In March 2015, the board of trustees at Sweet Briar College, a liberal arts educational institution for women in Virginia, announced that the college would close. But alumnae stepped in and raised $12 million to keep the college open. At the time the board voted to close the college in 2015, there were 641 full-time undergraduate students at Sweet Briar. But in the fall of 2017, there were just 79 first-year women on campus.
This fall Sweet Briar welcomed 205 new students, the college’s largest incoming class since 2013. With the addition of these first-year and transfer students, the total enrollment for 2021-2022 is about 475 students. New students hail from 41 states and 17 foreign countries.
The college attributes its success in increasing enrollments to “a bold rethinking of the liberal arts model that gives students a foundation in the values, skills, knowledge, and perspectives essential for twenty-first century leadership and its 3-12-12-3-week academic calendar that increases opportunities for intensive, immersive learning.”
“Around the world, we’re seeing a new interest in and an increasing demand for women’s equality; a real hunger for women’s leadership,” said Meredith Woo, president of Sweet Brar College. “Sweet Briar is ready to meet this need. It’s becoming the destination college for women who want to learn how to lead the world into a more just, inclusive, and sustainable future.”