Messages from the President

This 2025-2026 academic year will mark the 125th anniversary of Sweet Briar’s founding in 1901, and we’ll be celebrating this milestone with many special events and programs.

Sweet Briar’s founding is worthy of commemoration for many reasons, and I think one of the most important is the College’s history of producing women leaders. Since the first class of Sweet Briar women entered this college in the fall of 1906 and graduated in 1910, the alumnae have been—and are—leaders and trailblazers. Sweet Briar women are leaders in their communities, in the business world, in education, in law, in health professions, in the sciences, in the arts and humanities. You name it; in just about any profession or endeavor, you’ll find a Sweet Briar woman has who has contributed to it.

The college’s emphasis on women’s leadership is encapsulated in our mission statement, which states, “Sweet Briar college challenges and inspires women, forging ethical leaders with the skill, compassion, and vision to create a more just and sustainable world.”

How does Sweet Briar develop leaders? You, our students, cultivate and practice your budding leadership skills through the courses in your majors, minors, and certificate programs, and in the Women’s Leadership Core Curriculum. Your studies in the academic program hone your ability to be effective communicators, ethical decision makers, and empathetic problem solvers. Your co-curricular activities, from your participation in student organizations and clubs, to playing on an athletic or riding team, being elected to student government, or taking part in theatre or a musical group, will give you additional hands-on experience in leadership development. Leaders act with humility, kindness, and loyalty. They stand for principle and also allow themselves to be vulnerable. They seek input from others, think globally, and act honorably and with courage for causes greater than themselves.

Again and again, our students and alumnae profess that being at Sweet Briar is an empowering experience. Here, at our college, you learn in an educational setting where every voice matters. This is a supportive place where you will be challenged inside the classroom and out, and where you will grow in confidence, find your voice, and use it. And you’ll keep using your leadership skills and your empowered voice wherever your career and life path takes you.

It’s true that you might become a leader somewhere else. But being a student at this women’s college gives you special advantage in this regard. That’s because women’s colleges—like Sweet Briar—exist to empower women. Sweet Briar continues to be a vital resource in higher education because the need for women’s empowerment is even more important today than it was a century ago!

Just think about this. Women have made great strides toward equality since Sweet Briar was founded. Women gained the right to vote with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920; although women—and men—of color were largely unable to exercise this constitutional right in the southern states until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

Only 13 of the 50 states have a woman as governor. But the Commonwealth of Virginia is about to boost that tally. In November’s upcoming gubernatorial election, the nominees of each major party are women, so Virginia will have its first woman governor. I hope all of you who are registered in Virginia will vote in this historic election! And although we have yet to elect a woman as President of the United States, I’m confident that this milestone will be reached in our lifetimes.

I gave you these figures not to dismay you, but to emphasize that our world needs women leaders! We need you! Your Sweet Briar education will prepare you to make your mark, and make a difference by moving all of us forward. Your time at Sweet Briar, and the friends and mentors you make here, will help you figure out the type of leader you want to be—and will help you become that leader.

Sweet Briar’s emphasis on developing women leaders is one of the attributes that makes this college so distinctive. And Sweet Briar has additional distinctions that make us a “category of one.” Allow me to point some of them out to you.

Sweet Briar is distinctive for being one of the thirty women’s colleges in the U.S., and possesses a unique women’s core leadership curriculum.

We are one of the only two women’s colleges with an ABET-accredited engineering program.

We are among the 10 percent of all colleges and universities to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society.

Sweet Briar has 2,847 acres of land, making us the fourth-largest campus among liberal arts colleges. Our lands and their habitats provide a living laboratory for courses across the curriculum. We are among a small number of colleges with a farm. It and our lands support a variety of agricultural and sustainability initiatives, such as an apiary, a 26,000 square-foot greenhouse, and a vineyard from which we produce our own award-winning varieties of wine.

We have one of the most beautiful college campuses in the nation. We are one of the few colleges that has a National Register Historic District.

We have more than 14,000 living alumnae, and our alumnae network is second to none—Sweet Briar alumnae are an amazingly powerful resource for you, both during your college career and in your life after college.

As we commemorate Sweet Briar’s 125th anniversary, we will highlight our distinctions and we will tell our history fully and completely. We will kick off the celebration on founders’ day, Friday, September 26, which is the next time we will be gathered together in this auditorium. I’m excited about what’s on the horizon, and I hope you are, too!

In closing, I encourage you to get involved in the College each and every day and to embrace the College’s anniversary as an engaged member of our community while also learning things about Sweet Briar and about yourself. This is my charge. I want you to find yourself, become empowered, grow and develop your own unique characteristics, raise your hand, and become part of Sweet Briar’s legacy of women leaders. I know what you accomplish will be part of the college’s history, now, and for the next 125 years. As I like to say, onward and upward!

