It’s Thursday,
I think you are going to enjoy this edition. In addition to the news articles please read Dan Gottlieb’s comment on an article published Sept. 24 in Chronicles for a Higher Education. I promise you, you won’t regret reading it.
There are also two items concerning James Jones and a Facebook post by Dianne Hayes Doss who attended the James Jones event at Emory. It was also mentioned that his speech was recorded. As soon as the link to this recording is available it will be posted on Vixen Watch.
All new articles are marked with the moving vixen head.
Enjoy your weekend 🙂
Check out WWW.SBC.EDU and WWW.SBC2POINT0.ORG for Sweet Briar information
and
sbc.edu/news/ for the latest Sweet Briar news.
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Check out HTTP://SBC.EDU/ACADEMICS/SWEET-INFORMATION for course selection, programs, professors and more.
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FROM LYNN RAINVILLE
FOR HISTORIC INFORMATION, STORIES, PHOTOS, ON THE HISTORY OF SWEET BRIAR, DAISY, AND MORE PLEASE GO TO
HTTP://LYNNRAINVILLE.ORG/TUSCULUMINSTITUTE/SBC-ISTORIES.PHP
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AN INVITATION FROM ANNAMARIE LICHTENBERG
The Facebook group” SBC: Parents of Vixen” would like to extend an invitation to alumnae and current student’s parents to join their group!
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AN INVITATION FROM DEBBIE SACKMAN
Debbie would like to extend an invitation to the Sweet Briar community, especially parents of students to read her blog, which contains helpful information, ideas and much more.
Please visit
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A MESSAGE FROM AMY LEIGH CAMPBELL
Are you ready to SHOP SWEET?? Save the date for Vixen Market on Saturday, September 26th! Alumnae and friends who created products to raise money for Saving Sweet Briar are invited to participate in the Market. Request participation by sending your information via
https://a.pgtb.me/3gLTsC
Stay tuned for more details!
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PLEASE SHARE THE FOLLOWING VIDEO WITH YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, AND LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL
This is a promotional video about Sweet Briar and a great recruitment tool.
https://animoto.com/play/m3KOApCalmI5vpRTnpDJ5g
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SWEET BRIAR
Sweet Briar student assaulted in dorm
http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/sweet-briar-student-assaulted-in-dorm/article_f536f232-663e-11e5-852c-87e7d525e669.html
The American Scholar – Sweet Briar’s opportunity
The Sweet Briar Opportunity
Submitted by Alice Dixon from the September 26 board meeting
Can small colleges save themselves from the ‘death spiral’?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-30/can-small-colleges-save-themselves-from-the-death-spiral-
Creative writing faculty to read October 7
http://sbc.edu/news/creative-writing/creative-writing-faculty-read-oct-7/
Three charts that could terrify America’s small colleges
http://www.businessinsider.com/charts-that-should-terrify-americas-small-colleges-2015-9
Why small college closures could soon triple
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-small-college-closures-could-soon-triple/
Campus life support – Please note – this article was written a few months ago but just posted
http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2015-09/campus-life-support
Liberal Arts
Intersecting interests
Course speakers offer career insight to students
These VC’s bet $100 million on ideas with a liberal arts twist
How to get a job of the future with a liberal arts degree
Liberal Arts preliminary enrollment shows 1.9% decrease
Column – liberal arts aren’t dead
When the right is left out
Is community college the key to closing tech’s gender gap?
National collaborative advances women of color in STEM at ASU
Calgary women professionals talk confidence gap in STEM careers
A quarter of girls ‘do not think they are smart enough to be a scientist’
Flagler Branch of AAUW set three girls on career paths
Celebrating women in computing
Browse STEM scholarships for each type of college student
Bill Nye the science guy next STEM series speaker
A week of STEM returns to Edinburg
Op Ed – It’s true – women get less in STEM, academia, research, grants
Discrimination against women in STEM
Kids briefs – Carnegie science center celebrates females in STEM
5 questions for every college recruit
http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/5-questions-for-every-college-recruit/
Universities must take charge of their own future
http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/universities-must-take-charge-of-their-own-futures
International students represent
International Students, Represent!
