VOLUME 86 NO. 2 Dear Alumnae and Friends, ollowing the closure announcement last March, a series of miracles followed. All of them were predicated on very hard work, sacrificial efforts and generous gifts. Practi- cally unprecedented in American higher education, the alumnae saved their college. A miracle. Faced with the daunting circumstances of no faculty, staff and students and Fwith many programs closed or transferred, the College needed another miracle to open in just 6 weeks. It happened. Needing still another miracle, the College asked its alumnae to contribute an additional $10 million for operations. The alumnae responded with the funds. As a result, the Col- lege spent no endowment for the first time in memory. We have celebrated digging out of the deep hole we did not create. We made far more progress last year than anyone could have expected. Having entered our second academic year, we are thrilled that 156 new students enabled us to meet our projections for total enrollment this year. We expect to grow by an even larger number in each of the coming years. Some of our star faculty, having left after the closing announcement, returned. All programs remain open; the calendar is full of athletic contests, concerts, plays, special events and traditional activities. Sweet Briar College is alive and well! Last year, when the seniors came to Sweet Briar House for the traditional champagne toast, I invited them to sign their names on the back of a large banner I keep in the library. It bears the statement I made in my first message to the community after becoming president, “At Sweet Briar College, the impossible is just another problem to solve.” I had written at the top “We Were Here Making History: Class of 2016.” Some were in tears as they inscribed their names. All our alumnae were also making history, and you continue to make history as we make our way out of the financial hole caused by the closing efforts. This year, as last, and during the next few years, the alumnae will need to carry the load of assuring that their college survives while the enrollment is built back to more stable levels. Whether volunteering to weed flower gardens, polish, paint etc., participating on a committee, offering counsel or contributing financially, the alumnae have always been there for Sweet Briar. Since this is the “place for miracles,” I know you will contin- ue to do what is necessary to save your college. We are not only making history; we are preserv- ing a magnificent institution. I am sincere when I respond to proffered compliments of my leadership by saying that the alumnae do all the hard work, I simply have the privilege of riding in the Vixen Cart. Thank you for affording me that honor; thank you especially for your friendship, encouragement and support. We must continue to be One Team, preserving Sweet Briar College forever. Yours truly, Phillip C. Stone President B SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE VOLUME 86 NO. 2 Contents SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE MAGAZINE POLICY Sweet Briar Renaissance 4 The magazine aims to present interesting, Tapping Silicon Valley Expertise 10 thought-provoking material. Publication of material does not indicate endorsement of Outstanding Alumnae Awards 12 the author’s viewpoint by the magazine or College. The Sweet Briar College Magazine Academic Awards 13 reserves the right to edit, and when necessary, Annual Financial Results 14 revise all material that it accepts for publica- tion. Contact us at any time. Case for Support 2017 16 MAGAZINE STAFF Alumnae Alliance—5 Things Alumnae Can Do 20 Phyllis Watt Jordan, editor-in-chief Alumnae Relations and Development Staff 22 Clelie Steckel, assistant director of annual Gifts with a Twist 24 giving/Sweet Briar Fund Nancy Marion, lead designer Coming Home 26 Cassie Foster, photographer Finding a Home 33 Jane Dure, editor Alive Again 34 Contributors: Catherine Bost, Jennifer McMa- namay, Janika Carey, Cecilia Mahan and Photography Students Learn from a Master 36 Maggy O’Donnell Shopping Sweet 41 Contact information Reunion 2017 Inside back cover Office of Alumnae Relations and Development P.O. Box 1057 Sweet Briar, VA 24595 (800) 381-6131 Departments: On the Quad 2 Phillip C. Stone, President Planned Giving 25 FIND SWEET BRIAR ONLINE In Memoriam 38 Class Notes 42 sbc.edu SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU 1 Qon UADTHE NEWS AND NOTES AROUND CAMPUS Sweet Briar Riders Dominate U.S. Team When Team USA showed up for an inter- national student equestrian competition in Ireland this September, two out of the three riders were Sweet Briar students. Courtney Barry ’18, who went to Ireland as a volunteer, joined engineering major Makayla Benjamin ’18 of Leesburg on the team after one of its three members had to drop out. Barry, a business major from Aspers, Pa., ended up placing 13th in the