Dear Alumnae,

Happy New Year! Over the past few weeks and for the rest of January, many of you will join your local alumnae clubs for Sweet Briar Days, one of Sweet Briar’s most joyous traditions. These are some of my favorite events, as they bring generations of us together to share our love for our college and celebrate its mission.

As 2025 begins, I’ve been reflecting on the past year, especially what our Sweet Briar community accomplished in 2024. It’s hard to believe that I’ve only been president since December 1, 2023. In that time, all of us here at the College have focused on continuing to move Sweet Briar forward by honing in on three critical elements of our strategic plan: building academic excellence and improving the student experience, increasing financial prosperity, and stewarding our natural and built environment.

On the academic front, we built new partnerships with UVA and Virginia Tech to develop 4+1 programs in engineering and a partnership for graduate programs with the Institute for World Politics in Washington, D.C. for intelligence, international affairs and statecraft. We centralized and strengthened the Student Academic Success Center, hiring Dr. Denise Young to support our students throughout their academic journey. Sweet Briar’s Teacher Education Program was reaccredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Our faculty continue to help our students in the classroom as advisors and have achieved much inside and outside of the classroom. We established a field school for archaeology in Albania led by one of our distinguished professors, Erin Pitt. Our Presidential Scholars and Honors students make up a large component of our student body and the incoming class this past fall had an average GPA of 3.6. One of our faculty members, John Morrissey, professor of biology, was recognized by the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia as an outstanding faculty member in the Commonwealth.

Over the summer, in addition to hosting numerous camps for children, teenagers, and adults, we produced the second Summer Arts & Writing Retreat, an opportunity for alumnae and friends to learn from our amazing faculty over a long weekend. We also launched a special event series: “Jazz Sundays,” where faculty and staff had the opportunity to experience music from the Flat Five Jazz group while enjoying Sweet Briar wine on the Quad.

Sweet Briar’s financial stability has increased through some notable high points. Most recently, the College completed a clean audit for the fourth consecutive year. S&P Global increased our long-term bond rating to BB+ (the seventh increase in nine years) and revised its outlook from stable to positive; only 4% of U.S. higher education institutions reviewed by S&P received a positive outlook. ­­We also had a balanced budget for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2024.
 
Early in 2024, the Board approved a preservation vision for the college, a land acknowledgement statement with the Monacan Indian Nation, and the launch of a cultural landscape study. This process evaluates the natural and built environment through historical records and assessments of campus and identifies critical needs for the future.

Like many institutions with a history as long as ours, we have much to care for. As all organizations with historic properties must, Sweet Briar has continued to maintain and steward its natural and built environment. Over the summer, Guion received a new roof. Mary Helen Cochran Library was suffering from drainage issues, which have been resolved. Since they resulted from construction by the original contractor, the library repairs were completed at no cost to the College. Prothro Natatorium received some necessary updates, including new lights and electrical panels, greatly benefitting our swim team. And for Sweet Briar’s “outdoor pool” — Lower Lake — repairs were made to the dam that leads to Williams Creek to resolve preliminary corrosion issues to its sluice gate. The 1972 Student Commons Courtyard also received generous gifts of teak tables, chairs and umbrellas.

The College received two new commitments in the last year, which are also investments in the future. We secured a $5 million commitment for the rehabilitation of Gray and a $2 million investment in upgrading our electrical systems.

Construction on the new Richard C. Colton, Jr. Equestrian Arena also began this summer and is almost complete. The arena will allow our riding faculty and equestrian students the opportunity to hold additional lessons, classes, and practices.

We’ve also worked to provide a few small but meaningful benefits to our campus community. We adjusted the pricing for faculty and staff meals in Prothro and the College is covering the 14% increase in health insurance costs implemented by our health benefits consortium. Most importantly, at a time when many colleges are making significant cuts, Sweet Briar has kept its promise to maintain the size of its workforce. We have also enhanced and continue to build community in Amherst and Lynchburg with staff, faculty and students participating in community service opportunities, including hosting the Amherst County Fair in the fall, and we are planning for a revitalized Amherst County Day this spring.

We have much to be thankful for. As we have reached a significant milestone of the Where Women Lead campaign, we owe a debt of gratitude to so many of you for the progress we have made together through ambitious investments in the Presidential Scholars program, and the Women’s Leadership Core Curriculum and many capital projects. You have my deepest gratitude for all you have done and continue to do for our college.

Securing the future of our college requires a long-standing commitment to everything that is foundational to the Sweet Briar experience: the academic and student experience, our financial vitality and prosperity, and the stewardship of our natural and built environment. All of these efforts play a critical role in fulfilling Sweet Briar’s mission to challenge and inspire women, forging ethical leaders with the skill, compassion, and vision to create a more just and sustainable world. There’s so much more we plan to do in the years ahead, so stay tuned for more news in the new year!

Until then, I hope that 2025 brings you peace, joy and fulfillment. Remember that Sweet Briar is always here for you as you have been for us, and that you make a difference to our alma mater and the lives of extraordinary young women.

