MUW gears up for historic celebration

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- The Mississippi University for Women family will roll out the welcome mat for guests from across the country as it gears up for one of the most eventful weekends in the university's history.

Not only will The W host its annual Welty Weekend at The W Oct.17-19, but the same week also will include the meetings of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees and the inauguration of Dr. Claudia A. Limbert as The W's 13th president.

"The faculty, staff, students, alumni and community are excited about Dr. Limbert's inauguration and all of the other great events we have planned," said Alumni Relations Director Patsy McDaniel, co-chair of the weekend.

Rose Mary Dill, director of special projects/executive office manager and co-chair, added, "We hope everybody will join us in celebrating this historic occasion."

The IHL Board will begin its meetings on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 16 with the President's Council meeting, and it will conclude on Thursday afternoon.

Limbert, appointed by the IHL Board in April, will be inaugurated on Friday afternoon. The Inaugural Reception will take the place of the annual Book and Author Dinner that evening at Trotter Convention Center in downtown Columbus.

Prior to Limbert's appointment, which began July 1, 2002, she had served as campus executive officer at Penn State University, DuBois since 1998. She received a bachelor's degree in English, history and education from Bethel College in Kansas in 1978, and she received a master's degree in creative writing in 1980 and a doctorate in English literature in 1988, both from Boston University.

Dr. Diane M. Disney, dean of the Commonwealth College of Penn State University, will be the keynote speaker for the inauguration. At Penn State since July 2001, Disney oversees 12 campuses across the state, including the DuBois campus, that offer a range of associate, baccalaureate, master's and continuing education programs through some 1,200 faculty members to nearly 15,000 students.

Welty Weekend will begin on Thursday with a reception at 4 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building with the photographic narrative titled "Look Away" by David Rae Morris from his collaborative effort with Willie Morris on the book "My Mississippi" and work by MUW art faculty members Dr. Sue Coates, Shawn Dickey, Larry Feeney, Robert Gibson, Martie Geiger-Ho, Robert Manning and Tom Nawrocki.

Thursday's events will conclude with the opening of the Welty Symposium with author Kaye Gibbons at 7:30 p.m. in Poindexter Hall. A reception and book signing by all Symposium authors will follow Gibbons' presentation.

The second session of the Welty Symposium at 8:30 a.m. in Poindexter will kick off Friday's events. Kendall Dunkelberg, Cary Holladay, Moira Crone and Becky Hagenston will be the featured authors.

Other events on Friday include the Andrea Godwin Overby Journalism Forum and Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. in the Hogarth Dining Center, and the dedication of Columbus Hall, which was built in 1896 and has recently been renovated for apartment-style housing, at 2 p.m. with refreshments being served at the Culinary Arts Institute in Shattuck Hall.

Shelby Coffey III, former editor of the Los Angeles Times and television news executive with CNN and ABC, will speak about "The Art of Leadership" at the Forum.

The inauguration at 4 p.m. in Rent Auditorium of Whitfield Hall and the Inaugural Reception (black-tie optional) at 6:30 p.m. at Trotter Convention Center will round out the day.

Saturday's events include the closing session of the Welty Symposium at 8:30 a.m. in Poindexter Hall with authors Stuart Chapman, Jeanne Braselton and Paul Ruffin and a lunch with a dessert demonstration by the Culinary Arts Institute at noon in the Hogarth Cafeteria.

All Welty Weekend and inauguration events are free and open to the public except for the Overby Forum. For ticket information or for more information about any of these events, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at (662) 329-7119, Alumni Relations at (662) 329-7295 or the Office of Development at (662) 329-7146.

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