< Previous18 M I S S I S S I P P I DE V E L OP M E NT G U I DE 1 CANADA $ 2,229,741,873 2 MEXICO $ 1,170,298,121 3 PANAMA $ 1,034,873,880 4 NETHERLANDS $ 637,656,841 5 HONDURAS $ 525,192,693 6 CHINA $ 512,492,780 7 BELGIUM $ 492,288,458 8 GUATEMALA $ 482,814,106 9 JAPAN $ 418,592,410 10 BRAZIL $ 376,646,083 Mississippi’s Top 10 Export Countries and Values Logistics Workforce In FY2020, companies invested $1.1 BILLION in Mississippi & created 4,312 JOBS 1 OF 28 RIGHT-TO-WORK STATES #2 COST OF DOING BUSINESS 22,133+ WORKERS TRAINED ROADS DIVIDED FOUR-LANE HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTURE SIX INTERSTATES & 14 FEDERAL HIGHWAYS RAIL 30 RAIL CAR PROVIDERS, INCLUDING FIVE CLASS 1 RAILROADS, (2,500 MILES OF TRACK) PORTS 15 PORTS (2 DEEPWATER) MISSISSIPPI RIVER, & TENNESSEE-TOMBIGBEE WATERWAY AIR 7 COMMERCIAL AIRPORTS (INCLUDING TWO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS) SOURCE: MISSISSIPPI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY20 M I S S I S S I P P I DE V E L OP M E N T G U I DE HI GHE R E D U C A T I O N hat do an armored vehicle and a state university have in common? A lot more than you may think. In the case of the vehicles being built by CITE Armored in Holly Springs and Batesville, Mississippi, the engineering behind many of the company’s products comes directly from Mississippi State University in Starkville. That’s because CITE has an innovative partnership with MSU that enables the firm to tap into the talent and expertise of MSU engineering students and graduates and keep a steady pipeline of new employees at the ready. “We are very thankful for our partnership with Mississippi State,” says Ken Russell, co-founder and senior vice president of operations for CITE. “We hire their engineering graduates, and we are always working W ARMORED TRUCK FIRM PARTNERS WITH MSU TO ACCESS TOP-NOTCH TALENT. by RON S TA R N E R Engineering a Better Workforce Ken Russell & Teresa Hubbard of CITE Armored, Inc. COURTESY OF CITE ARMORED INC.M I S S I S S I P P I DE V E L OP M E N T G U I DE 21 Alcorn State University COURTESY OF ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY with MSU to make sure we get the talent and work experience we need.” CITE recently increased its presence in Mississippi by locating van production operations in Batesville. The company is investing $2.3 million and adding 30 new positions as part of this expansion to a new site. “CITE is excited to be opening our second location in Batesville,” said Teresa Hubbard, owner, co-founder and CEO of CITE. “We feel confi dent that Batesville will provide a strong strategic advantage in fulfi lling our customer needs. Thank you to all those who have made this transition effi cient and seamless.” CITE qualifi es for the Advantage Jobs Rebate Program, which provides a rebate to eligible businesses that create new jobs and pay more than the average annual wage for the state and county. The expansion project also received assistance from Panola County, the city of Batesville, the Panola Partnership and the Tennessee Valley Authority. All around the state, innovative partnerships like this between employers and colleges are facilitating business expansion and job growth. At The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, there is even a center devoted to facilitating business growth. It is called the Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship. The center serves as a catalyst for a university-wide focus on economic development training and research serving public entities, nonprofi t organizations, businesses “We are very thankful for our partnership with Mississippi State. We hire their engineering graduates, and we are always working with MSU to make sure we get the talent and work experience we need.” — Ken Russell, C -F SVP O, CITE A (continued on page 26)24 M I S S I S S I P P I DE V E L OP M E N T G U I DE “To be a great leader means to be an accessible servant of the people.” To understand what Dr. Felecia M. Nave means by those words, you must know her life story. Spend just 15 minutes with her, and you’ll learn that a servant’s heart isn’t just something she plays lip service to; it’s her moral compass. In a recent interview, the president of Alcorn State University shared the values, principles and beliefs that form her foundation of leadership and provide the framework for everything that happens at the nation’s oldest historically black land-grant university. How does Alcorn State University support economic development in Mississippi? DR. FELECIA M. NAVE: Economic development is a priority for me as the president and this institution. We are in the southwest region of the state — one of the poorest regions in Mississippi. Some of the more economically challenged areas of the state make up the 13-county containment area we serve. On many levels, we serve as the economic heartbeat of this region, not just the economic driver. We are the second largest employer behind Entergy in the two counties we occupy. We commissioned a study by EMSI, and they found that Alcorn State contributes $ 100 million a year to the regional economy. As an institution, we must have access to a highly trained workforce. A significant percentage of our employees come directly from this area, so we are invested in the vitality of this region. Our fates are irrevocably tied. Because of who I am as a person, I think we have a moral responsibility to be of service and uplift our students and employees, and that goes beyond the physical boundaries of our 1,700 acres. It affects the social, mental and economic health of this community. We uplift not only this region, but also the state of Mississippi. What role does