A week after proposing a name to the legislature, Mississippi University for Women has announced a “strategic pause” in the name changing process.

A letter from President Nora Miller emailed to university affiliates and posted on social media Wednesday said the university will pause the process “to regroup and consider all perspectives.”

“While we remain committed to a future name change, we will regroup and re-examine our processes, ways of engaging our alumni base and the many needs surrounding finding a name that captures the unique history as well as the contemporary qualities of our university,” Miller wrote in the letter.

The letter also acknowledges “the challenges, the missteps, the frustrations and the uncertainties” generated by the process.

Miller told The Dispatch the name process has paused before, and the effort is worth taking another pause to ensure it’s done correctly. She hopes to continue efforts to change the name in the 2025 legislative session.

“In order to get the legislative action, we need the alumni support,” she said. “We’re just not there, and it’s worth taking the time to get there.”

On Feb. 13, the university announced it would propose Wynbridge State University of Mississippi to the legislature as its new name. District 41 Rep. Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus, introduced House Bill 1155 the next day, proposing the name and codifying the use of “The W” as the school’s informal title. The bill was referred to the House University and Colleges Committee.

As of Wednesday, the bill had not made it out of committee.

The university is still committed to finding a more inclusive name, according to Miller’s letter. The pause will allow time to garner stronger support for a new name in the future, Miller said.

“The deadline for getting it out of committee isn’t until next week, but we just know that we need to build more alumni support,” she said.
“Rather than exhausting everybody with trying to move it forward over the next few weeks, we just think we can do a better job of it if we take our time and are able to bring more people along with us.”

District 39 Rep. Dana McLean, R-Columbus, told The Dispatch a lack of support in the legislature could be one reason for the pause. She previously told The Dispatch she hadn’t decided how she would vote if the Wynbridge name came to the floor.

“Quite frankly, I don’t think we quite had the support in the legislature that we would need to pass it through this session,” she said. “I think a lot of legislators have heard from their constituents all over the state, and there was some opposition to the new name.”

McLean said she hopes the university can eventually get a name change passed in the legislature.

“I still think a name change is needed at this point,” she said. “I’m really hoping that they can go back to the drawing board and come back with something there will be overwhelming support for.”

Miller said the naming process so far has provided insight on how the change should be handled.

“We’ve learned about processes that we can make improvements on, and we are going to strengthen our relationships with alumni and continue to work towards getting a more inclusive name,” she said. “We’re going to take a little bit of a breath and just kind of absorb this. Then we’ll get back at it and work on building those relationships.”

Karriem on Wednesday would not comment on the pause, instead deferring all questions to House Universities and Colleges Vice Chair and District 89 Rep. Donnie Scoggin, R-Ellisville.

The Dispatch could not reach Scoggin by press time.

District 37 Rep. Andy Boyd and District 17 Sen. Chuck Younger, both Lowndes County Republicans, did not return calls and messages for comment by press time.

Naming process history

The university’s announcement issued a pause in a years-long process that started in May 2022 when Miller received a letter from MUW’s academic deans recommending the university take action to identify a new name to address challenges with declining enrollment.

Founded in 1884 as the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls, the university was later named Industrial Institute and College, Mississippi State College for Women (1920) and MUW (1974). It was the nation’s first dedicated public women’s college. Men were allowed to attend starting in 1982.

The university established a naming task force in August 2022 to select a name more representative of the integrated student body. The next month, surveys were sent to constituencies of the university with several name options that focused on the history and geographic location of the university.

With none of the names gaining traction, the committee departed from using a historical or geographical name and moved forward with a concept name instead, announcing Mississippi Brightwell University as the proposed name on Jan. 8.

The announcement was immediately skewered by alumni and community members online who claimed it was not representative of the school’s historical legacy. Following the backlash, the university ditched the name, formed a new timeline and restarted the process, which prompted the newest survey with the three final name suggestions – Wynbridge, Wynbright and Welbright – before The W’s announcement Feb. 13.

McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.