By Brinda Fuller Willis, PHD

Jackson Advocate Contributing Writer

The Coalition For A Prosperous Mississippi (CFAPM) presented a Civic Engagement and Advocacy Workshop on September 13, 2012 at the Regency Hotel in downtown Jackson. The program was successful in educating Mississippians in regards to the potential their collective impact can have to influence, exude power and gain access to the legislative electorate. Attendees had concerns regarding Individual Development Accounts and the expansion of Cooperatives in Mississippi via possible newly proposed legislation. The Civic Engagement and Advocacy Workshop was presented by Pamela Shaw, president and founder of P3 Strategies, LLC. Shaw informed the audience on the ABCs of advocacy and how the legislative process in Mississippi works. She shared ways and methods of how advocacy can be utilized to accomplish the collective desires of groups who hold the same positions and aspirations. During the workshop participants were instructed on how to build positive relationships and trust with elected officials, monitor the legislative process and identify activities that affect their issues, provide expertise to elected officials, and persuade legislators to support designated positions, grassroots mobilizing strategies/tactics, and mobilization of supporters. Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are special matched saving accounts designed to help those of modest means to establish a pattern of regular savings and ultimately purchase a productive asset such as a home, start a small business, and further their education or job training through a state-supported match funding source. According to an issue brief distributed by the Coalition For A Prosperous Mississippi, substantially more people in the U.S. today are facing a future of limited hope for long-term financial security. Therefore, the organization supports the enactment of the Family Empowerment Initiative to provide for the establishment of IDAs that are designed to: Provide low wealth, unbanked and under banked Mississippians an opportunity to gain economic stability to become self-sufficient; Facilitate and mobilize savings; Promote home ownership, small business development, education, saving for retirement, assistive technology for people with disabilities, and automobile purchase; and Strengthen families and build sustainable communities The Coalition For A Prosperous Mississippi (CFAPM) is located at 120 Monterey Road, Suite-A in Richland, Mississippi. To learn more about services and programs, call Melbah Smith at 601-932-4778.

Get the Smartest Card at Jackson/Hinds Library System

JANS – September is National Library Card Sign-up Month, and the Jackson/Hinds Library System (JHLHS) wants everyone in Hinds County to have the smartest card of all – a Library Card. The library card provides access to a wealth of free resources and activities: • There are over 630,000 items in the Jackson/Hinds Library System’s collection, e.g. books, magazines, reference materials, movies, audio books, CDs, etc. • JHLS has over 230 Internet computers for free public use. • Patrons can access more than 50 databases, e.g. EbscoHost, Magnolia, NoveList, etc., in the libraries or on your home computer. • All libraries have story times, crafts and/or other activities for children. • Various libraries have book clubs, guest speakers and programs on a broad range of topics, for children, teens and adults. Books and other resources for children make a difference in the lives of students. By providing school age children with engaging programs and amazing collections, students from all backgrounds become excited and enthusiastic readers. Getting a library card is easy. There is no fee for residents of Hinds County who can show proof of identity and their current residential address.

JANS – Jackson State University freshman Markeisha Robinson became the first of 900 students to receive an iPad this week as part of the university’s new iPad initiative. Through a partnership with the Mississippi e-Center Foundation, all first-time, full-time JSU freshmen will receive an iPad to assist in their learning. The program, called the iPad Technology Advantage Scholarship Initiative, will not only integrate the device into the curriculum, but will track students’ learning through an intensive two-year study.

“I feel this iPad will really enhance my education at Jackson State,” said Robinson, a communicative disorders major from Greenville, Miss. “This will help me go on to do great things. It’s a great investment in students.” Students from JSU’s freshman foundation course University Success began lining up at the JSU Student Center Tuesday, Sept. 4, to pick up their iPads. Led by their instructors, each class moved from station to station where they registered for insurance, were handed an iPad equipped with a Bluetooth keyboard and protective cover, and took part in mini workshops about iPad policies, set-up and use. Each iPad comes loaded with a bundle of student apps and Airwatch Safeware, which helps recover any lost or stolen devices.

Mississippi e-Center executive director and foundation president Dr. William McHenry said the project is the largest iPad scholarship program in the country. “We looked at how to encourage student academic success and assist folks in taking advantage of learning opportunities,” he said. “The research says the iPad with the iBooks will accelerate learning.” Jackson State University’s information technology staff were on hand throughout the day Tuesday to help facilitate the iPad distribution and orientation. By the end of the week, all freshmen will have received their iPads. “We’re really all hands on deck,” said Dr. Deborah Dent, interim vice president for information management. Academic advisor Janelle Jefferson, who teaches a section of University Success, said she plans to have her students use their iPads this semester to hold a silent debate in which they create blogs and hold online discussions during class.