Alcorn State University play in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship? NAVE: We play a major role. We partner and take the lead in our areas of expertise. For example, we are a land grant institution. In agriculture, we offer a lot of assistance to our farmers. With socially disadvantaged farmers, we assist them and support their businesses, improve their crop production, etc. We are completing a new School of Business. It will benefit the broader community. Agriculture is a hugely important industry in Mississippi. How does your university help that business thrive and grow? SERVING A HIGHER PURPOSE Alcorn State president engaged in a mission to improve lives. PHOTO COURTESY ALCORN STATEM I S S I S S I P P I DE V E L OP M E N T G U I DE 25 NAVE: In the academic space, we engage in research to meet the challenges we face in food deserts. We design and develop new technologies. We help in farm management and careers. We articulate that agriculture is not the same as it was 50 and 100 years ago. We now have GIS tracking, drone technologies, mapping out lands, etc. We measure water tables and solar tables and modulate what they grow to maximize production. In our extension services, we are continuously engaged in our communities to educate them on child nutrition, business planning, business management, etc. We use the extension in innovative ways. As we look toward the future of poultry, we make sure we are working with commercial and specialty farmers. Alcorn State is a major player in the innovation and technology taking place in farming. What impact did the global pandemic have on Alcorn State? “We commissioned a study by EMSI, and they found that Alcorn State contributes $100 million a year to the regional economy.” — Dr. Felecia M. Nave, P, A S Uand individuals. Among other services, the center provides client- requested assistance and off ers expertise in strategic planning and leadership development; education and training; community analysis and research; and other technical support. The Trent Lott Center also works with various companies and organizations to plan and implement activities designed to generate jobs and income using data-driven economic development. The Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence at the University of Mississippi in Oxford is focused on preparing the next generation of leaders in manufacturing. On the center’s 12,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing fl oor, students turn their ideas into tangible products, using more than 70 pieces of manufacturing equipment. The average job placement rate for these graduates is 100%. Hinds Community College, the largest community college in the state, is a major player in workforce development and training. With a main campus in Raymond and branch campuses in Jackson and Vicksburg, HCC boasts an enrollment of over 12,000 students on six campuses. NAVE: It impacted our enrollment and revenue collection. We had to cancel our football season. Our freshmen enrollment was down. But we did well in student retention. This happened only nine months into my presidency. Very early on in my tenure, I had to make decisions in an environment where there was so much uncertainty and fear. We experienced challenges to our operations. We learned how to pivot. We pushed a message of how to be more fl exible and patient. We came back last fall at 80% to where we normally were. We had capacity limits on our facilities. This fall, we will come back at 90 to 95% of normal. We will lift all capacity limits. People are so ready for football and fellowship. They are ready to engage. What impact did changing the state fl ag have on your institution? NAVE: Before I arrived, Mississippi institutions had taken a position that the fl ag would not fl y on our campuses, so we were not fl ying the state fl ag here. My role was one of being supportive of the change. The bigger impact was how it made our graduates feel and the emotional impact of it. Plus, it made sense from an economic perspective. Sometimes, people hold onto their traditions and beliefs at the expense of the greater good. It was always obvious to me that the state would do better just by changing the fl ag. When the change fi nally did occur, I was excited for the state. It was much needed. We needed to diversify. It enabled the state to set a different image. Mississippi really is a great state. (continued from page 21)M I S S I S S I P P I DE V E L OP M E N T G U I DE 27 yan Miller hasn’t been on the job for long, but he’s already making a big impact. Newly appointed as Mississippi’s fi rst executive director of the Offi ce of Workforce Development, he is taking center stage as the top state offi cial charged with making sure the state continues to provide a pipeline of talent to Mississippi’s many employers. As head of the state’s workforce development eff orts, Miller takes over a role that became even more challenging in 2020 due to COVID-19 and the corresponding economic recession. At the height of the pandemic, more than 40 million Americans had fi led for unemployment. Mississippi reached peak unemployment in April 2020 with a jobless rate of 15.7%. By April 2021, it had plummeted to 6.2%. “COVID-19 had a major impact on the job market and workforce in Mississippi,” says Miller, who spent 13 years building the Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME) by RON S TA R N E R R Armored Vehicle Manufacturer CITE Armored is headquartered in Holly Springs, Mississippi. PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSISSIPPI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY W OR KF OR C E Job One for New Offi ce: MISSISSIPPI’S WORKFORCENext >