University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast

It's time to brag a little.

Gulf Park Campus
PROJECT LINK (July 2008)
The University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi State University have partnered for Project LINK, a collaborative endeavor between both universities to assist people with autism, a complex developmental disability that can significantly impact an individual's ability to communicate. In JUne 2008, members of Project LINK met with Rupert Lacy, director of Harrison County Emergency Management, to donate 16 specialized communication boards to be used during emergencies at local shelters and with the Coast Transit Authority.

The devices were developed for emergency management personnel to work with people with autism as well as anyone whose complex communication needs restrict them from getting the help. The boards, which are laminated and waterproof, include the alphabet, numbers and pictures that describe emotions, locations and everyday items. By pointing to letters, numbers and symbols, a person who needs aid in an emergency can receive assistance faster.

CROSS CREEK CAMPUS (July 2008)

Planning for the development of The University of Southern Mississippi's new Cross Creek campus in Harrison County has gotten a boost forward with the appointment of a planning committee by President Martha Saunders.

"This is a monumental time in the history of Southern Miss as we move forward with planning a new campus. It's exciting to be a part of the redevelopment of the Gulf Coast," said Saunders.

The groups involved in the planning process include a Leadership Team and Planning Committee. The leadership team is headed by Southern Miss Associate Provost Pat Joachim who will serve as the main facilitator of information from the planning committee and the Office of the President.

"Planning a new campus is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we are committeed to making this the best it can be for the people of south Mississippi," said Joachim.

DELEGATE TO DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION (June 2008)

Dr. James Pat Smith, professor of history at The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast, was elected at the Fourth Congressional District Convention May 3 to serve as a delegate for the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

At the Fourth Congressional District Convention held in Ellisville, 155 delegates assembled to elect 20 State Democratic Executive Committee members. Following Mississippi's Democratic Presidential Primary in March, the allocation of the district's delegates was determined from election results. In the Fourth Congressional District, Senator Barack Obama received three delegates and Senator Hillary Clinton received two delegates.

Smith, along with State Senator Debbie Dawkins of Pass Christian, was selected to represent the Clinton caucus at the convention. The three other delegates selected by the district represented Obama's district voters at the convention.

WHO'S WHO (MAY 2008)

The University of Southern Mississippi has selected 17 students earning their degrees from the Gulf Park campus for the 2007-2008 Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. This is the first year Southern Miss Gulf Coast has selected students for the Who’s Who recognition.

Students were selected based on leadership, extracurricular activities and community contributions throughout their academic career. Additionally, students must graduate in the current academic year. Undergraduate students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 and graduate students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.75.

BACHELOR OF SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS GRADUATE (MAY 2008)

Weeks before Hurricane Katrina damaged the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the first group of students were admitted into the new Bachelor of Social Work degree program at The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park campus. These students who made history enrolling in the inaugural program graduated May 10.

The Bachelor of Social Work degree program was brought to the Gulf Park campus in order to meet the needs of students desiring to pursue the degree near their Gulf Coast homes. Southern Miss Gulf Coast offered the master of social work degree for years prior to the introduction of the undergraduate program.

E-LEARNING AWARDS (APRIL 2008)

A group of University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast professors were honored for their effective use of technology in their classrooms during the Associate Provost’s Distinguished Professor of e-Learning Awards Luncheon.

The awards, made possible through funds contributed by Butch Oustalet, recognized faculty members for their dedication and commitment to technology-rich learning and teaching. Dr. Pat Joachim, associate provost of Southern Miss Gulf Coast, and Oustalet announced the four winning faculty members during the luncheon.

Receiving the top award of $1,000 and the title of 2008 Distinguished Professor of e-Learning was Dr. David Holt. An assistant professor of geography, Holt received the award for using a wide variety of technology to teach his students. By relating students’ everyday lives to assignments, they learned not only in the classroom but outside as well.

MARINE SCIENCE DEGREE (FALL SEMESTER 2007)
The University of Southern Mississippi on the Gulf Coast began offering the only bachelor of science degree in marine science degree in the state of Mississippi. This new undergraduate degree program educates students in the multidisciplinary field of marine science and provides a basic understanding of oceanic processes.
These students learn how to use marine technology that will be applicable to many marine science fields. Following completion of the undergraduate program, students will be prepared for careers in either private industry or government. The development of the bachelor’s degree in marine science was done in response to a specific request by the U.S. Navy. The Navy wanted to make the opportunity available for their enlisted personnel to obtain an undergraduate degree and achieve a higher rank based on their education.

ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY (AUGUST 2007)
The University of Southern Mississippi announced plans for a full-scale Entertainment Industries Center at the Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach that will house undergraduate academic programs designed to prepare students for the entertainment industry.

As the first step, the university relocated the film program to the Gulf Coast where it will operate from temporary quarters in a refurbished building at the Gulf Coast Student Services Center in Gulfport where Southern Miss moved its operations after Hurricane Katrina damaged the Gulf Park campus. Future plans include the construction of an Entertainment Industry Center on the Gulf Park campus that will house the film program, along with those in music industry production and music industry management.

