Mississippi University for Women could merge with Mississippi State University under a rewritten bill lawmakers advanced late Tuesday to the surprise of officials at both universities.
The Senate Education Committee approved Senate Bill 2715, sending it to the Mississippi Senate floor. The legislation would create “The W at Mississippi State University,” which would operate on MUW’s current campus in Columbus, Miss.
MUW: Effort ‘Was Unexpected’
Mississippi University for Women officials said lawmakers blindsided them with the bill yesterday.
“We became aware of the last-minute amendment made to Senate Bill 2715 yesterday. The proposed action to merge and rename the university ‘The W at Mississippi State University’ was unexpected, but we are fully committed to ensuring our university’s health and sustainability and its 140-year legacy in the state of Mississippi,” MUW President Nora Miller said in a statement to the Mississippi Free Press this morning.
Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, authored the original bill, which he introduced on Feb. 19. He offered the amended version as a committee substitute during the Senate Education Committee’s March 5 meeting.
The original bill would have only relocated the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science—a residential public high school for academically talented students—from the MUW campus to MSU’s campus in Starkville. But it would not have merged MUW with MSU.
Officials from the City of Columbus, Lowndes County and MUW previously said they opposed the original idea of moving MSMS to Starkville during a press conference on Feb. 28. That same day, MUW released a statement listing the mutually beneficial relationship between the two schools.
“The W’s relationship with MSMS goes all the way back to 1983 when the director of the MUW Center for Gifted and Talented and the faculty in that Center wrote the proposal for the creation of MSMS,” Miller said in the statement. “We are proud to house MSMS on our campus, and we look forward to being able to address their facility needs.”
The amended bill to merge MUW into MSU would leave MSMS on the campus of “The W at Mississippi State University” in Columbus under the control of MSU.
The legislation would require the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees to develop a plan to administer the process of transferring ownership and control of the Mississippi University for Women to Mississippi State University beginning July 1, 2024. The transfer would be completed by July 1, 2025.
MSU: ‘Our Leadership Team Has Many Questions’
Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum said the university did not propose or initiate the proposal. He said that although MSU appreciates the confidence the Legislature has in the university, his institution respects the legacy of Mississippi University for Women.
“We were informed just this morning, and our leadership team has many questions and concerns that must be explored,” he said in a statement to the Mississippi Free Press dated March 5. “Such an action of this nature would require a tremendous amount of study and review regarding operational logistics, infrastructure, financial sustainability, academic viability, and accreditation—just to name a few.”
“We have the utmost respect for MUW’s unique legacy, as well as the important role it continues to play in higher education in our state,” Keenum continued. “It is my sincere hope that the leadership of the Mississippi Legislature will consult with the IHL Board of Trustees and Commissioner Al Rankins as more details are made known to us.”
MUW Communications Director Tyler Wheat told the Mississippi Free Press that President Miller is set to meet with officials in Jackson today regarding the bill.
The bill now goes to the full Senate for a vote by March 16. If the Senate approves it, the bill will go to the House for consideration.
