A Mississippi university proposes dropping ‘Women’ from its name after decades of also enrolling men

COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi University for Women has announced a proposal to change its name to Mississippi Brightwell University. Officials say the new name is supposed to reflect the diversity of the public institution has been enrolling men since 1982. About 22% of the 2,230 students at MUW are men. President Nora Miller announced in 2022 that the university created a task force to examine a name change, months after the university’s Deans Council sent her a letter saying the current name presents “challenges.” Miller said Monday that the new name was inspired by the university’s motto, “We study for light to bless with light.” If legislators approve, the change would happen July 1.