Cincinnati State on verge of turning over marketing, recruitment to private consultant
http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/cincinnati-state-on-verge-of-turning-over-marketing-and-recruitment-to-private-consultant
American colleges pay agents to woo foreigners, despite fraud risk
http://www.wsj.com/articles/american-colleges-pay-agents-to-woo-foreigners-despite-fraud-risk-1443665884
UM launches new ‘living learning communities’
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/um-launches-new-living-learning-communities/article_2c804147-b5b3-5878-bfdc-f1152cc67ddb.html
Bus tour brings UT acceptance letters to students across the state
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local-news/bus-tour-brings-ut-acceptance-letters-to-students-across-the-state_40819864
Fewer students default on their loans
http://www.kspr.com/life/money/fewer-students-are-defaulting-on-their-loans/21052342_35578716
UGA – schools partnership is a ‘game changer’ for teens
http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/uga-foothills-education-charter-high-school-0915/
Tougher visas ‘would cut overseas student numbers’
http://www.bbc.com/news/education-34401990
The influx of Latino students at historically black colleges
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/hbcus-more-latino-students/407953/
ORGANIC FARMING AND SUSTAINABILITY
Oxford College farm ranks among nation’s best
http://www.covnews.com/section/1/article/60616/
College students on compost mission
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/college-students-on-compost-mission/article7704706.ece
OTHER
Women can be catalyst for trade and development – if obstacles are removed
Want to be a change agent, boomer women? Read on
Keep the Brenau Women’s College for women
Female on female bashing has to stop
How a reproductive justice outfit at a small college pulls in grants from top foundations
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Dan Gottlieb’s commentary
on a September 24 article in the Chronicles for Higher Education
‘The Painful Lesson of Sweet Briar and Cooper Union’
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Painful-Lessons-of-Sweet/233369/
I will not be able to attend President Jones’ talk tomorrow in Atlanta, but I am heartened that a number of alumnae will be there.
I finally got a chance to read the recent 9/24/2015 Chronicle of Higher Education commentary by Lawrence Bacow and William Bowen entitled, “The Painful Lessons of Sweet Briar and Cooper Union.” Some of the former leaders are going to continue to publicly advance their narrative about Sweet Briar and higher education, and this commentary gives a pretty good indication of how that’s going to be done. The piece itself is infuriating. To me, it seems at least partially intended to punish Sweet Briar, and it is packed full of misleading information.
As I think it is likely that President Jones will at least allude to issues brought up in the Bacow & Bowen commentary, it seems a good time to give my critique. I’ve said almost all of this before, but it has been awhile, and for those attending the talk, it might be a useful memory refresher as to some of the details. I hope the people who attend tomorrow continue to impress those around them with their detailed understanding of the situation.
Here are some of the authors’ points in their Chronicle of Higher Education commentary along with my counterpoints:
1. There was low and declining enrollment – I have addressed this so many times… By all measures of enrollment, the 25 year trend at Sweet Briar is up, and this trend is indistinguishable from linear. In 2014, there was relatively low enrollment but nothing too out of the ordinary. The huge drop in enrollment was not an actuality but a prediction based on pessimistic assumptions. The graph showing a 5 year drop in enrollment that featured prominently in a Moody’s analysis was misleading. They picked a window of time that showed a drop because the window started at a modern historical high point of enrollment. They also picked the least useful enrollment metric for Sweet Briar, # of FTE (full time equivalent) students. This measure is misleading because it includes all the Junior Year Abroad students who aren’t really Sweet Briar students and who contribute much less to net revenue than full-time residential students. The five year drop from a historical high was at least in part due to variation in Junior Year Abroad students. No other enrollment measure shows that pattern, and every enrollment measure shows a linear increase over 25 years. One can find several year declines in any measure if one cherry picks her data. This is an example of flawed quantitative thinking.
