LEAP into Advocacy

Passion. It is a universal sentiment and the driving force of change in the world.

It is also a word that could be used to describe the vast alumni base of Mississippi University for Women. The passion this group holds for the institution has never been more evident than this past legislative session, when they rallied to help kill legislation that would have been detrimental to the university.

This showed what can be accomplished when that passion is channeled into the right place…advocacy. Thus, LEAP was born.

“I think we’ve seen, historically, that advocacy has made significant difference at various times in our university’s history. The alums are a powerful voice, and I think the connections we have all across the state are extremely important to the things that The W needs,” said Linda Ross Aldy ’73, chair of the LEAP Task Force.

LEAP, which stands for Legislative Engagement and Advocacy Partnership, consists of 10 taskforce members including Aldy, University Counsel and Legislative Liaison Karen Clay ’02, President Nora Miller ’83, Emily Myers Garner ’95, Ricki Garrett ’73, Sally Burchfield Doty ’88, Laura Tubb Prestwich ’08, Kym Golden Gore ’97, B.R. Hawkins ’75 and Kristi Hipp Mosley ’99.

The goal of the taskforce is to identify alumni with connections to legislators and bring them together to, “speak with one voice.”

“The whole concept of harnessing your power and utilizing that comes from knowing who’s out there, alum wise, who they know, and how they know them, on the legislative side. With that approach, we can make sure that every legislator, and there are 174 of them, has someone assigned to them. That way, when we need to get a message out, when we need to make a request, we will know that every single legislator has someone contacting them and that we are contacting them with a common message,” Aldy said.

INFORMATION IS KEY

The number one way to advocate for the university is by sharing the many positive things going on. The W has many positive statistics and countless success stories that many who are not regularly following it may not even be aware of.

That is where alumni come in. Sharing these things helps spread the word about the work that is being done at The W, bringing it into the public eye for those who are unaware.

“A simple way to channel passion into meaningful advocacy is to share the positive news about The W as much as you can! If you see a positive story or post online about The W that resonates with your experience as a student, share it. The more we are all sharing the good news of the university, the more informed our communities are about who we are and what we do,” Clay said.

However, one should always be certain of the information they are sharing. Sharing false information is damaging and leads to many problems both now and in the future.

“Legislators are trying to do the very best job that they can. They rely on information from people with knowledge, whether that’s a lobbyist or a constituent who has a vested interest, as we do as alums with The W. The most important thing is to avoid sharing any information that you are not absolutely certain of… If you’re in doubt about any bit of information, tell them you want to verify your information and that you will get back with them. They respect that. They understand that you don’t know everything,” Aldy said.

GETTING INVOLVED

There are a number of ways interested alumni can get involved. One such way is the Key Person Network (KPN), a reimagining of the Committee of 82 from years past.

In essence, it is an effort to have a network of alumni that can be called upon when needed. The Committee of 82 was a grassroots movement that relied upon phone tree systems and such.

KPN utilizes KP Dashboard, which allows the group to communicate with everyone simultaneously and relay information that is important for advocacy.

The goal of KPN is to have a person assigned to each legislator so that the correct information is being shared at the same time to all legislators.

“The benefit is being able to quickly disseminate strategic information in response to any legislative concerns that we have or any concerns expressed by legislators, and we can gauge their responses in real time. Our goal is to have at least one volunteer assigned to communicate to every legislator in the house and senate,” said Moseley, who is heading up the initiative.

If this doesn’t appeal to some, however, there are other ways to get involved.

Joining the MUW Alumni Association (MUWAA) helps keep one up-to-date with all of the goings on at the university, which is key for spreading the good news from campus.

In short, whether on the frontlines or behind the scenes, everyone has an important role in advocating for The W’s continued contributions to the State of Mississippi and beyond.

To learn more about LEAP or to join the Key Person Network, please visit muw.edu/leap, or contact taskforce member Laura Prestwich via email at ltprestwich@muw.edu or call (662) 760-6854.