Talk of the Campus – Spring 2026
Newsweek: The W No.1 in Mississippi
The W was recently ranked No. 1 in Mississippi and 14th overall in the nation for empowering students, especially women, to help navigate the college experience, according to Newsweek’s inaugural America’s Best Colleges for Women in 2026. The ranking evaluates 750 U.S. colleges across four critical categories: leadership, pay and policies, safety and opportunity.
‘W Nurse’ Standard
The W Nurse is the standard when it comes to nursing education in the state. Legislators heard compelling stories from five W alumni at the January Senate Public Health committee hearing chaired by Sen. Hob Bryan. They discussed nursing education in rural Mississippi, the current statewide nursing landscape, what makes The W’s nursing model the best in the state, how The W is connecting its mission to real-world solutions for health needs and graduates’ commitment to staying in Mississippi.
Teacher Residency
The W and the Columbus Municipal School District (CMSD) are working together to build a stronger local teacher pipeline through a collaborative residency program. Faculty and staff from The W and CMSD gathered at Brandon Central Services Center to celebrate success in building strong classrooms and signing of a memorandum of understanding, completed a non-education bachelor’s degree and want to enter the teaching profession.
Mississippi Research Alliance Awards $75,000 to Support Cystic Fibrosis Research at The W
The Mississippi Research Alliance has awarded Dr. Ghanshyam Heda, professor of biology and founder of the Heda Lab, a $75,000 grant to support further research on cystic fibrosis and expand undergraduate research opportunities. The funds will allow the Heda Lab to create two student research opportunities for the upcoming spring and summer semesters. In addition, the grant will support a full-time faculty presence during the summer semester, which is essential for training and supervising undergraduate researchers.
MDCC and The W Create New Career Pathway
Mississippi Delta Community College and The W signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a new 3+1+1 pathway for career-technical students to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree. The agreement creates a seamless pathway for students earning an Associate of Applied Science degree from MDCC in Business Office Technology, Computer Networking Technology or Culinary Arts Technology to complete a Bachelor of Applied Science at The W. Under the agreement, The W will accept up to 40 career-technical education credit hours from MDCC toward a bachelor’s degree, with the requirement that 25 percent of total hours for the degree must be completed at The W. Both institutions will work together to advise students and promote these pathways throughout MDCC’s district.
Carnegie Classification
The W has been classified as an Opportunity College and University by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education in the category of higher access and higher earnings. Institutions that exceed the thresholds for higher access and higher earnings are designated as Opportunity Colleges and Universities. In the most recent Carnegie classifications, 478 institutions received this designation. The W was one of only two Mississippi institutions noted.
The W, EMCC Students Come
Together for Leadership Retreat
A cohort of first-generation students from The W and East Mississippi Community College (EMCC), members of the Lowndes First-generation Youth Realizing Success Together (FYRST) Leaders, came together at Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center for the 2026 leadership retreat. Lowndes FYRST Leaders is a partnership between The W, EMCC and the Rotary Club of Columbus. There were eight students in this year’s cohort, seven W students and an EMCC student. The overall goal of the retreat is to empower first-gen students to not only stay the course in their educational journeys, but also foster leadership skills that will help them succeed in the classroom and beyond.