With gratitude,

Mary Pope M. Hutson ’83
President

Dear Alumnae and Friends,

As many of us travel across the country to prepare for gatherings with loved ones, I want to pause for a moment to share my gratitude for the Sweet Briar community. Many of our students have gone home for a short break, while others remain on campus and will enjoy a potluck with faculty and staff who are remaining on campus.

Thanksgiving is a special holiday for me. Gratitude has always been a hallmark of the day, but especially at this time when relatives and friends came together from near and far. My sincere wish for you is that whether you are traveling, or if friends and family are coming to your gathering this year, that you take a moment to share your gratitude with them. We sometimes take for granted that those closest to us know how much we appreciate them.

I am particularly thankful for all members of the Sweet Briar community—those who love and treasure our college, those who call it home for four years as they receive an excellent education, those faculty and staff who educate our students and keep the College operating each day, and those who support us from afar. We can all agree that to know Sweet Briar is to love Sweet Briar.

As you show your gratitude to your loved ones, it is my hope that you will also pause and reflect on your gratitude for Sweet Briar—its people, the place, and the institution. From my table to yours, happy Thanksgiving!

With gratitude,

Mary Pope M. Hutson ’83
President

Wow, what a day! I am so happy to see all of you, and I think God is smiling on Sweet Briar with this sunshine today. I am honored and grateful to be here with all of you at this time, celebrating Sweet Briar, its past, present, and the vision for the future. I’ll speak today on why this college is a category of one, with our legacy, leadership, and vision for women’s education at the very core for over 123 years. First, I wish to particularly thank Mason Bennett Rummel, our Board chair, for her inspiration and fortitude and all the members of the Board of Directors for their support and commitment to the College. I also greatly appreciate Board members Sally Mott Freeman and Kelley Manderson Fitzpatrick for their passion and commitment to the College throughout my time here, and co-chairs of the Inaugural Committee.

I want to thank Belle Wheelan for her friendship and decades of supporting education in all sectors and Phil Stone for his leadership for Sweet Briar, and his mentorship. I deeply appreciate both of their kind remarks. I’m very moved and humbled by what they each had to say about this college and about me personally. Also, to the staff that have been a part of the planning and fulfillment of this event, especially Rachel Pietsch for the precision and example of leadership you always possess and Lynette Arner and Rebecca Beard for their expertise in planning many of the events over the last three days, as well as the entire inaugural committee. And, of course, thanks to the staff in buildings and grounds and housekeeping who have worked tirelessly around the clock for this moment to celebrate the College. To our students, faculty, staff, and my fellow alumnae, I thank you for loving Sweet Briar with great passion and care each and every day, particularly during times of discussion and debate. A special salute to my dear friend, the Reverend Keenan Kelsey, for her spiritual encouragement and steadfast hand.

Thanks as well to the local, state, and federal leaders here with us. Your brave decision-making and strong leadership help us fulfill our mission. I also want to direct my deep and abiding gratitude for all of my family and friends who have supported me without reservation on this journey to serve Sweet Briar at this time, which some might say is an inflection point in the history of the College. So many of my family members, those here with me today and those who have come before, embody the best exemplars of what I aspire to emulate: service to others, moral fortitude, and courageous contributions to their communities. Thank you for the gifts you’ve made and continue to bestow. To my fellow presidents who have traveled from near and far, Chris Stevenson, who is working to revive St. Paul’s University; Lindi Dlamini of the Roedean School, a girls’ school in Johannesburg, South Africa, who traveled all the way here today.

Special guests of women’s colleges and alumnae of those colleges who fought valiantly to save what we hold dear: alumna representative Rhonda Chambers of Judson College and alumnae from Wilson College. Most importantly, today, I thank all of my fellow alumnae, those here in person, and those on the livestream across America and the globe. We celebrate each other and we celebrate each and every one of you for your contributions to the College.

Women’s colleges remain so vital and relevant to our world today. In fact, we live in a time when we need the benefits of women’s colleges, now more than ever. All women’s colleges, what these institutions do, what they provide for their students, and what their legacies stand for are of paramount importance. Their contributions as a particular brand of educational institution that has been in existence since the 19th century will outlive the contributions of any of us as individuals.

Today, we shine a light on Sweet Briar College, its legacy, leadership, and vision for the future: this special place and its inspiring academic experience in an incomparable setting; the dedicated faculty and staff who give selflessly of their wisdom, time, and care for us and for future generations. I also want to highlight the alumnae legacy today, which holds various threads of brilliance that may largely remain unknown and uncelebrated until the history books are written. Why is that the case? I believe that the humility of our alumnae remains constant, even as their contribution is pivotal for so many communities that have been forever transformed, women from every community whose love knows no bounds. My fellow alumnae fought valiantly in 2010 to keep the College from going co-ed and then again in 2015 when it was time to save the College after an ill-advised attempt to close it. We fought to save the College, and we created a movement.

