06/08/2023
(Check your email from Mason Bennett Rummel '83) - copy posted below - all is well with the Presidential search!
Dear Sweet Briar Community,
I just came back from the Sweet Briar reunions. As chair of the Board of Directors, I was bringing greetings to the alumnae, but I was also returning for my 40th reunion. Throughout the weekend, I reveled in seeing my classmates again. The weather was beautiful and the attendance fulsome.
I promised that I would keep you updated about the presidential transition. So, I bring you important news. First, the presidential search, conducted by Ann Coyle and her associates at Russell Reynolds, has moved full steam ahead. The team has completed its due diligence, speaking in depth with our students, parents, alumnae, staff, faculty, and the board. The presidential profile, which is the result of this work, is now widely shared with prospective candidates nationwide, and our search consultants are in conversation with them. Then, after numerous interviews off and on campus and ensuing deliberations, we should be able to announce the 14th president of Sweet Briar no later than the end of this calendar year. I will continue to report on the progress.
Second, President Meredith Woo informed me that she is now ready to start her life post-Sweet Briar. It was at the end of last December she had given me notice of her intention to step down, but we left the end date somewhat ambiguous, contingent on the progress of the transition. With the College on a positive trajectory in every way and the presidential search securely in place, Meredith feels that now is the appropriate time to devote herself to her scholarly projects. Her last day will be June 30 of this year.
President Woo did not graduate from Sweet Briar. However, one would not know it from her devotion and commitment to our college. A native of Korea, she has a joyful way of clapping her hands, saying “p’palli p’palli” (“get moving!” in English). No sooner than she stepped onto our campus, she compelled us to “p’palli p’palli,” creating with lightning speed one of the most comprehensive academic and financial restructurings experienced inside American liberal arts colleges. Looking back on the days of these heroic changes, I realize none of this could have been easy or joyful. Yet she bore the burden with grace and courage, and we are forever indebted to her for placing our college on a sustainable footing.
During COVID, when most colleges were mired in the confusing logistics of keeping the virus at bay, Meredith and her team were extracting the best virtue from the catastrophe: they built. They built a state-of-the-art health clinic (later reimbursed by the government), equestrian facilities, a turf field, vineyards that grace the hills of Sweet Briar, and a high-tech greenhouse to feed us healthily. Amid this, they also completed the decennial reaccreditation review, requiring thousands of pages of reports, and received the highest approval grade.
Through these years, the College has moved to receive clean financial audits, a balanced budget, and a “positive outlook,” according to S&P. The enrollment had doubled since 2017 when she started her presidency. The alumnae who rallied to save the College in 2015 have stayed with it, supporting the president who has led their beloved College so well. Meredith has kept us all together, and I am grateful for that too.
Third, I am pleased to announce that on July 1 Mary Pope Hutson, class of ’83 and currently the College’s Senior Vice President of Alumnae Relations and Development has been elected by the Board of Directors to serve in the interim role of President until Meredith’s successor is named and arrives on campus. Most of you know that Mary Pope led the initial fundraising efforts in Saving Sweet Briar. Subsequently, as Senior Vice President, she and her team have raised an unprecedented $132 million in cash and pledges from generous alumnae to support the transformation of the College led by Meredith Woo.
Over the last 32 years, Mary Pope served in various leadership roles in the public and private sectors as COO and EVP of national organizations, and in national leadership roles in government, preservation and conservation, most recently as an appointee serving as chair of the National Park System Advisory Board.
Mary Pope has engaged Sweet Briar’s constituencies across the country and abroad, serving alongside Meredith, and Phil Stone preceding her, representing Sweet Briar College with distinction, and remarkable steadfastness. With her deep understanding of the mission of the College, her skilled leadership, and the support of her colleagues, Mary Pope will guide Sweet Briar through this crucial transition.
We will miss Meredith Woo and her steady hand leading the College. But she will never be far from her beloved College – “only 58 minutes away!” she reminds me – and will be ready to support the interim and the new president if asked. Her husband, Dr. Neal Kassell, also hopes to be a frequent presence with his pink and green outfits.
I wish you a delightful summer.
Sincerely,
Mason Bennett Rummel '83
Chair, Board of Directors
Sweet Briar College
PO Box 1057
Sweet Briar, VA 24595
