FORGING A NEW PATH, SWEET BRIAR TURNS TO THE FUTURE Dear Sweet Briar Alumnae, Throughout this spring semester, distinguished women musicians, writers and policy makers have streamed to the campus, in a series dubbed “At the Invitation of the President.” As you will read in this issue, the series started in January with a remarkable all-women ensemble of scholar-performers dedicated to excavating little-known string trios from the 17th and 18th century, and it ended the semester with a lecture by Bettina Ring, the secretary of agriculture and forestry for the Commonwealth. Sweet Briar was a working farm for most of its history, a fact that does not escape the secretary, both as an important legacy we share and cherish, but also as a resurgent possibility for the future — for Sweet Briar and Central Virginia. Through this series, one learns stunning things about women who shape history. A gradu- ate of Sweet Briar, Delia Taylor Sinkov ’34 was a top code breaker who supervised a group of women who worked silently — under an “omerta” never to be betrayed in one’s lifetime — to break the Japanese navy and army codes and eventually to help win the Battle of Midway. Ultimately, the number of code breakers surpassed 10,000. While America is a country that loves and shines light on its heroes, women have often stayed in the shadow of that gleaming light; they are history’s greatest omission. “Do you like doing the crossword puzzle?” Navy recruiters would ask the potential code breakers. “And are you engaged to be married?” If the answer to the former was a “yes” and to the lat- ter a “no,” then the women were recruited to the first wave of large-scale intelligence work upon which the nation would embark. Do women exercise leadership differently than men? Scholars say they do. And should they exercise leadership differently? Ethicists say they should — for women, leadership is often more focused on accountability and more ethical. I don’t know the answers to those questions, but it may be that the women of today, as they step out of the shadow of the light cast on male heroes, will invent a style of leader- ship that is a little sui generis. I hope so. That is what Sweet Briar’s new leadership core that replaces general education is designed to do. It is a set of 10 required courses that distin- guishes Sweet Briar’s liberal arts education, which was instantly dubbed by The Chroni- cle of Higher Education as the innovative “integrated core with a theme.” The highlights include a focus on persuasive arguments and writing, artistic expression with visiting artists, “citizen science” to provide our students with the vocabulary to understand complex scientific challenges of our time, logical thinking with an emphasis on evidence and more. Unusual in this series of 10 courses is an insistence that every woman at age 18 should have financial literacy — some understanding of accounting, analysis and marketing — as well as know the principles of managing organizations, big and small. This leadership core will be launched in the fall beginning with an intensive three-week course, required of all first-years, called Design Thinking. It is a currently privileged way of saying “problem-solving.” In other words, how to define the problem, understand the objective, appreciate constraints and craft approaches to solving it. The course will be team- taught by a group of four scholar-teachers: a philosopher, an engineer, a psychologist and an electronic music composer. I hope it will open the eyes of our students and light the fire under them — the fire of learning that will burn brilliantly throughout their years at Sweet Briar and beyond. I wish I could be there in class with them, as I know you do. Sincerely, Meredith Woo Spring 2018, Vol. 88, No. 1 This magazine aims to present interesting and thought-provoking news about the College CONTENTS and its alumnae. Publication of the material does not indicate endorsement of the author’s Forging a New Path, Sweet Briar Turns to the Future viewpoint by the College. We reserve the The College is leading the way to address challenges in higher right to edit and revise all material that we 2 accept for publication. If you have a story idea education. or content to submit for publication, contact the editor, Amy Ostroth, at [email protected]. Sweet Briar Days 14 A long-standing tradition continues around the country. Magazine Staff Amy Ostroth, Editor Clélie Steckel, Director of Annual Giving and NASA Engineer’s Talk at Sweet Briar Sheds Light on True the Sweet Briar Fund 16 Story Behind ‘Hidden Figures’ SilverLining Design, Lead Design Sweet Briar celebrates National Engineers Week with Christine Darden. Cassie Foster Evans, Photographer Contributors: Janika Carey ’10, Phyllis Watt Sweet Briar Develops Partnership With Google Jordan ’80, Jane Dure ’82, Aaron Mahler, 19 Sweet Briar and Google build on their relationship. Robin Dowdy, Sybil Slate Contact Information Bonnie Pitman ’68 Office of Communications 20 A little madness leads to a lifetime of art. P.O. Box 1052 Sweet Briar, VA 24595 Lifelong Learning in Atlanta (434) 381-6262 22 A group of alumnae are leading the way in continuing education. Office of Alumnae Relations and Development Internships Set Sweet Briar Students on Path to Their Future P.O. Box 1057 24 Alumnae help create off-campus learning experiences for Sweet Briar Sweet Briar, VA 24595 students. 