Commercial Dispatch, 2/10/07: MUW to post ‘conclusive evidence' on Internet - USM Forum -- Message Board

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RE: Commercial Dispatch, 2/10/07: MUW to post ‘conclusive evidence' on Internet

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Commercial Dispatch, 3/30/07

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/03/30/local_news/local02.txt

Alum group files suit to stop MUW disaffiliation

By Garthia Elena Halbert
ghalbert@cdispatch.com
Friday, March 30, 2007 11:51 AM CDT

Mississippi University for Women's recently ousted alumni association is making one final push to stop MUW President Claudia Limbert's disaffiliation of the group.

"The alumni did file a request for a restraining order to stop the disaffiliation," Betty Lou Jones, the president of the old MUWAA, confirmed today.

The National Executive Board of the MUWAA, a group of the ousted association's officers, filed suit in Lowndes County Chancery Court Thursday, seeking to stop the disaffiliation agreement with the old MUWAA, which takes effect April 2....

...The National Executive Board of the old MUWAA is represented pro bono by Julie Hussey, an attorney with the San Diego, Calif., law firm DLA Tiper and an MUW alumni....

...Sansing said the university is unaware of any legitimate National Executive Board of the ousted MUWAA and noted a lawsuit should have been authorized by a legal vote of the association's board of directors.

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CL, 3/31/07

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070331/NEWS/703310340/1001/NEWS

MUW alumni sue president

Some Mississippi University for Women alumni leaders are suing President Claudia Limbert in an attempt to stop her move to revamp the school's alumni association.

"We have tried every route we know," said Betty Lou Jones of Meridian, president of the MUW Alumni Association. "She will not negotiate with us."...

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070331/OPINION02/703310312/1009/OPINION

Limbert, Meredith leadership sought

Much has been written about MUW President Claudia Limbert's stubborn refusal to listen to anyone - including 198 state legislators, the MUW Faculty Senate plus 47 other tenured professors, more than 750 signers of an online petition and the MUWAA board.

She's decided to disregard warnings about the negative impact disaffiliation will have on state funding, fundraising, student recruiting, faculty morale and alumni goodwill and support.

It is more difficult to understand Higher Education Commissioner Tom Meredith's failure to provide leadership to end the crisis at MUW....

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070331/OPINION02/703310314/1009/OPINION

Stories don't jibe on MUW alumnae

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Seems the obvious has not been noticed. Conceed to the presidents wishs. Nominations from the floor must be allowed, so nominate from the floor and a coordinated vote would pack the board in your favor, then wait her out. If no one votes for her nominees what can she do?

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CL, 4/1/07

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070401/OPINION02/704010301/1009/OPINION

MUW alumni should think, react carefully

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070401/OPINION/704010315/1285

MUW: 'Worthy purpose'
By Amy Whitten
Special to The Clarion-Ledger

In the early years of the 20th century, Helen Keller noted that real long-term happiness comes not from what we do for our own purposes but in our ongoing "fidelity to a worthy purpose."

This quote bears particular relevance in the face of the ongoing struggle between Mississippi University for Women and a few of its alumni. It is equally relevant to the constitutional oversight duties vested in those of us who serve as trustees on the College Board....

...In recent weeks, the editorial pages of this and other newspapers would have you believe that Dr. Limbert is trying to harm the school's relationship with its alumni. Nothing could be further from the truth. A strong alumni association is vital to MUW's future.

That association, however, will not and should not bear the trappings of the past association, which though thick with nostalgia, maintained an unwieldy board of more than 90 directors, rarely had an official quorum, did little to maintain a steady communication with its members and, most seriously, orchestrated an effort to undermine the school's leadership and fund-raising foundation....

...

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Commercial Dispatch, 3/31/07

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/03/31/local_news/local01.txt

MUW faculty do not send vote of 'no confidence'

By Garthia Elena Halbert
ghalbert@cdispatch.com
Saturday, March 31, 2007 9:32 PM CDT

Controversy surrounding a possible vote of "no confidence" in Mississippi University for Women president Dr. Claudia Limbert died Friday when the university's Faculty Senate decided not to take any action in the matter....

