from those who attend.”

Pickard added, “Many digital archives originate at large research institutions, but not all collections find their way to those institutions. Some live in closets and attics, prized heirlooms to be passed from one generation to the next. Others belong to small organizations that do not have the resources to support digitization projects, or perhaps they do not know where to begin. Our workshop can help caretakers of such collections (among others), which might otherwise slip through the cracks. We thank the Mississippi Humanities Council for supporting this effort to build community among digital humanities practitioners in the state and link up with others working elsewhere in this field.”

To register for the Oct. 21 workshop, please visit https://deepsouthdh.github.io/events/.

For questions about the event, email the program coordinators at deepsouthdh@gmail.com. 

Funding for the event comes from a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the Mississippi Humanities Council.

Howell has honors project published in journal ‘Integrative Organismal Biology’

Published: 18 October 2022
Written by Tyler Wheat
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Categories: Arts & Sciences, News

Mississippi University for Women graduate Bailey Howell recently had her honors project published in the journal “Integrative Organismal Biology.”

Bailey Howell

The article, titled “Geometric Morphometrics Reveal Shape Differences in the Toes of Urban Lizards,” was published in August and co-authored with Kristin M. Winchell and Dr. Travis Hagey, an assistant professor of biology at The W.

Howell, who is from Echola, Alabama, earned her bachelor’s degree in biology (minor in chemistry) from The W in May 2020. She is pursuing her doctorate in biological sciences at Virginia Tech.

“My time at The W truly changed my life,” said Howell, who hopes to complete her doctorate in 2024 or 2025. “I would never have majored in biology if it wasn’t for my biology instructors at the university. All throughout my undergraduate degree they supported and encouraged me. The same is true for many other professors in the Department of Science and Mathematics. Even outside of my department I had a lot of great mentors. Some of my professors helped me find a job by recommending me for tutoring and supplemental instruction. My honors committee was instrumental in helping me get a first draft of this manuscript.”

Howell’s honors project examined how the shape of a lizard’s adhesive toe pads changed between urban and forest populations of lizards in Puerto Rico. She said urban and forest environments have different types of surfaces, so the lizards have to change to keep up with the changing environments.

Howell selected the topic at the beginning of her senior year. She said she had a few options, but felt she could complete the project within a year and that it aligned with most of her interests as she moved toward graduate school. Howell said the project took about a year to complete and that writing the final version of the manuscript took at least another year.

“When I found out “Integrative Organismal Biology” had accepted the paper I was elated,” said Howell, who plans to look for a job as a postdoctoral researcher or to work as a professor at an undergraduate teaching university like The W after she completes her doctorate “The journal is a part of the larger “Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology,” and I had presented this work previously at a SICB conference. I don’t think there is a better home for this paper than IOB.”

Howell was a speech-pathology major when she started at The W. She admitted she “dreaded” having to take an introductory biology course as a freshman, but she said she grew to love biology and changed her major the following semester. Howell credits her former roommate, Hallie Cole, for giving her the courage to change directions and all of her professors at The W for helping to shape her as a student.

Hagey had Howell as a student in three of his classes at The W and he oversaw her earn independent research credit. He served as Howell’s honors project adviser and worked with her to develop it.

“It is quite unusual for an undergraduate to have completed a project that goes on to be published in a peer reviewed journal, especially with that student acting as first author on the publication,” Hagey said. “Being ‘first author’ means the student was responsible for most aspects of the project.”

Dr. Ross Whitman, a professor of biology at The W, also had Howell as a student in several classes. As The W’s campus coordinator for the Mississippi Space Grant Consortium (MSSGC), Whitwam helped secure funding for Howell’s research and the publication fee for her article. The consortium is made up of about 15 Mississippi universities and community colleges and is funded by NASA. The mission is to increase student engagement and participation in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics by funding activities consistent with that mission. 

“The point of research is to advance scientific understanding,” Whitwam said. “Publication in peer-reviewed journals is a critical part of that process. That’s why we were happy to award Bailey NASA funds for both stages of her research. 

“We all expect Bailey to have a great future. Although, even those of us who were her old professors have got to admit that is largely the result of her own work. But we hope that when she’s famous in her field she’ll occasionally give a shout out to her old stomping ground where she got her start.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 18, 2022
Contact: Adam Minichino
acminichino@muw.edu
(662) 329-1976

MUW Galleries host senior capstone thesis exhibition

Published: 14 October 2022
Written by Tyler Wheat
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Categories: Arts & Sciences, News

Five graduating seniors from Mississippi University for Women will mark the completion of their undergraduate art programs with their capstone thesis exhibition, which will be on display at the Mississippi University for Women Galleries from Nov. 2 through Dec. 2.  A reception will be held Nov.3 from 5:30-7p.m.  The artists are Lexie Ava, Justin D. Carson, Myles Moyé, Dominique Wells and Georgia Wood, all of whom will earn a BFA with varying emphases in studio art.

Three of the students are in the painting and drawing emphasis.  Originally from Pikesville, Maryland, Ava’s series of drawings and paintings focus on fusions of mythos and pop culture, exploring the process of creating fictional worlds.  These works explore character design and worldbuilding through both digital and physical media.

Moyé, from Liberty, Alabama, will feature mixed-media-based paintings and screen prints. Using tennis as a metaphor for life, Moyé explores Black celebrity and class issues.  He explores these themes in compositions that blend abstraction with figurative details.

As a lover of cats, Wood of Columbus, will celebrate her feline friends in paintings and prints using found materials.  Her work, which is characterized by fantastic and whimsical characters, will be a modern twist on southern folk art.  
Carson, a printmaker from Indianola, will explore retro-futuristic and post-apocalyptic themes in a range of printmaking media.  His themes blend with pop culture, enhanced by his love of manga, comic books and classical literature. 

As the ceramicist of the graduating class, Wells of Columbus, will display a variety of pots and figurative sculptural works.  His designs are inspired by his love for pop culture, including anime and wrestling.

The Mississippi University for Women Galleries are open from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, following the academic schedule. The Galleries are located in Summer Hall on The W campus and are free and open to the public. For more information, please call (662) 329-7431 or email bajoyce@muw.edu. 

Oktoberfest 2022 offers exciting lineup

Published: 12 October 2022
Written by Tyler Wheat
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Categories: News

Mississippi University for Women’s Student Programming Board is proud to announce an exciting slate of activities for its annual Oktoberfest from 5-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, on Shattuck Lawn.

Edd Fairman the Wizard of Sorts will entertain while roving through the crowd. He will close out the event with an on-stage display. There also will be a costume contest for children up to age 12 that will start at 6 p.m. as well as plenty of other fun games and crafts, including a table for pumpkin painting and owl decorating that will be free to kids. The Taco Amigo and 44 Takeout food trucks will provide refreshments.

“We’ll have more entertainment than we’ve had in the past two years,” said Mea Ashley, director of Student Life at The W. “In addition to the staple Masker Washboard Band Performance and costume contest, we’ll have the Royal Blues Dance team and the Elite Modeling Squad. Those things will make the Oktoberfest experience feel closer to what it was pre-covid, so everyone should come and support our student organizations.”

Elite Modeling Squad is a student organization that will showcase fall fashions. The squad hosted its fall tryouts Sept. 21.

Tickets for the event, which will be open to the public, are .50¢ each. The costume contest starts at 6 p.m. for ages 0-12 years old. Enjoy live entertainment fun games, crafts and food.