After 114 years, Sweet Briar College, the venerable women-only college in rural Virginia, announced Tuesday that this will be its final year despite strong alumnae support and more than $90 million left in its endowment, even after several years of running a deficit.
Paul G. Rice, board chair, said that he realized some would ask, “Why don’t you keep going until the lights go out?” but that doing so would be wrong. “We have moral and legal obligations to our students and faculties and to our staff and to our alumnae. If you take up this decision too late, you won’t be able to meet those obligations,” he said. “People will carve up what’s left — it will not be orderly, nor fair.”
Well, at least the board is taking this lying down.
Rice’s excuse is nonsense, and the board’s action is an abdication of a difficult duty, not an acceptance of one. Non profits have missions, and their boards are obligated to keep pursuing that mission until it becomes hopeless, not until it becomes tough. Yes, small colleges face challenges, and single-sex education has been out of favor since the Sixties. On the other hand, feminists are making the case that co-ed universities are little better than hunting grounds where women are the helpless prey of serial rapists. Surely Sweet Briar’s niche might become an asset with some vision and leadership.
The college announced its closing without even attempting a last ditch fundraising campaign. If there was ever a setting where Rahm Emanuel’s famous motto”Never let a good crisis go to waste” holds true, it is in the realm of non-profit organizations. Asked by shocked alumnae what it would cost to keep the school open, the board answered “$250 million.” The next question was, “Why didn’t you tell us before?”
Good question. In my experience, a competent non-profit board facing an existential crisis immediately announces a do-or-die challenge to its most passionate and dedicated supporters to address it, and such efforts have an impressive record of succeeding, sometimes beyond all expectations. Any non-profit organization has an ethical duty not to surrender to adversity until every avenue of survival has been explored, and at least the best of them has been tried.
Some alums are even suggesting that something sinister is going on.
One of the more than 4,000 grads who are committed to save Sweet Briar, Alexandra Mebane, told the Washington Post, “We strongly believe something has occurred there that doesn’t add up. There’s no reason for this to come out of thin air.” Added 1993 graduate Kelly Gardner Headd:“Many of us are suspicious about the motivations behind the decision…Who benefits? Did the board and/or president have an as yet unacknowledged incentive to make this decision and with such suddenness? And to keep alums in the dark until it was too late for alternatives to closing to be considered?”
Could be, though Occam’s Razor probably applies. Most doomed non-profits go under because of weak, timid, lazy or incompetent boards, when some dynamic leadership, innovation and courage from the top could save them, as so many have been saved. 94 million dollars isn’t a lot when it comes to running an institution of higher learning, but the school only lost about 3 million dollars last year. It could keep going for quite a while even if nothing improved, fulfilling its mission and enriching the lives of many young girls by training them to be independent, courageous, bold and industrious, unlike, for example, its current board of directors. A better course than running out the string would be to use the endowment to chart a rescue strategy, employing innovations and new approaches to achieve the school’s mission.
In Forbes, Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry outlines just such a course for the school, including such measures as branding, reducing extraneous course offerings, reducing tenured positions, rejecting Federal and state subsidies that increase overhead, providing equity-based loans to students rather than traditional student loans, adding online courses, or using the crisis as an opportunity to “start from scratch”:
I would not have teacher tenure. I would be a teaching school, and I would hire young instructors (read: cheap, yes, but also enthusiastic) and reward them on the basis of teaching skills, not publications or other academic standards.
Our focus would be at the intersection of the liberal arts and the social (and harder) sciences. The degree granted would be a bachelor of philosophy (BPhil) not a BA or BS. The first two years would mostly be a core curriculum of humanities (literature, philosophy, classics, perhaps with an immersion Latin course) and social sciences, including the hard stuff like statistics, modeling, financial analysis and the like. During the last two years, students would enroll in two fields of study instead of a major/minor.
The college would publish its own online magazine, written by both professors and students. Writing 5,000 words that actual people are going to want to read but is nonetheless rigorous and fact-based and profound on, say, why Cicero is relevant today, or on the impact of Evangelicalism on Latin American politics, or IBM’s business turnaround strategy, would be a tremendous college assignment for a student. It would be both a great way to promote the college and a great educational experience for the students and also a good resume builder (and a good preparation for a career).
