Interview
you look into colleges in the local Lynch- burg area, I would say on average they raise about $10 million a year — about $5 million in unrestricted funding that can go to support basic operations and $5 for restricted purposes. [This year], Sweet Briar will probably end up doing about $17 million unrestricted, which is unheard of. Not only given the history of Sweet Briar, but unheard of in the area and Virginia for private schools.
VB:A lot of college presidents today are involved in fundraising. Is this some- thing you enjoy or do you consider it a necessary evil? Woo: I love fundraising, because it’s really fascinating to articulate the mission of the college to people who care. It’s intellectu- ally challenging to make this kind of pitch, and it is always nice to meet the alumnae and other people on the road.
VB:Tell us a bit more about your vision. Are you putting together a new strategic plan? Woo:We are already at work on that. We have a large committee of faculty, staff and students working on how to reposition ourselves in terms of curriculum. We have a committee working on how to make our calendar so much more flexible so that we can have artists, practitioners and alumnae become part of the joyful business of knowledge making and knowledge- sharing. We are coming up on a plan to create a tuition policy to make this kind of fantastic education affordable for middle- class people. We are also producing a five-year stabilization plan to make sure Sweet Briar flourishes on the basis of a very carefully designed plan.
VB:When we talk about the strengths of a small college, students say they love the small classes and getting to know their professors. Going forward will this be one of the strong selling points in your plan? Woo:That small classroom experience that is transformative in the lives of stu- dents is the hallmark of Sweet Briar. It’s our DNA. That is the basis upon which we will continue to build our strength. I was dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia for six years. It’s a great school, but it is also a school
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with more than 20 students per faculty [member]. University of Virginia doesn’t have an honors college. I have to say, in some sense, Sweet Briar is like the hon- ors for one of the finest state universities. We offer, for practically the same tuition, the kind of transformative experience in a small-class setting. I like to say we’re the honors college for Virginia.
VB:Do you think your experience as a dean at
U.Va. helped prepare you to be the president of Sweet Briar? Woo: I have had long experience as an academic administrator. I was in charge of the social sciences at the University of Michigan. The University of Michigan has 50,000 students. The University of Virginia is half that size. Both of the institutions taught me a lot … What was very useful for me being in Charlottesville for six years was the experience and knowledge about the commonwealth, and that comes in incredibly handy in leading Sweet Briar.
VB:You weren’t looking for a job when you got the call. Why did you say “yes”? Woo:When the call came, it was intriguing. I thought almost like it was my responsibility to have the conversa- tion. Then, I really liked the women
I met. I was very impressed by their intelligence, by their passion, by their commitment. I thought if Sweet Briar produces women of this caliber, this must be a fantastic school.
VB:Who called you? Woo: It was the search firm that the college was working with. Very quickly I met with the chairwoman of the [board of directors] of the college, who is Teresa Tomlinson.
VB:The alumnae and what they did — rescue a college after two other private colleges in Virginia had closed within the previous 12 months — did that impact your decision to take the job? Woo: I think we are kind of past that. I don’t look back on that experience. That was then, and this is now. Sweet Briar has strong fundamentals, when all is said and done. It has a great campus, good facilities, good faculty and not a small endowment. There is no reason that with vigorous leadership that this school shouldn’t prosper.
VB:There is so much emphasis today on the STEM fields and STEM jobs. What is the value of a single-sex liberal arts education in the 21st
century? Photo by Mark Rhodes
“There is no reason that with vigorous leadership that this school shouldn’t prosper.”
— Meredith Woo
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