800-381-6131 Parents of Alumnae Lynn Rainville: Finding Meaning in Ordinary People If this magazine is addressed to a student 26 Sweet Briar’s acting dean of the College studies ordinary people doing who no longer maintains a permanent extraordinary things. address at your home, please email us at [email protected] with her new address. Thank you! DEPARTMENTS Find Sweet Briar Online sbc.edu 8 On the Quad 32 In Memoriam 28 Giving 33 Class Notes 2 sbc.edu FORGING A NEW PATH, SWEET BRIAR TURNS TO THE FUTURE If you spend any time in higher education circles or following news about colleges, you’ll hear a lot of discussion about the problems facing administrators and faculty. Are colleges providing the kind of education that modern students need? Is the cost of a university education too high? Do students understand the debt that often comes with higher education and how to pay it off? Are we teaching students skills that will help them be successful after graduation? In September 2017, Sweet Briar’s president, Meredith Woo, announced that the College would make changes to its curriculum, calendar, and pricing in an attempt to meet those challenges while ensuring the College’s sustainability. spring 2018 3 The first change was a relatively ing to see how it works for us. We’re provided an intellectually rigorous straightforward one: simplify the leading in this area.” liberal arts education,” said Lynn Ra- College’s pricing structure. Like many The second change, to the academic inville, Sweet Briar’s acting dean [you private colleges, Sweet Briar had been calendar, will enable students to begin can read more about Rainville on page offering a host of discounts on its annu- and end each year with an intensive 26]. “Today our challenge is to build al tuition in order to make its education three-week course. These courses from this academic strength to a truly affordable for students, but that created will give students a chance to dive excellent program and that means a disconnect between the school’s deeply into a topic and, the College being new and innovative.” To that published tuition and its true cost. hopes, will bring expert guest lectur- end, the College is focusing on areas That disconnect meant lots of families ers to campus—particularly from the for which it is already well-known to didn’t think a Sweet Briar experience Virginia Center for the Creative Arts help it become even more distinctive. was within reach for them. To ad- (VCCA)—to teach. “We already have recognizable advan- dress that, Woo reduced tuition by 32 The other changes are more challeng- tages,” said Woo. “The time has come percent—to $21,000 in tuition and fees ing and will involve ongoing efforts by for us in engineering. VCCA is across plus $13,000 for room and board—to everyone in the Sweet Briar community the street. Our beautiful campus is a make the true cost more transparent to to be successful. natural laboratory for our students potential students and their families, Sweet Briar is re-envisioning tradi- and faculty to study both the science while ensuring that the College’s many tional departments and has created and policy of sustainability. We already scholarships would be available to help three interdisciplinary centers of ex- have strengths in these areas. We’re put a Sweet Briar education in reach for cellence dedicated to solving contem- going to invest in them and we’re going even more students and their families. porary problems while building on the to become truly excellent.” “We’re committed to making Sweet Bri- College’s areas of traditional strengths: The College has done away with tra- ar affordable,” said Woo. “Families have engineering, science and technology; ditional general education requirements been happy about the tuition reset and environment and sustainability; and and developed a new core education fo- schools around the country are watch- creativity and the arts. “We’ve always cused on leadership. “The old model of sbc.edu 4 TIMING At press time, the details of courses and majors were still moving through the governance process at the College.