2. They made vigorous recruitment efforts—It doesn’t matter how enthusiastic your admissions counselors are if they are not sent to the right places and are not talking to students most likely to attend Sweet Briar. There was no job search to replace the Dean of Enrollment who left in early 2013 – rather, the Chief of Staff took on that additional duty – and admissions did not have the demographic data necessary to do the kind of focused recruiting that is the hallmark of professional operations. Whether any of this was vigorous or not is beside the point.
3. There was a discount rate of 62%–The discount rate had been steadily decreasing until JEP took over in 2009. Between 2009-2010, it increased from 40-57% (applied to incoming class, as is usual for discount rate), decreasing net tuition revenue (applied to the incoming class, as well) almost 30%. This was no trend but was the result of a conscious decision to change the way recruiting and financial aid worked. Yes, it is now clear that it involved poorly thought out attempts to increase diversity. Regardless, it was a decision that was not necessary. The failure of that decision should have been realized very early on, but it was not. Part of the increase in discount rate is attributable to a two year increase in tuition in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 that brought Sweet Briar to about the median of Annapolis Group colleges but well above the median of women’s colleges. This “raise the sticker price raise the discount” strategy seems often to be a total bust, and some schools that do the opposite, like Converse, are in a better place.
4. Vigorous recruiting led to increased applicants but not increased enrollment–Applications are increasing all over as students apply to more places and more and more colleges adopt the common app. Increasing applications does not necessarily lead to increased enrollment, as not all applicants are equally likely to enroll. Sweet Briar’s recruiting strategy was suboptimal, neither targeting students most likely to enroll nor using sophisticated methods to allocate recruiting resources. It’s a lot easier to get a student to apply, especially if you waive the application fee, than it is to get a student to commit.
5. Sweet Briar had $16 million unrestricted endowment and $25 million in debt –For a news team to make this comparison, as though it matters, is understandable. But the authors of this piece know better. We take on debt because we don’t have the funds to currently pay for something in full. What matters is not the size of the debt compared to unrestricted endowment but rather the amount of the debt service, which was in the ballpark of $2 million/year. If they balanced the budget, as Muhlenfeld came close to achieving before Parker took over, the amount of unrestricted endowment would be even less relevant, as it wouldn’t be dipped into, anyway.
6. Sweet Briar had a lot of deferred maintenance – Sweet Briar’s deferred maintenance has been somewhat overstated. Yes, it has some, and some of it is urgent, but the amount per square foot of deferred maintenance is typical for a college, according to the consultant report.
7. The board was unable to identify any options – Yes, that’s true, but how could they properly identify options when they didn’t recognize the immediate problem? The consequences of President Parker’s decisions appear to have gone unnoticed, as she was given a 5 year extension. She received this extension even though net tuition revenue per incoming student sustainably fell by almost 30% in the first year she had influence on the admissions process (there is no trend that can explain that one – no, that’s the result of a decision), even though alumnae giving showed a sustained drop under her tenure, and even though there were no plans for a capital campaign.
8. The board conducted a study of potential donor giving, and it showed there was not sufficient support – The board did not commission a full donor feasibility study, nor does it appear that the exploratory study could have provided the board with sufficient information about potential donor contributions to make broad conclusions. President Jones and others repeated the claim that there were only 12 donors that were identified with the potential to give $1,000,000 over their lifetime. Ignoring the question of whether this piece of information is convincing or relevant, a problem is that the sample from which they were identified were a small fraction of living alumnae (a sample of 300-400 from a population of more than 10,000). Although it is true that only 12 with a certain predicted giving capacity were identified, that’s not terrible if your sample is only around 3% of your population. Yes, the sample they chose included people who were particularly involved, but the way the results of that study has been described to advance a narrative is still misleading.
