Friends and coworkers said their official goodbyes to retiring Mississippi University for Women President Dr. Claudia Limbert Wednesday in the Claudia Limbert Assembly Room.
Institutions of Higher Learning Commissioner Dr. Hank Bounds revealed in his remarks that the room in Cochran Hall on the MUW campus being used for the send-off had been renamed by the College Board to honor Limbert, who was also voted president emeritus of MUW.
“She will always be connected to this university,” said Bounds.
A parade of associates sang Limbert”s praises as an unflappable leader and a visionary problem solver.
State Reps. Esther Harrison, D-Columbus, and David Gibbs, D-West Point, were on hand to deliver a resolution signed by local legislators recognizing Limbert”s accomplishments and “extending the best wishes of the House of Representatives.”
Allegra Brigham, CEO of 4-County Electric Power Association, who will take over as interim president at MUW when Limbert leaves at the end of June, was present to witness her predecessor”s impact.
“She”s had some extraordinary times and extraordinary circumstances to deal with and I think she”s done an incredible job,” said Brigham. “I can relate to the tornado (which hit MUW in November 2002, shortly after Limbert began as president). In the business I”m in you take a week and get power lines back up and it”s business as usual. But with a university it takes weeks and months to get back to normal.”
Brigham and Limbert will spend some appointed time together as both finish their respective duties to get Brigham acclimated to running the university. Brigham says she and Limbert have exchanged phone numbers and she”ll call Limbert if she needs advice.
Her first priority, she says, will be to listen and learn from the school”s various constituent groups.
“You”ve got alumni relationships, student relationships, general public relationships, community relationships, Foundation and all the other entities to balance and it is a balancing act. Having worked here before, I hope I”ll have a little insight into how to balance those things,” said Brigham.
Limbert will be a hard balancing act to follow according to John Davis, vice president of Cadence Bank.
“One of her first concerns was how to connect The W and Columbus. And I think Dr. Limbert has done an excellent job of making that happen. She”s had people over to her house and she was not fearful or hesitant about going to someone else”s. That”s something The W really needed,” said Davis.
He further praised Limbert for accommodating the Town and Tower Club, serving on The Columbus-Lowndes Development Link”s board and being a regular member of the Columbus Rotary Club.
Cathy Young, past president of MUW”s faculty senate, also touted Limbert”s willingness to lend her time and her ear.
“Dr. Limbert was always accessible. She was always timely and would see me as quickly as possible,” said Young.
The past, present and incoming presidents of the MUW Alumni Association all spoke about Limbert”s unshakable commitment to seeing MUW grow and thrive in tough economic times. Her focus and determination were praised by several speakers.
“I knew we had a leader who could keep her head while everyone around her was losing theirs,” said current Alumni Association President Pat Ainsworth.
Connie Kossen, past chairperson of the MUW Foundation when Limbert took over, recalled Limbert endowing a scholarship for nontraditional students in her mother”s name within her first week as president. But she did more than give her own money. Kossen praised Limbert for pursuing federal funds by hiring the university”s first vice president of institutional advancement, hiring a grant writer and making the first trip by a sitting MUW president to Washington, D.C., to lobby for funds on the school”s behalf.
Given the final word at her own going-away reception, Limbert was gracious.
“You people make it so hard to leave here,” she said with a smile.
She admitted to the crowd she was the type of person to get bored easily, but “never had a boring moment on this campus.”
Limbert was an advocate for change during most of her eight years at MUW, disaffiliating the former alumni association, pushing for a name change and, most recently, overseeing the implementation of online classes. And she stuck to her guns in her final remarks.
“We can”t be yesterday”s MUW. We cannot even be today”s MUW … Don”t forget all we”ve accomplished, even when change was hard.”
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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