A message from MUW Foundation: Fall 2024

Dear Alumni and Friends,

Although 2024 has been a year of tumult for The W, it has also been the leaping off point for both active and previously inactive alumni to show strong support for our alma mater. Through monetary gifts and the commitment of time and resources, our voices were heard loud and clear as we effectively communicated the need to review and ultimately reconsider a name change. We also won support from legislators to continue to fund and support our school. This momentum must continue to thrive and grow, for it is up to us as alums to engage and guide the future of The W.

A much more organized effort is now in play, but the success of it depends on every one of us taking that leap and in ways big and small supporting our school that has given so much to us. Appropriately titled LEAP for Legislative Engagement + Advocacy Partnership, this initiative is being led by Linda Ross Aldy, an alum who has more than 35 years of experience in developing training initiatives for companies and organizations across both the public and private sector. Her goal is to feed our enthusiasm and support by providing training for grassroots advocacy so we may all be as effective as possible in our efforts to let target audiences know the many benefits The W provides to its students and the wider community. Linda has put together a team of fellow alums who are professionals with experience in legislative advocacy, marketing, branding, organizational development and more to train volunteers to effectively communicate with state legislators regarding key measures affecting not only our growth but our very existence. The necessary ingredient to make this effort successful is YOU. Without supporters from every nook and cranny of Mississippi, this effort will fall on deaf ears. Every single person reading this can and must be a part of leading The W into a promising future and needs to also recruit others to be a part of this unprecedented effort to build support for our alma mater. We all are capable of writing letters, making phone calls, meeting with legislators and donating monetarily to support this effort. Don’t let a lack of involvement stymy the future of The W, but instead become motivated enough to join the effort and make a difference. For more information on how you can help, go to www.muw.edu/leap. This will give you more detailed information, provide the opportunity to sign up as an active volunteer and allow you to sign up for a newsletter that will keep you abreast of all the activity surrounding this endeavor.

The MUW Foundation Board will be a major part of this effort, along with the ongoing responsibility of directing fundraising efforts for the many programs that make The W a unique and meaningful experience for our students. The Foundation’s work must continue, and we appreciate our volunteer leaders, past and present.

Remember, we must all make the leap and get involved. I look forward to working with you in 2025 to lead our “W” into a bright future.

With Heartfelt Thanks,
Jenny Katool, Class of 1978
Chair
MUW Foundation Board of Directors