Case History
The District Court ruled in favor of the Mississippi University for Women, concluding that maintenance of MUW as a single-sex school bears a rational relationship to the State's legitimate interest "in providing the greatest practical range of educational opportunities for its female student population." The admissions policy was not arbitrary, providing single-sex schools is consistent with a respected, though by no means universally accepted, educational theory that single-sex education affords unique benefits to students. Stating that the case presented no issue of fact, the court informed Hogan that it would enter summary judgment dismissing his claim unless he tendered a factual issue. When Hogan offered no further evidence, the District Court entered summary judgment in favor of the State.
The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that because the admissions policy discriminated on the basis of gender, a rational relationship test as improper, and the proper test was whether the gender-based admissions policy was substantially related to an important governmental objective. The court, while recognizing that the State has a significant interest in providing educational opportunities for all its citizens, found that the State failed to show that providing a unique educational opportunity for females but not for males had any substantial relationship to that interest.
The court's ruling did not require that the entire university become coeducational; however, the Board of Trustees of Mississippi State Institutions of Higher Learning ordered the university to change its policies to allow the admission of qualified males into all university programs. Today MUW’s student body is approximately 15% male.
The court's ruling also did not require the school to change the name of the school, and as a result the school remains "Mississippi University for Women." Suits have been filed against the university to change the name claiming that its name and mission discourage males from applying for admission. These suits were dismissed as groundless and had no effect on the name.
The most recent administration of the university considered changing the name and pursued efforts to do so, despite opposition, particularly from alumni. In her convocation speech on 11 August 2008, President Limbert announced a proposal to change the name of the university, to remove "women" from the university's name.
Read more about this topic: Mississippi University For Women V. Hogan
Famous quotes containing the words case and/or history:
“In sane moments we regard only the facts, the case that is.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The history of the Victorian Age will never be written: we know too much about it.”
—Lytton Strachey (1880–1932)