Sweet Briar College, a liberal arts women's college in Sweet Briar, Virginia, announced that it will shut down on 25 August of this year due to what it calls insurmountable financial challenges.

A small, private school for women near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Sweet Briar College was founded in 1901, the legacy of Indiana Fletcher Williams, who left her entire estate to found an institution in memory of her only daughter, Daisy, who died at the age of 16 in 1884.

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In a statement announced in Babcokck Auditorium, President James F. Jones said the board of directors approved the closure in a meeting last Saturday.

Jones said the board and several school alumnae tried and searched for solutions to the financial woes of the school but to no avail.

"The board and several alumnae concluded that they could not change two realities," said Jones.

First, he said, is that the school has been experiencing a decline in the number of students who want to attend a small, rural, private liberal arts college. Second, the unsustainability of the college's tuition discount rate that it used to entice students to enroll.

"While the College has long been part of my life, as my wife is a 1969 graduate, my role as president has taken on more meaning than I could ever describe," President Jones.

"This is a sad day for the entire Sweet Briar College community," said Paul G. Rice, the school's board chair.

"The board closely examined the College's financial situation and weighed it against our obligations to current and prospective students, parents, faculty and staff, alumnae, donors and friends. We voted to act now to cease academic operations responsibly, allowing us to place students at other academic institutions, to assist faculty and staff with the transition and to conduct a more orderly winding down of academic operations."

Efforts will begin immediately to help current students transfer to other colleges and universities.

Additionally, following spring break, which ends Sunday, March 15, the College will host on-campus college fairs to help match current students with transfer opportunities.

The College will offer to students who have been admitted to Sweet Briar for fall 2015 assistance in finding a new academic institution.

TagsSweet Briar College, Sweet Briar College Shut Down