...
Limbert attended the meeting to answer questions from the faculty representatives. After she left the room to allow the group to go into executive session, the issue died for lack of a motion to take a no-confidence vote....

...The National Executive Board of the MUWAA, a group of the ousted association's officers, filed suit in Lowndes County Chancery Court seeking to stop the disaffiliation agreement with the old MUWAA, which takes effect April 2.
...

...Among other complaints in the suit are Limbert's seizure of MUWAA records and assets including 4,000 copies of Southern Grace Cookbook, accounts containing at least $33,000 and copyright ownership of "MUW: Songs We Love," "Southern Grace: Recipes and Remembrances from MUW" and MUW ring design.

"President Limbert is merely a transient guest of the institution and family comprised of MUW and the MUW Alumna Association," the suit reads.

The National Executive Board of the old MUWAA is represented pro bono by Julie Hussey, an attorney with the San Diego, Calif., law firm DLA Piper and an MUW alumni. The Monday hearing is set for 9:30 a.m.; Chancery Court Judge Dorothy Colom will preside.

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CD, 4/2/07

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/02/local_news/local01.txt

Judge puts off hearing MUW alums' complaint

By Garthia Elena Halbert
ghalbert@cdispatch.com
Monday, April 2, 2007 12:08 PM CDT

Mississippi University for Women's recently ousted alumni association will have until Friday to submit an amended complaint against MUW President Claudia Limbert in Lowndes County Chancery Court.

In a push to stop Limbert's disaffiliation with the 117-year-old MUWAA, the alumni group is requesting a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief from the court....

...The initial complaint was brought against Limbert, alleging she refused to sign off on terms of a proposed affiliation agreement even though the terms were within IHL policies....

...Language in the suit refers to Limbert as "merely a transient guest of the institution ..." who is making an attempt to "stifle the voice" of the association because they don't "blindly support her position."...

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CL, 4/3/07

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070403/NEWS/704030377/1001/NEWS

Judge: Retool lawsuit vs. MUW
Listed defendant, plaintiff incorrect, rules Lowndes Co. judge

The next court date will be April 12 for some Mississippi University for Women alumni leaders who are in a fight with President Claudia Limbert.

A judge Monday called for another court date as parties continue their legal wrangling over the status of a new agreement that revamps the 117-year-old MUW alumni association....

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070403/OPINION02/704030331/1009/SPECIAL08

Settle differences for good of the 'W'

WE "W" GIRLS I hope the same qualities are part of the "W" guys' psyches, too - have historically had a deeply ingrained school loyalty, even if we never became regular, dues-paying alumnae.

What's been going on between the current president and some graduates is really nuts ("MUW alumni sue president," March 31)....

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CD, 4/3/07

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/03/local_news/area_news/area01.txt

Judge: Ousted alums must sue W,' not just Limbert

By Garthia Elena Halbert
ghalbert@cdispatch.com
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 11:35 AM CDT

Mississippi University for Women's Alumnae Association will have to file suit against the university they've represented for 117 years rather than just MUW President Claudia Limbert.

Judge Dorothy Colom in Lowndes County Chancery Court Monday continued the case - which pits the National Executive Board of MUWAA against Limbert - until April 12 giving the plaintiffs until Friday to amend their complaint and defendants until April 10 to respond.

And as Perry Sansing, assistant to the MUW president and an attorney, who attended Monday's hearing on behalf of Limbert, who was not present, explained, the wrong party was being sued....

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CD

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/05/local_news/local03.txt

Roberts appointed mediator for MUW dispute

By Garthia Elena Halbert
ghalbert@cdispatch.com
Thursday, April 5, 2007 11:23 AM CDT

Thus far, Mississippi University for Women's 117-year-old Alumnae Association and MUW president Dr. Claudia Limbert haven't been able to work out their differences among themselves.

