Change

So it’s official, Mississippi University for Women’s name will change. MUW began admitting male students in 1982 and so also began the more than 20 year debate over what the institution should be called. As a proud graduate of “The W”, as it’s affectionately called by many, I meet this change with mixed emotion. MUW, founded in 1884, is recognized as the first public college for women. This institution provided countless opportunities for females during a time when women’s rights were very limited. I was and continue to be very proud of this fact; however, I didn’t choose to attend The W because of its name. I chose MUW because of its size, friendliness of faculty members, cost, beauty of the campus and the opportunities it afforded me. You hear the cliché many times that you want to go to a college where you aren’t ‘just a number’ and that was honestly the truth for me. I felt that I would be given opportunities at MUW that I wouldn’t at other larger institutions and you know what? I was right! Heck, I had such a great experience at The W that I didn’t leave immediately following graduation. I worked in Admissions for four years. Now, as a former MUW Admissions Counselor, I am encouraged by the decision announced today to change the institution’s name. As you can imagine it was, and still is, very difficult to recruit male students to a university with “for Women” in its name. The challenge was increased even more when recruiting out of state, where people may have never heard of MUW. The natural assumption was that it was an all-women’s university and that it was private. Male students were already automatically ruling MUW out as an option. Marketing and aggressive recruitment efforts have been increased year after year but there is still only so much that can be done. Although this is a highly debated topic, I think there is one common thread among graduates and friends of MUW. That is that we share a love for the institution and desire to see it prosper. Changing the name will not change the institution. It will simply provide a more appealing and equal sense of opportunity for every student to learn and succeed. If changing the name of the University is what it will take to reach continued success, I am for it! (Ok, I will now take a step down from my soapbox.) ;)