Survey says Wynbridge.
While results of The Mississippi University for Women’s most recent renaming survey were not made public by press time Friday, President Nora Miller confirmed Wynbridge garnered the highest approval among survey respondents, outpacing two other options: Wynbright and Welbright.
“We’ll be announcing it Tuesday, but I would say that Wynbridge seemed to be the favored concept name,” she said.
Tuesday is also the deadline to file legislation for the name change. Since MUW is a state-funded university, the legislature must approve its new name. If approved, the name change would take effect July 1.
Regardless of what name is chosen, Miller said the current “The W” logo and trademark will still be a large part of the university’s identity and marketing.
“It will all be retained,” she told The Dispatch. “We will continue to be called the W and have the W trademark. We might do some tweaking … but it will remain.”
On Tuesday, the university announced a partnership with alumna Laura Prestwich, a naming strategist and creative consultant who helped organize an alumni group proposal of the name The W: A Mississippi University. Prestwich was hired to work alongside the Office of University Relations and university leadership to use “The W” trademark in the next steps of the renaming and brand strategy in response to alumni feedback, according to the university’s press release.
The university has budgeted approximately $500,000 for recruiting, advertising and marketing to prospective students. Once the new name goes into effect, the university anticipates increasing the budget for the 2025 fiscal year, according to the university website.
A ‘W’ concept
The latest surveys went out to faculty, staff, students and alumni Jan. 26, and the university received more than 5,000 responses in the three-day window to participate.
The three suggested names were finalists chosen from a list accumulated over the years-long naming process, which included suggestions from alumni, faculty and staff, students and Chernoff Newman, the communications agency hired to assist with the process.
The university’s contract with Chernoff Newman concluded on Jan. 30, according to a naming process report the university published on its website Friday afternoon.
The Wynbridge concept name pairs the Old English word for the letter “w” with a “bridge” symbolizing a connection from the past to the future, alums to students and the campus to the community. It is attributed to alumni, faculty and staff and the consulting agency.
“When the W was founded it built a bridge from exclusion to empowerment for women,” the W website reads. “With this name, past, present, and future alumni will all be W grads, creating a continuous connection for our tradition-rich school, while maintaining its forward-looking spirit.”
Wynbright, another one of the recommendations, also incorporates the Old English word for “w” and the word “bright,” talent from the university’s literary society motto, “We study for light to bless with light.”
The final recommendation, Welbright, borrows the same rationale behind the previously proposed Mississippi Brightwell University. “Well” is in reference to the idea of wellness, referring back to the university’s largest degree programs in the Bill and Jo-Ann Vandergriff College of Nursing and Health Sciences. “Bright” is taken from the literary society motto.
The survey said the final version of the name will incorporate some version of “Mississippi” and “University” prior to the final announcement.
Process history
The announcement of the new name on Tuesday aims to advance a renaming process that started in September 2022, when the university established a task force to select a name more representative of the integrated student body by recommendation of the school’s academic deans.
Founded in 1884 as the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls, it 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.
In October 2022, surveys were sent to constituencies of the university with several names focusing on the history and geographic location of the university.
With none of the names gaining traction, the committee chose a name not listed on the survey, announcing Mississippi Brightwell University as the official proposed name on Jan. 8. Many alumni and community members skewered the name, claiming it did not represent the school’s history of providing quality education to women.
The university ditched the name and restarted the process, prompting the newest survey with the three final name suggestions.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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