Stunned is the only word I know to describe my feelings when I read the headlines a few hours ago. Sweet Briar College is not a household word but for someone who attended a similar school (all women) and received a wonderful liberal arts education, my heart simply breaks for the women who won't ever have this opportunity or who will have to scramble to find some sort of replacement when the school school shuts its doors later this year. Liberal Arts is dying a slow painful death, sadly, but for someone graduated with a degree in Classics (yes), went on to earn a Master's Degree with honors from a well known school (in finance), who is a published author, and has been able to earn a good living for many years, well it must have served me well.
Our higher education costs are spiraling out of control and there are so many reasons for this but for those out there in academia who believe that the status quo is acceptable, maybe this will be a wake up call. You can read the article
here. Sweet Briar RIP. You will be missed here in the Virginia Hunt Country.
Consistently one of THE top 25 Equestrian programs in the country at the college level. Very sad to be lost in the ODAC in that regard. I went there for a semester and was miserable. But ended up back at the college I started at and had a happy ending. That said, my Dad went to W&L, I grew up in Lexington, we always thought SBC was beautiful and our family is all about liberal arts colleges. We all went to single-sex boarding schools, too. Very sad for the alumni, current students and faculty. I hope they have to publicly explain themselves further, as it's quite sudden since the school still has a $94 million endowment!
ReplyDeleteSBC is a lovely place, one of the prettiest campuses I have seen. Apparently a $94M endowment seems like a large number but it provides for only $4M a year in revenue and $56M is restricted. Am hoping that nearby Liberty University does not take it over and turn it into something awful but that is a real possibility. I know many people who have gone there but the crisis in education just costing too much needs to be dealt with or there will be many more of these unfortunately. You just wonder why it costs so much.
ReplyDeleteI remember when Jerry Falwell called Sweetbriar "The whores on the Hill", which made me think they must be doing something right if the Moral Majority felt threatened. I'm sure Liberty University already has plans for the Sweetbriar campus. So sad to see another equestrian program ending; Hunt Country will soon be so in name only. Marshall is being filled with Fairfax-style condominiums and in Middleburg, Salamandre (you remember--the resort that promised the character of Middleburg would never change) has proposed plans for 170 townhouse condominiums and what they euphemistically call "lower income housing" (read that, the maid has to live somewhere).
ReplyDeleteIt's a tremendous loss for the Virginia higher ed community. Many of my Hollins girlfriends are wondering what will happen to the horses in the equestrian program and a former colleague's daughter was enrolled to begin classes in the fall. She is devastated. The financial landscape of higher education is so challenging right now and I'm afraid this is just the canary in the coal mine. So, so sad.
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrible, terrible loss for women's education. I too attend a women's college and it definitely made me a stronger person both in my private and professional life. I hope the alumna are able to join forces and prevent this from happening. I know there is a FB page for them to discuss it. Should it happen my wish is that the horses land in comfortable places. Rose
ReplyDeleteI did not attend an all-female college nor did I receive a Liberal Arts degree, but I found this news terribly sad as well. My small parochial HS in New Jersey recently announced it was closing, and all of us alumni are devastated along with the current students. And heaven knows I agree that the cost of higher education is OUT OF CONTROL! I have two currently in college and I just thank God that my son achieved his dream and is studying at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point. My daughter is finishing her Associates Degree at our very reasonably-priced community college, and then we're going to have to figure out her last two years. It IS hard to fathom that Sweet Briar can't make it on that seemingly-generous endowment (and I'm sure their tuition isn't dirt cheap, either), especially given that I read they just made capital improvements. Who's to know the whole story... my heart is sad for all the current and accepted students, and their equestrian program in particular.
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