I have another suggestion: find a new board. Put Gobry on it, and challenge him to make his theories work. Rahm Emanuel might need a job soon: he’d be a good addition. What about Hillary Clinton? She’s a feminist (cough!), cares about young women, and leads a major foundation, is rich enough to give a significant donation (as non-profit board members are obligated to do), and at her going rate for speeches, could put a big dent in that 250 million without even getting a sore throat. Let’s see, at $250,000 an hour, that’s four hours a million. At just two hours a week, 4o weeks a year, Hillary could add 20 million to Sweet Briar’s coffers in a single year; in five, she could add $100, 000, 000 in five years, all by herself!
OK, we know that’s not likely to happen, but if I were on the board, I’d still ask. You never know: Clinton might be shamed into contributing some spare change from her purse, which might be enough to fund a faculty position for a year or so. There is, in management, an ethical duty to try; you have an obligation to the mission and the institution. “This looks like a lot of trouble and work, and we’re probably going to fail anyway. The hell with it: let’s quit now” isn’t fair to the institution, isn’t consistent with the duty of a board, constitutes an abandonment of the mission, and is an embarrassment to the institution. How stereotypically girly. This broads version of leadership and fortitude would have smothered the United States of America in its crib; it would have led Lincoln to allow the Confederacy to seceded, and slavery to continue; Edison to pronounce the incandescent light bulb hopeless, FDR to surrender to Japan, NASA to proclaim the moon mission a hopeless dream, and Reagan to say nothing more audacious than, “Mr. Gorbachev, give this wall a new paint job!”
The current Sweet Briar College board’s premature surrender to adversity is lazy and unethical. It is a betrayal of the college, the mission, and its students past, present and future. It should hand over the job to bolder, more committed people who are willing to use the resources at hand to save an institution worth saving.
____________________
Sources: Washington Post, Forbes, Tax Prof Blog
Ethics Alarms 
Sometimes the writing is on the wall.
Why should a school dedicated to empowering women turn to such an ethical couple as the Clinton’s to bail them out? That taints their legacy for years to come – tuition from other schools foolish enough to pay for a Hillary speech subsidizes a bleeding institution. This is not a Donald Sterling donation; Sterling made his money providing a service people wanted, but people rejected his donations based on his private thoughts. Clinton money actively harms the stakeholders of organizations that pay their fees. The ends, a solvent school, do not justify the means.
Why should they abandon tenure and hire “young (cheep)” instructors. Yes, the lights may stay on, but does the quality stay as high? Is the institutional legacy still preserved? The alumni paid their dues, graduated, and are presumably living a comfortable life. Should they be expected to continue to pay “tuition” for the rest of their lives, just so that the board of their school does not look lazy? Should they be expected to support a school that may no longer meet the vigorous standards that were in place when they graduated?
Now, the school may be only bleeding 3 million a year, but that is a substantial amount. The endowment is not meant to directly fund operating costs, but meant to produce interest that is draw to support the school. As money is drawn out, the endowment becomes less effective, and the operating deficit would likely grow. As the deficit grows, the quality of education will drop, and students and professors will jump ship.
>> “This looks like a lot of trouble and work, and we’re probably going to fail anyway. The hell with it: let’s quit now” isn’t fair to the institution, isn’t consistent with the duty of a board, constitutes an abandonment of the mission, and is an embarrassment to the institution.
It is the duty of the board to make difficult choices. If the school has been running in the red for years, and the alumni did not already step up to fund the deficit, then the board must decide what is the most effective use of the remaining resources. Do they burn away the remaining endowment while providing a lesser quality education to the remaining students? Do they foster cynicism with a doomed emergency fundraising drive?
Or do they restructure the endowment to provide Sweet Briar scholarships to female students at other institutions going forward? Being a nonprofit, the assets need to be left with a successor organization. Does the board of the failing school leave this future organization in the lurch?
>> “We have moral and legal obligations to our students and faculties and to our staff and to our alumnae. If you take up this decision too late, you won’t be able to meet those obligations,”
The board’s duty is to provide high quality educational opportunities to women in an ethical and fiscally responsible manner. Bringing in rich but unethical donors actively undermines this mission; students would look at Hillary as a role model because she is paying their education. Operating the school at lower standards, even if they are in the black, undermines their original mission. However, shutting down while they still have assets in place may allow them to use these funds to continue providing scholarships or other support to women, even if it can no longer be at a Sweet Briar campus.
But Rich, the number of non-profits that have rebounded from far greater depths is huge. You haven’t answered: why no call to arms? Why no fundraising push? This sounds like an exhausted board, not a doomed school. The writing on the wall often depends on who’s reading it.
Hear, hear. This fight is only just begun, guys.
I will concede that refusing to reconsider would be unethical.
