The word went out last weekend that Sweet Briar College would stay open for one more year, thanks to a settlement agreement that will ensure a change in leadership and the college’s short-term continued financial viability. Circuit Court Judge James W. Updike Jr. approved the settlement plan Monday morning.
Per the terms of the agreement, current President James F. Jones Jr. will step down, along with at least 13 of the current board members. Alumnae, under the banner of the nonprofit Saving Sweet Briar, have promised to give $12 million within 60 days to fund college operations in 2015-16. The first installment of $2.5 million is due on July 2.
“Today’s settlement is an answer to the prayers of many and a powerful validation of the value of fighting for what you believe in,” Sarah Clement, chair of Saving Sweet Briar, said in a statement on the organization’s website. Sweet Briar alumnae rallied to keep the college open and have pledged to give $21 million.
Sweet Briar will have just a few months to reorganize before it reopens in the fall. The board is expected to announce that Phillip Stone will be chosen as the new president. He is a Virginia attorney and former SBC board chair, and also was the president of Bridgewater College from 1994 to 2010. Under Stone’s leadership, Bridgewater dramatically increased its enrollment in 10 years, which bodes well for Sweet Briar, because low enrollment is one of the hurdles the college will have to overcome to survive.
The board will also see a major changeover, as 13 of the 23 current board members will resign. Another 18, nominated by the plaintiffs who have fought to keep the college open, will take their place.
Finally, there is the question of faculty and staff. Jones told the faculty at a meeting in early March that the college would not reopen in September. “The announcement was very late in the year and so there were not all that many permanent jobs to be had at the college level,” Dr. Eric Casey, former SBC classics professor and former chair of the faculty executive committee, said in an email. Believing that they would be out of work, faculty scrambled to find positions elsewhere. Many had to accept one-year appointments or jobs outside of the traditional academy.
After Monday’s reversal in the college’s fortunes, faculty are considering whether they can come back. Some have signed contracts elsewhere and so feel “honor-bound” to stick with them, Casey said. As a result, some departments may be short-staffed.
