Sweet Briar College
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Sweet Briar College |
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| Established | 1901 |
| Type | liberal arts women's college |
| President | Elisabeth Showalter Muhlenfeld |
| Faculty | 71 full time |
| Undergraduates | 750 |
| Postgraduates | 14 |
| Location | Sweet Briar, Virginia, USA |
| Campus | 3,250 acres |
| Mascot | Vixen |
| Website | sbc.edu |
Sweet Briar College is a liberal arts women's college in Sweet Briar, Virginia. It is located about 12 miles north of Lynchburg, Virginia and is considered one of the Seven Sisters of the South.
Sweet Briar was founded in 1901 on the legacy of Indiana Fletcher Williams, whose only daughter, Daisy, died at the age of 16. Its goal, as stated by Williams, is to prepare young women to be "useful members of society."
The campus is situated on 3,200 acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The college's architecture is dominated by the work of Ralph Adams Cram, who also lent his architectural expertise to the campuses of Princeton University and West Point, among others. 21 of the 30 buildings on campus have been designated as the "Sweet Briar National Historic District" by the National Register of Historic Places. In 2004, the Princeton Review cited Sweet Briar's campus as the fifth most beautiful in the United States.
Its sports teams are known as the Vixens. Sweet Briar is a member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
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[edit] Traditions
Sweet Briar cherishes its traditions, including Spring and Fall Step Singing when classes serenade each other, tap clubs (selective societies with specific community functions), Junior Banquet (when juniors receive their class rings and have to "earn" their senior's robe by dressing up for a week), Lantern Bearing (when seniors march with their sophomore sisters), the Rock and Hitching Post paint fight between the freshmen and sophomores, and various landmarks throughout the campus which are claimed by specific classes, including the senior doors & steps and junior bench. Each class has its own color, motto and mascot, which rotate every four years.
[edit] Riding
The school is well known for its excellent horseback riding program, which focuses on show and field hunters, huntseat equitation, and jumpers. The school boasts seven different riding teams. These include the fall jumper team, fall show team, Affiliated National Riding Commission (ANRC) team, fall field team, Intercollegiate Dressage Association (IDA) team, Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) team, and Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) team.
The school's riders boast a number of hard earned titles. This includes 10 ANRC Team reserve national championships title wins (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005), and nine ANRC Team national championship title wins (1978, 1979, 1980, 1986, 198, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1999). Individuals have been reserve ANRC national champions 6 times (1980- Pam Kobrock, 1985- Laurie Woolverton, 1986- Georgianna Congers, 1989- Pam Ward, 1990- Kerstin Chrisman, 2001- Cara Meade) and national champions 9 times (1978- Jamie Plank, 1979- Jamie Plank, 1980- Kathy Tayleor, 1981- Jamie Plank, 1986- Pam Ward, 1987- Gail Phillips, 1988- Pam Ward, 2000- Jen Lampton, and 2004- Karen Dennehy).
In addition, in 2006, Sweet Briar's IHSA team won their region (Zone 4, Region 1), and placed second at Zones, qualifying them for the Nationals Competition. The team placed third overall, with Jodie Weber '06 claiming a fourth overall in the Cacchione Cup competition.
[edit] Notable alumnae
- Elaine Dundy - Actor, journalist, novelist, biographer, and playwright
- Janet Norton Lee Bouvier Auchincloss Morris - Mother of Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
- Diana Muldaur - Actor who appeared in Star Trek: The Original Series and L.A. Law.
- Mary Lee Settle - Author
- Michaela English - President of Discovery Enterprises Worldwide
- Fleming Parker Rutledge - Episcopal priest; noted preacher, theologian, author
- Diane Holloway - Television critic, Austin American-Statesman
- Lendon Grey - Grand Prix dressage competitor
[edit] Notable faculty
- Marion Elizabeth Blake - classics professor
- Lincoln Brower, Ph.D. - Research Professor, world-renowned expert on Monarch butterfly migrations
[edit] See also
- GCRT J1745-3009 - a newly-discovered, bursting, transient radio source discovered by Sweet Briar College and the Naval Research Laboratory
[edit] External links
- In Virginia, three elite women's colleges reinvent themselves and find a new mission in a coed world - 06 November 2006 Newsweek article on Sweet Briar College, Hollins University, and Mary Baldwin College
| Old Dominion Athletic Conference |
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| Bridgewater • Catholic† • Eastern Mennonite‡ • Emory & Henry • Guilford • Hampden–Sydney • Hollins‡ • Lynchburg‡ • Randolph–Macon • Randolph–Macon Woman's‡ • Roanoke‡ • Sweet Briar‡ • Virginia Wesleyan‡ • Washington & Lee † football-only member ‡ no-football member |
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