As the first of its kind in Mississippi, the entertainment industry programs are aimed at providing educational training for students who previously had to go out of state for similar programs. Graduates will also be able to facilitate growth in the music, film and live entertainment industries that feed directly into both cultural and economic opportunities for Mississippi.

NURSING GRANT (JULY 2007)
The University of Southern Mississippi School of Nursing has received a $664,141 grant to give more nurses a chance at pursuing their master’s degree while continuing to work in their field.
"The funding from this grant will allow us to refine and offer our nurse executive program in a format which will be more accessible to practicing nurses," said Dr. Katherine Nugent, director of the School of Nursing.

The grant's author, Dr. Patsy Anderson, said the nurse executive program will be Web enhanced, allowing more people across the state access to classes online. The nurse executive program is a graduate program offered by the School of Nursing. Anderson said the Health Resources and Services Administration grant came in response to patient safety and health care leadership issues.

PROJECT WETKIDS (MAY 2007)
The University of Southern Mississippi, partnering with ChevronTexaco, Audubon Mississippi, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Mississippi Naturalists and Stennis Space Center, has created a program for the students and teachers of the Pascagoula School District with an $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Academies for Young Scientists. Dr. Julie Cwikla, an associate professor of mathematics education at the university’s Gulf Coast campus, is leading this partnership.

The after-school program, Project WetKids, will provide middle school students in the Pascagoula School District opportunities to explore the diverse ecosystems that surround their schools and the Gulf Coast. They will also learn about scientific careers and fields of research with the aim of encouraging more participation and the pursuit of science and mathematics career fields.

Stennis Space Center Teaching and Research Site

CHL BEGINS VISUALIZATION TRAINING FOR INDIAN STUDENTS (JANUARY 2008)
The Southern Miss Center of Higher Learning located at the John C. Stennis Space Center teaching site established a partnership with CORE Projects and Technologies, based in India and Atlanta, to train students from throughout India using the latest in three dimensional visualization technology. The first group of fourteen students arrived in January 2008 and began their course of study with a second class of fifteen students beginning in June.

Students will spend 9-12 months learning about the various aspects of immersive visualization including software programming and development, design of graphic applications, procurement of essential equipment, and other important details. Upon completion, the students will return to India ready to create virtual reality applications to be used on computers in an immersive visualization system. This collaboration is an innovative and unique vision for learning and growing the world’s educational system.

DEPARTMENT OF MARINE SCIENCE STRATEGIC LOCATION
The Department of Marine Science is strategically situated at the single largest concentration of oceanographers and hydrographers in the world at Stennis Space Center. Thirteen on-site faculty members hail from the world's most prestigious oceanographic research institutions.

HYDROGRAPHIC SCIENCE DEGREE
The graduate degree in Hydrographic Science is a rigorous, one-year Master of Science degree program at Stennis Space Center. This summer that program graduated ten students from the United States and countries worldwide.

This is the only accredited academic program in Hydrographic Science in the U.S. that is certified at the Category A level by the Féderation Internationale des Géométres/International Hydrographic Organization (FIG/IHO) International Advisory Board.

COASTAL ZONE MAPPING
The Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar System Project in the Department of Marine Science is developing the next generation of airborne coastal mapping and charting system that will be used by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

OCEAN BUOY
The Department of Marine Science is home to the only ocean buoy to have survived Hurricane Katrina, providing critical, first-hand ocean data that will be used to help improve forecasting models. The buoy is operated through the university’s Central Gulf of Mexico Ocean Observing System project at Stennis Space Center in Hancock County.

Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Teaching and Research Site

COASTAL ECOSYSTEM LEARNING CENTER DESIGNATION (NOVEMBER 2007)
J.L. Scott Marine Education Center, the community education and outreach arm of The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, was designated as a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center (CELC) by Coastal America.

Coastal America is a partnership among federal, state and local governments and private alliances to address environmental problems along the nation’s coasts and to promote ocean literacy. The organization designates learning centers around the nation to create an expanded information network for the general public and to encourage mutually beneficial cooperation between the federal agencies and non-federal facilities.

Mrs. Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States, gave the keynote address for the designation ceremony. Before the ceremony, Mrs. Bush visited with 25 fifth-grade students from Taconi Elementary in Ocean Springs who were involved in a marine debris classroom activity at the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center.

WORLD LEADER
GCRL is recognized as a world-leader in marine aquaculture and marine environmental research and development. More than $25 million is currently committed to construction projects at the Cedar Point expansion site in Ocean Springs.

NATIONAL FUNDING
GCRL scientists have received significant funding from National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for marine biodiversity and Oceans and Human Health research.

MARINE AQUACULTURE CENTER

Research at the Marine Aquaculture Center at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, Miss., is focused on creating new technology to meet America’s demand for seafood. As one of the university’s innovation and commercialization clusters, marine aquaculture is supported by a $10 million annual research base.