dressage competition and 21st overall— the best showing for the American team. The competition was a qualifying event for the AIEC Student Riding Nations Cup world finals later this year. Benjamin was a Silver League winner in the finals in From left: Makayla Benjamin ’18, Chris Johnson of Purdue Germany last year. University, and Courtney Barry ’18 Renovated Library “A huge storm in Recognized as “New Landmark” March did enormous damage to the The renovation of the Mary Helen Cochran Library has won three awards overwintering area recognizing the successful effort to add modern features while preserving the his- in Mexico, and toric features of the building. In October, Preservation Virginia recognized VMDO the government Architects with its 2016 Gabriella Page has authorized Preservation Award for the “outstanding rehabilitation.” extensive salvage In September, the renovation project received one of three New Landmark logging through Library Honorable Mentions from the October, which is Library Journal. And last year, American Libraries magazine listed it in its 2015 very troubling.” Library Design Showcase. The original building dates to 1929 and is included on the National Register of Historic Places. The renovation, dedicat- ed in November 2014, refurbished the original rooms and re-opened a vaulted gallery for use as a 24-hour study area. It also added an airy reading room, a café area and a modern stacking system. 2 SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE OTTE LL Presidential Search ourte Y T is Well Underway ERR Y P B The committee searching for a replacement for retiring President Phillip C. Stone was hard at work HOTO P throughout the summer and is even busier this fall. After holding numerous meetings with constituents Archaeology Student Digs on campus and three webinars with alumnae, the committee sent out a survey to which more than the Iron Age 1,300 alumnae responded; all of this feedback Archaeology and classics double-major Claire Zak spent her summer digging was incorporated into the “Position Profile,” which for artifacts 7,000 miles away from home. Sweet Briar anthropology professor describes the challenges and opportunities facing the Claudia Chang and Chang’s husband, archaeologist Perry Tourtellotte, invited College and the qualities desired in a new president. the rising junior from Saint Cloud, Fla., to assist them at an Iron Age site just It is posted at sbc.edu/presidential-search. outside Almaty, Kazakhstan. Since then, the focus has been on recruiting candi- Dating back to 400 B.C., the dig site, Tuzusai, is in the Talgar region of south- dates to lead Sweet Briar in this next, important chap- eastern Kazakhstan. Chang has returned to the area on and off for more than ter. “The Committee has been very pleased with the 20 years to continue her research on the country’s farmers and herdsmen. A strong level of interest shown in this search, allowing National Science Foundation grant brought her back in 2011. And in 2015, us to attract a very talented and diverse pool of candi- Chang and Tourtellotte spent the fall semester doing research in Kazakhstan dates,” reports Teresa Pike Tomlinson ’87, who chairs and traveling to India, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. both the search committee and the Board of Directors. This time, Zak got to experience an archaeological dig firsthand. Her days The Committee has started to interview semifinalist looked like this: five to six hours of field excavation followed by another five candidates and then, into winter, plans to interview to six hours in the lab. In addition to helping with Chang’s dig, she conducted finalists and perform due diligence, including check- her own project — “analyzing the forms and function of Iron Age ceramics by ing references. Chairwoman Tomlinson is pleased quantifying them and placing them in a functional typology.” that the search is “on track and going very well” and hopes to announce the new president in early spring. he plight of the monarch in Mexico, and the government has Professor butterfly appears to be grow- authorized extensive salvage logging Ting worse, with the 2016 fall through October, which is very trou- migration numbers expected to be the bling,” he said in an interview. “The Warns of “lowest ever,” according to research March storm almost certainly was one by Sweet Briar Research Professor of of the worst setbacks we have wit- Biology Lincoln Brower. nessed. I predict this fall migration will More Trouble An internationally known expert on be the lowest ever. Reports on the Web monarchs, Brower has visited the indicate that numbers are way down in for Monarch monarchs’ winter retreat in the high many areas. Our Amherst and Nelson mountains of central Mexico more county censuses are way down from than 50 times since 1977, most recently n or m a l .” Butterfly in February 2014.