Friends of the W Meet to Rally Against Merger

By Emily Myers Garner

MUW has weathered many storms in the past and her loyal alums and supporters have always been there to support and preserve her and her historic mission. The W is once again experiencing turbulent times and once again with the threat of merger/closure looming, supporters have joined forces to develop strategic plans for another battle to save the historic institution. The effort this time is being led by Friends of the W, a loose-knit group of alums, businessmen and women and individuals who want to see MUW continue as an independent free-standing University.

On November 15, 2009 approximately 30 supporters, including Dr. Claudia Limbert, MFAeA President-Elect Lillian Wade, MUWAA President Pat Ainsworth and Senator Alice Harden, gathered in Jackson to identify ways to prevent merger or closure; secure additional funding and support; and preserve The W’s mission.

Jan Guthrie McSpadden led an invocation after which Dr. Limbert gave a budget overview. The economic news was pretty bleak. Mississippi, like the rest of the nation, is being forced to take extreme measures to balance the state budget.

Linda Ross Aldy explained the purpose of the meeting and led the group through a course of action designed to develop a communication strategy, mobilize statewide efforts to reach state legislators and members of the IHL Board, and to set a timeline for reaching the goals. Smaller groups brainstormed four critical areas: Legislative; Business & Community; Fundraising; and IHL.

After brainstorming sessions, alums reconvened to listen to reports from each group. Linda Ross Aldy and Betty Ruth Hawkins were charged with compiling the information to report at a meeting on November 22, 2009 in Columbus.

The next Sunday, Friends of the W hosted a follow-up meeting on the campus of MUW. Nearly 200 alums, students and friends met in Nissan Hall and rallied to keep their ship afloat.

MUW alum Emily Myers Garner, with daughter and future W girl Lily Frances in tow, moderated the meeting. Reverend Carol Mead offered a moving invocation followed by a rousing rendition of “Hail to Thee” led by former W class cheerleaders Beverly Koch Jones and Emily Myers Garner.

Mitzi Green, former MUW faculty member and MUWAA vice president and Lillian Wade, MFAeA president-elect, spoke on behalf of their alumni and alumnae groups respectively. Dr. Limbert followed with a budget overview and report on the recent IHL board meeting. Former IHL board member Ricki Rayner Garrett then presented an overview of previous attempts to merge or close MUW.

As meeting facilitator, Linda Ross Aldy summarized the findings of the previous strategic planning session. Friends of the W stresses that:

• Funding for education should be the #1 priority for the Governor and state legislature
• All other options for reducing the budget shortfall should be considered before cutting education
• Merger would have a profoundly negative impact on the W's mission and the number and caliber of its curricular offerings
• Merger would have a profoundly negative impact on the Columbus area economy and business community
• Mississippi students need and deserve options in the educational opportunities available to them

Aldy concluded her report by announcing to the enthusiastic crowd that Friends of the W had raised $150,000 in pledges in one week in a challenge to raise scholarship money to replace funding being cut from the state budget.

As the meeting ended, Friends of the W supporters were urged to remain supportive of efforts to maintain the W as a free standing independent university and to preserve its mission to educate women for leadership roles - a mission more important today than ever before.

Emily Myers, Class of 1995, founded Soiree an Event Planning and Public Relations Firm