Speaking of moving in …

Move-in

Hi everyone,

First, thank you all for your kind comments and questions. I have enjoyed talking to each of you, and hope you keep your questions coming! I thought that this time I’d cover a few of the miscellaneous questions that have come to light.

President’s move-in day – It’s official! President Stone and his lovely wife have moved into Sweet Briar House! I know that he is looking forward to meeting all of you when you bring your daughters to school. Stay tuned to hear details of how that will happen :-).

Resident advisors – Sweet Briar is fully staffed with resident advisors (RAs), so you can rest assured that your daughter’s dorm floor will have an RA.

If your daughter is an RA – RAs return to campus on Aug. 16 and are in training from Aug. 17 until new students arrive on Aug. 23. RAs — or anyone wanting to know more about residence life in general — should feel free to contact Kerri Bond, director of resident life, by phone at (434) 381-6346 or by email at kbond@sbc.edu.

P.O. Boxes – Kerri confirmed that returning students will keep the same P.O. box number they had last year.

Move-in dates – Some students will move in as early as Aug. 15. Student leaders, athletes and riders should contact their coaches or advisors to inquire about early move-in dates 🙂 First-year students’ move-in day is Aug. 23. With the exception of RAs, riders and athletes, returning students may move in no earlier than Aug. 24. For those of you coming from a distance and needing a hotel room, if the Elston Inn is full, the closest place to stay is in Amherst, Madison Heights or Lynchburg. If you haven’t made a reservation yet, definitely do so now.

Meeting you – Speaking of moving in, as I’ve been talking to parents via various media, I thought, “I’d really love to meet these SBC parents and their daughters!” I’m planning to be on campus on Aug. 23 and 24 so I can meet you if you wish and help you get answers to any questions you may have. I’m still working on the details for where and how we can connect, but I’ll let you know in an upcoming blog post.

Fees – Your daughter’s financial letter describes tuition, room and board, and financial assistance. For those who are wondering, the additional fees are the same as last year. In the fall, everyone pays a facility fee ($100), student life fee ($275) and post office box rental ($48). If you are a new student, you pay a one-time room damage deposit ($75). And if you bring a car to school, you pay a campus parking fee ($100). Very reasonable fees, and good to know for planning purposes.

Finally, I mentioned in my first post how impressed I am with the new Board of Directors. I want to highlight two more members who, for me, instill confidence and for whom failure is not in their vocabulary:

Gen. Charles C. Krulak, the vice chair of the Board, had a distinguished military career as a Marine (thank you for your service, Gen. Krulak), and became the 13th president of Birmingham-Southern College on March 21, 2011. Under Krulak’s leadership, the college had clean audits, balanced the budget every year, saw two successive upgrades from Moody’s, significantly increased new student enrollment every year, restructured its loans and began paying down debt, and had a successful 10-year accreditation visit from SACS-COC in fall 2014 that led to affirmation of full accreditation in June 2015. All of this was done while he refused to take a salary or benefits. Gen. Krulak became president emeritus of Birmingham-Southern on June 1, 2015. This is a man who, along with the rest of the board and President Stone, can bring financial stability back to Sweet Briar.

Marcia Thom-Kaley and Shannon McCarthy
Marcia Thom-Kaley (left) in her office with rising senior Shannon McCarthy

Marcia Thom-Kaley had a successful 25-year career as a classical singer, and in recent years has been an avid fundraiser for community organizations. She was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award by the Central Virginia United Way in 2014, as well as the Virginia Association of Fundraising Professionals Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award in 2014. Marcia has been a faculty member at Sweet Briar since 2005. An assistant professor of music, she teaches applied voice and conducts three choral organizations. In 2009 and in 2015, she received the Connie Burwell White Excellence in Teaching Award by the Sweet Briar College Student Government Association. I first met her last year on move-in day for our (then freshman) daughter, when Professor Thom-Kaley was one of the session speakers for parents and students. I walked out of that session thinking, “Wow, that’s an impressive woman with a positive, can-do attitude!” and thankful that she was yet another wonderful faculty member shaping my daughter.

We are so blessed to have these and all of the wonderful people at Sweet Briar to be shaping our daughters. Words alone cannot express how grateful my family is. Holla, holla to you all, and I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!

What are YOUR concerns? Send them to me at SBCParentToParent@gmail.com, and I’ll address them in upcoming posts, or sooner if needed. Until then, talk to you soon!