A movement, when fully deployed, will change the landscape of the standing of women in America and overseas. Many who approach me say that our alumnae base saved the College, and I remind them that every day we are still saving Sweet Briar because the levers of vulnerability in any small, private liberal arts college must be carefully balanced. Eternal vigilance is required each and every day to focus on those practices, procedures, and policies that could, on any given day, turn a great year into a daunting year. At the end of the day, did we really focus on what we were saving? We were saving the education for women. This outcome is what we will continue to stand for and represent. Before I move into the vision for the future, please indulge me for a moment to say a few words about my personal journey.

After growing up — of all things — on a boys’ boarding school campus (yes, that is true, and I live to tell the tale), my parents actually dedicated their lives to the education of boys and my father’s two schools. So, let’s talk about life being full circle. I visited Sweet Briar in my senior year in high school. That was 1978, and I fell in love with the campus, met the extraordinary women of the College, and knew this place; this very special place was where I would grow and find my voice. Back then, as a Latin student at Sweet Briar, I wondered about the words on the College’s great seal: Rosam Quae Meruit Ferat. It was Sweet Briar’s motto, as you have heard, “She who earns the rose may bear it.” I liked the sound of that. If she works hard, she earns it. I worked very hard. My father might have said I could have applied myself more, which he might have said out loud after my first semester when I was heavily involved with clubs like Earphones and others and also attended probably way too many parties.

However, I did pass my comprehensive exam in international politics, graduated in 1983, and received a Sweet Briar rose. Over these past four decades, I have thought a lot about the rose as not just a thing of beauty or refinement, but as something that endures. That’s the thing about roses — they’re beautiful, and yet, if they are to endure, they require care and cultivation and can be very thorny. And as any gardening enthusiast will tell you, they require love. We mustn’t forget that someone loved that rose before it came to you.

“Love” — there’s a word. As I look around today, I see so many friends and sisters; dear hearts, I love you all, you who have also been bearing the rose. These rose bearers are still flowering after all these years, and yes, I think of the rose bearers no longer with us but with us in spirit, an eternal sisterhood that someday will embrace all of us.

On this campus, so familiar to me, and yet, at the same time, so fresh and compelling, I feel the enduring love of one woman in particular: Indiana Fletcher Williams. She was an independent woman, stalwart in her principles and committed to the future of this place. As you all know, she endowed this college in memory of her daughter, Daisy, who died when she was just 16. After Daisy’s death, Indiana resolved that other young women would be, in a philanthropic, educational way, her daughters. These new daughters would come here to Sweet Briar and learn the things that Daisy only started to know in her teenage years. Indeed, ever since, Sweet Briar women have had the opportunity in life that she never had. In this way, Daisy’s dreams find life in your dreams. Daisy is buried on Monument Hill; her harp is in the museum and in need of restoration. Her diary exists and her curiosity and leadership are largely unexplored.

Some of us visited her memorial together last week on Founders’ Day, and many others gathered have made the walk in past years. It’s so beautiful up there. I never tire of my visits there, and every time I feel the presence of Indiana and Daisy and I’m filled with both awe and appreciation. As we all know, sometimes, out of tragedy (it’s hard to think of anything more tragic than the loss of a child) comes an awesome beauty, beautiful as a rose. So we honor Indiana and Daisy when we bear the rose.

Today, I stand before you as the first alumna of Sweet Briar to hold this position. Mindful of the debt I owe to all my predecessors, to all the stakeholders, to the well-wishers and all those opposed, and to all the rose bearers, I pledge to help and guide with all the power I can summon, the next generation of rose bearers.

The leaders of Sweet Briar have shown us the way. One illustrious predecessor leaps to my mind: Sweet Briar’s third president, Meta Glass. Almost a century ago, on November 13, 1925, she declared at her Inauguration ceremony that the challenge to the College and its students is how to make a harmonious whole out of the development of intellect, emotions, willpower, and their resultant character. President Glass further outlined the mission. How may we blend the education offered in the different parts of our college to produce this quality of fruit as the plants grow? That seems to me to be worth our great effort. It’s interesting that she chose to dwell on fruit and plants, including, of course, the rose. It is worth a moment of reflection that back in 1913, Meta Glass wrote her Ph.D. thesis on the Roman poet Virgil and his extended poem, “The Georgics.” The word means from the land, akin to geo in geology or geography. In fact, the name George or Georgia refers to farming and cultivation.

As you can imagine, President Glass was in her element here at Sweet Briar, indeed, a visitor to these thousands of acres then. And now, she would be so overjoyed with the innovations on the land, with its greenhouse and vineyards, apiary and honey harvesting, as well as all its managed meadows and forests, that she could be forgiven for thinking that we actually abide here in some mystical, magical Avalon, enjoying our whole, natural foods where the cares of the world are very far away. This is indeed a wonder of a place. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I have and do every day. And yet, the women of Sweet Briar aim to be consequential and have a positive impact on the larger world. What we gain here, we share. What we learn here, we use for the sake of uplift and betterment.

