Maridith Geuder has always been a book-lover.
“I can’t stop buying them,” she said Tuesday.
Soon, she’ll actually get a chance to read them.
Geuder will step down from her position as executive director for university relations at Mississippi University for Women. Geuder’s retirement, which brings to an end a 31-year career in higher education, was announced via a press release Tuesday.
Geuder will serve through the end of September. MUW President Dr. Jim Borsig said an interim director will be named “soon,” and a national search for a permanent director will begin by the end of year.
Borsig hired Geuder in late August of 2012, just eight months after he was hired as MUW’s 14th president.
Borsig said her hiring was a key factor in building and more clearly defining MUW’s brand.
“Maridith was the first director of university relations The W had had in some time and she took over putting together marketing, communications, digital and billboard efforts and strengthened the brand of the university,” Borsig said. “When you see the consistency of what we do in our messaging and branding, that shows the impact she has had. The high quality you see is a reflection of the work of Maridith and her team.”
Geuder came to The W after 22 years as director of university relations at Mississippi State. While the title remained the same, in some respects the job could not have been more different.
At MSU, her role and work was well-established. At the W, she stepped into an evolving situation.
“That’s what made it so exciting,” Geuder said. “There was a lot of room for new ideas and opportunities. Really, it was so much better than I could have imagined. This place has been like family to me.”
Geuder, a West Point native, spent four years at Alabama in addition to her combined 27 years at MSU and The W. She earned her undergraduate degree in English at Millsaps College and her Masters in English at the University of Alabama.
“I really have been blessed to have had a career in higher education,” she said. “It has been great to work under the leadership of Dr. Jim Borsig and to see what he has done for The W. I am so proud to see this university thriving. After five years, I felt like it was time for new opportunities.”
Short-term, Geuder said she’ll enjoy spending more time with her family, including her husband, Rod, and four siblings, as well as her volunteer work at First Presbyterian USA in Columbus.
And, of course, she has all that reading to catch up on.
“I have a big stack of books I’m going to dive into,” she said.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.