Still undecided? There’s still time to choose Sweet Briar

I am sure that you are like me, saying “where has the time gone?!” It is only a few short weeks until we move our girls (back) into college.

Have you ever made a decision, and then realized you needed to change it but were afraid to do so? I certainly have. It often took a LOT of courage, especially to change those big decisions. Are you one of those families that have “committed” — in other words, paid your deposit — to another school, and although your daughter loves Sweet Briar, one of you is afraid to change your mind? Please know that IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO CHANGE YOUR MIND! I hope you will give me just a few minutes of your time to consider several factors to weigh in your decision.

Move-in day is almost here, but there's still time to choose Sweet Briar.
Move-in day is almost here, but there’s still time to choose Sweet Briar.

First, just because you have paid your deposit to another school, doesn’t mean you can’t get it back. After the June 22 settlement in court that allowed Sweet Briar to remain open, some wonderful schools announced right away that they would refund deposits to students who chose to return to Sweet Briar (a shout-out to those upstanding schools!). I know of quite a few others that, when the parents asked for their deposit back due to these unique circumstances, the schools refunded their money (and a heartfelt thank you to them as well). If that fails, then call the Sweet Briar admissions office at (434) 381-6142 and they will work to help you. Returning students, as a special “thank you,” Alumnae Angels are paying your Sweet Briar deposit. So don’t let a deposit stop you.

Second, all schools use the term “committed” because they want you to have mentally finalized your decision. The reality is, until you have paid the full semester’s tuition and your daughter sits down in her first class, you are not committed.

Third, are you waiting for your final Sweet Briar financial aid package — a topic near and dear to most parents’ hearts, including ours — before making a decision? If so, call Steven Nape, the College’s interim chief enrollment officer at (804) 221-1359, explain your situation, and ask for your aid package as soon as possible. I know that the financial aid staff is working almost around the clock to get everyone’s aid package completed, and will expedite for those who need it. Some schools will give you a little extra time if you ask and explain the unique circumstances, and if not, be sure Steven knows this. And anyone who can wait a few more days for the package, please give these folks a break — it will get to you ☺

Fourth, are you unsure whether the professors your daughter needs will be returning to Sweet Briar? Are you worried that a class may not be offered in the timeframe your daughter needs to stay on track to graduate in four years with her major or majors? If so, please check out the “Welcome Home: Sweet Information” page and click on Academics. Please, if you or your daughter have questions or concerns about a program or course, please contact the professor listed for the academic program! Your daughter should already have been notified that course offerings are available as of July 27 on my.sbc.edu. The registrar has listed courses for the fall online. The registrar’s office is aware of what classes need to be offered in order for a student to graduate on time as well as department chairs and faculty. Remember that Sweet Briar is a small school, and the professors know their students, and what their students need! For returning students, academic advising is happening now through July 31, and course registration occurs Aug. 3-4. For prospective students, reach out to your admissions representative for your schedule.

Fifth, and finally for today, did Christopher Colvin’s comments to my last post resonate with your family? Did the anguish caused by the announced closing badly shake your confidence in Sweet Briar? I do understand how you feel. Our family, too, was devastated by the initial news, and as parents we had to comfort our daughter and help her see hope. It was a roller coaster ride for sure. But have you ever worked for a great boss? How about a lousy boss? If you’re like my husband and me, a great leader made a huge difference in our job experiences; it affected the organization’s vision, communication, execution, effectiveness and job satisfaction, while a lousy boss had the polar opposite effect. The same is true here at Sweet Briar. Please look at the new leadership with a fresh perspective, without the tarnish of the past several months. If you didn’t know what happened from March through June, would you look at Sweet Briar differently? As my momma Loretta always said, “Don’t let the misdeeds of the few take away from the good deeds of the many.”

There are so many outstanding teachers coming back to Sweet Briar, and the quality of life at Sweet Briar plus great leadership will attract the remaining professors and staff who are needed. People are coming out of the woodwork to step up and be part of this amazing organization. Great leadership + great professors + great curriculum + great out-of-classroom experiences = an amazing learning environment that will make a huge difference in your daughter’s experience.

TonyLillyClass
Many of Sweet Briar’s outstanding faculty will be back in the classroom this fall.

