A group of PPAD students and a faculty member attended the Annual Conference of Mississippi Political Science Association, held at Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, MS, February 12-13, 2016. Ms. Sheryl Bacon (PhD ; 1st left in pic) gave a presentation on utilizing critical needs teacher scholarship program as a policy tool for human capital building in Mississippi (BACON_update_final). Ms. Alla Frank (MPPA; 2nd left in pic) presented her research on political dimension of community development using a case study of Memphis, TN (FRANK_). Mr. John Proctor (PhD; 3rd from left in pic) identified the areas of food desert in Hattiesburg, MS, using GIS and discussed contributions of a local charity group's community garden as a solution to the food insecurity issue (Proctor_food desert). Mr. Christopher Roby (PhD; 4th from left in pic) examined the effectiveness of the current HIV treatment program in MS (Roby_HIV intervention). Ms. Christina Spann (MPPA in 2015) and Professor Jae-Young Ko (last in pic) gave a presentation on a local NGO's role in enhancing minority students' interests in science fields (Christina Spann).
In addition, professor Jae-Young Ko is elected as Secretary of the Mississippi Political Science Association for 2016-17. Ms. Sheryl Bacon and Mr. John Proctor will also serve as graduate student representatives for the same term. For the details, see the dept facebook webpage, https://www.facebook.com/jacksoncompa16
