A team of Jackson State University College of Business students recently joined eight other regional teams as winners of the Deloitte FanTAXtic Tax Case competition.

The goal of the competition is to help students gain real-world business experience and familiarize themselves with the tax profession early in their academic careers, a release from JSU says.

JSU students Camryn Gaines, Jayla Manor, Jessica Tate and Ashanti Campbell competed virtually with roughly 200 other students and faculty who represented more than 40 colleges and universities.

The competition tasked students with researching and presenting tax solutions for a simulated traditional manufacturing company that was looking to make new IT equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic to support remote learning and working.

All members of the JSU team will participate in the upcoming Deloitte FanTAXtic national competition, which is scheduled for Jan. 14 through Jan. 16, 2022. For more information, visit deloitte.com.

USM MPHC Students Fund Bennett Auditorium Upkeep

Members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council at the University of Southern Mississippi recently donated $1,035 to the university to fund upkeep of the historic Bennett Auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus.

The USM NPHC has hosted an annual Homecoming Stepshow in the Bennett Auditorium for more than 20 years. NPHC students learned that the auditorium does not receive funding toward its upkeep while planning the 2021 show and decided to assist, a release from USM says.

Bennett Auditorium, named for the university's second president, Claude Bennett, was completed in 1930 and named in 1972.

Founded in 1930 at Howard University, NPHC is a national coordinating body for nine historically African American fraternities and sororities. The NPHC office at USM was established in 1993 and is one of three student governing bodies in the USM Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

MSU Opens New Speaking Center

Mississippi State University recently established a new facility called the MSU Speaking Center, which is designed to assist with skill training on topic and speech purpose development, audience adaptation, organization, visual and audio delivery, use of visual aids, and reducing public speaking apprehension.

The venue, located in Old Main Academic Center Room 3290, is named for 1982 MSU chemical engineering alumnus Tom Freeman and his wife, Jean, who endowed the study room in 2017.

MSU Speaking Center is currently recruiting upperclassmen in the communication department to serve as interns and consultants. Interested students can email [email protected]. Students can also sign up for a special topic course titled “Speaking Center Consultant” to train as a peer consultant and receive one credit hour per semester.

To schedule a consultation at the Speaking Center, visit msstate.mywconline.net. For more information, email [email protected] or call 662-315-2006.