In West Hartford, CT, a beloved local kosher supermarket announced that it would be closing, but a huge groundswell of support kept it afloat until new owners took over. If the school’s situation is so bad that they felt it necessary to announce its closure, perhaps that is only kick that could save it. If outraged alumni rally to raise funds or even take over the board, more power too them.
As I said though, the school must not sell its soul just to stay open.
That’s right: the mission is what matters. If Sweet Briar became, say, a co-ed institution, that would be selling its soul. But innovation, non-traditional structures, other experiments to preserve an all-female institution dedicated to nurturing strong, independent, educated leaders with two xx’s…that holds the soul safe.
(Bet you didn’t know that your comment would end up smack in the sites of about 8000 Sweet Briar supporters!)
Hi Rich (in CT) – yup, The Crown! Good example! Hi from Katie (also in CT!)
Hi KT, fellow RMCW grad., this is MLEK from Fro Ro. I totally agree with you and feel the deja vu with our college! This situation seems even more untoward. I hope that they get to the bottom of it.
Linds!! Yes déjà vu…..but this makes the R-MWC transition look like a cakewalk! It’s really gotten under my skin, from the moment I heard the news. (And I remember news of Pres Jones’ debacle at Trinity here in CT; he is NOT a good guy). But let’s look AHEAD not back. We RMWC alums are rallying full steam ahead in support of our SBC sisters!
Thank you Mr. Marshall. Never underestimate the power of the Sweet Briar Community of Alumnae who all know each other by first name , the easy access of Facebook and the power of a Vixen scorned. #SAVESWEETBRIAR ! $2.2MM raised in 5 days!
I’m with you all the way. If you need anything, just ask.
Have a look at our website and help us with outreach! The more who know we are fighting for her life the more that can help us succeed! SavingSweetBriar.com
Mr Marshall, Please stop trying to make a case when you do not even have your facts correct. For one, the endowment at the end of this academic year will be somewhere in the $70 millions not the $90 millions which is old data. For another, the school has been actively working on solutions to their problems for over a decade. I suggest you actually talk to the people who have been involved in this on campus. The truth is very simple, the market place is no longer willing (or able) to pay the price for the kind of education that Sweet Briar has afforded generations of women. The Directors have decided to close with honor and dignity rather than offer an inferior product. I highly recommend you look at the article published in Bloomberg News by Megan McArdle. You are writing about ethics and have completely missed the fact that Sweet Briar has made the most ethical decision.
1. 70, 80, 90, I saw all three figures: it doesn’t change a thing.
2. I have been on many non-profit boards, founded or co-founded or revitalized six non-profit organizations, was instrumental in launching and executing the Georgetown Law Center capital fundraising effort that resulted in the building of the library and the downtown campus. I teach fundraising and non-profit ethics.
3. I’ve read Megan’s piece. I know this field better than she does.
4. Bottom line: there was never a “Save Sweet Briar” campaign. That makes no sense, and is suspicious on its face.
I stand by what I wrote. It’s a lazy, irresponsible and suspicious decision, and lacked transparency.
Mr Marshall,
I can tell you for a fact Sweet Briar has not hidden any facts for at least the past 5 years. Alumnae just either did not pay attention or chose not to believe them. There are many of us who support this decision because we did pay attention!
I too have been involved with many non-profit boards. I am surprised you do not seem to understand how fund raising campaigns work.
Fund raising campaign work when an institution makes certain its supporters are paying attention, Jan. You’re spinning. Why, I don’t know.
Who IS this Jan??? It is a blatant lie that Sweet Briar board has not hidden any facts…..wind of some trouble worthy of some concern, yes, for many years. To this magnitude….no, we were all blindsided. I am an alum. I am ex faculty. I live 10 miles away, visit regularly, have many faculty friends….I get a card now and then asking to donate. I had no idea. If I didn’t, how would alums who live far and wide have any idea?? Again, I ask, who is this JAN and who does she work for???
Could it be the President’s wife, SBC ’69?
Well, I know who she is, but I don’t know who she works for or why she’s taking such an aggressive stand, and obnoxiously to boot.
She is not just being aggressive, she is lying and attempting to mislead. This makes me very, very angry….in my opinion, anonymity ought to be waived in such cases! Perhaps we can learn why we were kept in the dark. I, too, can be aggressive, but not for any falsehood or strictly personal gain.
Well, I have to keep my word: I promise that the name and e-mail will be kept confidential.
I am curious, then, why I have not had the school contact me for a donation in that decade…
“It is the duty of the board to make difficult choices. If the school has been running in the red for years, and the alumni did not already step up to fund the deficit, then the board must decide what is the most effective use of the remaining resources.”