“Students are really tactile learners,” said Jefferson, who took part in faculty iPad training over the summer. “This was something I was striving to do, even before the iPad initiative started.” JSU’s iPad study is believed to be the largest study of its kind in the United States. The university is one of only a couple other small- to medium sized institutions of higher learning in the nation at which iPads are provided to students – one in Pennsylvania and one in Texas. The only large university to undertake a similar program is the Ohio State University School of Medicine. At JSU, the iPad project for incoming freshmen will cost between $600,000 and $700,000 for the mobile devices, plus additional costs for training and expenses.

Funding is provided by the nonprofit Mississippi e-Center Foundation. Research leading toward the program began two years ago as the university considered quality enhancement plans as part of reaccreditation, said Dr. Robert Blaine, interim associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Part of that plan included developing new curricula for courses. “What we found last year was that some students had mobile devices that didn’t have enough memory, or many didn’t have a mobile device at all,” Blaine said. “Generally, the students who didn’t have mobile devices were the ones we needed to reach the most. The next step was to provide some type of mobile computing device for every student. It would allow us then to cut costs of textbooks and more importantly, provide enriching opportunities for students outside the textbooks.”

Over the summer, faculty wrote new textbooks for the mobile devices. A total of 60 have been trained to write specific texts and have been teaching using iPads for the last two years. During that time, the university has also been measuring the learning outcomes. Analytical reasoning scores of students increased by 14.25 percent, which Blaine attributes to electronic teaching and using materials that are targeted to students. “Faculty actually talk about heightened levels of engagement,” he said. Instead of traditional lectures, students were guided through an “inquiry model” in which they ask questions and answer themselves, with faculty serving as facilitators.

Providing iPads for all freshmen is not inexpensive, Blaine said, “but it’s an investment in learning, and that’s what we’re here for.” The iPad project will be ongoing for future freshmen. In four years, every JSU student on campus will be equipped with an iPad.

JANS – The Hinds Community College Eagles will be honoring First Responders in the Hinds district of Hinds, Rankin, Warren, Claiborne and Copiah counties at the Sept. 6 home football game at Joe Renfroe Stadium on the Raymond Campus. At the First Responders Appreciation Day, local and current first responders – police officers, firefighters and paramedics – are eligible for FREE admission to attend as we honor and recognize those who currently protect and offer their services to our communities. These fans should visit the main gate and show the proper ID to receive the free admission. The Eagles also invite those local departments to bring and show off their vehicles and apparatus. Special parking will be provided. An RSVP for the “show and tell” must be submitted to Joey.Jamison@hindscc.edu no later than 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 5. For questions contact Jamison, Hinds Community College emergency management coordinator, at 601.857.3584 or by email.

JANS – Hinds Community College freshmen Lauren Brooke Murphy of Philadelphia and Casey Echols of Brandon are the winners of a scholarship worth $1,500 each that will pay for a semester’s room rent in one of two new residence halls on the Raymond Campus. The scholarships were awarded by MW Builders, the construction company that built the two new residence halls that opened officially on Aug. 6. Classes begin on Aug. 13. The 54,000-square-foot men’s residence hall, Riggs-Virden Hall, has 196 beds and the 46,250-square-foot women’s facility, Allen-Dukes-Whitaker Hall, has 156 beds. A total 1,500 students live on the Raymond Campus.

Both residence halls filled up six weeks before classes started, and now all Raymond Campus residence halls are filled. The two students were among more than 40 who wrote an essay about how living on campus enhances the college experience. Murphy, a cheerleader, is a resident of Allen-Dukes-Whitaker Hall. She said she visited a number of other colleges but Hinds made the biggest impression on her. “The ongoing construction of dorms, to me, represented growth,” she wrote in her essay.

“Growth represents many things but my goal is to grow and be all that I can be in life. … As a student at Hinds Community College, I truly feel every tool necessary to achieve my academic success and life skills for my future are available through on-campus living.” Echols, a member of the Hinds Eagles baseball team, is a resident of Riggs-Virden Hall. “I come from family, both male and female, who attended and graduated from college while living on campus,” he said at the opening ceremony for the two residence halls.

“Each of them has their own stories of their days in college and living the campus dream. … This is going to be a great opportunity to bond with my new (baseball) teammates and reigning state champs while making memories and lifelong friends along the way.” Dr. Theresa Hamilton, vice president for the Raymond Campus, said student leaders’ opinions on what amenities the residence halls should include were considered. “This was valuable information,” she said. “Our residence halls are not just places where students rest, do their laundry and maybe a little studying. This is a place where they come after class, after band practice, after biology lab, after drafting lab,” Hamilton said.

