http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/index/ en newsletter@sbc.edu Copyright 2008 2008-05-01T12:59:00-05:00 http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/media_update4/ http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/media_update4/#When:12:59:00Z The following is some of the media coverage the College has received over the past month: Sweet Briar Census Tallies a Subterranean Species Farmville Herald April 4, 2008 Re: Sweet Briar’s spotted salamanders SBC and Mind Body Studio to Present Expo Lynchburg News & Advance April 15, 2008 Re: GreenSpring Healthy Living Expo Sweet Briar Plans Spring Fling Lynchburg News & Advance April 17, 2008 Gilbert and Sullivan comes to Sweet Briar Nelson County Times April 17, 2008 Festival celebrating green living slated for Saturday Lynchburg News & Advance April 18, 2008 Re: GreenSpring Healthy Living Expo “Going Green” Gaining Popularity WSET/ABC-13 April 19, 2008 Re: GreenSpring Healthy Living Expo The Rites of Life: Becoming Little Ladies Lynchburg News & Advance April 20, 2008 Re: Associate professor of psychology Tim Loboschefski quoted about ear piercing as a rite of passage for girls. Sweet Briar recognizes Midlothian resident Richmond Times-Dispatch April 21, 2008 Re: Mary Dance, Presidential Medalist recipient County approves Sweet Briar gym Amherst New Era-Progress April 24, 2008 Sweet Briar to present ‘Musical Theatre Showcase’ Lynchburg News & Advance April 24, 2008 Sweet Showcase The Burg April 24, 2008 Re: Sweet Briar’s “Musical Theatre Showcase” and “Trial by Jury” Sweet Briar to present ‘Musical Theatre Showcase’ Hoover’s Online (Austin, Texas) April 25, 2008 Sweet Briar President Retiring WSET/ABC-13 April 28, 2008 Sweet Briar president to retire Lynchburg News & Advance (online) April 28, 2008 SBC head to retire Muhlenfeld championed women’s education Lynchburg News & Advance April 29, 2008 Tossing Limes WSET/ABC-13 April 30, 2008 Re: Engineering program re-enactment of the Battle of La Margarita. Students at Sweet Briar College launch plastic fruit for engineering lesson WDBJ/Channel 7 April 30, 3008 Re: Engineering program re-enactment of the Battle of La Margarita. The Battle of La Margarita Lynchburg News & Advance (front page, local section) May 1, 2008 Re: Engineering program re-enactment of the Battle of La Margarita. Department News 2008-05-01T12:59:00-05:00 http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/tree_climbers/ http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/tree_climbers/#When:12:42:00Z Maggie McNamara ’11 (left) helps SBC theater technical director Krista Franco with her ropes Thursday, April 17 atop a tree in the Prothro courtyard. The activity was part of collaboration between SWEBOP and Lynchburg College’s New Horizons Outdoor Adventure and Leadership Programs. According to SWEBOP director Laura Staman, the two colleges will be doing more joint programming in the future. Feature Photos 2008-05-01T12:42:00-05:00 http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/rainville_named_founding_director_of_tusculum_institute/ http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/rainville_named_founding_director_of_tusculum_institute/#When:12:04:00Z Lynn Rainville, who has served as an assistant professor of anthropology and archaeology at Sweet Briar College since 2001, was recently named founding director of the Tusculum Institute. Her official title will be research professor in the humanities, and the position is effective July 1. The Tusculum Institute will be born from the reconstruction of Tusculum, an 18th-century plantation that was the family home of Maria Antoinette Crawford, mother of SBC founder Indiana Fletcher Williams. Sweet Briar became interested in acquiring Tusculum in 2003. Formerly situated a few miles north of the College in Amherst County, the home was to be demolished to make way for new construction. In 2006, the wooden structure was dismantled by restoration experts and moved to storage to await reconstruction on Sweet Briar’s campus. It was officially purchased by the College a year later. Around the same time, Sweet Briar also entered into a partnership with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, which subsequently established a satellite office at the College. The VDHR will assist in the rebuilding of Tusculum and will help the College to develop the Tusculum Institute as an educational resource for both Sweet Briar and the surrounding communities. Rainville will serve a one-year term as founding director of the institute, reporting directly to College president Elisabeth Muhlenfeld. According to a statement released by the president’s office, Rainville will “shape the scope and mission of the Tusculum Institute, create an advisory committee, develop a strategic plan for the Institute and generate inaugural programming that supports its strategic mission.” In addition to her work at Sweet Briar and the University of Virginia — where she taught in 2001 and 2002 and was visiting scholar at the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies from 2002 to 2007 — Rainville has conducted extensive research of African-American burial grounds in Central Virginia, including the plantation cemetery at Sweet Briar. She also has worked on projects involving the Monacan Indians of Amherst County, including an exhibit co-curated with art galleries director Rebecca Massie-Lane titled, “Family Portraits: Virginian Indians at the Turn of