Rich, I would like to reiterate that the alumnae (we are a group of women therefore not alumni) were completely unaware of the financial situation of sweet briar college. Believe you me, this money and support would have been available long before now had Sweet Briar simply asked.
Rich, you state, “If the school has been running in the red for years, and the alumni did not already step up to fund the deficit, then the board must decide.” And you’re not wrong. The thing is, in this case, the alumnae were never advised of the deficit, nor that things were even looking down, so how could they step up? If you are unaware of a need, how likely are you to fill that need?
Two men, the President & the President of the Board of Directors, are shutting down a premier women’s college in America. Watch this week’s news… #savingsweetbriar is a global women’s movement now and unstoppable. It is hitting all continents. Our “7 Sister Schools” are boldly stepping in to help. If you have a sister, daughter or a granddaughter, it will benefit you to contribute to #savingsweetbriar! It is truly an unbelieveable feeling right now to be a Sweet Briar Woman.
It is a great feeling to come together like this and attempt to save Sweet Briar.
Holla Holla!! SavingSweetBriar.com
“Why should a school dedicated to empowering women turn to such an ethical couple as the Clinton’s to bail them out?”
As a last ditch effort…why not? When you are drowning in the river, do you care if the hand reaching for you is a leper? When you’ve exhausted all attempts at swimming on your own and self-rescuing, you pull out all stops. This is kind of the localized / individualized version of the 1st Rule of Geopolitics.
“That taints their legacy for years to come – tuition from other schools foolish enough to pay for a Hillary speech subsidizes a bleeding institution.”
It might, it probably would. But wouldn’t you rather try to deal with the fall out of that later as opposed to just giving up now and surrendering?
“Yes, the lights may stay on, but does the quality stay as high? Is the institutional legacy still preserved?”
Does tenure guarantee quality anymore either? I’m sure it does save some quality. It also saves a ton of professors who have licked the right Leftist boots…played the right politics…homesteaded the longest. Nah. Tenure is just a Professorial Cartel – anti-free market and anti-quality.
“The alumni paid their dues, graduated, and are presumably living a comfortable life. Should they be expected to continue to pay “tuition” for the rest of their lives, just so that the board of their school does not look lazy? Should they be expected to support a school that may no longer meet the vigorous standards that were in place when they graduated?”
Which is why, I presume, the various
alumnialumnae would only be “asked” to contribute… I see no compulsion anywhere.“Now, the school may be only bleeding 3 million a year, but that is a substantial amount. The endowment is not meant to directly fund operating costs, but meant to produce interest that is draw to support the school. As money is drawn out, the endowment becomes less effective, and the operating deficit would likely grow. As the deficit grows, the quality of education will drop, and students and professors will jump ship.”
Ok, but at least they went down trying…
“Or do they restructure the endowment to provide Sweet Briar scholarships to female students at other institutions going forward? Being a nonprofit, the assets need to be left with a successor organization. Does the board of the failing school leave this future organization in the lurch?”
Wait, what? If that organization doesn’t exist yet, then nothing has been left in the lurch…
“However, shutting down while they still have assets in place may allow them to use these funds to continue providing scholarships or other support to women, even if it can no longer be at a Sweet Briar campus.”
Your alternate scenario sounds great, but just because it may be a successful alternative it doesn’t prove that fighting for the college is wrong also. Since the board hasn’t seemed to consider other options or at least communicate those other options, we can’t assume they have a better “plan” for the money remaining…
Jack:
“How stereotypically girly. This broads version of leadership and fortitude would have smothered the United States of America in its crib”
Freud…?
“…enriching the lives of many young girls by training them to be independent, courageous, bold and industrious,…”
Independent…? I’d like to see the curriculum if that is really being taught…
Working backwards…
* I am persuaded that it is being taught, and the spirit and attitudes reflected by the grads who have weighed in support that conclusion.
* Much and maybe most of the world’s great philanthropy has been funded by the recently reprehensible. Or conscience-battered. Nobel, Carnegie, Ford, Rockefeller, the Fortune 500 foundations. I believe in good uses of money, and “dirty money” is too slippery a concept to work with. I’d rather see the Clintons save a school with their ill-gotten gains then underwrite phony sinecures for Chelsea, or launder the money to pay for Campaign Inevitable.
In light of the disturbing facts highlighted within today’s “Comment of the Day” (https://ethicsalarms.com/2015/03/11/comment-of-the-day-why-the-sweet-briar-college-fight-matters/#more-26124), I withdraw the majority of this post.
