COLLEGE OF BUSINESS Jackson State University’s College of Business hosted the Financial Literacy Rally and Youth Empowerment Summit for more than 400 high school students. Farrah Gray, who became a millionaire at age 14, was a featured guest. Dr. Quinton Booker, chair of the accounting department, has been named Jackson State’s first BankPlus Endowed Chair. In 2006, BankPlus became the first business to establish an endowed chair at the university. COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Jackson State University and the University of Louisiana at Monroe received more than $5 million to expand alternate education programs and increase the number of qualified teachers in the Mississippi and Louisiana Delta. TEACH DELTA REGION is funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement. The Community Counseling Program in the department of school, community and rehabilitation counseling received a two-year accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS The Music Technology Program in the music department received accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Music. The program serves undergraduate students seeking to become experts in the field of digital music recording, music production and computer-assisted instruction. The departments of English and modern foreign languages, and history and philosophy have expanded their programs to emphasize study abroad and interdisciplinary learning. Through the Division of International Studies, students spent up to one semester during the spring and summer studying in Costa Rica and China. COLLEGE OF LIFELONG LEARNING The Professional Interdisciplinary Studies degree program celebrated its first graduating classes in 2007, with eight students in May and 14 in August. The program targets adults ages 25 and up who seek a nontraditional method of obtaining a bachelor’s degree. A College Bound Club was established to assist students at high schools and Job Corps centers who are interested in attending Jackson State University. The college has developed its own scholarship program, the Adult Training for Lifelong Advancement and Support Services, or ATLASS, which has awarded $21,000. COLLEGE OF PUBLIC SERVICE The Department of Urban and Regional Planning Research Room was officially dedicated on July 31 at Jackson State’s Information Services Library in the Universities Center. More than 1,300 books, maps and other research data were donated by Joseph Lusteck, a former adjunct professor and a leading planner in Mississippi and the Southeast. The School of Social Work Ph.D. program celebrates its status as the only doctoral degree-offering program in social work in Mississippi for the past 10 years. Since 1997, 15 students have received degrees.
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY The School of Engineering was notified Aug. 13 that its civil, computer and telecommunications programs have been fully accredited by ABET Inc. The school opened in fall 2000 and graduated its first students in May 2005. So far, 39 students have graduated, and about 245 are enrolled. Jackson State University received nearly $5 million from the National Center for Research Resources, a part of the National Institutes of Health, to establish the Data and Technology Coordinating Center at the Mississippi e-Center @ JSU. The funds are part of a three-year, $9.5 million grant to establish the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Translational Research Network, which will focus on addressing health disparities in minority and underserved communities.