The
Mississippi Space Grant Consortium is a statewide non-profit organization
of institutions of higher learning coordinated by the Mississippi
Research Consortium and supported by NASA. The Consortium's mission
is to enhance and support aerospace science and technology efforts
and activities in Mississippi as well as promote a strong science,
mathematics, and technology base at precollege, undergraduate, and
graduate levels in the region s educational institutions. The National
Space Grant College and Fellowship Program was founded in 1989 by
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to establish
a network of universities with programs in aeronautics and other space-related
fields, and to encourage recruitment and training of talented students,
especially women and minorities, who will become professionals in
the space sciences. The Mississippi Space
Grant Consortium (MSSGC) was established in 1991 through an award
by NASA to four Mississippi Universities - The University of Mississippi,
Jackson State University, The University of Southern Mississippi,
and Mississippi State University. Since its establishment, the Mississippi
Space Grant Consortium developed a plan to expand Space Grant activities
to include all universities and community colleges in the state. During
Program Year 3, the Mississippi Space Grant Consortium added eight
new affiliate members, which include the four public regional universities
and four of its fifteen community colleges: Alcorn State University,
Delta State University, Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi
Valley State University, Itawamba Community College, Pearl River Community
College, Northeast Community College, and Coahoma Community College.
During Program Year 9, four new affiliates joined Space Grant: Mississippi
Gulf Coast Community College, Hinds Community College-Utica Campus,
Mississippi Delta Community College, and Meridian Community College.
Space Grant affiliates sponsor a variety of information programs and
conferences, summer instruction for teachers, and opportunities for
fellowships and scholarships for graduate and undergraduate students
in space-related fields. Each campus program is guided by a faculty
campus coordinator and a team of faculty mentors. The Space Grant
Programs are designed to match the needs of students with faculty
strengths and departmental capabilities.
Program diversity and collaboration characterize the Mississippi Space
Grant Consortium. While each program's response to regional needs
and opportunities creates an effectively diverse range of activities,
MSSGC's strong network of communication and active collaboration propel
this local success into a statewide system of sustained commitment
to Space Grant goals for technological and human resource development.
Of special importance to MSSGC members is the percentage of women
and minorities who participate in Space Grant activities across all
programs.
Mississippi Space Grant Consortium
The University of Mississippi
308 Vardaman Hall
P.O. Box 1848
University, MS 38677-1848
Phone: (662) 915-1187
Fax: (662) 915-3927
Email: mschaff@olemiss.edu