While a closure after years of operating at a deficit may sometimes be responsible and necessary, the facts of the case here do not support such a conclusion. The writing was never “on the wall”, because it appears the board actively withheld its financial situation from potential donors or supporters.
I had assumed responsible management when I originally drafted this post, and that does not appear to be the case. However, reversing such a dire situation, even a situation of one’s own making, is a test of integrity. Funds raised must still be ethically attained, and the school must still avoid entanglement with interests that are against its educational mission.
SBCFan2000 provided a list of such adverse entanglements that may indeed be at the core of the current situation.
Thanks for saying what so many of us are thinking. And Jack Marshall, you’re right too. This does seem like a board that is simply “over it”. One thing I know as an alumna, they certainly did not “turn over every rock.” We have $2.1m raised in 4 days that says otherwise. We plan to succeed with our takeover, find a clearer, better vision forward and fail upward the way successful people do. If you would like to keep up with our progress, go to savingsweetbriar.com. We should have some pretty major news coming sometime this week, stay tuned.
If there’s any help I can provide, gratis, of course, you have it.
I urge everyone to share this link, far and wide.
How about a monetary contribution?
Ah! So you’re a jerk, then! I thought so:
1. Are you claiming that my concern, support and interest is only genuine and significant if I back it with money? Stick it in your ear.
2. If I choose to write a check, you’ll be the last to know.
3. I am currently on one non-profit board; I established an endowment fund for another that I founded; I have obligations to two other institutions where I attended.
4. My expertise on this topic is more valuable than my financial resources.
5. My hourly rate is 350 dollars an hour. You’re welcome.
6. So unable to make a persuasive rebuttal, you imply hypocrisy as an ad hominem attack unrelated to the substance of the issue.
7. You’re banned. Any future comment here will be spammed, automatically, or by me if it slips through.
8. You can be reinstated by sending a sincere apology to jamproethics@verizon.net.
I won’t hold my breath.
You go Jack…see my comment above….she is trying to mislead everyone. We in the community were not privy to any impending disaster. I am very suspicious of her motives…it isn’t to be truthful.
Looking forward to this news!!
I know nothing about this place other than there is some night where underclasswomen dress in white and give baskets of flowers to seniors, but good luck keeping the school afloat.
Steve – I suggest you read up on us then, we are one of two women’s colleges in the country who have an accredited engineering program. Sweet Briar’s curriculum spans more than 40 areas of study that embrace a variety of academic interests and even allows for Custom Majors. The college has an amazing internationally known athletic program which includes equestrian activities as well as all of the mainstream sports. It holds a number of National Historic Landmarks and is the 2nd largest employer in the area.
Our traditions are a large part of the character of the school, so while you may find the reenactment of part of our history (the reason the college was founded is because a girl named Daisy died before accomplishing her dream of higher education and the grounds of the college were willed to be a women’s college in her parents will). Please feel free to look up our traditions, you will find them listed below our Honor Code http://sbc.edu/student-involvement/traditions
Thanks. I’ll pass. I can’t buy that single-sex education is a great thing when it’s all women, but a civil rights violation when all men.
If it’s the access into a profession, surely you see why the academies would be discriminatory if male only, once women were allowed into the main branches.
I am happy to tell you we have a brother school, Hampden – Sydney, it’s not a political endeavor, but a preference for educational methods and environments. Students are able to participate in classes in a comfortable environment, with much less social pressure which facilitates interaction and discussion. We are able to have fun with the 7 other colleges (both coed and single sex) in the area on weekends but are actually able to study during the week with limited distractions. It’s just fine if it’s not your cup of tea, I wouldn’t have had to listen to your monomaniacal view point anyway.
Thanks again, but I would have passed also. I put up with too many feminist females of the canine persuasion in college none-of-your-business years ago, before political correctness really took hold.
Again, the virtues of single sex education, I’m sure your tragic story of misadventures with women who obviously were misinformed about your flawless character would have been averted if you had attended an all male college, you may have also learned some manners in spite of yourself. I have addressed your comments with grace and intelligence, I am disappointed you are not capable of doing the same.
Completely agree!
Too tired to say anything other than BLESS YOU. On second thought, is there a version of The Ruddigore Fallacy that covers the notion that the combined reputations/prior good acts of Board members outweigh potentially unethical behavior in another act? Lacking transparency, we Alumnae are being asked to “trust not verify.”
Sounds like straight down the alley Ruddigore to me!
By my count having graduated within the last 10 years from this institution, nothing significant has been done to adapt, improve or extend Sweet Briar…. I’m surprised the article ignores mentioning the severance packages and salary that this newly appointed President may receive FOR ending SBC. I’m also surprised that the new construction around campus isn’t directly pointed out as a likely indicator that the school is being sold (huge new library, gym, cafeteria).
