Mississippi University for Women
2022 Annual Report

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences graduated the most undergraduate nurses in the Institutions of Higher Learning system in 2022. ASN had 100%, pass rate reported in 2022 for the 2021 May class.

Dr. Ghanshyam Heda, professor of biology, received the “John Tanner 2nd Timer Award” at the 36th annual meeting of the Human Anatomy & Physiology Society, held in May in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Last spring he spent his sabbatical at the University of Bristol (England) as visiting professor in the Department of Physiology & Neuroscience. He also won $70,000 in research grants through Mississippi InBRE and NASA and continues to collaborate with the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center at University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The Department of Psychology & Family Science created a 2+2 agreement for family science and psychology majors who start at Copiah-Lincoln CC. The arrangement provides a transfer pathway for students to receive the Child Advocacy Studies Training (CAST) certificate offered at The W. The arrangement also includes CEU training on mandated reporting for K-12 teachers, provided by CAST faculty from Co-Lin.

The School of Education, in partnership with Excel by 5, hosted the first CHEER conference in April for early childhood providers in Columbus and Lowndes County. CHEER was created to provide quality professional development and Celebrate and Highlight Early Education Respect. A major goal was to build relationships and importance in the early childhood community during the NAEYC Week of the Young Child. The celebration also included Early Educator of the Year financial achievement awards. CHEER was sponsored by multiple community and regional grants secured by the School of Education.

Dr. Jon Fessenden, assistant professor of music therapy, presented a continuing education workshop via Zoom at Molloy College (New York) on autistic hearing.

The Child and Parent Development Center renovated classrooms and one playground with $411K in grant funds through Child Care Strong program. This funding allowed the CPDC to enhance resources and spaces to support their work as a university laboratory school. The CPDC supports university students in multiple degree programs by providing practical experience and supports the community by providing high-quality childcare for children and families.

Three Spanish majors interned last spring serving their communities as volunteer advocates, tutors and translators of legal and other important documents for Spanish-speaking residents.

286,135

HOURS of SERVICE

The university announced a Naming Taskforce to explore the idea of a more inclusive name to remove a recruitment barrier. A naming survey was launched in October and focus groups were conducted in November with more than 4,300 people completing the survey created by Love Communications based out of Salt Lake City. Survey results are published at: muw.edu/name/.

Dr. Catherine Cotton was announced as the recipient of The W’s Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award. Cotton, assistant professor of speech language pathology, consistently co-leads first-year speech-language pathology graduate students and faculty members through discussions surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion related topics.

The W Counseling Center hosted its second annual Mental Health & Wellness Fair in conjunction with The W’s Common Reading Initiative of Alexi Pappas’s book “Bravey,” a memoir that details how a drastic change in the Olympic runner’s life caused great highs, deep lows, joy and sorrow. Approximately 30 agencies participated in the fair that was free and open to students, faculty, staff and the public.

Speech-Language Pathology hosted the first Camp TnT (Talking in Turner: A Communication Explosion) for children with communication disorders. Camp TnT was for children with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices and encouraged language development, language use and social interactions with peers in a typical summer camp, language-rich environment.

In FY 2022, the university had an operating cash flow of +$3,498,920, due in large part to federal COVID funds expended in prior years but drawn down in FY 2022. As of June 30, 2022, we had 124 days of cash on hand, exceeding IHL’s minimum expectation of 90 days.

Construction continues on the Culinary Arts building. The 51,275 gross square foot facility is estimated to cost more than $15 million and is expected to be on-line Fall 2023.

The W has moved to a more automated and efficient environment through software implementations:

• Ellucian Ethos
• Banner Extensibility
• Banner 9 Self-Service (AIP & Communication Management)
• NextGen Scholarship Manager – Financial Aid
• OnBase has also been expanded to Accessibility & Accommodations

In what was, without a doubt, its most important achievement to date, The W’s Athletics program successfully completed its Year Two annual report in 2021-22 and was advanced to the third – and final – year of the process to full membership by the NCAA III Membership Committee. Year Three officially began September 1, 2022. When completed, the Owls would enter into full NCAA III membership - and their new league home as members of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) - beginning with the 2023-24 season.

Another exciting aspect that was approved to go forward in 2022 was the establishment of the first-ever The W Athletics Hall of Fame. The inaugural inductees were enshrined as a part of Homecoming 2023 on April 1.

Individually, a total of 19 Owls earned USCAA All-American honors in their respective sports. The W student-athletes picked up 18 USCAA Player of the week accolades, as well. Four individuals – Amelia Stalter (softball), Logan Pannell (men’s golf), Ta’Dashia Flowers (women’s golf) and Millie Mask (women’s soccer) - were voted as the USCAA Student-Athlete of the Year (considers academics, community service and athletics) in their respective sports.

In the classroom, the Owls lived up to the symbolism of academic prowess and wisdom commonly associated with the school’s nickname. In 2022 alone, there were a total of 284 recognitions afforded on the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll (requiring a term grade point average of 3.0 or above) in the spring and fall terms, better than 70 percent of all student-athletes. Sixty-two percent of those named the A.D. Honor Roll had term GPAs of 3.50 or better, with 29 percent (94 total) posting perfect 4.0 term GPAs. As a department, The W had an impressive grade point average of 3.25 for the calendar year 2022.

The W Athletics also continued its hallmark of giving back to both campus and community. Owls’ teams were involved in such areas of volunteerism as working at street festivals for Columbus, supporting The W Oktoberfest fundraiser, doing food drives for both campus and the United Way/Helping Hands, Loaves and Fishes Ministry, Walk for Diabetes-Columbus and breast cancer awareness activities, to name a few.

Best Public Master’s Universities (National) – #132

Best Public Master’s Universities (South) – #21

Best Bang for the Buck Public Universities (South) – #33