“Many of these students are away from home for the first time. In this building, in this environment and in the other residence halls on campus, they learn to take care of themselves. They learn to make decisions they have to live with. They learn to get along with other people, strangers that they have never met.” The total cost for the two residence hall buildings is approximately $15 million, which will be funded by a 30-year revenue bond to be repaid through student room fees. Hinds President Dr. Clyde Muse credited legislators with amending state law to allow community colleges to the residence halls with proceeds from the room rent, an option universities already had. The key to that is filling up all the rooms. “We have confidence that it will work,” he said. Students pay slightly more to live in these residence halls – $1,500 per semester.

The next highest price is $1,200 per semester on the Raymond Campus. Of the 1,200 or so community colleges nationwide, only about one-fourth have residence halls, although it’s common in Mississippi, pointed out Robert Pickett of Vicksburg, president of the 15-member Board of Trustees. “We desire to give our students the full college experience, and that includes the opportunity to live, learn and grow in a community on the campus,” Pickett said. “Students are encouraged to see quality residence life as an extension of the quality they receive in a Hinds Community College classroom.” Entering freshmen living in the two new residence halls had to meet academic criteria of a minimum of 18 on the ACT college entrance exam. Returning students had to have a grade point average of 2.5 with 12 hours.

The new residence hall rooms are 19.9 feet by 12.6 feet with two beds, a private bath and a sink with cabinets. Each room has individual temperature controls. The floors are terrazzo, which is a composite material of marble, quartz, granite and glass chips mixed with concrete. Each has two elevators, stairs at each end and a laundry room. Two of the old residence halls, Virden and Allen-Whitaker, were demolished along with Dukes-Riggs, where business classes were held, to make room for the new buildings.

Senator Hillman T. Frazier, (center), visited with participants in the 2012 Yangzhou University Summer Training Program at Jackson State University, on Tuesday, July 24, 2012, at the Capitol.  The group of instructors and professors from China, will spend several weeks traveling throughout the United States studying a variety of topics, including American teaching techniques.

JANS – JROTC instructor Lieutenant Colonel Veronica L. Baker was named the Murrah High School 2011-12 Teacher of The Year during a program held at the school May 31, 2012. LTC Baker is believed to be the first JROTC instructor ever to be named a school’s Teacher of the Year in Jackson Public Schools. She was the overwhelming choice of her colleagues at Murrah. “Colonel Baker is an awesome teacher, mentor, and leader,” said Murrah Principal Dr. Freddrick Murray. “She works diligently each day to assure that her cadets are first class students. Her attention to detail and willingness to go beyond the call of duty make her a perfect candidate for the recognition.” LTC Baker holds a bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University, located in her native state of Maryland. She earned a master’s degree in Administration from Central Michigan University. Her duties as a United States Army officer transported her across the globe with overseas assignments in Frankfurt, Germany, Seoul, Korea, and Panama City, Panama. She served as a NATO officer in Izmir, Turkey and was deployed to Sarajevo, Bosnia. With each move, LTC Baker has moved up the ranks, starting as a Platoon Leader and advancing to Chief of Combined Interoperability Branch during an assignment in Hawaii. Before retiring from the Army in 2006, LTC Baker had made history at Virginia State University (Petersburg) as the first female to hold the position of Professor of Military Science there. She is currently Senior Army Instructor at Murrah High School where it is believed she has made history once again.

Butterflies by Grace group pictured with Mr. Steve Pickering

JANS – Abuse & bullying can affect virtually anyone from all walks of life, including men, women and children. It can take the form of physically battery, emotional bullying, sexual abuse, neglect or even self-inflicted harm. Bullying is a real issue for youth, families and communities. It can be addressed through education, communication and positive action stated Mr. Steve Pickering from Miss. Community Education Center on July 1, 2012 at Bass Pro Shop in Pearl, MS. Some of the questions that Mr. Pickering ask the audience: • Within your group of friends do you call each other names? • How can bullying be prevented? • Why post something on line that can’t be said in there face? • Define friendship vs. associates. Bullies only do what Bystanders allow! For concerns about the issues of bullying, get together as a community for children and let them know the community is there for them and they are not alone. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect. These seminars are free to the public. Stand together to make communities safe for adults and children. For more more information on Butterflies, visit www.butterfliesbygrace definebyfaith.com or call 601-25Jesus.