Most importantly, if you or your daughter have questions or concerns about anything, please call and ask! Sweet Briar teaches our girls to advocate for themselves, which includes asking questions. Sweet Briar is doing everything possible to help you and your daughter feel like they are on solid ground and excited about coming to Sweet Breezy (as the girls call it) this year. So remember to ask questions! ☺

On a related note, I previously mentioned the important topic of financial aid, so I wanted to answer a few common questions before closing. Your financial aid letter should have instructions regarding what to do to proceed with available loans and such. Once your financial aid has been finalized, you will be instructed to designate your acceptance through the SBC portal. Your daughter will be notified by email once her financial aid award has been posted to the portal.

Also very important for in-state families: For the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant, known as VTAG, if you are a returning student, you do not have to fill out the VTAG paperwork. If you are a new student, you do have to complete the VTAG paperwork and send it to Sweet Briar. If you have already completed and submitted it to another school, then you must send a copy to Sweet Briar by July 31. This is a Virginia deadline, not a Sweet Briar deadline, and it is only a few days away, so hurry! However, if you miss the deadline, you should still submit your VTAG paperwork to Sweet Briar — it just means that you aren’t guaranteed the funds but will go on a waiting list to receive funds as available.

What are YOUR concerns? Send them to me at SBCParentToParent@gmail.com, and I’ll address them in upcoming posts, or sooner if needed. Until then, talk to you soon!

Hi, parents!

9817709576_14cbc52227_zMy name is Debbie Sackman and I’m your Parent-to-Parent contact person. I look forward to answering your questions and concerns about sending your daughter to Sweet Briar College. ☺

So let’s get directly to the million-dollar question: If Sweet Briar was closing due to “insurmountable financial challenges” and “declining enrollment,” why am I allowing my daughter, Julia Rhinehart, a rising sophomore pre-vet student, to return to Sweet Briar College? Sooo many reasons, but for today, let me focus on one — Sweet Briar’s new leadership.

An impressive, dedicated team with experience turning around organizations is now running the school:

• New President Phillip Stone is a man of many accomplishments, most importantly turning around Bridgewater College. During his tenure, Bridgewater grew in stature and saw great progress and expansion in all areas of campus life, including undergraduate programs, athletics, facilities and technology. In his first 10 years, enrollment increased by 78 percent, according to the BC website. After reading multiple sources about President Stone, including his message to the Sweet Briar community, and hearing that he didn’t need a contract to get started because he would stay as long as Sweet Briar wanted him to, I become more impressed with this man every day.

• The chair of the board of directors, the Honorable Teresa Pike Tomlinson ’87, is a visionary leader who is taking on the position, in addition to her responsibilities as mayor of Columbus, Ga., because she loves Sweet Briar and can see its potential for future generations. I recommend you listen to her commencement address from Sweet Briar’s graduation in May – that speech says it all. You can also read it here, but I recommend listening to the audio – this is an impressive and impassioned woman who is determined to rebuild Sweet Briar to be here another 114 years and beyond.

• The new board of directors is composed of leaders who get things done. These individuals took these unpaid positions, which have already required many hours of their time, because they heard the Sweet Briar story and wanted to be part of helping the new Sweet Briar to not just survive, but flourish! There are so many great people on the board, it’s too much to include here so I’ll talk more about them individually in future postings.

For these people, failure is not in their vocabularies. And the staff members who remain at the College feel the same way. When you combine talent, experience and motivation, great things are achieved. I know firsthand that these people, plus Sweet Briar staff, plus LOTS of volunteers are working around the clock to make Sweet Briar not just survive another year, but to make Sweet Briar flourish more than it ever has before.

What an exciting time to be part of Sweet Briar history! Do you want your daughter to go where she’ll be one of many other students, or do you want her to be part of a tight-knit community dedicated to your daughter’s success? And not just academic success (although that is extremely important), but also her personal and emotional growth. To become a Sweet Briar woman is to be a confident, strong and independent leader, ready to become whoever she wants to be. Isn’t that what you want for your daughter?

I and others have so many more reasons to tell you in upcoming posts, so please stay tuned! Keep your questions and concerns coming. The staff is working like crazy seven days a week to get you answers, and as your advocate, the parents’ advocate, I will be helping too. My goal is that you will be as excited as I am to have your daughter be part of this amazing time in Sweet Briar history.

As President Stone said, “I want us to have fun doing this. Sweet Briar was not only saved, it will be renewed.”

Until next time ☺ …

Reach me at SBCParentToParent@gmail.com