9. Moody’s said Sweet Briar was in trouble-Moody’s hit piece on Sweet Briar, shoved in SSB’s forensic accountant’s face at an early trial, is troublesome. Their cherry picking of enrollment data is not something someone careful with numbers would do. They chose the one sick tree in a healthy forest. Anyone making a good faith attempt to sort through Sweet Briar’s enrollment numbers would not conclude there was declining enrollment and certainly not in the sense they discussed, in which it was made to be an inevitable and gradual trend. The issue of declining enrollment isn’t a glass half empty/half full sort of situation. Anyone versed in detecting signals in noisy systems would say there is no evidence for declining enrollment and that the evidence likely points in the other direction. I can’t believe I am still having to argue this point. I do not believe it is irrelevant at this point to mention that a former Sweet Briar board member is also a long time Moody’s executive, though most recently with the charitable branch. I am not saying there is a conspiracy here, just that as the article I am critiquing shows, friends do sometimes help friends, especially when ambiguity allows some leeway in perspective. Well-intentioned people are as susceptible to bias, too, and it doesn’t have to be conscious or intentional.
10. Higher ed is poorly served by trying to “save” every college – I agree that higher education is not served by “saving” every institution. We do lose about 5 schools a year, though almost none are liberal arts colleges, and none are as prestigious as Sweet Briar (the schools that close are very often small religious schools). No one is saying every school should stay open. But, we should want the good ones to. As long as tax money is subsidizing higher ed, both public and private, society is best served when those subsidies go to support the highest quality education. The authors want to argue that Sweet Briar’s demise was inevitable, but that makes little sense, both based on market principles relating to quality, larger trends in higher education, and all we know about the unfortunate decisions Sweet Briar made.
11. It’s a terrible thing when politicians listen to their constituents and intervene to save a college-No, it’s a terrible thing for there to be no recourse when a small group in power for a short period of time makes a permanent decision that negatively affects thousands and that was necessitated by mistakes under their watch. I know President Stone is being generous and looking forward, and he may even think the former leaders made a reasonable decision under the circumstances, but they are at least partially accountable for circumstances which were both foreseeable and avoidable.
I didn’t bring up the Sax report, because it did not figure in the commentary, but I’ll mention that a key piece of data that was of substantial importance in the decision to close was erroneous.
It is not my intention to denigrate the past leaders, and I don’t think I have here, but it is important to keep in mind what happened and to be appropriately critical. The damaging narrative about higher education and Sweet Briar is still being told and still needs to be countered. One of the key ways to do this is to separate out trends in higher education from the instance of Sweet Briar. I suspect President Jones will discuss worrisome trends, and there are a number of them (though there are also a lot of promising ones), but the link between those trends and what happened at Sweet Briar is what is non-existent. If we are generous and accept a link that isn’t, we will be forced to argue that we can be exceptional and buck the trends. In reality, we don’t need to be exceptional (though I hope we are) – all 42 or so other women’s colleges are still open for business as usual. Now, we simply need a little patience, a ton of hard work, and to learn from the past so as to never be the college making the same exceptionally unfortunate mistakes again.
Ok, to all those going, have fun tomorrow. I expect a lot of shrewd classiness or classy shrewdness or something of the sort.
(I would prefer if people refrained from personal attacks on former leaders in comments to this, but I know better than to tell anyone what to do.)
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Submitted by Tara Conte
A much to flattering and sympathetic note by Jim Flannery on Jimmy Jones.
Dear Colleagues,
You will be pleased to know that there has been a very positive response to the lecture by James Jones that we are sponsoring on the future of the liberal arts in American higher education. For instance, the Provost at Emory, Claire Sterk got back to me immediately stating that she intended to bring the lecture to the attention of the entire faculty. I have sent out a follow-up note asking people who have received an invitation to get back to us ASAP so that we can get a head count. My concern is that we may have an overflow audience at the Carlos Museum.
On another matter, I want to bring to your attention an advance copy of an article to be printed in The Chronicle of Higher Education this week concerning some of the implications of the recommended closing of Sweet Briar College last March. As you know, that decision was made by the Board of Directors of Sweet Briar and announced by our speaker while serving as Interim President of the College. The announcement provoked a firestorm of controversy that has drawn national attention. The article written by Lawrence S. Bacow and William G. Bowen, former presidents, respectively of Tufts University and Princeton University, is a carefully researched, thoughtful and balanced examination of the whole situation at Sweet Briar. The authors conclude unequivocally that, in light of what Sweet Briar was facing, the Board at Sweet Briar and Dr. Jones had no other choice but to come to the decision they did.
