The Briar Wire
THE SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE ALUMNAE NEWSLETTER
Volume 9, Issue 3 June 2023
Honoring Sweet Briar’s 13th President, Meredith Woo
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ince its inception in 1901, Sweet Briar College has been a place where women lead. To elevate the College’s resources to support the next generation of women leaders, Sweet Briar is embarking on a campaign to raise $130 million. To read more about the Where Women Lead campaign, please visit sbc.edu/ magazine for the electronic version of the Spring 2023 issue, which describes the campaign in detail. During her time at Sweet Briar, President Meredith Woo has been an innovator and visionary, leading Sweet Briar to several accomplishments. • Implemented a tuition reset that made a Sweet Briar education affordable for women throughout the United States and the world, allowing the College to focus its resources on providing the best education possible. • Collaborated with the faculty to create an innovative women’s leadership core curriculum to attract more women leaders. • Created a five-year strategic plan that outlines Sweet Briar’s future through a focused approach to lean into the College’s strengths. • Implemented an initiative to give students the experience of living with art, bringing the College’s collection to use in residence halls and common areas. • Revitalized Sweet Briar’s natural assets for agriculture and sustainability by establishing a vineyard, greenhouse, and apiary. Not only has President Woo set high sights for Sweet Briar, she also made a home in our community during her time on campus. She took riding lessons with Mimi Wroten ’93, director of the College’s riding program. She hosted countless speakers, friends of the College, alumnae, students, faculty, staff, and families in Sweet Briar House for dinners, gatherings, and conversations. She has roamed all of campus, and by her own admission, has even gotten lost doing so. She cultivated her own row of plants in Sweet Briar’s greenhouse,
sharing her prolific dill supply with Prothro. Mason Bennett Rummel ‘83, Sweet Briar’s Chair of the Board of Directors, said, “President Woo’s impact on this college cannot be overstated. She provided the insight, inspiration and vision that exemplifies the spirit of Sweet Briar, and we are eternally grateful to her for positioning our institution as a destination for future women leaders.” In the spirit of honoring President Meredith Woo and all that she has done for Sweet Briar, the College is offering alumnae and friends the opportunity to begin funding two key areas of the campaign to recognize President Woo’s contributions to these priorities: Pannell Fine Arts Center, benefitting from historic preservation through rehabilitation; and the Presidential Scholars Program, an endowed program offering merit-based support to Sweet Briar’s brightest future students. To make a gift to these areas in honor of President Meredith Woo, visit sbc.edu/where-women-lead-giving. If you have questions about the Where Women Lead campaign, please call 434-381-6131 or email campaign@sbc.edu.