Celebration marks 50 years for MSU-based education research center

Bruce Stirewalt, left, a former director of MSU’s Research and Curriculum Unit, talks with RCU Associate Director Betsey Smith and Mike Mulvihill with the Mississippi Department of Education’s Bureau of Career and Technical Education. The RCU is celebrating 50 years of service at Mississippi State. (Photo by Russ Houston)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—The Research and Curriculum Unit at Mississippi State celebrated a half-century of service to the state with a Thursday [Dec. 10] reception.

The event included remarks from current RCU Director Julie Jordan, �̾��ƵAssistant Vice President for Research Teresa Gammill and a representative from the Mississippi Department of Education. Among guests were current and former RCU directors and employees, as well as officials from the MDE and MSU.

The RCU is part of the land-grant institution’s mission to improve the lives of Mississippians through research, innovation and other areas of public education.

The organization’s professional staff focuses on career and technical education that trains secondary and postsecondary students for careers in high-demand industries.

With an emphasis on learning that leads to employability, the then-Research Coordinating Unit for Vocational-Technical Education was established in 1965. In the years since, the RCU has collaborated with other state agencies and regional organizations on numerous programs and initiatives.

Today, the RCU maintains a core focus on career and technical education curriculum, assessment and professional development, while also implementing and conducting research for new initiatives such as innovative school models, statewide educator evaluations and performance-based compensation.

For more information on the RCU, visit .

�̾��Ƶis Mississippi’s leading university, available online at .

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