ORAU Official to Visit MSU on Thursday

STARKVILLE, Miss. (Press Release) — A top official of the Tennessee-based Oak Ridge Associated Universities will visit Mississippi State this week.

University faculty and staff are invited April 24 to Cathy Fore’s presentation, titled “ORAU: The University Value Proposition.” The program begins at 10 a.m. in Colvard Student Union’s third-floor Fowlkes Auditorium.

Fore, who directs collaborative initiatives for ORAU’s University Partnerships Office, will discuss research opportunities and provide other information about the organization’s national mission.

“We have a very productive relationship with Oak Ridge,” said David Shaw, MSU vice president for research and economic development.

“A number of our researchers have received funding for their work from ORAU, and it is a valuable resource for establishing new partnerships and building additional support for research and education,” he explained.

ORAU’s Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Awards program is a memorial to the late McComb native who was MSU’s research vice president in the 1980s, the position Shaw now holds.

In her role, Fore leads science and technology initiatives among MSU and other member universities, as well as federal agencies and private industries. A key focus for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville graduate has been the development of partnerships that:

• Maximize the research enterprise;
• Promote sustainable collaborations;
• Enhance institutional capacity; and
• Advance a “Community of Learning” that integrates education, research and innovation.

“We are looking forward to having Ms. Fore on campus,” Shaw said.

Established in 1946, ORAU works to provide innovative scientific and technical solutions that advance research and education, protect public health and the environment and strengthen national security. Through specialized professionals working with unique laboratory capabilities and access to a consortium of more than 100 major doctoral degree-granting institutions, it assists federal, state, local, and commercial customers advance national priorities that serve the public interest.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and federal contractor, ORAU manages the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, For more, visit www.orau.org.

Complete information about MSU is available at www.msstate.edu.