The state College Board is appealing a Lowndes County judge's reversal of the decision by the president of Mississippi University for Women to dissolve the university's Alumni Association.
Meeting Tuesday at The Alluvian, the board spent more than three hours in executive session weighing what its next step should be. The board could have accepted the Lowndes County judge's ruling, continued to try and settle the dispute, appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court or asked the judge to reconsider. With a unanimous vote, they decided to let their attorney file an appeal with the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Board member Amy Whitten said the Lowndes County court's decision to reverse “violates the constitutional structure set in place by Mississippi voters to protect the state's public universities from this kind of outside interference and control.” Whitten is chair of the board's Legal Committee.
MUW President Claudia Limbert decided last spring to do away with the 118-year old Alumni Association and start a new group. Bickering with current alumni about the group's level of independence led some alumni to criticize Limbert.
But on Sept. 28, Lowndes County Chancery Judge Dorothy Colom ruled the MUW Alumni Association is entitled to free speech and Limbert had acted illegally when choosing to disband the group.
The state College Board has sided with Limbert.
“The board does not take its decision to appeal lightly, but realizes it has no choice as it has an obligation to uphold the responsibilities bestowed upon it by the Mississippi Constitution,” the board said in a statement. “We are hopeful, however, that a resolution can be reached through a thoughtful dialogue between involved parties.”
In its statement, the board said it hopes a settlement still can be reached.
Susan Ravner Puckett, president of the MUW Alumnae Association, said the group had hoped the College Board would accept the judge's ruling.
“We're of course disappointed in the board's decision,” Puckett said. “We felt like this (the Lowndes County ruling) was a good opportunity to move forward, and it's disappointing.”