As you also know, there has been considerable criticism by some individuals connected with Sweet Briar of our decision to sponsor the lecture in question by Dr. Jones. I can assure you, having read his lecture, that it is a learned and eloquent defense of the liberal arts and liberal arts colleges as increasingly they find themselves under threat in today’s challenging economic, political and cultural climate.
whatsoever about the closure of Sweet Briar; nor is he allowed to do so because of a legal gag order imposed upon him from the day he was put into the extraordinarily difficult position of having to tell the faculty, students and staff of their beloved College that, after 114 years of devoted service to women’s higher education, at the end of the 2014-15 academic year the institution must cease to exist. It is important to note that, according to a distinguished member of the former Board of Sweet Briar with whom I have spoken, neither the Board nor Dr. Jones were legally allowed to announce any details of the generous severance agreement details of the generous severance agreement for the faculty and staff that they were prepared to make. Behind the scenes, I am told that Dr. Jones fought furiously on behalf of what he believed was a moral obligation to those who had served Sweet Briar so faithfully. Yet because the Board and he were bound to silence on this vital moral issue, they suffered massive criticism that continues down to the present day. Dr. Jones himself has the borne the brunt of most of the anger and abuse, some of it, as we have seen, directed against his credibility as a scholar, As you will learn for yourselves, Dr. Jones’ lecture is focused entirely on the traditional values of liberal arts education and the challenges they faces today and in the future as more and more liberal arts institutions are forced to close. He will say nothing directly about the situation at Sweet Briar – nor can he, even in response to questions or comments about that situation. In other words, it may be up to us to fill in the gaps by correcting the misinformation that has widely been circulated. Ironically, one of the outcomes of the recommended closing of Sweet Briar is that its alumnae were galvanized to raise some $12million that enabled the College to remain open for at least one more year. All of us can and should applaud this heroic effort. However, as the Bacow/Bowen article argues, this gesture can only be a stop gap measure in view of the severe problems that still remain. Amidst the turmoil that preceded the Easter Rising of 1916 that led to the independence of Ireland, the Irish patriot John O’Leary counseled young W.B. Yeats that, no matter what the ultimate goal, “There are things a man must not do to save a nation.”,
I hope this provides a better understanding of the issues surrounding the recommended closure of Sweet Briar. I look forward to sharing with you an evening that should be a high point in the life of Phi Beta Kappa as we address some ideas and issues that are of direct bearing on the very reasons for our existence.
Sincerely,
Jim
James W. Flannery
Director, W.B. Yeats Foundation
Winship Professor Emeritus of the Arts and Humanities, Emory University
Tel 404-378-5671
jflanne@emory.edu
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Someone hoisted a queen size sheet with the word “Paid For By The Blood Of Vixens” on the Jones’ home in Decatur, GA
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Dianne Hayes Doss attended James Jones’ event and reported the following on Facebook
Mr. Flannery was not a very good intro guy. He kept tripping over his words – the crux of which was: Mr. Jones is here to speak, but can’t speak about Sweet Briar; the heroic Sweet Briar alumnae did an amazing thing; repeat 3 times. [He seemed scared that we were going to cause trouble.]
Mr. Jones was better at speaking to a crowd, but really seemed to be running through 2 speeches at once. When he was on topic, his point seemed to be that the value of the liberal arts education (the trivium and quadrium?) has been lost, and we need to figure out how to communicate its value in the digital age. When he wasn’t on topic, to Kirsten Porter-Stransky ‘s point, he seemed to just be dropping names (authors, books, congressmen, David Brenneman, etc.); some were seemingly in support of his stellar liberal arts education, and others were to support the assertion that liberal arts colleges are dwindling.
Breach (gap) and breech (turned sideways): something along the lines of “liberal arts has turned sideways in education in a communicative gap” (I have short-hand skills). There-in is his question: how do you communicate the value of the liberal arts education in the digital age. He had no answer/suggestion.
