WJSU receives $450K from CPB from CPB to expand public radio music format

WJSU receives $450K from CPB to expand public radio music format

Jackson State University’s WJSU radio station receives $450K from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) as part of a $1.3 million grant CPB is allocating to three public radio stations. Funds will be used to implement an Urban Alternative format to connect with young, multicultural audiences.

Under the two-year grant:

WJSU will refresh its programming to reflect the changing interests of students and younger listeners, provide a path to long-term sustainability and increase community collaborations and digital engagement. WJSU will also pursue a multi-platform strategy, including some FM broadcast, a dedicated 24-hour digital channel and a mobile app. As dean of the College of Liberal Arts, KB Turner, Ph.D., applauds the efforts of the leadership and staff of WJSU and the Department of Journalism and Media Studies “for their vision– leading the way and opening critical doors for our staff and students.”

JSU appoints KB Turner as new dean of the College of Liberal Arts

COVID-19 town halls address mental health, hesitancy, other topics

The School of Public Health, which is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, presented a series of town halls to address issues related to COVID-19, including mental health and vaccine hesitancy among African Americans. Other topics included risk factors and symptoms, vaccine trials, economic threats, contact tracing and prevention, stress and anxiety, and sports and isolation. Over several months, panelists included JSU President Thomas K. Hudson; Provost Alisa Mosley, Ph.D.; College of Health Sciences dean Girmay Berhie, Ph.D.; and Dr. Samuel Jones, JSU Health Center director. Other experts and contributors were Dr. Thomas Dobbs, state health officer for the Mississippi State Department of Health; Dr. Claude Brunson, executive director of the Mississippi State Medical Association; Dominique Wilkins, a nine-time NBA All-star who played with the Atlanta Hawks; David Fulcher, a former NFL Super Bowl Champion with the Cincinnati Bengals; and Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

KB Turner, Ph.D., is the new dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Turner was appointed August 11, 2021.

Turner most recently served as the chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Memphis, becoming the founding director for the Center for Community Criminology Research on the Lambuth Campus in Jackson, Tennessee. Under his leadership, he rebuilt the department from three to 13 dynamic tenure and non-track faculty members.

“It is an esteemed honor and blessing to return home to my alma mater, the great Jackson State University of Thee I love,” Turner said. “I fondly anticipate working with my new colleagues and building relationships. As a team, we will work to advance the mission of the College of Liberal Arts and Jackson State University. A priority of mine is to support the dedicated faculty, staff and students in the college as we work together to raise the profile of the college to the next level of excellence.”

Engineering professor researching bio-inspired construction material

Kejun Wen, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Jackson State University in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was awarded a $28,741 grant from the Mississippi Space Grant Consortium (MSSGC) to explore the use of bioinspired construction materials in space. The grant helps with studying the effects of atmospheric pressure and other curing conditions with a new technology called microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP). The concept is an environmentally friendly and cost-effective method to bind soil particles for strengthening and improving the ground. The MICP project will explore the potential applications of bio-inspired construction materials on other planets. The technical objective of the proposed research project is to examine the effects of different reaction environments on mechanical behaviors of such bio-inspired materials.