'Our people' remain Keenumâs âNo. 1 priorityâ
Contact: Carl Smith
STARKVILLE, Miss.âMississippi ´ķĪķAPP President Mark E. Keenum praised lawmakers for funding employee merit raises this year and recommitted to seeking additional funds for pay increases in the upcoming legislative session.
Keenumâs pledge to faculty and staff came as he laid out the universityâs top legislative priorities, noted the yearâs highlights and looked toward future projects during Wednesdayâs [Sept. 4] Fall General Faculty Meeting.
After âa good sessionâ for MSU, which included approved funding for a half-percent increase for the universityâs PERS contribution, increase in health insurance premiums and an almost 3 percent raise for benefits-eligible employees, Keenum said future cost-of-living raises are needed to help unburden faculty and staff from inflationâs impact on their finances.
âIâm grateful weâve been able to give raises in recent years, but we also know itâs not nearly enough to get us to where we need to be,â the universityâs 19th president said. âAs I have said many times, my top legislative priority has never changed and will continue to be our people.
âI am committed to securing the funding we need for our people. Faculty salaries and faculty retention are my main focus,â Keenum continued. âWe canât be the major research university and economic engine this state needs without outstanding people.â
Keenum and other MSU administrators are spearheading planning efforts for the upcoming session, and the university recently hosted numerous state lawmakers for discussions about how to position the land-grant university to better the Magnolia ´ķĪķAPP through teaching, service and research. One such discussion centered around providing all students access, opportunities and success during their time at the university.
âWeâre not here to indoctrinate certain ideologies into our studentsâthatâs not what weâre about here. Weâre here to educate our studentsâto prepare them, to equip them, to help them understand how to think and to think critically and make decisions in the world,â Keenum said. âWhen they leave here, theyâre going to go out into the world. We have to do everything we can to equip them and prepare them.
âWeâre focused on teaching, mentoring and preparing highly skilled engineers, business leaders, teachers, healthcare professionals, cybersecurity specialists, agricultural leaders and on and on,â he added. âThatâs what weâre about here at Mississippi ´ķĪķAPP.â
With the start of the fall semester, Keenum noted âthe excitement and energyâ on campus. In August, Keenum helped welcome 141 new teachers to campus via New Faculty Orientation and almost 5,600 first-time students to residence halls through several move-in days. Then, the university saw a record number of students join its Panhellenic sororities, Interfraternity Council chapters and National Panhellenic chapters, bolstering MSU to the third-largest National Panhellenic Council community in the Southeastern Conference. Following the start of classes, Keenum said the fun campus atmosphere continued thanks to the debut of Head Football Coach Jeff Lebbyâs team in a strong performance against Eastern Kentucky University.
âThere is something about our Bulldog cultureâwho we are. Itâs special and unique. Here at Mississippi ´ķĪķAPP, weâre all Bulldogs. We look out for our fellow Bulldogs, we care for each other and we love one another,â Keenum said. âI believe this helps us stand out from so many of the other schools in the region and the nation. Iâm proud of who we are and what we have here on campus.â
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