body. As a public liberal arts college, MUW is one of 30 universities in the United States and Canada that comprise the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges.
== History ==
The institution, initially named the "Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls", was created by an act of the Mississippi Legislature on March 12, 1884, for the dual purposes of providing a liberal arts education for white women and preparing them for employment. The "Industrial Institute and College" (II&C) was cofounded through the efforts of three Mississippi women – Sallie Eola Reneau, Annie Coleman Peyton, and Olivia Valentine Hastings. Upon its establishment, the II&C was the first public women's college in the United States. The II&C was located in Columbus on a campus formerly occupied by the Columbus Female Institute, a private college founded in 1847. The II&C's first session began on October 22, 1885, with an enrollment of approximately 250 students. Richard Watson Jones was selected …
