Welty Family Staying Mum on Possible Welty University

This portrait of Eudora Welty hangs in the boardroom at the Mississippi University for Women.

Monday would have been the 100th birthday of Eudora Welty, and now the famous author could have a school named after her. MPB’s Cari Gervin has more.

As Eudora Welty’s family celebrated the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novelist’s centennial on Monday, they kept a tight lid on the other Welty-related news of the week – that the Mississippi University for Women could change its name to Welty University.

Welty’s niece, Mary Alice White, declined to comment on tape about the possible name change. She says that an article in this weekend’s Commercial Dispatch that said she would be happy to see the change was not entirely accurate.

White says the family is publicly taking no stance on the matter. But White did say that if the name is changed, it would be an honor to her aunt’s reputation.

Patti Carr Black is a W alum and she’s also written a biography of Welty. So it’s no surprise that she thinks Welty University is a great name.

“Well, I can’t think of a more positive symbol for the college than a world-renowned writer, a beautiful thinker and friend to the college. She was very generous with her time to MCSW as an adult.”

Welty attended the W for two years before transferring to the University of Wisconsin. For MPB News, I’m Cari Gervin.