JANS – Dr. Hilliard Lackey III will be the speaker for the Jackson Public Schools Summer Graduation at Callaway High School in the Auditorium on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, at 6:30 p.m.

Hilliard Lackey has been at Jackson State University for 45 years. He is currently Visiting Associate Professor of Higher Education, Geography and History, Coordinator of Programs for the Jake Ayers Research Institute, University Historian, Freelance Columnist, CSET Recruitment Consultant, Immediate Past National Alumni President.

He is married to his childhood sweetheart, Lillian Troupe Lackey, a retired math teacher at Powell Middle School.  He and Mrs. Lackey are the parents of four children:

Dr. Katrina Lackey Davis, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science;

Hilliard Lawrence Lackey, IV, Environmental Science Research Associate at Jackson State University;

Dr. Tahirih Charryse Lackey, Environmental Engineer at The Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg;  and Darryl William Lackey an insurance agent in Jackson.

His son-in-law Dennis Davis is a Personal Physical Trainer at the Little Rock Athletic Center and a Diversity Consultant.

His daughter-in-law Dr. Tracy Knight Lackey is Associate Professor of Special Education at Jackson State University.

Dr. Lackey has three degrees from Jackson State University:  Bachelors of Arts in History and Political Science, Master’s of Science Degree in Education Administration/Supervision and Education, and Education Specialist Degree in Educational Administration. He also studied for a Master’s of Arts in Historical Geography at the University of Arkansas and was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Higher Education Administration at the University of Mississippi.

Dr. Lackey’s hobbies include being a football referee and baseball umpire.  He is a columnist for the Mississippi Link, Clarksdale Press Register, and the Clarion-Ledger.  In addition, Dr. Lackey has served as a television program host for Jackson State University (TV-23) and LeMoyne –Owen College (Memphis, Channel 17), and radio news director of Jackson’s WMPR 90.1 FM radio.

Dr. Lackey believes that he has been created to know God, to serve God, and to contribute to an ever-advancing civilization. His motto is “To do all the good I can, for all the people I can, for as long as I can. May God be the Glory!”

JANS – A great occasion marked the beginning of the 4th of July week at Alcorn: its distinguished alumnus Stephen E. Kent ’90 was pinned as a Colonel in the United States Army on the Lorman campus, on Sunday, July 1. Kent’s family, friends, fellow Alcornites and Alcorn President M. Christopher Brown II gathered in the Gold Room of the Dr. Clinton Bristow Dining Hall for the promotion celebration. “This is a great day for Alcornites,” says President Brown proudly. “We celebrate the achievements of our graduates and thank Colonel Kent for his service to our nation and the world. Alcorn is here for him and wish him well in his next assignment.”

Kent’s brother LTC Patrick F. Kent ’93 presided over the ceremony. “Stephen was my role model and the reason I came to Alcorn and joined ROTC. He is truly a big brother and mentor to me. Stephen was the first in our family to become an officer and today, I couldn’t be more proud of him.” Kent was pinned by his former high school ROTC instructor MG(R) John H. Bailey ’83, his wife Monica Perkins Kent and sons Corey and Jared. “Only three out of 100 second lieutenants are commissioned colonels,” proclaimed General Bailey. “But I am not surprised that Stephen achieved this high rank. Even back then, in high school, he possessed the qualities necessary to succeed in the Army.

He was an exceptional cadet. Congratulations Colonel Stephen E. Kent!” “It is an amazing day for Stephen, for our family and for the entire community,” said Kent’s first cousin Brenda Buck, Jefferson County administrator. “It’s an honor for him to come to the place of his humble beginnings, Alcorn, to celebrate and share his success with us.” During his remarks, Colonel Kent thanked his mother, wife, sons, his Alcorn family and everyone who helped educate and support him during his journey to success. “I feel so blessed and honored to have attained the rank of Colonel. Your efforts and your love has made me the person that I am. Iron sharpens iron – all of you who have sent up prayers on my behalf – thank you for blessing me. We made Colonel today.”

A Fayette, Mississippi native Kent added, “I grew up in Jefferson County, one of the poorest parts of the country, and I hope that my example has shown to young people that you can make the best out of any circumstances. It takes hard work, dedication, good attitude, and professionalism to succeed. Nobody says it’s easy, but what I achieved is not a miracle. You all can do it.” Kent is a 1987 graduate of Jefferson County High School and was commissioned a distinguished military graduate in 1990 by the Army ROTC Program at Alcorn where he also received his bachelor’s degree in business administration. Kent recently served as chief of the Plans & Operations Division (G8), for the Unites States Army Central (USARCENT) at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.