Sweet Briar continues to move forward after a rather bizarre week of claims and counterclaims about potential rescues from the University of Virginia, Liberty University, and the oddest of them all, a nefarious (and unsourced) plot for Disney America to return and pitch a tent in a place where no one lives:
However, sources said the Sweet Briar campus has been the topic of discussion among U.Va. administrators. One said a board member toured Sweet Briar, which is on U.S. 29 in Amherst County, about an hour south of Charlottesville.
The other two rumored potential buyers — Walt Disney Co. and Liberty University — both said they are not interested.
In the 1990s, Disney considered building a theme park near Manassas National Battlefield.
Christi Erwin Donnan, director of external communications for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said the company is “continually looking for ways to grow our business and as part of that process, we have conversations with many different entities.” She added, “However, we have no plans for the region at this time.”
Meanwhile, the real battle is transpiring in the courtroom, as the circuit court will now determine Sweet Briar’s fate as a trust, not as a corporation:
The issue back before Updike is whether he should grant a preliminary injunction in light of the Supreme Court decision June 9 that trust law can apply to such entities as Sweet Briar, which was established in 1901 as a non-stock corporation by an act of the General Assembly to carry out the terms of Williams’ will.
Updike ruled in April that as a corporation, the college’s board of directors had the authority to permanently close the college without court oversight. The Supreme Court justices sent the case back to circuit court with their opinion that trust law can apply to a corporation.
Both articles by the RTD’s Karin Kapsidelis are worth the read.
Let’s hope the alumni get a chance to save the college. $16 million pledged is nothing to sneeze at, and frankly there are creative options out there to keep the alumni invested in the prosperity of Sweet Briar that haven’t even begun to be explored.
The shame of it all is that these conversations (and this energy) is rarely felt unless something dire and drastic occurs. Had Sweet Briar limped for the next five years, I doubt there would be this effort if the board had said “we don’t think the school is viable anymore” in a press release or an annual review. Still, the effort to keep Sweet Briar around as an institution is breathtaking, and dare I say inspiring.
Where there’s life, there’s hope?