Alumnae and leaders of Sweet Briar, students experience it, and alumnae model these actions. Sweet Briar has always been fully engaged with the world, including in its troubles and tumults. The Spanish flu at Sweet Briar was a non-event and maybe a foreshadowing of what was to come 100 years later with COVID when the College navigated the global pandemic without incident. There is another shining example during the Second World War when President Glass was determined that women, too, would lead. She was instrumental in the formation of WAVS: Women Accepted for Volunteer Service. The predecessor to the full inclusion of women in the Navy and all of the U.S. armed services. She also went head-to-head — you’ll love this — with the Navy brass in insisting that women would have the same color uniforms as men. Yes, she really did, and she prevailed.

There’s more. One recent book, Code Girls, details the contributions of Sweet Briar alumnae, as well as many other women, made toward cracking the enemy ciphers, or codes, as we have known them to be. President Glass wrote back in 1943, “When the war was raging and the outcome not yet certain, Sweet Briar’s useful usefulness today calls for alertness, insight, and courage.”

“Courage” — there’s another word. Sweet Briar women have met the test in the past and yet, every passing year poses some new test for this college and for those who bear the rose. We must be courageous as we face the larger world, open to civil and respectful dialogue and debate in keeping with the College’s honor code and yet firm in our resolve to lift our voices and be women of consequence. The first of these resolutions is staying true to our mission — the education of young women — all the while protecting the safety and dignity of women. We will never waver on this. We pledge to always keep the faith with our roses. This is Sweet Briar’s mission, and we will be true to honoring it, honoring our trust and our duty.

We realize that other schools have chosen other paths. We respect their right to do so. But if diversity means anything, it means multiplicity: different people and institutions seeking out different journeys. However, here at Sweet Briar, we have our unique answer. We have our own proven model. We have a legal responsibility and a moral mandate to fulfill our mission for girls and women, and that’s what we will do. We are fully committed to our mission. Moreover, we are fully confident that a great many girls and women, including alumnae and their families and fellow citizens, all see the value and wisdom of our course. This is the philosophy that will guide Sweet Briar during my tenure. Our role on behalf of girls and women reaching back more than a century, and yet, we can say to the world, together, we will balance fidelity and quality, diversity and sustainability so that all of you might bear the rose.

We are building new partnerships in the Commonwealth, the region, and around the world. For instance, we are particularly excited about our partnership with the Institute for World Politics in Washington D.C. IWP’s president, Dr. Aldona Wos, has a profound vision of student opportunity, government service, and international leadership. This signals to many outside of Sweet Briar’s gates that we are building on our legacy of government service and devoted to protecting freedom. Some of you who may not stand in this audience today, but you know who you are, have served our nation with distinction and our heroines on the front lines of oppression across the globe. Thank you for your service. Today, I’ve mentioned three founding figures of our heritage: Indiana Fletcher Williams, Daisy Williams, and President Meta Glass. Please indulge me while I tell you about one more consequential woman, Mary Wollstonecraft.

You might ask, “Who is she, and what does she have to do with Sweet Briar?” She has everything to do with Sweet Briar because she was ahead of her time, and her values align and resonate with Sweet Briar’s mission. She is someone we should all know. She was born in England in 1759 and never visited America, and yet, her guiding spirit abides wherever women seek to flourish, especially to learn, especially at Sweet Briar. Growing up in a world where women had few education opportunities, she focused on educating herself and developing a formidable candor. As she wrote when she was a teenager, “I have a heart that scorns disguise and a countenance which will not disassemble.” In Thoughts on the Education of Daughters, she added, “Judicious books, enlarge the mind, and improved the heart.” To Mary, education was the equalizer. In the words of one of her biographers, “She did not want to grow up to be a tyrant like her father or a slave like her mother.”

She had to discover for herself the right course to normal maturity. It was this desire for equality that led her to publish in 1792 A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. She wrote, “I do not wish for women to have power over men but over themselves. Indeed, women should labor by reforming themselves to reform the world.” In the words of one of Mary’s many biographers, “Her charm was not the placid charm from which rises from beauty and graciousness alone. It was the positive, energetic charm of a courageous woman eager to serve humanity.” Mary wrote of herself, “Surely something resides in this heart that is not perishable, and life is more than a dream.” Mary passed away when she was only 38, and yet her works have never perished, her life proving to be much more than a dream. Today, more than two centuries later, her dream is our dream, and our ongoing work is truly a vindication of the rights of women.

I’ve mentioned four females, Indiana Fletcher Williams, Daisy Williams, Meta Glass, and Mary Wollstonecraft, living across three centuries, all speaking the same essential truth about the unique value of women. If you listen, even now, you will hear the soft whisper of timeless traditions at this college. You will also hear the voices of women who’ve worked and sacrificed to make it possible for you to be here and for us to be here together. In so gathering, we honor their trust and seek to burnish their legacy, helping it to shine all the more, forever. This wondrous campus will always be a sanctuary of safety for a women’s core leadership curriculum, a learning laboratory for engineering, sustainability, and the arts, and a fortress for women. You’ll make friends here that you’ll hold close to you for the rest of your life.

