Two state Senate committees have chosen their own new name for Mississippi University for Women — “The W at Mississippi State University.”
Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, originally filed Senate Bill 2715 in February, proposing the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science be relocated to Mississippi State University in Starkville. But when his committee met Tuesday afternoon at the Capitol, he offered a substitute bill that would transfer control of MUW to MSU. The W would continue to operate in Columbus under its new moniker.
DeBar’s substitute bill calling for the merger breezed through his committee, as well as Appropriations, and is headed for a full Senate vote.
When District 17 Sen. Chuck Younger, R-Lowndes County, heard about the bill, he “didn’t know what to say.” He notified the local House delegation and told them to prepare for battle.
“All I can do is fight,” Younger said. “… We’re going to try to kill it. Nip it in the bud.”
MUW President Nora Miller said she had not seen the substitute bill and “had no notice of this action.”
MSU officials, according to a prepared statement President Mark Keenum released Tuesday, didn’t get much more notice. He said MSU neither “proposed nor initiated” the substitute bill.
“We were informed just this morning, and our leadership team has many questions and concerns that must be explored,” Keenum said. “Such an action of this nature would require a tremendous amount of study and review regarding operational logistics, infrastructure, financial sustainability, academic viability, and accreditation — just to name a few.
“We appreciate the institutional confidence in MSU that this proposal implies, but I emphatically reiterate that MSU did not seek and has not requested this action from legislative leaders,” he continued. “We have the utmost respect for MUW’s unique legacy, as well as the important role it continues to play in higher education in our state.”
The substitute bill provides that the Mississippi Department of Education would transfer operations of MSMS to The W at Mississippi State University, meaning MSU would inherit responsibilities The W currently handles concerning MSMS. DeBar said during the Education Committee meeting that MDE would submit a report by next year’s legislative session to determine what comes next for the residential high school for gifted juniors and seniors.
“This, in my opinion, will go ahead and strengthen the institution there in Columbus, strengthen the Math and Science school and strengthen the education our students will receive at these facilities,” he said during the meeting.
DeBar did not return calls and messages from The Dispatch on Tuesday.
Local legislative response
House members among the local delegation panned the merger bill, with District 41 Rep Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus, calling it “mean-spirited.” District 37 Rep. Andy Boyd, R-Columbus, said it “smells of backroom politics,” noting Tuesday was the deadline to pass bills out of committee.
When The Dispatch asked District 39 Rep. Dana McLean if she would support a merger, she laughed for several seconds before answering.
“I do not support MSU taking over The W,” she said. “… I’m on the (House) Education Committee, and I’m also on colleges and universities. So I would be opposing the bill in those committees in the event that it is even brought up.”
Younger said he doesn’t believe the bill will pass the full Senate. For one, Democrats who don’t want to see the state’s Historic Black Colleges and Universities consolidated might see this merger as a slippery slope.
In any case, he plans to advocate vocally to keep MUW’s governance as-is.
“I’m going to get up in the well and let the Senate know that The W has the best nursing school in the state,” Younger said. “They have degrees for culinary and paralegals. It’s not the biggest university in the state, but it’s probably the best education you can get for the money. If (senators) want to mess that up, it’s on them.”
The only real knock on The W, Younger said, is aging facilities on the National Historic Register. He doesn’t even see that, though, as all negative.
“The old historical buildings also give it the character it has,” he said.
District 43 Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, told The Dispatch he would seriously consider supporting the bill should it make it through the Senate and to the House Education Committee, which he chairs.
“However, I will be speaking with the administrative people at MUW as well as their president, and the administrative folks (at MSU) and MSU’s president to find out what it would actually mean and what it would look like,” he said, adding that a merger would have to come with money, or at least a plan, for detailing with the W’s historic facilities.
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