January 29th, 2024

W Friends,

In the interest of transparency and preserving a more complete record of this pivotal time in our university’s history, we would like to publicly acknowledge the work some of us have been doing behind the scenes since January 14th. 

Following the announcement of the Mississippi Brightwell University name concept and the subsequent decision of the administration to further engage with alumni and revisit the possibility of using a name that preserves “The W” in our brand identity, we gathered a small group of alumni with relevant experience and expertise in naming, branding, marketing, legislative advocacy, higher education, law, and more. Our goal was to craft a proposal with a potential name that preserved the core of The W’s brand identity and/or encouraged a strategic pause in the naming process for further reflection.

In one week, we explored several potential name concepts, conducted our own research, and developed a presentation around the name we felt most confident about, The W: A Mississippi University. We’ll share a version of that presentation here.

The administration and naming task force very graciously allowed us the opportunity to present our pitch and the accompanying data directly to their team on January 22, and while they ultimately did not choose to include our name in the survey, we all felt that some valuable information was shared during the process. We would like to thank the administration, particularly President Miller and Amanda Clay Powers, co-chair of the naming task force, for granting us the opportunity to present this labor of love.

At this time, our group has officially disbanded, so further comments by any member will be representative of their own personal opinion and not reflective of the group as a whole.

Angh Teague Dees ‘95

Laura Tubb Prestwich ‘08

Cheryl Jackson Cooper '82

Emily Myers Garner ‘95

Hayley Gilmore ‘08

David Ivey ‘92

JerriLynn Mize Patriquin ‘91

Sonny Lemmons ‘94

Kym Golden Gore ‘97

Linda Ross Aldy ‘73