Their issues have instead come to Limbert disaffiliating the MUWAA and forming a new alumni association and the ousted group filing suit against the embattled president.

Lowndes County Chancery Court Judge Dorothy Colom seems to think a mediator will help.

Colom filed an order Wednesday requiring the two entities to arrange mediation with James L. Roberts Jr. of Pontotoc, a retired Supreme Court justice and former chancellor, who now serves as a municipal judge in Pontotoc....

Date: Apr 8, 2007

CD

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/07/columns/column01.txt

An open letter to Dr. Limbert (4/8)

Saturday, April 7, 2007 9:36 PM CDT

Dear Claudia,

My column two weeks ago defending you sparked a reaction like I've not seen in recent memory. Many applauded the opinions expressed and, predictably, some condemned them. I was unprepared, however, for the heartfelt response I received from faculty and alumni, who to that point had been silent. Some expressed themselves in private e-mails, others in published letters to the editor.

Their opinions were strongly held and well-considered. There was nothing mean-spirited about what they had to say. They were to a person motivated simply by their love for MUW and the fear that their school was being irrevocably damaged, if not destroyed. I am grateful and humbled by their response.

I urge you to seek a way to reconcile with the Alumnae Association. You are fighting an unwinable war...

...Abolishing a century-old organization simply because a sprinkling of its membership is uncivil or rebellious smacks of totalitarianism....

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/07/local_news/local02.txt

MUW alumni suit amended, school and IHL added as defendants

By Ramsey Prather
rprather@cdispatch.com
Saturday, April 7, 2007 9:55 PM CDT

Lawyers for a group of ousted Mississippi University for Women Alumnae Association members filed an amended complaint Thursday against MUW president Claudia Limbert, adding MUW and the Board of Trustees of State of Institutions of Higher Learning as defendants in the suit.

According to the amended document, the MUWAA chose to single out Limbert in the original complaint so that no state or university funds could be used to pay her legal fees....

CL, 4/8/07

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070408/COL/704080313/1109/SPORTS030103

College presidents shouldn't ditch alumni
By By Dr. Hilliard Lackey

For ages, college and university presidents have had the challenge of pleasing or appeasing their respective alumni associations.

That is no longer the case in Mississippi, as Higher Education Commissioner Thomas Meredith has imposed an affiliation agreement between each of the eight public universities and their alumni associations with each campus president having the authority to disaffiliate alumni groups....

...Commissioner Meredith is the catalyst behind the affiliation agreements, having had them in his previous stints in Kentucky and Georgia. The College Board, understandably, is backing Meredith and Limbert. The premise is that college presidents ought to have the right to run their campuses. No one disputes that. However, the right to disaffiliate, to divorce, to cut off an alumni association goes beyond logic....

Date: Apr 9, 2007

CL, 4/9/07

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070409/OPINION02/704090312/1009/SPECIAL08

The other side of the MUW conflict

As a former state College Board member, I must respond to Amy Whitten's guest column ("MUW: Worthy Purpose," April 1). This is not a squabble among alums but a serious governance issue in which the power of the president to control affiliated entities is at stake. This action sets a precedent for a president, not only to disaffiliate from an alumni organization, which is independent according to state policy, but to arbitrarily eliminate any affiliated organization.

This conflict arose two years ago when former presidents of the MUW Alumnae Association alerted Dr. Limbert to reports of inappropriate remarks by an administrator and raised questions regarding the use of foundation funds. Commissioner of Higher Education Tom Meredith and College Board members maintain that this is a campus issue in which they are not involved.

However, Ms. Whitten, as a board member, has taken a position, despite the fact that she has a conflict of interest with her connection to the new Limbert-appointed alumni board....

Date: Apr 10, 2007

CD

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/09/columns/column02.txt

Raiding the candy store (4/8)

Monday, April 9, 2007 7:34 AM CDT

Wednesday afternoon, Claudia Limbert called me to ask if I would come to her office Thursday to talk about the mess at Mississippi University for Women.