Included in this will be the sisterhood of Sweet Briar women from generations, even centuries past. Then, in your mind’s eye, you might think of all the sisters to come. That’s the full continuum of eternity: rose upon rose upon rose. To the students, we pray that in the years after you graduate, you will return often, perhaps for a visit, perhaps to join us in our work, perhaps to bring with you a prospective student — a new bearer of the rose. But wherever you go and whatever you do, we trust that whatever titles and honors you might accumulate, you will always think of yourself, too, as a Vixen. Perhaps 40 or so years from now — or sooner — one of you will be standing where I am now. And yet, every Sweet Briar woman can be inspired by our guardian angels, Indiana and Daisy, Meta and Mary, and all of our other sisters. I have faith that they are smiling on us even now.

Here at Sweet Briar, we can bask in the warmth of their vision even as we lead and prepare to lead as a category of one; legacy, leadership, love, and courage are the foundation for the future. I see a future where Sweet Briar is once again the preeminent leader in women’s education, where the quality of instruction is clearly reflected in the leadership roles played by its growing legions of graduates, where a restored and renewed, nationally significant campus serves future generations, and a financially secure institution that is poised to meet any challenge that the future holds. As individual women and as a sisterhood, we form our grand procession, taking our movement forward to secure the future. We will bear the rose. Thank you.

At the start of Orientation 10 days ago, I stood before the students and their families and welcomed them to campus. During my remarks, I said to our new students that they were now part of a much larger community—the Sweet Briar community. I encouraged our new students to be an integral part of this community, to engage with it, and contribute to it, and I urged them to help make our campus community and our world a better place than how they found it.

I mentioned to them that the idea of community, and of civic engagement in your community, is something that I wanted to say more about at our Opening Convocation. So now that we are here together, I want to share with you my thoughts about what it means to be a vital, active, engaged member of our community, and more broadly, what it means to be a good citizen of any community you become a part of.

I believe that when we work together to foster community and civic engagement, we can be guided in our efforts by ideas. Here at Sweet Briar, there are powerful ideas, expressed eloquently yet succinctly, in the College’s Mission Statement, which reads:

“Sweet Briar College challenges and inspires women, forging ethical leaders with the skill, compassion, and vision to create a more just and sustainable world.”

The mission statement can be our roadmap towards community and civic engagement. To be ethical leaders, we should be honorable and trustworthy. We should treat others with dignity, respect, and compassion. We should acquire the skill, knowledge, and judgment to be able to separate opinions from facts. We should aspire to develop a vision for where we want to go and what we want to do. And we should endeavor to achieve our vision, so that we can use it to help create a more just and sustainable world for everyone.

Those are our ideals, and they can inspire us to reach for high standards. If you’re now wondering how you—or anybody—can live up to these standards, don’t feel daunted or intimidated. Because Sweet Briar is a storied liberal arts institution. Liberal arts colleges are places of learning, places where the exchange of ideas takes place every day. The education you receive here at Sweet Briar will help you reach your goals.

At Sweet Briar, you are learning new things and being exposed to a multitude of ideas and perspectives—some of which you may find compelling and some of which you may heartily disagree with. Some of these ideas may disconcert, or even disturb you. What you read, hear, and discuss will stimulate you to think and to reflect, to weigh evidence for and against a particular argument, and will ultimately encourage you to learn more and discover more. You will be challenged and you will grow—for that is the role of a liberal education.

Sweet Briar will help you find your voice—and empower you to use it. Inside and outside the classrooms, in residence halls and offices, and throughout our campus, make yourself heard. But please do so in ways that respect the opinions of others, even if you may not agree with what they are saying. I ask that you be tolerant and try not to be judgmental. This doesn’t mean that you have to be silent—but it does mean that you should strive to be civil and kind.

Events or situations that we feel passionate about take place on our campus and in the world beyond it. We have a presidential election in November, along with house and senate races across the country. Humanitarian crises are taking place around the globe, whether caused by climate change, political upheaval, or warfare.

I know that it’s not always easy to practice civil discourse, especially in a time like this, when there are so many consequential issues to learn about and talk about. That’s why Sweet Briar will be helping our community navigate difficult conversations and communicate with one another in positive, respectful ways. Next month, we will offer training on facilitating dialogues and civil conversations, and we will be sharing information about these sessions with you soon.

Civic engagement within our community and beyond it not only means practicing respectful discourse. It also means that you need to take part in our democracy. You need to vote and exercise your democratic rights.

Let’s see by a show of hands. How many of you are registered to vote? That’s great! It’s wonderful to see so many upraised hands. And if you are not registered to vote, I urge you to register as soon as possible. Here on campus, two of our student groups, the Young Democrats and the Young Republicans, can help you do this.