His definition of the original (7) liberal arts: the trivium(?) of grammar, logic, and rhetoric; and the quadrivium(?) of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy(?).
His definition of a liberal arts college: 40% of degrees in arts and science; residential model; income from tuition.
He basically said that the only way for a liberal arts college to survive is to have a high enough endowment that drawing 5% is actually a large number.
“The intrinsic values of the liberal arts have never been more needed than today.” “Must find new language to discuss the value of the liberal arts.”
He suggested (and said he has suggested it for years): rather than starting from the curriculum, instead start with what you want to get out of it. Ask students to list 5 things they want to have/know/be when they walk across the stage [at graduation].
The lady asked him what committed individuals can do to help their schools. His answer: stay informed,…and mentioned that in alumnae magazines, the most read section is the class notes.
He believes that board governance is critical, and wishes that [after American University something-or-other where the governor kicked out lots of administration] Congress had decided that boards needed to be under Sorbanes-Oxly(?) and held financially accountable for their decisions.
And that is the extent of my terrible notes on what was said,…hopefully there are some good audio and/or video recordings out there.
FUNDRAISER AND EVENTS
If you have a fundraiser that has not yet been published on this page please reply to this email or PM me on the VIXEN WATCH Facebook page. Please make sure you have proper contact info, also for people who are not on Facebook. And don’t forget to add the last day of the campaign. Thank you.
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Just a reminder – this is a very easy way to contribute to Saving Sweet Briar – sign up with Amazon Smiles and 0.5% will go to Saving Sweet Briar
www.smile.amazon.com
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Support us by using iGive! We’ll get free donations every time you shop at 1,649 of the most popular online stores. And, from 8/10-8/19 just visiting stores could mean an extra $100 for us. Sign up today!:
http://www.iGive.com/SavingSweetBriarInc/?p=19992&jltest=1
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CHICAGO, IL
Saturday, October 10 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Chicago Yacht Club
400 E Monroe St.
Chicago, Ill 60603
(312) 861 7777
communications@chicagoyachtclub.org
Please join us in welcoming our new President, Phillip Stone, to Sweet Briar and celebrating our next 114 years! Donations of $45 per person/$80 per couple, made payable to Sweet Briar College, are suggested.
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FROM DEBBIE THURMAN
Everyone, my old friend Debbie Habel, new director of Amherst’s Habitat for Humanity, is organizing a 5K benefit run that also is in honor of Saving Sweet Briar, to be run on the SBC campus Oct. 10. They are looking for some alumnae to run. Entry fee discounted. Call 434-946-9596 for more info. Their website is being updated.
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GET YOURS WHILE THEY LAST!!!!
Beautiful framed and matted 8″x 10″ print of the Refectory by Sweet Briar’s own French Impressionist,
Jill Steenhuis
Only $30
FREE SHIPPING
100% OF THE PROCEEDS WILL GO DIRECTLY TO RESTORING SWEET BRIAR.
Contact Ellen Weintraub to order
sbcgirl@yahoo.com
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FROM JEN RISEY
I Support the Vixen Den. 100% of profits will benefit the students of Sweet Briar. T’shirts $25.
http://teespring.com/24595college
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A BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN’S BOOK INSPIRED BY THE FIGHT TO SAVE SWEET BRIAR
How the Vixens Saved the School
Written by Josh Mundy
Illustrated by Victoria Hang
Here is the link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1514641259
And here is the link to the book’s Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/VickySavesTheSchool
WE ARE DONATING 10% OF ALL PROCEEDS TO SAVING SWEET BRIAR.
AND REMEMBER – IF YOU ARE WITH
AMAZON SMILE
EVEN MORE WILL BE DONATED SO SAVING SWEET BRIAR.