The question is: why is the college running a deficit and not doing anything about for years…. not requesting funding from alums…. and then closing up shop.
I hope the legal teams will shed light on this situation,
A degree’s worth is affected by a school’s closing.
Interesting thoughts. As a graduate I can envision a phenominal
women’s institute empowering and educating women from all over the world in an idyllic setting. Think the Sweet Briar Institute funded by the Sweet Briar Foundation. Think Camp David for women! Come on Sheryl Sandberg and Oprah lean in and let’s make this happen!
Yes…there should be rescuers out there. All the rhetoric…this is an opportunity to demonstrate principles rather than talk about them.
Sweet Briar then. Sweet Briar now. Sweet Briar forever!
That’s Christina Spada, SBC ’89.
I’m a tenured full professor at SBC…. Here is a few more questions you should ask….
#1) Why hasn’t SBC run a capital campaign? The Faculty asked the last president that (Jo Ellen Parker) and we were told that “Our consulting firm had decided that our Alumni do not have the capacity” But the Alumni were not even aware we were in trouble!!!! And raised $2M in 4 days once they knew how bad things were. We have not actively tried to raise any significant money in almost 5 years.
#2) Why did we not replace our director of admissions after Jo Ellen drove the last one away? Instead JEP asked her chief of staff to “cover” admissions for a while… that was two years ago. And now the board cites sagging admissions as a reason to close.. Go figure… no admissions director = sagging admissions… Genius!
#3) Our webpage manager quits 4 years ago… then two years later JEP hires another consultant to review our webpage…. guess what… they said our webpage sucked… Wow… you could have paid me and I’d have told them the same thing.
The FACULTY at SBC are 100% devoted to the school and its mission. We have been in a state of siege for the last 6 years. If it smells fishy it probably is.
Consultant addiction in higher education is often a sign of incompetence and the desire to seek cover.
Agreed. My alma mater, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, engaged a higher education consulting firm (Art & Science Group, Inc.) c. 2005-2006. The R-MWC Board of Trustees relied heavily on the report when it chose to vote for coeducation in 2006 and abandon the College’s original mission. Interestingly enough, Sweet Briar College also relied on A&S to aid in their recent decision to close the school. I’d be digging deeper and asking to see the data and the report.
As alums challenge the way this has unfolded, I think that is a very important inquiry to make.
Dear Rmwcalumna and Mr. Marshall,
Another “prestigious” consulting firm, Stevens Strategy, also has a long history of advising colleges to go co-ed or even to close. Much of the rhetoric that the Sweet Briar board spewed followed the rhetoric spewed by the Wilson College Board of Trustees–students are no longer choosing women’s colleges, a rural women’s college has no chance at success, etc., etc.–following the board’s decision to make the 145-yr old college co-ed.
Not only was Stevens Strategy present for the death of Peace College in Raleigh, NC, but Debra Townsley, wife of Steven’s consultant Mike Townsley, was made president of the “new” William Peace College.
I do not know what these consulting firms have to gain by closing down women’s education, but they are very adept at doing so.
Elizabeth A. Mitchell
Wilson College ’69
WOW Bbuckaroo! I have been following #savesweetbriar with great interest – I grew up in Va, have many family members who were vixens, was myself a student at both R-MWC and VCU, although as an alum was a bit ambivalent when R-MWC went coed but realized the personal impact a few years later(with admittedly some regret). HOWEVER, I know I would have been HUGELY impacted and upset if the board at R-MWC had acted as the SBC board and president has done. I feel what has happened with this sudden shut down is a travesty to both students(current/future/past) as well as faculty (30 miles from a Starbucks?! Is that the best Mr Jones can do?!), and I am SO glad to hear the POV of a faculty member here. As a born and bred Virginian, and women’s college alum, I have pledged to the fund to save SBC, because for one thing, I have a 13 yo daughter, and damned if SBC doesn’t sound like an amazing option for her, if she will just get the opportunity to visit……
Katie – if nothing else, I hope we demonstrate that our college is worth more to us than anything, our network is strong and fiercely protective of our sisters, and that we would love nothing more than to protect the opportunity for your daughter to attend an amazing school with limitless potential!
Thank you Chelsea….Its obvious that the SBC board should be ashamed of themselves for so sorely underestimating the fervor and power of thier alumnae and faculty. I am behind you Vixens cheering (and tweeting!) all the way!
