Public university in Columbus, Mississippi, USA
Mississippi University for Women (MUW or "The W") is a coeducational public university in Columbus, Mississippi. It was formerly named the Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls[2] and later the Mississippi State College for Women. Men have been admitted to MUW since 1982 and today make up about 20 percent of the student body.[3]
Looking north on Serenade Drive
History
Upon its establishment in 1884, Mississippi University for Women became the first public women's college in the United States. Then formally called the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls (II&C), the institution was created by an act of the Mississippi Legislature on March 12, 1884, for the dual purposes of providing a liberal arts education for white women and preparing them for employment.[4] The II&C was located in Columbus on a campus formerly occupied by the Columbus Female Institute, a private college founded in 1847. The II&C's first session began on October 22, 1885,[4] with an enrollment of approximately 250 students. Dr. Richard Watson Jones was selected by the State Institutions of Higher Learning board of trustees as the university's first president. President Jones also taught physics and chemistry at the institute, and he was joined that first year by 17 additional faculty members.[4]
The name of the institution changed to Mississippi State College for Women in 1920 to reflect an emphasis on collegiate, rather than vocational, education.
In 1966, three local women from Hunt High School became the first black undergraduates at MUW. They lived off campus, as the dormitories remained segregated until 1968. At the same time, three teachers from Hunt became the first graduate students at the school. The students were known collectively as The Fabulous Six.[5][6]
In 1971, Mississippi State College for Women won the intercollegiate women's basketball national championship (the third ever held).[7]
In 1974, the name was changed to the Mississippi University for Women to reflect the expanded academic programs, including graduate studies. All other Mississippi state colleges were also designated universities at this time.
In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan that the nursing school's single-sex admissions policies were in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Following this decision, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning ordered the university to change its policies to allow the admission of qualified men into all university programs. In 1988, the Board of Trustees reaffirmed the mission of MUW as an institution providing quality academic programs for all qualified students, with emphasis on distinctive opportunities for women.
In a 1997 article in Innovative Higher Education, Dale Thorn described MUW's successful attempt to avoid a merger with another institution and to remain a separate entity.[8]
In 2009, President Dr. Claudia Limbert announced the possibility of changing the university's name to "Reneau University". The Mississippi State legislature did not approve the change.[9]
On February 1, 2019, Nora Roberts Miller was inaugurated as the first alumna president of Mississippi University for Women.[10] She was named the 15th president on September 15, 2018, by the State Institutions of Higher Learning board of trustees.[11]
In March 2019, the women's basketball team won the USCAA National Championship after defeating the University of Maine – Fort Kent.[12]
Rankings
In 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked The W 15th as a best value among public Southern regional universities and 18th among the top public schools. The university also lands in the top 10 on the social mobility scale.[13]
Athletics
MUW athletic teams are the Owls (formerly as the Blues). The university is a member in the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an Independent and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). The Owls previously participated in the NCAA Division II level, primarily competing in the Gulf South Conference (GSC) from 1993–94 to 2002–03, which led its athletics program to be dropped at the end of that academic year.
MUW competes in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
Originally a women's institution, and although it became a co-educational university in 1982, men's sports were not introduced until the 2017–18 school year (when the school re-instated its athletic program) with baseball, cross country and soccer; basketball, golf and tennis began the following year, and track and field the year after.
In June 2021, MUW was admitted to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) as a full member to begin play during the 2022–23 academic year.[14]
