M. Anghaarad Teague '95,
President 2009-2010

M. Anghaarad Teague, MUW '95

 Anghaarad Teague is beginning her year as president of the original and historic alumnae association as it continues to takes on unprecedented challenges – and a new name!

By Anne Swearingen, MUW Class of ‘73

As the first president of the newly renamed Mississippi’s First Alumnae Association, Anghaarad Teague, class of 1995, has both an easier job than her predecessor and a harder job than her predecessor.

The struggle to remain affiliated is over but the work of building the “new” 120-year-old Association is just beginning.

Angh has been getting input from members for the last couple of months. So far, she says, “Folks want to see MFAeA grow in strength, membership and influence. Everyone I have talked to is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to move forward. It is time to be proactive rather than reactive.

“I also think that we have to continue to be a presence, even if it is from the sidelines. Over the past couple of years we have done some amazing things without the support of the university. I think that we can continue to provide ways for the alums to reconnect to the W and to the Long Blue Line.

What’s first on Angh’s agenda? “We really need to market our new name, our vision and our priorities. So marketing and communication would be at the top of the list. 

“Engaging new and younger alums in the renamed Mississippi’s First Alumnae Association is also very important for our survival. Working to promote the university to potential new students is vital...we have to continue to prove to the current administration that there are students out there that would LOVE to come to Mississippi University for Women and have no problem with the name -- in fact it is a draw for them.

“One of my personal goals over the next year is to engage at least one person from each graduating class from 1950-2009 in the work of the association. This could be getting them to come to a chapter meeting, homecoming event, join the association or agree to work on a committee.

Angh said it is important that prospective members and the public understand that, despite what the university administration says, the MFAA is diverse it its membership and board makeup. “We are a very diverse group of folks. We have every race, gender, age, socio-economic and geographic category met -- and not with just token members.

“We have a wonderfully dedicated group of alums willing to fight for and work hard for our beloved alma mater. We can always strive to do better to include more people on the board committees and with various projects. For too long we have been painted as a kind of clique of cookie-cutter alums and that couldn't be farther from the truth! We are diverse now and we will continue to open up our association to all alums to enhance that diversity even more in the future.”

The incoming president not only has her hands full with the MFAA, she also has a job she loves as youth minister for a Presbyterian Church – and she’s planning a wedding. “When I'm not up to my ears in youth ministry or alumnae association work, planning a wedding takes all of my time. We (she and her fiancé Zane Dees) are getting married August 8 in Tupelo in a very simple morning ceremony. We got our engagement pictures back recently and it really hit me that this wedding is a coming whether I'm ready or not!”

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Explaining Mississippi’s First Alumnae Association’s recent history, why it is not affiliated with the university and why it has a new name is something Angh can do easily. “We are the historic association that has continued to support the university despite disaffiliation and other strong-armed tactics taken by the current administration. We are not hand-picked by Dr. Limbert and we have a passion for not only the traditions of MUW but for her future. We believe that we have the freedom to criticize and question choices made by the administration. We don't believe that to truly support the university that we must blindly accept all decrees from the president. We need to continue to work diligently to see that the name is not changed. The process that has been used has been haphazard at best and the case is weak for a name change; the current administration has failed to market the university. Dr. Limbert sees us as the thorn in her side and she will probably continue to do so until she leaves.”