Southern Miss gets $3M grant to develop pilot programs

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — The University of Southern Mississippi has won a $3 million federal grant to develop three pilot programs to aid regions whose economic health is dependent on defense initiatives.

The university said Tuesday it was selected due to its expertise in economic development and the state's dependence on Department of Defense spending. DOD spends $5.5 billion per year spent in Mississippi.

Under the grant, the Southern Miss College of Business and Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development & Entrepreneurship will collaborate on three initiatives: providing economic diversification technical assistance for communities; creating a defense community specialization for the Masters of Science in Economic Development program; and creating a platform for technology transfer related to defense intellectual property into new economic opportunities.