Will MUW proceed with new name, Mississippi Brightwell University? Time will tell
I’m guessing almost no one is surprised the hierarchy at Mississippi University for Women will go slow in changing the school’s name.
MUW proposed becoming Mississippi Brightwell University in early January, generating much surprise and no small amount of controversy.
The Mississippi Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning is the body that allowed MUW to propose the enigmatic new name.
However, the Mississippi Legislature will ultimately decide the matter, requiring an actual bill that includes the university’s new name to be passed and signed by Gov. Tate Reeves.
In the meantime, MUW officials have decided to pause and take what they call a “deeper dive” to determine if more inclusivity is needed in a new name for the university, according to a report by WCBI TV of Columbus. The school has an enrollment of about 2,100 students.
Whether the MUW leadership, the college board or any other official body will change its mind on the proposed MUW name is unknown. However, that’s the action many Mississippians obviously want taken.
The Clarion-Ledger conducted a poll of readers almost immediately after the name-change news appeared. It showed overwhelming dissatisfaction for “Brightwell.”
The interest shown in this topic was magnified by the quick response of social-media activists commenting on the change on the Internet on Jan. 9. My posting netted 30-plus responses.
Retired newspaper editor Dan Davis of Hattiesburg was a reporter for the Columbus Commercial-Dispatch in 1982 when the State Supreme Court ruled that MUW had to admit men, of all people.
Davis had an evocative response: “I said at the time that the school would have to change its name. I didn’t think it would take 42 years. I’m not thrilled with the new name, but it doesn’t matter; it’ll always be The W to most of us.”
One responder to the news chimed in, “What were they thinking? Awful name!” Another exclaimed, “What a meaningless name.”
An obviously agitated poster said members of the focus group who came up with “Brightwell” should be terminated. Now, not tomorrow.
“Why didn’t they name it Sunshine U.? That would make as much sense!” said one shocked observer of the announcement.
Jan Nave Barnes, a McComb native who was chosen Miss Mississippi of 1963 while a student at MUW, said she was “extremely disappointed and will remember the old name for my schooling. I don’t really care for the new name at all.”
There are many potential names for the school that opened in 1884 as Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls (MUW accepted its first Black students in 1966). The name was changed to Mississippi State College for Women in 1920 and to Mississippi University for Women in 1974.
Why not honor the home base and rename it the University of Columbus? Or perhaps Columbus State University. There’s one of those in Columbus, Georgia.
A possible new name is Mississippi State University at Columbus. The main MSU campus at Starkville is 26 miles from MUW. Such a merger (yes, I just proposed one) might be a money-saving proposition for these citadels of higher education.
Many MUW graduates favored renaming their alma mater Welty University in honor of its most renowned graduate, the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty. But, Welty’s family reportedly balked at that idea.
MUW officials said that more than 4,300 people participated in a survey about a name change. This included alumni, university faculty and staff, enrolled and prospective students and community citizens.
MUW partisans who’d still like to comment on the matter or suggest a new name have that opportunity at NameChange@muw.edu.
Mac Gordon, a native of McComb, is a retired newspaperman. He can be reached at macmarygordon@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi University for Women's new name a tough sell
