Mississippi State College for Women
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Former names
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Mississippi State College for Women (MSCW) Industrial Institute and College |
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| Motto | A Tradition of Excellence for Women and Men |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1884 |
| President | Dr. James "Jim" Borsig |
| Vice-president | Dr. Daniel Heimmermann (Academic Affairs/Provost) Nora Miller (Finance & Administration) Dr. Jennifer Miles (Student Affairs) |
| Location |
Columbus, Mississippi, United States 33°29′35″N 88°25′7″W / 33.49306°N 88.41861°WCoordinates: 33°29′35″N 88°25′7″W / 33.49306°N 88.41861°W |
| Colors | MUW (dark) blue and Welty (light) blue |
| Nickname | The W |
| Affiliations | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) |
| Mascot | Ody the Owl |
| Website | http://www.muw.edu |
Mississippi University for Women, also known as MUW or simply the "W", is a four-year coeducational public university located in Columbus, Mississippi, United States. It was formerly known as Industrial Institute and College (II&C) and later Mississippi State College for Women (MSCW). Men have been offered admission to MUW since 1982 but make up less than 25% of the student body today.
Upon its establishment in 1884, Mississippi University for Women became the first public women's college in the United States. Then formally titled the Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls, the institution was created by an act of the Mississippi Legislature on March 12, 1884, for the dual purposes of providing a liberal arts education for women and preparing them for employment. The first session began October 22, 1885, with an enrollment of approximately 250 students on a campus formerly occupied by the Columbus Female Institute, a private college founded in 1847.
The name of the institution changed to Mississippi State College for Women in 1920 to reflect an emphasis on collegiate, rather than vocational, education. In 1971 Mississippi State College for Women won the intercollegiate women's basketball national championship (the third ever held).
In 1974 the name was changed to the Mississippi University for Women to reflect the expanded academic programs, including graduate studies. All other Mississippi state colleges were also designated universities at this time.
In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan that the nursing school's single-sex admissions policies were in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Following this decision, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning ordered the university to change its policies to allow the admission of qualified males into all university programs. In 1988, the Board of Trustees reaffirmed the mission of MUW as an institution providing quality academic programs for all qualified students, with emphasis on distinctive opportunities for women.
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