THE SEARCH FOR A VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DEAN OF THE COLLEGE Sweet Briar College, recognized by U.S. News & World Report in the fall of 2018 as one of the “Most Innovative Schools” in the nation, invites nominations and applications for a new Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. The College was founded in 1901 as a women’s college and remains dedicated to that mission. Sweet Briar College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Arts in Teaching. In 2015 when the administration attempted to close the College, thousands of alumnae immediately rallied to form a nonprofit – Saving Sweet Briar – and keep the college open. They hired a legal team, began an unprecedented fundraising campaign raising $21.5 million in pledges in 110 days, and set out to redefine its brand to be relevant for the 21st century. Between 2015 and 2018, Sweet Briar alumnae and friends contributed $53.7 million dollars in support of the College, thus ensuring not only that Sweet Briar would continue to educate women of consequence but also laying a foundation for the College’s future innovation and leadership among all liberal arts colleges. In 2017 Meredith Woo became the 13th president, and since then the College has launched a bold academic program that integrates the liberal arts with women’s leadership to prepare graduates as problem solvers for today’s world. The College has also overhauled its budget structure and reset the tuition-pricing model to make the true cost transparent and predictable and to signal the College’s commitment to affordability. The VPAA and Dean of the College will play a key leadership role at an institution that has been recognized nationally for its commitment to cultivating the habits of mind – in problem-solving, decision- making, and creativity – that are critical for leaders. ABOUT SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE The Faculty The faculty comprises talented, dedicated, and innovative educators and accomplished scholars, and includes recipients of the highest honor for college and university faculty from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, as well as other national and state distinctions and awards. Among the distinguished faculty are published THE MISSION OF novelists, notable researchers in science, math and the humanities, and creative artists. SWEET BRIAR As a result of the attempted closure in 2015, the size, demographics, Sweet Briar College prepares and academic composition of the faculty have undergone substantial, women (and at the graduate rapid change. The College is in the process of hiring several new faculty level, men as well) to be members and plans to maintain approximately 40 full-time faculty productive, responsible members equivalents until it meets its growth targets around 2022. The current of a world community. It focuses student-faculty ratio is about 8:1. on personal and professional achievement through a Sweet Briar College participates in the National Survey of Student customized educational program Engagement (NSSE). Sweet Briar seniors consistently report their that combines the liberal arts, engagement above the average levels for seniors from other women’s preparation for careers, and colleges, liberal arts institutions, and all NSSE participants combined, individual development. The including public universities in the following areas: faculty and staff guide students to become active learners, to reason ● Being challenged academically by faculty who exemplify clearly, to speak and write effective teaching practices in courses rich with reflective and persuasively, and to lead with integrative learning activities. integrity. They do so by creating ● Participating in two or more highly impactful educational an educational environment that experiences such as conducting research with a faculty member, is both intense and supportive internships or other real-word practical experiences outside of and where learning occurs in the classroom, study abroad and student leadership many different venues, including opportunities. the classroom, the community, ● Experiencing increased knowledge, skills and development in and the world. writing and speaking clearly and effectively, and thinking critically and analytically. ● Having high levels of engagement and quality interactions with faculty, as well as academic advisors, both in and outside the classroom. ● Learning from peers through frequent discussions with students and community members from different backgrounds and different belief systems. ● Feeling supported by a campus that provides resources and learning support services to help students succeed academically. ● Frequently attending an art exhibit or other arts performance (dance or music) and having more opportunities to attend campus activities and events. Sweet Briar College: Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College 2 In the fall of 2017, the College began restructuring the curriculum to position Sweet Briar among the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. Key components of this restructuring include: Replacing general education with a leadership core comprising Popular 10 courses focused on problem-solving, decision-making, ethical thinking, financial thinking, sustainability, effective majors include communication, creativity, scientific literacy (citizen science), and women leaders in action; business, Streamlining the number of majors, focusing on those that are psychology, most relevant for the new generations of students; and Establishing three interdisciplinary Centers of Excellence based on existing advantages that are unique to Sweet Briar: Science and Technology in Society; Creativity, Design and the Arts; and engineering. Human and Environmental Sustainability. Modifying its 15-week semester system to 3-12-12-3-week semesters, with the three-week terms accommodating innovative and intensive classes, study abroad, and opportunities for research. The College plans to invest in the unique program of women's leadership, the arts, and engineering, broadly defined to include science and technology, while maintaining its commitment to humanities and social sciences. An investment in these particular areas will entail faculty recruitment, retention, and development; allocating funds for curricular development and collaborative research involving faculty and students; and the promotion of internships and advising. The investment will also include equipment, facilities, and building renovations. Buildings prioritized for renovations include Guion Science Center and Babcock Fine Arts Center. The College has initiated agricultural enterprises with the goal of increasing auxiliary revenue. The farm and its surroundings of more than 1,500 acres of hardwood forests, pine plantations, lakes, and streams provides a distinctive landscape for learning, and the Centers for Excellence are collaborating on interdisciplinary place-based projects. In addition to its undergraduate programs of study, the College offers three pre-professional programs (pre-law, pre medicine, and pre-veterinary), and one graduate degree. Sweet Briar College: Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College 3 Sweet Briar is one of only two women's colleges to offer an ABET- accredited engineering sciences degree. The Margaret Jones Wyllie ’45 Grants for Engaged Engineering Program offers courses in environmental, mechanical, and Learning electrical engineering. These grants — awards of up The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), which leads to initial teacher to $2,000 during a student’s licensure, is offered to men and women. time at Sweet Briar — support a variety of Students have the opportunity to study abroad, including through the College’s own prestigious Junior Year in France (JYF). It is the oldest co- experiential learning educational intercollegiate study abroad program in Paris and offers both opportunities including yearlong and semester programs. The College also has an MOU with the research projects, artistic Smithsonian-Mason School for Conservation, allowing biology and endeavors, entrepreneurial environmental students to attend semester programs at the Smithsonian activities, travel, internships, Conservation Biology Institute. job shadowing and more. The College has a collaboration agreement with the nearby Virginia Projects can be broadly Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), an arts community on College imagined and should align property that hosts more than 400 fellows each year, artists whose with academic or career honors include MacArthur Fellowships, National Book Awards, Pulitzer interests. To apply, students Prizes, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, among others. A team of VCCA fellows teaches one section of Sweet Briar’s write a formal proposal that leadership core course, “Expression and the Arts.” includes a description of the project and their goals, as Students well as a detailed timeline The current student body is composed of students from 31 states and and budget. At the end of the District of Columbia, as well as nine foreign countries: Bangladesh, their project, students submit China, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Mongolia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and a brief report of their work. Ukraine. The College is introducing living-learning communities, and is committed to a new approach to advising (faculty, career, alumnae) and strengthening career planning. Students