Lessa Harvey arrived at Mississippi University for Women as a transfer student. Now, as a member of the first cohort of The W Women’s College, Harvey has interned at Friendly City Books, founded a feminist book club, attended conferences and become the president of the college’s student council.
With support from the college, Harvey, a graphic design major, plans to conduct an independent research next semester exploring gendered branding in product campaigns.
“The women’s college has opened so many doors during my time at The W,” Harvey told a crowd during the Women’s Leadership Symposium hosted by the college last month. “As a non-traditional student I know how invaluable networking and non-classroom learning opportunities are.”
The women’s college opened with its first cohort of 18 students during the fall 2024 semester. Founding Director Kim Whitehead, who serves as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at The W, said the goal was to create an academic environment with a focus on women’s issues and leadership development. The college is open to all students.
Plans to establish the women’s college were initially announced in December 2023. Days later, the university announced a new name had been selected for The W in a name change effort that fizzled for lack of support, ending with a strategic pause in February 2024.
     Kim Whitehead   “There was a sense that no matter what happens in the future of the university – that could include a name change – we want to make sure that part of our mission stays in place, and the founding of the women’s college was an effort to sustain that,” Whitehead told The Dispatch.
Currently serving 44 students, the women’s college is a curriculum pathway under which students take women’s, gender and sexuality studies courses that align with their major, minor or general interests. At graduation, students in the college receive special recognition during their commencement ceremony and on their academic transcripts.
What classes a student takes within the curriculum and which experiences they take advantage of is largely customizable. Students can align eligible courses with their major or determine courses based on interest, Women’s College Director Jill Drouillard said.
     Jill Drouillard   “Most of our (women’s, gender and sexuality studies) courses are in public health education, she said. “So we have quite a few nursing students that will be in the women’s college and take things like maternal and child healthcare, women’s health issues, eating disorders and body image, gender and sexual minority health. It is very interdisciplinary.”
Interactive learning
In a nod to the year The W was founded, students in the college are designated as either 1884 Scholars or 1884 Fellows, which are 12-credit and 15-credit pathways, respectively. Students receive scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000 a year while in the program.
Along with women’s, gender and sexuality studies, students are enrolled in the Women’s College Colloquium, which Drouillard said involves more “interactive learning.”
“We do experiential learning, service projects and speakers, team building exercises – things like that,” she said. “Then they have to do an experiential project, whether it’s an internship or study away or a research like a capstone.”
Students can pursue “high-impact” experiences through a fund that covers costs when departments can’t, Drouillard said. The college has raised about $4,000 for the fund in the last year, allowing students to travel for conferences, like the Mississippi Women’s Summit in Jackson and a study away in New York.
     Jaelyn Grant, a junior at Mississippi University for Women and a student in the women’s college, talks to others at her table during the Women’s Leadership Symposium. Students heard from two speakers and had the chance to network with community leaders. Emma McRae/Dispatch Staff   An alumni mentoring program for women’s college students has helped students land internships ranging from the 16th Circuit District Attorney’s Office to the Mississippi Museum of Natural History.
“We may be able to scale that up so that it goes beyond the women’s college,” Whitehead said.
Students also have the opportunity to join the living-learning community on campus specifically for women’s college students, where they can dorm together. Drouillard said there are currently 13 students in the Calloway Hall community.
That community aspect, Whitehead said, is an important factor in the women’s college success.
“You’re focusing on program development – academic program, co-curricular programs – but then you realize when these students start to come together that the community aspect is so essential,” she said. “And that is a big part of their thriving – that they’ve made those connections with other students who care about the same things they do.” McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.