"Mess" is my word, not hers, but it's exactly the right word, and I'm an editor and an MUW alum, so I should know....

Date: Apr 11, 2007

CD

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/10/state_news/state01.txt

'W' mess now on the table for former Supreme Court justice

By John Mott Coffey
jcoffey523@aol.com
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 11:27 AM CDT

JACKSON - The court-appointed mediator brought in to help resolve the turmoil gripping MUW is a man experienced in the battles of politics but is widely seen as a potential catalyst for peace between university President Claudia Limbert and alumni who've sued her....

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/11/local_news/local02.txt

Mediation starts today in MUW suit as defense files response

By John Mott Coffey
jcoffey523@aol.com
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 11:53 AM CDT

JACKSON - A mediation session began today with the court-appointed middleman hoping for a quick settlement of the feud between Mississippi University for Women President Claudia Limbert and alumni who've been arguing with her the past year.

Meanwhile, the defendants in the case this morning issued a response to the amended complaint filed by the alumni and issued their own counterclaims seeking injunctive relief from Lowndes County Chancery Court Judge Dorothy Colom against the suit's plaintiffs....

...Roberts is a former state Supreme Court justice who now serves as a municipal judge in Pontotoc and specializes in helping litigants settle disputes outside the courtroom.

Even though he's paid by the hour for his services, Roberts expressed hope the dispute could be settled in the first hour. While that's unlikely, he said he'll try to "facilitate and encourage a fruitful and productive resolution."...

...MUW also asks Colom to prevent the old alumni association from using the names "Mississippi University for Women, MUW and the 'W'."

Additionally, the defendants' counterclaim says the old alumni association has in its possession assets given for the benefit of the school, and asks for a list of all such assets and things purchased with those assets....

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CL, 4/18/07

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070418/OPINION02/704180326/1009/OPINION

Must alumni be disenfranchised?

Dr. Hilliard Lackey ("Presidents shouldn't ditch alumni," April 8 guest column) is to be commended for having pinpointed the root cause of the conflict between the president and Alumnae Association at Mississippi University for Women as being aided and abetted by the state College Board and its commissioner....

...Lelia Gaston Rhodes
Former president
JSU National Alumni Association, Inc.
(1988-1992)

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CD

MUW's two alumni associations gear up for big weekend

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/19/local_news/local02.txt

By Garthia Elena Halbert and John Mott Coffey
Dispatch Staff
Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:27 AM CDT

Despite Mississippi University for Women President Dr. Claudia Limbert's decision to have the school's 117-year-old Alumnae Association disaffiliated, the group is continuing with business as usual.

The old MUWAA is hosting its regular business meeting during the college's annual Homecoming Saturday. Meanwhile, the new MUW Alumni Association, which was recently created at Limbert's request, also is holding events on campus this weekend in conjunction with the MUW Alumni Affairs Office.

"Homecoming will be a little different this year," the invitation to the old association's business meeting reads. And with what seems like two separate itineraries, the Homecoming festivities will indeed be different....

...The litigants have not met with James L. Roberts Jr., a retired Supreme Court justice and former chancellor, who now serves as a municipal judge in Pontotoc, since initial court-ordered mediation April 11.

The two alumni group presidents have been instead trying to work things out among themselves....

..."Regardless of what happens, we are still an organization," Jones said. The old MUWAA is registered with the state as an independent, non-profit organization....

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CD

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/20/local_news/local01.txt

'W' alums hopeful for good weekend

By John Mott Coffey
jcoffey523@aol.com
Friday, April 20, 2007 11:28 AM CDT

Mississippi University for Women alumni are hoping the dispute over their affiliation with their alma mater won't keep them from having a good Homecoming weekend.

"It's truly a time for us to enjoy friendships and to celebrate, and I really don't see this as a platform to discuss or take issue with any differences we have," said Renee Flynt, president of the one-month-old MUW Alumni Association.

