In the last 18 months, several Lowndes County legislators, most notably State Rep. Gary Chism and to a lesser degree, State Rep. Jeff Smith, have said privately they could support changing the name of Mississippi University for Women if Dr. Claudia Limbert, the university's president, weren't in the picture.

Last week, Limbert announced her retirement, effective June 30, 2010 when her current four-year contract runs out.

Logic would dictate that based on their prior commitments, Chism and Smith, along with State Sen. Terry Brown, State Rep. Esther Harrison, State Rep. Tyrone Ellis and others who benefit from the university's presence, would now be touting the name change, laying the groundwork for smooth sailing when the Legislature convenes in January.

But the county's legislative delegation has done just the opposite, lining up against Limbert, the proposed new name and to some degree, the name change itself.

Instead of supporting the university, legislators have taken the cowardly way out, sticking their finger in the air to gauge which way the wind is blowing. By failing to look beyond the opinions of a few shrill voices, they are putting their own re-election hopes above what's best for the future of the university.

And worst of all, instead of demonstrating leadership, vision and courage, they are putting another nail in the university's coffin, at least as an independent entity.

Unfortunately, by remaining silent, the community, business interests and MUW alums who support change and the proposed name are letting them. Those groups and individuals are sitting on their hands, leaving the work to someone else. Even worse, they are letting themselves be shouted down rather than standing up for their own opinions.

Chism, pushed into a corner by his prior statements, is stalling by saying he prefers Mississippi University at Columbus, betting students will line up to attend MUC.

Furthermore, he worries naming the university after a woman -- Reneau University honors Sallie Reneau, the woman whose untiring push in the mid-1800s led to the creation of what became MUW -- is not gender neutral. This from a man who probably didn't know who Sallie Reneau was five years ago.

Brown wants riveting names like the University of Northeast Mississippi or Northeast Mississippi University. Such non-descript directional monikers would be confused with Northeast Mississippi Community College or East Mississippi Community College.

In addition, Brown's regional myopia will limit the reach and draw of one of the state's most diverse and academically recognized universities.

Some want to delay the process until a new president is named. Making the new president repeat the name-change process would be unfair and unnecessarily divisive. In the end, the new person might opt to do nothing, which is exactly what some want.

The process should go forward now. By announcing her retirement, Limbert has cleared any roadblock she might have been to supporting the new name.

It's clear to whom legislators have been listening.

Betty Lou Jones, who has been one of Limbert's most-vocal opponents, and others who oppose changing the university's name have been bending legislators' ears and they've succeeded in making Chism and company their mouthpiece.

Jones says Reneau University "takes out the word Mississippi and anything that ties it to the history of the university...There's just no relevance ...people have said it reminds them of a French car."

Relevance? The person, a woman no less, who inspired the university symbolically embodies the university's history better than any other name.

As for excluding Mississippi, the university's original name was Industrial Institute and College. Mississippi is nowhere to be found.

Jones and other members of Mississippi's First Alumnae Association, the former alumni group that was forced by Limbert to disaffiliate from the university, are right about one thing: "Throughout its distinguished history, the institution has enjoyed a reputation for academic excellence."

That's why Reneau makes sense. The very special-sounding name that Jones derides is what will make MUW stand out as the distinctive, small liberal arts institution that it has been, is and can be.

Those alums, guided more by emotional attachment than their alma mater's long-term interests, prefer keeping the current name and marketing the university as "The W."

They cite Ole Miss as an example of a university where the nickname is as widely recognized as the university's name. That's all well and good if the actual name is the University of Mississippi, and not Mississippi University for Women.

Detailed, open public discussions went into the decision to change the university's name. Numerous graduates, staff, students, prospective students -- the ones who will shape the university's future -- and citizens offered input. Extensive marketing analysis was considered.

Perhaps the most telling evidence came from MUW recruiters, people who have been at the front line of trying to sell the university to prospective students. Those recruiters said almost unequivocally the name must be changed -- Women must be taken out -- for them to be successful.

Those are the people to whom we all should be listening.

The alternative names -- MUC, NMU, NEMU, UNM, UNEM and dozens of others -- now being suggested were discussed and vetted in an open, transparent process.

Reneau didn't come out of the 18-month process by default, it came out because it is clearly the name that best reflects not only the university's rich heritage and tradition but also the one that can take that legacy to a new level in the years to come.

The decision has been made. No name will satisfy everyone. Continuing that argument helps no one, especially the university.

But one fact remains, if misguided legislators, members of the board of the Institutions of Higher Learning and some alumni continue to stall the process, at least another year will be lost.

Given the state's budget conditions, it's a year the university may not have.

And those who remain silent on the issue will be just as much to blame.