Hello. This is the webmaster to which you refer. I graduated from SBC, I worked there ten years and I never quit… I was thrown under the bus, along with one other colleague in our department, by JEP’s terrible selection of a department head who, himself, left under a dark cloud after spending vast sums of money. I NEVER quit, and the sad state of the current website is not my doing, NOR is it the doing of the current staff and director who have been actively working to replace it.
For what it’s worth, I’ve always thought we had a really good website and am surprised to hear a “consult” found it as a weakness. I appreciate your efforts. #SaveSweetBriar
My daughter looked into going to SBC and changed her mind after reading terrible posts on College Prowler. Social media has a huge impact. Someone should have been minding the store to counter all these bad posts with real post from happy students. Evidently it only took one student with an a grudge to do a lot of damage. Had The Alums known you were in trouble we would have donated our time to help correct these things. We are here now to help. Do not hesitate to let us know what you need to save Sweet Briar and make it better going forward.
I LOVE YOU BUCKAROO! I wish we had all know a bit earlier somehow but there is no time like the present, and nothing as revealing as the truth:)
-Lorna ’01
Professor, one of your former co-workers said it very well: While consulting firms can be useful in helping narrow target audiences, tightening specific areas of focus, etc. they are NOT designed to come up with an overall vision. If you are turning to consultants to figure out who you are and what you should be doing, plus how you should be doing it overall, then you’re flying blind. This board and the previous president appear to have completely lost their way, and rather than turning to the ultimate consultants — alumnae — about what makes the school special and what the most useful aspects of a SBC degree are, they ran up a white flag. How lame.
Some observations. There is another single sex liberal arts college in central Virginia: this is Hampden-Sydney, which is, of course, all male. But it is very similar to SBC in many ways. In their last capital campaign they raised over 60 million dollars. The one in the nineties, lead by General Sam Wilson-who was not a professional educator-raised 100 million dollars. Now, many of the HS-C donors are Sweet Briar families, meaning wives or daughters are alumnae. What is the effective difference? Hampden-Sydney (which truly had the tradition of being the smallest endowed private college in the USA) tried!! They followed CASE plans and laid out grand goals, and they succeeded wonderfully. Traditionalism really was not a weakness but a strength. It’s like Stephan Colbert said- going to H-S is like going to school in the 1800’s. If you visit Ivy League schools you’ll see that they preserve many traditions and integrate them with stunning innovations. The Sweet Briar trustees have violated their trust, and failed the minimum level of competence. Roses have thorns. Sue those SOB’s out of office!
JMM – We are all behind you! We would have LOVED the chance to have protected Sweet Briar from ever being in danger, but given that the Board never allowed us this chance, we are fighting like hell now. 2.2 million pledged within 4 days says how much we can do, any and all help are greatly appreciated! The more who know, the more who can help! savingsweetbriar.com
Thank you for writing. There is indeed a place for such a women’s college with small classes where the student must have read the material and ready to defend her opinion. One of two single sex engineering schools needs to continue. Women’s History Month is such an ironic time for this news to surface.
Forget Hillary! Her foundation is looking more and more like a campaign war chest. Thanks to people who pony up for her speeches, like private university foundations–just sayin’, Rich in CT. Go Huskies.
As an Assistant Professor at Sweet Briar, I can tell you that my confidence is in the Alumnae Association – the BOARD needs to go! They have sold us all down the river and will be held accountable…..hell hath no fury like an alumnae of Sweet Briar college who has been shut out….we TEACH our students to be empowered and to make their voices heard – to shut down those voices is unconscionable….
Marcia as an alum, I am angered for the shafting of the faculty as well as students. If we go down, it will be fighting. There are too many unexplored opportunities and I bet the faculty is an untapped resource in that regard.
Unfortunately, Sweet Briar taught its women to be fighters, we will be fighting for her and for all those who believe in her! The Board can expect one hell of a movement (that should have been tapped into before they made their announcement)
Beverley – thank you…if the alumnae associate is an example of the students we have “given voice to” (as a faculty) – we simply cannot afford to not continue to do our jobs….
“association”!
Dear Mr. Marshall:
Thank you for considering the full extent of the issue rather than accepting the party line of “no one
wants a single-sex school in rural
Virginia OR we have financial challenges so we must close”. That is not what my fellow alums nor I were taught. We were taught to think big, fight for what we believe in and anything is possible.
We still hold this in our hearts and recognize the school we love will need to make changes but we aren’t willing to accept the party line and are digging deeper and want many strange and puzzling questions answered. We know SBC must make changes and adapt to be even more attractive than she already is to so many.
