MSU’S Phillips named national PPIA Junior Summer Institute Fellow
Philnise Phillips, a Mississippi State junior political science and German double major, will spend this summer in a prestigious and intensive national fellowship program which will prepare her for graduate-level studies.
The Greenville native recently was named a fellow in the Public Policy and International Affairs Program's Junior Summer Institute and will spend seven weeks at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy studying economics, statistics, domestic and international policy issues, and leadership topics designed to sharpen skills vital for admission into the nation's top public and international affairs graduate programs.
As a PPIA Fellow, Phillips joins approximately 20 other juniors from colleges and universities across the nation who are mentored by leading UM scholars in public service and administration. For more than 40 years, the Ford School of Public Policy has hosted PPIA to “empower and better address the needs of historically underrepresented communities,” preparing students from diverse backgrounds for graduate study and careers in public policy and international affairs. As a fellow, Phillips will receive a $1,500 stipend for living expenses in addition to travel expenses; housing and meals; and books and related course supplies. She also will qualify for significant scholarships at the nation's top public policy graduate programs after completing the institute.
“Becoming a fellow is important to me because not a lot of people from my hometown get the opportunity to do things like this,” Phillips said. “I want to be a representative of my community, not only in the program, but also in my future career field. I want to take what I learn and give my knowledge to others so they can have the same chance.
“I'm very excited about this opportunity to really dive into politics and international relations,” she added. “My main goal is to continue my studies and eventually work in national security, and this fellowship will help me to reach my goal.”
David Hoffman, director of MSU'S Office of Prestigious External Scholarships, said Phillips' selection is “indicative of not only her scholarly excellence in her fields of political science and German, but also her commitment to working with diverse communities both at home in Greenville and here at MSU.”
“As a first-generation scholar, we are so excited for Philnise to be able to partake in this transformational fellowship program. PPIA will offer her training, mentoring and networking with other motivated young scholars which will build
partnered with MSU four years ago to begin using clean seed after a bad year with heavy virus loads resulting in significant yield loss.
“In 2016 and 2017, we experienced up to a 70% loss for no reason other than viruses. Since we started with clean seed and growing our own foundation slips, we've had incredible yield, consistent data and no problems whatsoever. Our yields of U.S. No. 1 grade sweet potatoes have been above average with 400 bushels and higher for the last four years,” Ellison said.
Helping more sweet potato farmers adopt clean seed technology through increased awareness and education is one of the short-term goals identified by the multidisciplinary research team.through work with the six sweet potato Clean Plant Centers, part of the National Clean Plant Network, they also will enhance collaboration and engagement across the industry and standardize clean foundation seed terminology.
Improvement of best practices for efficient propagation strategies, virus reinfection reduction, and pest and disease management are additional goals, along with development of better virus detection methods in the field.
Mid-term goals include increased clean foundation seed adoption, use of uncrewed aircraft systems to detect virus-infected plants, and use of real-time polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, testing to detect specific viruses.
In the long-term, the scientists want to see wide adoption of clean foundation seed and best practices; abundant supply of economical clean foundation seed; and improved quality, yield and profitability of sweet potatoes across the U.S.
Ultimately, Shankle and the team aim to improve seed quality, yield and generational longevity of seed stock that remains virus free.
“With each generation of saved storage roots for seed, the risk of virus levels in the seed increases,” he explained. “Depending on the virus type and level of infection, sweet potato yield can be reduced by more than 40%. That is why supplying growers with clean seed and implementing best management practices to minimize infection is so important.”
Outcomes from the multistate project are expected to not only boost sweet potato production in the U.S., but aid food security globally. Information on the CLEANSEED Project soon will be available on the U.S. Sweet Potato Council website at www. sweetpotatousa.org.