Allegra Brigham slipped onto the Mississippi University for Women campus amid little fanfare nearly a year and a half ago. She thought she would leave the same way.
Tuesday afternoon, Brigham entered MUW’s Cochran Hall expecting a routine appointment, but the generally unflappable interim president stopped in her tracks, threw her hand over her mouth and choked with tears when she was greeted by more than 100 well-wishers who had gathered for a surprise tribute party.
Brigham took the helm of a troubled campus in July 2010, following the retirement of then-president Claudia Limbert.
It was a position to which she was uniquely suited, and she brought grace, dignity and unity amid odds that might have daunted others, supporters said Tuesday.
Though she was already known and loved as a W alumna and community leader, her arrival was still met with some skepticism among faculty, Faculty Senate representative Gloria Bunnell admitted. Columbus is not a town that embraces change easily, and academicians are particularly prone to scrutinize college administrators.
“True to her style, Allegra didn’t let skepticism stop her,” Bunnell said. “We are better today because of Allegra’s leadership.”
Many noted her boundless energy, indomitable spirit and pragmatic approach, saying her warm heart, cool head and steady hands brought stability at a time when it was most needed.
With fragmented alumni, plummeting enrollment and economic challenges dogging higher education nationwide, it wasn’t an easy time to become interim president, said Joe Max Higgins, CEO of the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link.
Brigham’s adherence to core values and her willingness to do what needs to be done has made her a “rock star” with statewide recognition and respect as she restored The W to a position of relevance, Higgins said.
“Allegra is the kind of person that if you were in a war and in a foxhole, you’d want two Allegras — one on each side,” he told the crowd.
Her ability to navigate troubled waters was quickly apparent to MUW Assistant to the President Perry Sansing.
He recalled an early meeting between Brigham and representatives from the state’s College Board. It was tense, but Brigham displayed the surefootedness even longtime presidents might have lacked, quickly neutralizing the situation. He knew then that The W was in for a fun — and successful — ride.
Brigham never stopped thinking of The W, supporters said. She was prone to send 3 a.m. emails filled with ideas for how to solve problems or make campus life better. Even on Sunday, while in church, she didn’t forget the campus and its needs.
Shawn Parker, Brigham’s pastor at First Baptist Church, said when she took the presidency, she came to him with a thick stack of things she wanted him to pray about — big things, important things, critical junctures for the college she loved. If she was ever daunted by the road ahead, she didn’t show it, he said. Every step she took was with faith, prayer and eternal optimism.
“Allegra is a bona fide leader and a leader among leaders,” Parker said. “Allegra has the rare ability to figure out when to pull and when to push … I really cannot wait to see what the next chapter is that God has for her.”
Though Brigham’s tenure on campus was short, she will not be forgotten.
More than 150 Allegra cheerleaders have funded a leadership scholarship in her name, and the President’s Dining Room has been decorated and named in her honor, said Andrea Stevens, executive director of development at MUW.
Likewise, Brigham will not forget The W.
She admitted she has dreaded the day she has to say goodbye, but she’s excited by the arrival of Dr. Jim Borsig, who was appointed president last week. He will begin his duties Jan. 3.
“It’s a bittersweet time for me,” Brigham said, calling her tenure rejuvenating and “a tremendous joy.”
“I have always loved this place,” she said. “I will never forget my time here.”
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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