"We're all 'W girls' and really look forward to a wonderful weekend," said Susan Puckett, incoming president of the 117-year-old MUW Alumnae Association....

...MUW's annual Homecoming began today with alumni split into two associations - the new one allied with university President Claudia Limbert and the old association that she dumped after some of its leaders rebelled against her....

...Wade served the past year as Alumnae Association president-elect but resigned because of other job responsibilities.

She's receiving one of the distinguished alumni awards being given Saturday by the old MUWAA.

The new MUWAA has a separate slate of distinguished alums to honor - further accentuating how the controversy has factionalized the university and alumni....

...Mississippi University for Women Homecoming events began today and continue through Sunday. University events for the remainder of the weekend are listed below. In addition to the university events, the old MUWAA, which was disaffiliated by MUW President Claudia Limbert, also is holding additional events Saturday. These events are marked with an asterisk and italicized below....

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CD

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/21/local_news/local01.txt

At MUW, two alumni groups walk the Line, separately

Saturday, April 21, 2007 10:10 PM CDT

Welcome Home.

Or not?...

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CD

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/04/21/local_news/local02.txt

MUW alumni honored during homecoming

Saturday, April 21, 2007 10:10 PM CDT

Dispatch Staff Report

The 117-year-old Mississippi University for Women Alumnae Association Saturday elected Susan Puckett, a 1975 graduate from Jackson, as its president, replacing Betty Lou Jones....

...In a separate ceremony Saturday, the newly created MUW Alumni Association presented Alumni Achievement Awards to...

...Mims was honored in both ceremonies;...

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CD

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/05/03/local_news/local03.txt

Miller leaving 'W' to work with state Main Street group

By Joey Vaughan
jvaughan@cdispatch.com
Thursday, May 3, 2007 11:23 AM CDT

Jan Miller, who served as Main Street Columbus manager for six years before leaving for an alumni relations post at Mississippi University for Women nine months ago, is getting back onto the Main Street business....

...She leaves her post as director of alumni relations at Mississippi University for Women, which she took in August. She was named to the job after MUW President Claudia Limbert fired former director, Patsy McDaniel, in a dispute over control of the alumni relations department and the role of the alumni association.

That rift has continued, and litigation is ongoing in Lowndes County Chancery Court over MUW alumni association affiliations....

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CD

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/05/05/local_news/local02.txt

As hearing approaches, MUW alumni groups may be nearing a compromise

By Garthia Elena Halbert
ghalbert@cdispatch.com
Saturday, May 5, 2007 9:06 PM CDT

In the wake of pending litigation, alumni may finally be able to end the bitter rivalry between the university's old Alumnae Association and Mississippi University for Women President Claudia Limbert.

Past MUWAA president Betty Lou Jones and Renee Flynt, president of the MUW Alumni Association, which is the new group formed by Limbert after she disaffiliated the old association, have begun negotiations for a possible merger of the two groups....

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CD

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/05/08/local_news/local01.txt

Limbert takes the stand in MUWAA lawsuit

By Garthia Elena Halbert
ghalbert@cdispatch.com
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 11:55 AM CDT

Mississippi University for Women Alumnae Association officers and board members sat outside a Lowndes County courtroom this morning as university president Dr. Claudia Limbert took the stand in MUW's internal dispute-turned lawsuit.

It was Limbert's first appearance at any of the scheduled Lowndes County Chancery Court hearings, the first of which was April 2. Her testimony was continuing this morning at press time.

The suit, which pits MUW's recently disaffiliated Alumnae Association against Limbert, MUW and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, began this morning with a disagreement from litigants on what the case is actually about....

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CL

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070509/NEWS/705090360/1001/news

May 9, 2007

MUW court feud with alumni continued
# Next hearing could be held in June, but no date set

By Andy Kanengiser
y.kanengiser@clarionledger.com

COLUMBUS - The courtroom feud between the Mississippi University for Women and some alumni has been continued....