the 20th Century.” The exhibit is currently on loan to several college campuses. “Her work with the social and physical history of Sweet Briar’s campus and with plantation burial grounds and African-American communities … has led Lynn to establish ties to a number of local communities including the Monacan Indians in Amherst County, and has fueled her long-standing interest in public history,” the statement reads. “Together, these research interests make her an ideal leader for this new enterprise.” Announcements 2008-05-01T12:04:00-05:00 http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/sweetpeas_taking_up_collection_for_disaster_relief_in_tornado_struck_suffol/ http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/sweetpeas_taking_up_collection_for_disaster_relief_in_tornado_struck_suffol/#When:12:03:00Z The SweetPEAS are putting out a call to help those who were affected by the devastating tornadoes that struck Suffolk on Monday. Suffolk is the hometown of Natalie Cutchin ‘09, who is spearheading the effort. “By some miracle there was no loss of life however, over 200 individuals were injured and at least 150 homes were completely destroyed. Numerous businesses and even our hospital suffered damage in the terrible storm,” Cutchin wrote in a campus-wide e-mail appealing for help. “I ask you all to please help my hometown!” The SweetPEAS will place a collection box in Prothro and will be accepting donations to aid in the cleanup and rebuilding efforts. Donations also can be sent to Cutchin’s mailbox at P.O. Box 302. Checks should be made out to the American Red Cross Suffolk Chapter. Cash is also welcome. Announcements 2008-05-01T12:03:00-05:00 http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/sweet_briar_president_announces_plans_to_retire_in_2009/ http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/sweet_briar_president_announces_plans_to_retire_in_2009/#When:12:01:00Z Elisabeth Showalter Muhlenfeld announced on April 26 that she will retire from her position as president of Sweet Briar College in June 2009. She will leave a community deeply grateful for 13 years of distinguished service, during which she guided Sweet Briar through both good and difficult times. She has chosen this time in large measure because of a successful strategic plan implemented four years ago that has allowed the College to flourish.Elisabeth Showalter Muhlenfeld announced on April 26 that she will retire from her position as president of Sweet Briar College in June 2009. She will leave a community deeply grateful for 13 years of distinguished service, during which she guided Sweet Briar through both good and difficult times. She has chosen this time in large measure because of a successful strategic plan implemented four years ago that has allowed the College to flourish. In a letter announcing her plans, Muhlenfeld points to “long-deferred projects and aspirations” and a desire to spend more time with family as personal reasons. More importantly, she said, the time is right for Sweet Briar. “I know that a period of fiscal stability and creative energy is an ideal time for the College to undertake a presidential transition,” she wrote. Sweet Briar’s board chairman, Dr. Virginia Collier, noted there is never a “good” time for such an extraordinary person as President Muhlenfeld to retire. “However, largely due to her leadership, the College is in excellent shape, with new or updated facilities, outstanding academic programs, nationally known faculty, highly effective, cohesive senior administrators and sound finances,” Collier said. “As a result, the College is well positioned to meet the challenges of the future.” Since 2004, Sweet Briar has steadily increased enrollment even as other single-sex institutions made the difficult decision to become co-educational. It has reduced endowment spending and, in 2006, wrapped up a $111 million capital campaign. Sweet Briar also became one of two women’s colleges in the country to offer engineering degrees. The College enlarged its curriculum in other ways, adding master’s programs in teaching and education, an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, several new undergraduate majors, and certificates in equine studies and leadership. In her letter, Muhlenfeld said the 2003-04 strategic planning initiative, called Shape of the Future, concluded with a recommitment of Sweet Briar’s role as a women’s college and a reaffirmation that 21st-century, liberally educated women must be well-equipped for professional life. “As a true scholarly community, we have become more collaborative and interdisciplinary, conscious of our obligation to help students understand how to integrate everything they learn. The academic quality of a Sweet Briar education has never been higher,” she wrote. The College also has expanded its facilities with the opening of the Florence Elston Inn & Conference Center, Prothro Commons and renovations that turned an old dairy into a studio arts complex, a train station into laboratory and classroom space, and a water plant into a nature center and laboratory. As the end of Muhlenfeld’s tenure approaches, a 53,000-square-foot fitness center will be nearing completion. Muhlenfeld became Sweet Briar’s ninth president in August 1996. She arrived from Florida State University in Tallahassee, where she taught for much of her career and left as the founding dean of undergraduate studies. She entered higher education after graduating from Goucher