Mississippi State University alumnus Deadric T. Williams will deliver the keynote lecture for the university's fifth-annual interdisciplinary lecture series, "Race in America," on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Williams' lecture, "Racial Inequality in Poverty: Towards a Critical Race Approach," will take place at 3 p.m. in the Honors Forum Room on the fourth floor of Griffis Hall.

Williams earned his bachelor's degree in English from MSU in 2006 and a master's degree in sociology from MSU in 2009. In 2014, he earned a doctorate in sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he currently teaches in the Department of Sociology.

Williams will discuss how people erroneously view family structure as a dominant cause for persistent racial inequities, a release from MSU says. Williams has reviewed studies focusing on the economic benefits of marriage, which he says fail to explain the racial gap in poverty. His research results show that race, family structure and risks all shape differing poverty outcomes for racial groups, the release says.

MSU's second "Race in America" lecture will take place on Nov. 12 at 4 p.m., also in the Griffis Honors Forum Room. Theodore E. Thornhill, an associate professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, will give a lecture titled "We Want Black Students, Just Not You: How White Admissions Counselors Screen Black Prospective Students."

Thornhill conducted a study that found white admissions counselors are more responsive to racially apolitical black students than they are to those who say they are committed to racial justice or combating racism, MSU's release says.

Both lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, visit msstate.edu.

Former USM Faculty Member Hosts Book Discussion

William Sturkey, a former member of the University of Southern Mississippi's history program faculty who is currently an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina, will travel to Hattiesburg on Oct. 16-17 to discuss his recent book, "Hattiesburg: An American City in Black and White."

Sturkey's book examines the city's black and white communities from its founding after the Civil War through the era of segregation, a release from USM says, and how the Civil Rights Movement changed the city. His presentations will serve as the focus of USM's Philosophy and Religion Forum during the fall 2019 semester, the release says.

On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Sturkey will speak at the Eureka School Museum (412 East 6th St., Hattiesburg) in downtown Hattiesburg. There will be an opening reception at 5 p.m., and the book talk will begin at 6 p.m. Both the reception and talk are free and open to the public.

Sturkey will speak on the USM Hattiesburg campus at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 7, in room 101 of the university's International Center. The theme for the presentation will be "A Way of Life: Race and Capital in the Hub City of the New South."

For more information, visit usm.edu or email [email protected].

Millsaps Enters Teaching Program Partnership with William Carey University

Millsaps College signed an agreement with William Carey University in Hattiesburg on Aug. 22 to establish a partnership program that will allow Millsaps students to earn teaching licenses through WCU after graduation.

During their senior year, participating Millsaps students will complete two online teacher preparation courses, Classroom Management and Tests and Measures, through William Carey. WCU instructors will also oversee students as they complete 12 weeks of work as student teachers in Jackson during their final semester, which the Mississippi Department of Education requires for certification.

If a student meets all licensure requirements, William Carey will recommend them to the MDE for their license. Participants will then be eligible for full-time employment as teachers or may pursue a master's degree in teaching through WCU.

For more information, visit millsaps.edu or wmcarey.edu.