We are willing to do to whatever it takes as we believe in Sweet Briar and the reasons she was founded. We raised $2.2 million in 5 days and still going!!!! #savesweetbriar
Thank you for your awesome article!
Warmly,
Amelia Atwill
Class of 1996
Edison was never going to pronounce the incandescent light bulb hopeless, not with Swan as a precedent.
A fatal secret of dirty material interests is hidden in the decision to shut down Sweet Briar College. It must be revealed and the guilty person/persons punished. Prof. S.Robev, Dr. Chem. Sci., Dr. Biol.Sci., Member of The European Academy of Sciences&Arts.
I agree with you. My wife is an alumna of SBC, and from all that I have read it seems Jimmy Jones was likely brought in to close this wonderful institution rather than to save it. I have never witnessed such pathetically feeble (and transparently disingenuous) excuses for failing to fight for something one ostensibly cares about and believes in. And I cannot help but keep wondering, who stands to profit from the potential sale of this campus?
To All SBC Faculty:
We need to hear your voices more. And loudly!! I found my voice at SBC because of you. I continued all the way to a PhD and worked in academia for 6 years before moving to philanthropy and fundraising. We are outraged at the disconnect between the board and ALL its stakeholders. We did not know how bad you had it, and it is high time to do something about it. Please know that we are forever grateful for the foundation we received from you. We will not go down passively without taking a hard look at the finances, asserts, liabilities, other scalable models. We were taught to think outside the box, and that is our strength.
THANK YOU, Mr. Marshall. As one of Sweet Briar’s “kept-in-the-dark” and now betrayed alumnae (and one who is determined that my beloved college will not go down without a fight) I want both you and Mr. Gobry on Sweet Briar’s new board. With people like you two at the helm, this sickening crisis can become an opportunity. Creative thinkers across the globe can join the quest to formulate and implement a new vision. Alums will give until it hurts, and philanthropists who care about the education of women (how about it, Oprah?) might join the cause. Meanwhile, I urge you to visit the campus. Walk down to the boathouse; hike to the top of Monument Hill. Let the beauty of the towering old growth forests and 3,000 acres of rolling Blue Ridge foothills seep into your soul. Then go back to your computer and WRITE. Your words and your wisdom will help us overturn this travesty. THINK IS FOR GIRLS.
I’ve been a non-profit fund development professional for more than 30 years. The most basic rule in fundraising is ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’. This is far from a new idea. I’m having a lot of problems with the excuses given by both the Sweet Briar College board chair as well as Jimmy Jones , the interim president of the college. When asked about approaching the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for funding Mr Jones replied that the Gates Foundation gets 200 funding requests a day suggesting it was a waste of time. Was this attitude part of the “exhausted efforts” to find solutions to keep Sweet Briar College doors open? I was waiting for a roll out of a capital campaign to be announced not the closure of the school. Sweet Briar College needs a new board and president asap. A do or die effort should have been the strategy not the self defeating thinking expressed by the president of Sweet Briar College.
I read this about two hours ago and have been thinking about it since. It is disturbing and at the same time encouraging to see the results of a SBC education–these young women who are determined to save Sweet Briar certainly learned how to be strong, independent, women who know how to fight for a cause.
I have to share these thoughts…so say that we had no idea that the school was struggling is ludicrous and to ask why didn’t they just ask for $$ is also ridiculous…the ask is and has been ever constant and sincere from mailings, to emails, to phone calls from students… we knew the school needed our support financially and we contributed as best we could.
To compare our fund raising processes to that of HSC is not fair…it is much easier to raise money for a men’s college than it is to raise money for a women’s college for all of the most obvious reasons.
Having worked in development for over ten years and been in education all of my life, I do know that it is imperative that YOU support your Alma Maters regularly and as generously as you can.
If you have worked in development, you know that routine solicitations and a campaign for a special purpose, especially a crisis, are materially different, and one is no substitute for the other.
Reblogged this on mbfloydblog and commented:
This is a very powerfully written (and very difficult to look away from) take on the goings on at Sweet Briar.
Sounds to me that someone is running away from the crisis instead of tackling it. Someone just doesn’t want to try …
#savesweetbriar
As a proud mother of 2 Hollins girls, I can personally attest to the rare beauty of this type of education. I say go get ’em. Fight hard and fight to win. This is a battle worth fighting, so arm yourself, gather up your army and march. When you are victorious, you will have redefined the value and essence of the all-female liberal arts education and the whole world will have been watching…so go make some history!
It is the epitome of a battle worth fighting, I would say.