It’s not déjà vu. For the second time in two months, the Mississippi University for Women has released a new name only to go back on it and pause the rebranding process.
Just hours after MUW President Dr. Nora Miller finished up with an appearance on The Gallo Show – one in which she sounded confident and ready to move forward with renaming MUW to Wynbridge State University of Mississippi – the school leader wrote a letter to students, faculty, and alumni on Wednesday revealing that the process has been put on hold.
“While we remain committed to a future name change, we will regroup and re-examine our processes, ways of engaging our alumni base, and the many needs surrounding finding a name that captures the unique history as well as the contemporary qualities of our university,” a portion of the letter reads.
While the reason for the sudden change has not been confirmed, especially considering a bill recently dropped to officially rebrand the coeducational university in Columbus, WCBI reported that House Bill 1155 was unlikely to be approved by the Universities and Colleges Committee.
This is the latest revelation in what’s becoming a repetitive story. In January, school officials announced that MUW was planning to change to Mississippi Brightwell University. An ensuing firestorm of criticism forced them to rethink the decision before just last week, announcing they had decided on Wynbridge State University of Mississippi.
Any name change will have to be approved by both chambers of the legislature and signed into law by the governor, considering MUW is a public university. The school has now been coeducational for over 40 years.
