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MUW History
When Mississippi University for Women was chartered in 1884,
it made educational
history as the first state-supported college for women in
America. Her founding mothers
had been persistent and tireless in their efforts, which had
spanned over twenty years.
Energetic campaigning in the 1860s and 1870s by activist
Sallie Reneau had resulted in
legislative approval, but no appropriations. A decade later
Olivia Valentine Hastings and
Annie Coleman Peyton joined forces to lobby legislators and
journalists in support of a
public women’s college. Originally known as The Industrial
Institute and College (II &
C), this institution was created by the Mississippi
Legislature to provide a unique hybrid:
a high quality collegiate education for women coupled with
practical vocational training.
As one legislator said, it was a “Godsend” for the “poor
girls of Mississippi.” In a time
when intellectual training for women was considered by many
to have disastrous consequences, Mississippi had the
foresight to recognize that her young women were going to
have to be taught not only to think for themselves, but also
to support themselves.
The first session began in October of 1885 in Columbus, a
city that had won the college
by virtue of its early interest in women’s education and its
willingness to commit hard
cash to the endeavor. The city donated to the state the
buildings and grounds of the
Columbus Female Institute, a private school founded in 1847,
in addition to offering city
bonds in the amount of $50,000 for any needed improvements
to the property. That
October, 341 girls embarked on this new educational
experiment. Four years later the first
graduates received their diplomas.
MUW has always shown an ability to adapt and change with the
times. In 1920, shortly
before newly enfranchised II & C graduates elected their
former president Henry
Whitfield Governor of Mississippi, The Industrial Institute
and College became
Mississippi State College for Women. This name more clearly
reflected the institution’s
merging of the professional training with four year
collegiate degrees. By 1974, as all
eight universities in Mississippi began adding and
strengthening graduate programs,
MSCW became Mississippi University for Women. But her alumni
and friends affectionately
call her The W. Admitting men since 1982, MUW still provides
a high quality
liberal arts education with a distinct emphasis on
professional development and leadership
opportunities for women.
ACCOLADES
U.S. News & World Report’s 2004 guide, “America’s Best
Colleges,” ranked MUW
a best value among Southern master’s universities. It is the
seventh time in 10 years that
MUW has been ranked a best value.
In October 2003, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine
ranked MUW 67 of the 100
best public colleges in America.
MUW’s highly regarded Culinary Arts Institute is one of the
few programs of its kind
in the nation offering a baccalaureate degree.
MUW is one of a limited number of universities in the
country and the only public
institution in Mississippi to offer a bachelor’s in music
therapy.
The Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium, which honors the
University’s worldrenowned
alumna, annually draws noted authors and scholars.
Graduates in MUW’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program
have a 99.27 pass per3
cent rate on the National Licensure Exam since inception of
the program.
The W features a fiberoptic backbone, interactive
videoconference classrooms and a
satellite uplink.
MUW is home to the Mississippi Governor’s School and the
Mississippi School for
Mathematics and Science, the fourth public, residential high
school for gifted students in
the nation.
With 23 of its more than 60 buildings listed on the National
Register of Historic
Places, MUW’s campus is one of the nation’s most
architecturally distinguished.
ADMINISTRATION
The first board of trustees consisted of Governor Robert
Lowry, James T. Harrison of Columbus, Dr. Lea Williamson of
Como, John F. Smith of Vossburg, Dr. J.J. Gage of Grenada,
T. M. Miller of Jackson, Mayor G.R. Higgins of Chotard
Landing, Captain D.L. Sweatman of Winona, Dr. J.J. Thornton
of Pass Christian, and Senator John McCaleb Martin of Port
Gibson, author of the bill creating the college.
The university has been served by 13 persons in the position
of president and 6 persons who served as acting or interim
president (Mary J.S. Callaway served two terms as acting
president). History was made when Dr. Clyda S. Rent became
the first woman to serve as the university's president and
the first woman to serve as the chief executive officer of a
Mississippi university. Persons serving as the institution's
chief executive officer:
RICHARD W. JONES, 1884-1888
CHARLES H. COCKE, 1888-1890
MARY J. S. CALLAWAY (Acting President), March, 1890-June,
1890
ARTHUR BEALS, 1890-1891
ROBERT FRAZER, 1891-1898
MARY J.S. CALLAWAY (Acting President), February, 1898-June,
1898
ANDREW A. KINCANNON, 1898-1907
HENRY L. WHITFIELD, 1907-1920
JOHN C. FANT, 1920-1929
NELLIE KEIRN (Acting President), November 1929-June 1930
R.E.L. SUTHERLAND, 1930-1932
BURNEY L. PARKINSON, 1932-1952
CHARLES P. HOGARTH, 1952-1977
JAMES W. STROBEL, 1977-1988
HARVEY M. CRAFT (Interim President), July, 1988-October,
1988
DELENE W. LEE (Interim President), October 1988-April, 1989
CLYDA S. RENT, 1989-2001
LENORE PRATHER, (Interim President), July, 2001-June, 2002
CLAUDIA LIMBERT, July, 2002-Present
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