I want to emphasize to you that voting matters! Don’t be complacent about it or think that your vote can’t make a difference. It can! I’ve seen the importance of voting in this country and in other nations. In my earlier career as a civil servant, I was posted to the American Embassy in Kenya in the 1990s. At that time, Kenya did not have multi-party elections because there was only one political party. Today, Kenya regularly holds multi-party elections, though its transition to a representative democracy has faced some bumps along the road.

The electoral process in this nation has also faced difficulties. Women only gained the right to vote just over one hundred years ago, with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. Racial discrimination in voting was only done away with in 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. We still face gerrymandered electoral districts in many of our states. And as we witnessed four years ago, the results of our last presidential election were disputed—even violently—by some Americans.

That’s why it’s so important to be engaged in our democracy and to vote. Voting is your right, it is your duty, and it is your privilege.

And so, my charge to you for the 2024-2025 academic year is to be an engaged community member and an informed, consequential citizen, who is civil and respectful to others. Take part in things. Express yourself. Try to make our community a better place. Volunteer. Join a club or student organization. Aim to do your best, but don’t berate or lose confidence in yourself if you don’t always live up to your own—or to others’—expectations. You can, and will succeed.

You’re young and have a bright future ahead that will be filled with learning, laughter, and love. Live it to the full and keep moving onward!

Graphic Recording of President Hutson's Keynote to the ICGS created by Jo Byrne of See Your Words.

 

Dear alumnae and friends,

Yesterday, the Sweet Briar campus community celebrated Earth Day with a special community luncheon and the official opening of the art exhibit, Under Land Over Sky.

This luncheon has become an annual event that is one of my favorite events on campus. With a background in land conservation and policy making, I have long celebrated Earth Day as an opportunity to bring advocacy for sustainability forward, something that we also dedicate ourselves to at Sweet Briar.
Earth Day was created in 1970, but events in years prior laid the foundation for this advocacy. In 1962, Rachel Carson published her book Silent Spring, which raised awareness across the nation for concern for wildlife, the environment, and the connection between pollution and public health. In 1969, a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif., from a blow-out six miles off the coast at an underwater oil field, affected sea birds, dolphins, elephant seals, sea lions, and other wildlife.

In the 1970s, Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisc.) approached Congressman Pete McCloskey (R-Calif.) to partner on a campaign to develop public consciousness about air and water pollution. The idea took off, and in 1980, the White House hosted a public event for Earth Day, rounding out a decade of legislation like the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Superfund, Toxic Substances Control Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. During this time, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created, and DDT and leaded gasoline were banned. I am proud to say our very own Board member, Keenan Colton Kelsey ’66, was a participant in helping to launch that day. I have an inkling that we have many other alumnae who did as well. As Keenan said, “The seed of the Earth Day movement took root quickly.”

The advocacy work associated with Earth Day has continued, and I am proud that we practice advocacy and sustainability here at Sweet Briar. I am even more proud that much of this practice is student-driven, from recycled Valentines, to “plarn” parties (where students make sleeping mats for the homeless by crocheting the plastic repurposed from grocery bags), to the extraordinary participation in the collecting materials for Under Land Over Sky.

This art installation, created by artist Susie Ganch, is comprised of plastic bottles gathered by alumnae, students, faculty and staff, as well as the Amherst County community. Students removed labels from the bottles, cleaned them in a diluted bleach solution, and assisted Susie by cleaning re-purposed panels from the construction of our greenhouse. I encourage you to see this exhibit for yourself—it will be on display in Pannell Gallery until June 29 of this year.

Advocacy and sustainability are not the sole responsibilities of individuals; rather, they are the product and result of a unified community working toward a common goal. After all, as Rachel Carson said, “In nature nothing exists alone. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” At Sweet Briar, our goal is to make our campus a place where we can live, learn, and exchange ideas for years to come. Thanks to the efforts of all of you, we are making this happen.

Onward!

Mary Pope M. Hutson ’83
President

Read the Op-Ed

My dear fellow alumnae and friends,

The daffodils along the main drive have started blooming, an early but welcome treat for our beautiful campus. Wherever this message finds you, I hope you are well and happy! When I last communicated with you, it was to convey my profound gratitude for all you have done for Sweet Briar and to tell you what an honor it is to be your president. I am happy to share an update from the last 90 days — they have been busy!

We have laid out an ambitious plan for the spring semester. As the garden writer William Bryant Logan described, “Spring time is not a season, but an action…the beautiful risk of growth and renewal.” That is what I envision for Sweet Briar this spring: we are bursting forth with energy and momentum and have plenty of work to do.

As we complete the second year of our five-year strategic plan, we must keep a pulse on our progress and adjust as needed. Our common goal and purpose must remain top of mind: to educate young women and promote women’s leadership.