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BY JO-ANN MERRITT
Here’s a great glass Vixen head sun catcher made of glass. Beautiful! Proceeds will benefit Saving Sweet Briar. I, myself, ordered several to hang in my window and give away. They are beautiful.
https://squareup.com/market/joannmerritt
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BY MARGARET WILLIAMS BLOUT
Winter is coming – get your pink and green infinity scarves – a portion of the proceeds will benefit Sweet Briar
https://www.etsy.com/listing/241929363/beautiful-pink-and-green-hand-crocheted
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Sweet Briar Swag with the traditional crest. 15% of the proceeds will benefit Sweet Briar
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sweet-briar-crest-classic-maria-elena-ferran.html
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Beautiful handmade prints in bright colors for sale – and the great things is – 100% of the proceeds will go to Sweet Briar.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetlySassy?ref=hdr_shop_menu
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MAUREEN BAGGETT
I am donating 25% of my royalties from this book in 2015 to Saving Sweet Briar and 25% thereafter to the Sweet Briar endowment. It’s a nice conversation starter between you and your granddaughter.http://www.amazon.com/Nanas-Wish-Maureen–
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FROM HEATHER PIGG
I just wanted to let you all know that I have Sweet Briar merchandise for sale in my Redbubble shop. A portion of the proceeds that I receive from the purchase of the items with the Vixen on them will go towards a donation to Saving Sweet Briar, Inc.
Here are the 2 designs I have currently, and if anyone has any ideas for more, I would love to hear them!
http://www.redbubble.com/people/lettersbheather/works/15550363-sweet-briar-vixens-watercolor-state?ref=recent-owner
http://www.redbubble.com/people/lettersbheather/works/15550393-sbc-vixens-lilly-pulitzer-state?ref=recent-owner
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FROM JOAN DABNEY CLICKNER
We are now able to offer the Crispen Vixen (I like to call it the Victory Vixen) as sterling silver or 14K gold jewelry! Link to pendant is below, but we can also make a brooch, earrings, cuff, keychain, etc. 20% of proceeds will go to rebuilding Sweet Briar
http://www.formiadesign.com/product/crispen-vixen-pendant/
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Customized Coolers by Genny Kelley- 10% of proceeds go to Saving Sweet Briar
https://www.etsy.com/shop/VirginiaPrep?ref=hdr_shop_menu
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Buy your note cards, prints, gift cards designed by Katherine Orr and help save Sweet Briar. https://squareup.com/market/katorriginal-inc
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BY JENNIFER FROST HOLDEN
My friend and colleague, Laura Lenhert, is working on pottery again, so those of you who were interested may now contact her and place your orders. What a great way to commemorate 7/2/15! She can duplicate what she so graciously created for me, or, you can send her a photo of what you would like, and she can do that for you. I have had her do fraternity/sorority houses for my kids, houses, and even my daughter’s bridal bouquet as a wedding gift. She can also personalize on the back. Laura will make a contribution to SSB at a later date based on the number of orders that either reference my name, or SSB. I encourage you to reach out to Laura:
email Laura: potterybylaura@yahoo.com
website: www.potterybylaura.com
Platters (like below): $50
Square platters: $45
Round Ornaments: $15
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1460964177550613&set=a.1402596550054043.1073741827.100009111352166&type=1&theater
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FROM KATHERINE MORSE
I am thrilled to say that I will Always make a 20% donation to Sweet Briar College from all sales in the gallery of Sweet Briar from katherine-morse.artistwebsites.com
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FROM KELLY GARDNER HEADD
[I am] so excited to see that Adornment Needlepoint has created this vixen canvas in honor of SBC’s class of 2019!! 30% of proceeds go to SBC!
Pre-order at: www.adornmentneedlepoint.com
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FROM MEGHAN MEIGHAN
MegEBespoke.etsy.com
To celebrate the 2015-2016 school year, I am excited to launch the NEW
“Sweet Briar College” 2.0 Keychain!
Buy 4 or More and save 20%. Use code: SBC4ORMORE at checkout.
15% of each keychain sold will be donated to Sweet Briar College!
Meg E. Bespoke Keychains are fashionable and durable. They are made out of a 1.5 inch solid wood ball. Each keychain is hand painted a bright pink (a new, slightly different bright pink than the #SaveSweetBriar keychain), complete with a hunter green vixen head, a gem and bright green bow to match (again, a new, slightly different green from the #SaveSweetBriar keychain bow).
