JACKSON-Talk of a name change for Mississippi University for Women is building, but that prospect isn’t up for discussion at The W’s sister institution in Texas. “If it’s not broke, don’t try to fix it,” Roy Kron, spokesman for Denton-based Texas Woman’s University, said. “There is no consideration to change the name at this time.”
The reason? Enrollment rose by 10.2 percent after an eight-year enrollment slump at TWU. That explains why many school supporters are satisfied with keeping the name that’s been around since 1957.
With 8,736 students this fall, Texas Woman’s University operates campuses in Denton, Dallas and Houston. Hundreds of miles apart, MUW and Texas Woman’s University share striking similarities as the nation’s only two public universities primarily geared toward the education of women.
But some supporters at 2,105-student MUW say a name change could help reverse declining enrollment. They’re asking if ‘The W’ should come up with a new name because it has admitted men for two decades.
Although first-time, full-time freshmen enrollment rose 36 percent this fall, MUW’s overall head count dropped 9 percent, and the student body shrank from 2,328 in 2001 to 2,105 currently.
MUW became America’s first public college for women in 1884, but a lengthy court battle opened the doors for the first male student in 1982. Today, men comprise about 14 percent of the enrollment.
A national consultant conducting a $250,000 marketing study might address the name change issue in a final report to new MUW President Claudia Limbert next month.
“There are 20,000-plus of us (alumni), and we will have a wide divergence of opinion,” said Linda Ross Aldy of Madison, a 1973 MUW graduate who serves as president of the MUW Alumnae Association. “We’re all emotionally connected to the school.”
The school opened as the Industrial Institute and College when classes began Oct. 22, 1885. The name was changed to Mississippi State College for Women in 1920 and to Mississippi University for Women in 1974.
As with these previous changes, the state Legislature would ultimately have to approve a new name for MUW.
There’s little public debate afoot in Texas to alter TWU’s name. Created by the Texas Legislature as Girls Industrial College in 1901, it became the College of Industrial Arts in 1905 and Texas State College for Women from 1934-57 before switching to TWU.
Texas Woman’s University began admitting men to its health science program in 1972 and to all academic programs in 1994.
TWU’s peak enrollment was more than 10,000 students in 1994.
Enrollment today isn’t where it should be, said TWU junior Juliette Dupar, 21, of Dallas. For that reason, she said she wouldn’t oppose a new name for her school.
“A lot of people think it is for women (only). A lot of men think they don’t have a chance,” said Dupar, a mass communication major.
A name change, she said, would help attract more men to the school. Making it tougher to recruit men, she said, is that there are no men’s sports teams at TWU.
Male students typically comprise eight to 10 percent of the TWU enrollment. At MUW, it’s 20 percent. But Dupar sees no strong push from the TWU administration to change the name and concedes it’s not a big topic of discussion for most students.
Helping quiet any talk of a change, TWU officials led by new President Ann Stuart were successful in stopping skidding enrollment.
Better marketing and recruiting efforts turned things around, Kron said. TWU actively recruits men and women, and that’s reflected in
testimonials from students of both sexes in school publications.
“TWU has a proud heritage of providing education and leadership opportunities for women and men,” Stuart said in a message on the school’s Web site.
TWU operates the largest nursing program in Texas and offers a broad array of liberal arts and sciences programs. The bulk of the men are in graduate school programs.
“We do have a niche, and we are trying to fill that need,” Kron said.
Decisions to change names of institutions are never easy, said Aubrey Lucas, retired president at the University of Southern Mississippi and Delta State University.
Mississippi Southern College’s name changed to the University of Southern Mississippi in 1962, while Delta State College changed to Delta State University in 1974 to reflect their growth.
“It needed to change its name to reflect its very nature, and that was largely true of DSU as well,” Lucas said. “There was no opposition.”
But Aldy recalled that wasn’t the case when the Legislature in 1974 changed Mississippi State College for Women to MUW.