Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1890 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church, Millsaps is home to 985 students.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, small liberal arts colleges (SLACs) had responded to declines in enrollment caused by questions of value and relevance by cutting budgets, reducing programs, or even closing. The advent of the pandemic created stressors for all academic institutions, exacerbating pre-existing conditions for faculty members at SLACs. This paper investigates the specific effects on faculty members employed by these already-stressed institutions and whether those impacts differ by gender. Using a survey of 1,369 faculty at 112 SLACs in 2020, this study reports faculty personal and professional financial stressors, changes in duties and responsibilities, and plans for retirement. Results indicate that stress was not new to faculty at SLACs – they were already dealing with reduced financial circumstances that were intensified by the pandemic. While both men and women experienced and predicted similar negative outcomes following the pandemic, results indicate that female faculty members experienced and predicted more negative outcomes than their male counterparts. Similarly, while the toll of the redistribution of work time was substantial for both genders, females reported engaging significantly more with students and significantly less with research than their male counterparts.
Abstract Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a vital tool in archaeology, facilitating the planning of excavations while minimizing their impact. However, its application in the Northern Maya Lowlands of Yucatán, Mexico, has historically encountered limited application due to the region’s distinctive geological conditions and issues related to technological precision. The region’s limestone substrates can interfere with GPR signals, complicating the differentiation between cultural features, natural formations, and radar anomalies. Nevertheless, advancements in GPR technology over the past two decades have mitigated these challenges. This article offers a case study from Yaxuná, Yucatán, concentrating on the Central Plaza during the Middle and Late Formative period (600 BC–AD 200). By integrating GPR data with documented stratigraphic features and site insights, the study successfully identified cultural elements, directed excavation efforts, and revealed previously unexamined structures, thereby enhancing planning efficiency. These findings underscore the potential of GPR to reduce excavation-related damage, thereby assisting archaeologists in better uncovering and preserving cultural heritage.
