FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 26, 2008

MUW Naming Committee members selected

By Jill D. O’Bryant

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- A new name for Mississippi University for Women will
be the focus of a diverse, 30-person committee, which includes alumni,
faculty, staff, students and community leaders.

The committee, which will be headed by Dr. Sue Jolly, chair of the
Department of Education and a 1975 alumna, is made up of more than 50
percent females, and half the members are alumni.

“I am thankful to Dr. Jolly and others who have agreed to serve the
university in this important way,” said Dr. Claudia Limbert,
president. “This is a crucial task that will enable us to help shape
the future of our university.”

Other faculty members participating are Dr. Michael Burger, Robert
Gibson, Dr. Martin Hatton, Alisa Holen, Dr. Joyce Hunt, Dr. Richard
Millikin, Erich Ogle, Dr. Thomas Richardson, Joy Townsend, Dr. Thomas
Velek and Dr. James Ward.

Allegra Brigham, Roger Burlingame, Lynne Curtis, Cindy Dunbar, Andrea
Overby, Steve Rogers, Lynne Schneider and Amy Strickland Tate make up
the list of community members and alumni.

Staff members included are Marty Brock, Phillip Cockrell, Melanie
Freeman, Rodney Godfrey, Andrea Holcombe, Angela Jones, Carla Lowery and Amy Swingle.

Kristen Barnes, SGA president for 2008-2009, and Eric Frost will offer
valuable student input.

The Naming Committee will hold its first meeting soon in which Limbert
will charge the committee with its responsibilities.

On Aug. 11, Limbert addressed the faculty and staff at the 2008 Kickoff
Meeting and Luncheon and announced that she will recommend to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning that the name of
the university be changed.

“Our current name - Mississippi University for Women - creates a
perception that is no longer based in reality,” Limbert said in her
speech. “Our name is no longer right. Our name is no longer
appropriate. Our name no longer represents who we are.”

Limbert based her decision to recommend a name change in part on the
MUW Identity Committee’s report that said a name change is warranted.

When speaking about the name change in her speech, Limbert concentrated on three key facts - growth, competition and relevance.

She noted the need to grow to survive, that the university’s name
places it at a competitive disadvantage and that the relevance of the
university is in leadership development for all students.