Since last spring, I have been reviewing our Admissions Office practices and personnel and feel we have a terrific team. Our admissions counselors, alumnae admissions ambassadors and major gift officers have been working very hard this fall and into the early spring recruiting top students by attending college fairs around the country, visiting high schools, and hosting on-campus open houses, including accepted students, scholar events, and counselor visits. We’ve also launched a word-of-mouth marketing campaign to initiate conversations and interest in Sweet Briar with prospective students. Our applications and acceptances are up from last year, and once the issues with the Federal Student Aid form (FAFSA) are resolved, we feel very positive about the next class of Sweet Briar women. I’m grateful that so many of you are volunteering to help with these recruitment efforts.

Thanks to your support, we continue to raise resources for the College, from the priorities of the Where Women Lead campaign, such as the transformative $5 million gift for the rehabilitation of Gray residence hall, to gifts for the Sweet Briar Fund.

Since starting in 2016, I have devoted much of my time to building relationships and connecting with alumnae, foundations, and government officials. As president, I have further expanded my relationship-building portfolio—it’s at the heart of everything we do. I am working to create partnerships and opportunities for Sweet Briar in the following categories:

• Building community, both on campus and off campus in our local area.
  We have welcomed the executive director of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the chief of the Monacan Nation, the Amherst County Board of Supervisors, the Amherst Town Council, the Amherst County Economic Development Authority, and Amherst County school officials, and other neighbors to campus. The annual Engineering Banquet was co-sponsored by the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance and had 175 students and guests in attendance with Katherine Williams, the CEO of Framatome, giving the keynote address.
  
  I have been meeting with students, staff, and faculty, and plan to meet with all faculty members individually as the semester progresses. I also hold open office hours each Monday so that any campus community member can stop in to share ideas, thoughts, and concerns directly with me.
• Instituting a peer network with liberal arts colleges, locally and around the country, lending a hand where possible.
  Liberal arts colleges everywhere face similar challenges, and while we are all competing for students, we have much to learn from each other. I have met with the presidents of several liberal arts colleges in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with presidents of our sister women’s colleges, and have networked with other leaders at two conferences I recently attended for college and university presidents. When asked, I answer the call for advice from colleges who are facing similar obstacles to the ones we experienced in 2015.
• Enhancing and solidifying academic partnerships.
  Sweet Briar is developing articulation agreements with the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech to create pipelines into some of their graduate programs for our students. The College plans to partner with the Institute for World Politics in Washington, D.C., to facilitate internships and fellowships in national security, intelligence and international affairs for our students. Other partnerships are in development, and once they have reached the implementation phase, I will share that information with you.
• Reaching out to local, state, and national government officials.
  In order for us to extend the reach of Sweet Briar’s positive reputation around the country, we must first begin with the Commonwealth of Virginia. I have met with the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and our local delegates of the General Assembly; in Washington, D.C., I’ve met with our Virginia senators and congressmen. I am telling our Sweet Briar story, ensuring that our representatives know what a treasure Sweet Briar is for the Commonwealth — and beyond.

While we cultivate and steward these relationships, operations at Sweet Briar are my priority. We are launching a campus-wide initiative to study both the opportunities and drawbacks of artificial intelligence (AI). We have just solicited nominations from our faculty and staff for this year’s Presidential Medalist. Our seniors are checking off the remaining items on their Sweet Briar bucket lists and all students are looking forward to spring break following their midterm exams. The time-honored traditions of Spring Step Singing and Lantern Bearing are just around the corner. Our Career Services office holds career fairs and panels for all students and helps place students in internships, jobs and graduate programs. In Athletics, our tennis, golf, lacrosse and softball seasons are in full swing and riding championship competitions are fast approaching.

The spring theater production, “Fefu and Her Friends,” debuts at Babcock Performing Arts Center this weekend. At the end of March, we will welcome Chloé Cooper Jones, author of Easy Beauty, this year’s Common Read. In April, our annual Earth Day celebration and community lunch will focus on a collaborative project with the Center for Human and Environmental Sustainability and the Galleries and Museum program featuring artist Susie Ganch and her exhibit on plastic pollution in Pannell Gallery.

As members of this special Sweet Briar community, we have a myriad of perspectives, ideas, opinions, and passions, and we can all agree on one key thing: We have all had the great fortune to know Sweet Briar, its community, and its culture. Whether we attended or graduated from Sweet Briar, work or teach here, watch a family member cross the stage at Commencement, or buy fresh produce from the greenhouse, we have had the pleasure of being part of this place. To know Sweet Briar is to love Sweet Briar.

I believe that through building relationships, fostering collaboration, and implementing innovation, we will ensure Sweet Briar’s future success. Given this community’s collective creativity and ingenuity, we can find infinite solutions to any challenges we face. Working together, we can make Sweet Briar an even greater institution and help our students realize their tremendous potential. Thank you for being a significant part of our Sweet Briar community.

Onward!

Mary Pope M. Hutson ’83
President