Each keychain is finished with a high shine, clear protective coating to prevent chipping from everyday use. (They do withstand those of us who are hard on our keys; however, normal ware will occur over time).
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A MESSAGE FROM MYTH BAYOUD
Good morning fellow Vixens!
The Book Shop Working Group would love for you to post your SBC items that you have created or are in the process of creating. We want to compile a list of these fabulous items!!! Thank you so much!!
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FIND THESE AND OTHER FINE GOODS BY SWEET BRIAR ALUMNAE WITH PROCEEDS GOING TO SWEET BRIAR AT
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VIXENS HELPING VIXENS
Please help Lindsay Nicole Stephens win $5,000 toward tuition
Please take a minute to vote for me, it only takes 50 to get me in the running!!! If you could share and have others do the same that would be a true blessing!
http://www.drpeppertuition.com/profile/100000765901680
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from Amy Leigh Campbell
Vixens, I have a student that needs help purchasing textbooks for a class. If you have any Amazon gift cards laying around or would be willing to send one for this purpose, the amount is $88.65 and your help would be greatly appreciated! PM me for the email address so I can make sure we don’t double up. Thanks all.
From Annamarie Lichtenberg
You know you went to SBC, if you might be missing some History Department Alumnae on our Email list. We are gathering supplies: pens, pencils, markers ect. for the department.
We have received a list from one of the professors. If you would like to take part, please send me or comment your email address. We are looking for donations from $1-$5. Thanks in advance!
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From Amy Ross Hanna
Attention Alumnae, Parents, and Friends of SBC!!!!!!
Each month you will have the opportunity to send a student, faculty member or staff a treat prepared by local pastry chef, Sandy Brooks. Each month the selections will be different. They will be boxed beautifully and delivered to campus. If interested you can contact Sandy directly (434 841 8565) or message me with your needs
.
For August and September:
6 cupcakes $20
1 dozen cookies $20
You can speak to Sandy about flavors and other options for the selected treats.The price includes delivery to campus. We will need the students name and dorm information. If sending to a faculty or staff member, please include their department.
Sandy’s facebook page is: Pastry By Sandy
Holla Holla!!!!! Let’s spoil our SBC community!!!!!
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Calling all former Vixen ATHLETES!!! As part of 2.0 work – I am leading an effort to reach out to anyone that played a varsity sport(s) at Sweet Briar. We are looking to continue to collect history, photos, memories of your experiences as a student athlete. As well as try and engage you in the future of athletics at Sweet Briar through volunteering your skills in multiple areas.
Please PM me or e-mail me
krolczykc@yahoo.com
with your info and interest in helping join our Vixen Alumnae Athletics team!!
Holla Holla,
Cathy Cummings Krolczyk’95
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Our fellow alumna, Kim Cool, who is working on coffee book still needs your help. Please send high quality photos AND comments of Sweet Briar, its history, and the events of the past months. Anyone who contributes will be credited in the book. She is currently working on a coffee table book which she plans to sell for $25 with all proceeds going to restore Sweet Briar.
Kim is asking especially for some photos with the pink dogwoods in bloom, some from Monument Hill of the campus, and some of a May Day weekend with the hoop skirts, etc.
Please send high resolution color photos of SBC any era and any majors or activities to
Kcoolone@aol.com
100 percent of proceeds to SBC…I want as many alumnae involved as possible because that is what it took to save Sweet Briar and we want the world to know how special we are. Everyone who contributes photos or comments will be credited. Please help…Books are my business and I want this to be the best of all because it is for Sweet Briar.
Kim Cool 1962
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CALLING ALL ANGELS! Yes, I am here again, but we now have a new mission (and the donations will be TAX DEDUCTIBLE and COUNT towards our September GOAL!!!!!) We need to help some students out…PM me for further information, but if you have some MOOLAH lying around…feel free to complete form here smile emoticon I love you all!!!!
https://savingsweetbriar.com/alumnae-angels/
vixenwatch 