PRESS RELEASE - For Release Monday, October 1, 2007
For More Information, contact:
Susan Rayner Puckett, President,
The Mississippi University for Women Alumnae Association
(601) 209-7573, susanpuckett1@bellsouth.net
Historic MUW Alumnae Association Wins Court Victory, Affiliated Status Is Restored
Members of The Mississippi University for Women Alumnae Association are celebrating throughout the state, region and nation as word spreads through formal and informal online forums that the association has won its court case and is once again the affiliated alumni organization of MUW.
The opinion and decision issued by Chancery Court Judge Dorothy Colom orders that MUW President Claudia Limbert “uphold the existing and valid affiliation agreement between the Association and the University, dated October 25, 2006, and that Dr. Limbert operate under the affiliation agreement in good faith for the duration of the Agreement.”
In addition, the ruling found that Dr. Limbert acted in bad faith in disaffiliating the historic association and in forming a replacement alumni association. “Since the actions of Dr. Limbert in terminating the agreement were in bad faith, actions taken by her to form a new alumnae association and enter into a new affiliation agreement were also in bad faith. Therefore, Dr. Limbert and IHL are mandated to rescind any affiliation agreements made by Dr. Limbert with any other alumni group,” according to the decision.
“The 118 year old MUW Alumnae Association is delighted with the ruling from Judge Dorothy Colom reaffirming our association as the official alumni organization of Mississippi University for Women,” said Susan Rayner Puckett, a member of the graduating class of 1975 and current Alumnae Association President. “We applaud her wisdom in recognizing that it is the independence of alumni organizations that make them effective in their support of universities.”
The Alumnae Association, which has been representing alumni of the nation’s first public institution of higher learning for women since 1889, was disaffiliated in April. Dr. Limbert took action to disaffiliate the 118-year-old alumni group when negotiations between the association and university could not resolve her concerns regarding governance of the group. MUW Alumnae Association attorneys Julie Hussey, an MUW alumna, of the San Diego –Downtown office of the international law firm DLA Piper, and Jim Waide of Tupelo argued that Dr. Limbert’s bylaws requirements would have compromised the independent nature the state’s Board of Institutions of Higher Learning requires of affiliated entities.
Additional arguments put forth on the Alumnae Association’s behalf addressed issues of free speech and due process. MUWAA attorneys maintained that the disaffiliation was punitive and retaliatory in response to individual association members and their expressed criticisms of Dr. Limbert and her administration. It was also argued that the association had no recourse or due process when faced with disaffiliation, necessitating the lawsuit.
Judge Colom’s ruling in this case should be considered a win for alumni organizations everywhere, according to Dr. Hilliard Lackey Jackson State University Alumni Association President. “This landmark decision has far reaching implications for national alumni associations. The loyal, dedicated alumnae of MUW are to be commended for their diligence and perseverance."
The judge’s ruling is being viewed as a total victory for the association by members, who have been sharing congratulatory messages on the university’s alumni listserv throughout the day, with posts by MUW graduates from throughout Mississippi joining those of alumni from North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania and Virginia. A common theme, after expressions of thanksgiving, has been support for renewing a positive working relationship between the alumni group and the university.
That sentiment is echoed by Puckett. “We look forward to working once again with Dr. Limbert and her administration,” she said, adding, “We will seek every opportunity to work collaboratively in order to support our university and to move it forward.” Puckett called an Executive Board Meeting upon receiving word that a decision, awaited since legal filings were complete July 29, had been reached. She said the Board reaffirmed the association’s commitment to support the university's mission and is eager to work with their legal team on the “details of implementing the judges ruling.”
While Dr. Limbert is now facing a legal mandate to restore a working relationship with the original association, she will be dealing with a new president and many new officers. Puckett was installed as President in April at the group’s annual Business Meeting, held while the organization was operating as an independent, unaffiliated alumni association. This was done to preserve the continuity of what has been called “The Long, Blue Line” – a continuously functioning association since it was formed following the first graduating class of the institution in 1889.
And when asked if the MUWAA would have difficulty in working with Dr. Limbert going forward, Betty Lou Stuart Jones, President of The MUW Alumnae Association throughout the mediation and disaffiliation process, had this to say, “We will all focus on the future of our university and, in doing so, we will have no problems working together.”