Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Sweet Briar has been saved

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Back in early May, I shared a story about giving a talk on nuclear energy to the engineering students at Sweet Briar College on the same day that the president of the school shocked the faculty and student body by announcing that the school was being closed.

That story needs a follow-up. There is a happy update to share.

The Virginia Attorney General recently announced an arbitration agreement between Sweet Briar and several organizations that challenged the board of director’s decision to close the school. That agreement will allow the 114 year old women’s college to remain open under new leadership for at least the 2015-2016 academic year.

The agreement includes financial commitments and milestones that will allow the new leaders to show that they have found ways to overcome the obstacles that the prior board had called “insurmountable.”

Though the successful campaigners took some time to celebrate, they are now focusing on executing their challenging, but exciting task of creating a new direction for a valuable component of the diverse educational opportunities offered in the United States.

Lesson learned again: Never underestimate the power of energized, determined women to find solutions to problems that others think cannot be overcome.

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Comments

  1. That’s great news. I hope the new leadership team is successful in firming up the college’s long term continued existence.

  2. Rod, there’s a small typo in your second to last paragraph:

    “…for a valuable component of the *divers* educational opportunities offered in the…”

    I assume you mean *diverse* educational opportunities, unless Sweetbriar is a scuba training school? (Har har)

    • Probably a freudian flashback to a former following. Good news either way. Congratulations to the responsible parties.

    • Actually, “divers” is a somewhat archaic word meaning “various” (mostly encountered nowadays in legal contexts), whereas “diverse” means “not alike”. So either one would be OK.

      Now, the important question : can we get them a research reactor? Think Reed College.

      • @publius

        Now, the important question : can we get them a research reactor? Think Reed College.

        I like the idea and will pursue it.

      • Does General Atomics even build TRIGA reactors anymore?

        These days, it’s impossible to get a new research reactor at universities, much less a small liberal arts college. That’s why I’m plugging a shared, distributed, state-of-the-art reactor simulator as a solution for engineering solutions who want to get some experience “running” a reactor.

        Yeah, it’s not the same thing as running a real reactor, but it’s something that is actually possible and affordable in today’s Postmodern world. Plus, it’s far more accessible to a wider variety of students.

      • @Brian Mays

        While I roger the very large challenge associated with building and operating a research reactor in today’s United States, there is still no complete substitute for the capabilities they offer. Operating simulators are terrific and getting much less expensive than ever before and I think they are a great resource appropriate for any university program.

        However, I am not aware of ANY research reactor in our area of Virginia, despite the fact that we have a pretty fair concentration of nuclear companies, colleges and universities. Sweet Briar’s large, rural campus might be a good location for a regional facility accessible to students from UVA, VCU, VT, Liberty, and dozens of smaller colleges.

        General Atomics might be out of the business of research reactors, but there are a couple of Lynchburg companies that might be interested. If there is going to be a growing nuclear industry around the world, there is going to be a market for research reactors.

        It’s a wild and crazy thought, but so was the idea of a student and alumnae led resistance movement to halt the closure ordered by the previous board of directors.

      • Rod – If you’ve followed, as I have, the saga of the “SUNRISE reactor” — a research reactor intended to be shared by many schools in the southeastern US — then you might be a bit more pessimistic.

        We live in crazy times — times in which there is a lot of talk, but not much action.