College in 1966, teaching high school for several years and raising a family. She completed a master’s in English at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1973 and a Ph.D. in English from the University of South Carolina in 1978. A student of Southern writers, she is the author of four books and many articles and essays. Muhlenfeld also is active in many professional and civic organizations. She speaks frequently on numerous topics including issues affecting undergraduate education, and she advocates for women’s colleges. She and her husband, Laurin A. Wollan Jr., have four adult children and six grandchildren. Reflecting on her decision to retire, she said her growing family and personal aspirations tugged against her commitment to Sweet Briar’s future. Muhlenfeld noted Sweet Briar will embark on a new capital campaign in the next few years, a six- or seven-year commitment of a president’s time. “This is an ideal moment to attract a talented new leader to Sweet Briar, who will be able to get to know the alumnae and friends of the College,” she said. Finally, she recognized that many Shape of the Future initiatives are still early in their development and need nurturing. “I realized one day that there would never be a moment when I could say, ‘Well, everything is done, and there are no new projects that interest me. Every new project, every challenge interests me.” Feature Stories 2008-05-01T12:01:00-05:00 http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/new_witcombe_video_asks_what_is_a_feminist/ http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/new_witcombe_video_asks_what_is_a_feminist/#When:12:01:00Z A new video by art history professor Chris Witcombe poses the question, “What is a feminist?” He made the video over spring break in response to that question, which was posed as the theme of a student contest sponsored by Sweet Briar’s women and gender studies program. For the competition, students could submit essays, fiction, poetry, painting or other creative projects. “It got me thinking,” Witcombe said, adding he also believes a lot of students don’t know what a feminist is or think the word has bad connotations. “[I wanted to] bring up the issue in a different way.” As a professor, Witcombe was not qualified to enter the contest but he was “very inspired by the question,” assistant professor of sociology Debbie Kasper said, adding that for his 10-minute podcast Witcombe was declared the “victorious non-winning winner.” You can watch the video on Witcombe’s Web site and YouTube. Department News 2008-05-01T12:01:00-05:00 http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/retire_spirited_ms_pat_redefines_the_word/ http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/retire_spirited_ms_pat_redefines_the_word/#When:12:01:00Z Being a spirited and spiritual place, spirits tend to stick around the chaplain’s office at Sweet Briar. They are the lively echoes of staff and students — and the occasional cat or dog — who worked and laughed there, made their marks on how things are done, and moved on to something new. Patience “Pat” Caldwell Richeson, an assistant to three different chaplains over 17 years, promised more than the suggestion of her presence after she retires on May 9.Being a spirited and spiritual place, spirits tend to stick around the chaplain’s office at Sweet Briar. They are the lively echoes of staff and students — and the occasional cat or dog — who worked and laughed there, made their marks on how things are done, and moved on to something new. Patience “Pat” Caldwell Richeson, an assistant to three different chaplains over 17 years, promised more than the suggestion of her presence after she retires on May 9. She was reflecting on, among other things, how her beloved Sweet Spirits has flourished since it was founded by former chaplain Guy “Chap” Brewer. Applications to join the peer mentoring group are at capacity, and Richeson is thrilled with the current Sweet Spirits’ enthusiasm. To the Rev. Adam White, her boss of the past two years, she said, “And it better keep going after I’m gone, or I’ll come back and haunt you. I’ll ride right through here on my broom stick.” White wasn’t fazed. He will safeguard the Sweet Spirits, whom Richeson has come to think of as “little nuns” to her “Mother Superior.” The joke is they are not so nun-like, she confesses, but they do good work through such projects as Habitat for Humanity and the annual Unsung Heroes Banquet for College employees. To the Sweet Spirits, Richeson is “Ms. Pat.” They work with her in the office, witness to both her genuine mentoring and her puckish humor. Madeline Davis ’10 says Ms. Pat sets an example by “working hard and being open,” but she is something of an instigator, too. White, Sweet Briar’s genial, guitar-playing and somewhat famously distracted chaplain, bears the brunt of Richeson’s teasing, but it’s not all just for laughs. “She calls him ‘son,’ ” Davis said. “She’ll say, ‘Come here, sonny, you need to do this.’ ” Brewer, who was chaplain from 2001 to 2006, said working with Richeson was a “trip,” for reasons ranging from her artist’s sensibility to her obsession with felines. He recalled one of her “quirkier” feats was talking him into an office cat. He likes cats, he explained, just not at work. But after a bunch of mice leaped from Richeson’s desk drawer one day, Callie reported for duty over Brewer’s protestations of allergic students and fur on his good clothes. Callie ensured the latter by sleeping on his chair every night, but he had to concede the students loved the little calico — even if they had to wear masks to pet her. “Students would come by on the pretext of seeing me, but it was really to see the cat,” he said by phone from his new post at the Anderson University School of Theology. “Pat enjoyed the torture that cat brought my life.” When Brewer heard that Richeson wants to rededicate herself to art in retirement — she is a former dancer and earned a bachelor’s in studio arts from Sweet Briar — he said, “that’s a great path for Pat. I hope she lives to be a hundred.” She has an emotional and spiritual deepness about her that helps her “see more than the average person sees,” he said. “And she respects it. She doesn’t want to disturb what she sees. She brings a great beauty and an ability to beautify.” Richeson said her plans to “retire and re-fire” include taking classes at Sweet Briar, starting with Carrie Brown’s introduction to creative writing course next semester and a studio art class in the spring. She wants to see if the “juice is still there” now that she’ll have more time for art. There are collage, photography, sculpture and painting projects waiting in the recesses of her home. “I’m going to have to do an archaeological dig to find the missing parts to finish work on them,” she said. Richeson was running the Clifford School of Dance with her mother when she entered Sweet Briar as a Turning Point student in 1986. Previously she had taken dance classes at the College to stay in shape, and audited an art history class. She began to work at Sweet Briar in 1991, the year she graduated. “I was on a roll, so I wanted to keep going,” she said, relating next how she was able to transfer in as a sophomore. She had entered then-Mary Washington College in 1958 but was lured away by a young U.S. airman, with whom she recently celebrated her 49th wedding anniversary. She and Tom Richeson began dating as seniors at Amherst County High School. “The plan was he’d do his four-year hitch [in the air force] and I’d do my four-year hitch, but we decided we couldn’t wait,” Richeson said. Not wanting to disappoint their parents, they married in secret. Richeson wore her ring only when she was alone until baby sister Ella — well known to Sweet Briar as professor of dance Ella Magruder — caught her wearing it one day. Richeson recalls the youngster bolting for the door, yelling, “Oh Mama, Patsy’s got a ring!” Though she grabbed Ella, who was at the time “old enough to be aggravating,” and extracted a promise of silence, her mother eventually caught on. With the cat out of the bag, she left a year later to join her husband who was then stationed in Germany. Richeson, who taught Ella dance long before she was Professor Magruder, said their mother encouraged in her four children an interest in the arts. And while she said dance was wonderful, Richeson is ready to immerse herself in the visual arts. “I love doing it. I absolutely love losing myself in it,” she said. “So you know where to find me if I’m lost.” Feature Stories 2008-05-01T12:01:00-05:00 http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/sweet_briar_art_gallery_selected_assessment_program/ http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/sweet_briar_art_gallery_selected_assessment_program/#When:12:01:00Z The Sweet Briar College Art Gallery has been selected to participate in the Conservation Assessment Program. CAP helps small to mid-sized museums of all types, from art museums to zoos, obtain a general assessment of the condition of their collections, environment and historic buildings. Following an on-site assessment by a conservation professional, the museum receives a written report recommending priorities to improve collections care. This report assists museums in educating staff and board members on conservation practices, creating long-range and emergency plans, and raising funds to improve the care of their collections. The Conservation Assessment Program is supported by Heritage Preservation through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  Museums from across the country have been accepted to participate in the 2008 program, including the Stanback Museum and Planetarium in Orangeburg, S.C., and the Alaska Museum of Natural History in Anchorage. Since 1990, over 2,500 museums have participated in CAP, including museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories. “The Heritage Health Index survey of our nation’s collections found that 64 percent of small historical societies and museums do not have a current, written, long-range preservation plan,” Lawrence L. Reger, president of Heritage Preservation, said in a released statement. “For these kinds of institutions, the recommendations and priorities outlined in the CAP report can provide the framework for collections care.” Department News 2008-05-01T12:01:00-05:00 http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/archaeology_club_t_shirts_to_benefit_monacan_museum/ http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/archaeology_club_t_shirts_to_benefit_monacan_museum/#When:12:00:01Z The archaeology club is selling T-shirts (pictured at right) to benefit the Monacan Museum. The T-shirt features a drawing by Melissa Hardison ’08 of Monacan baskets made by a craftsperson in the tribe. T-shirts are $15. The T-shirts also come in the three colors pictured at the bottom of the graphic and the quote will be on the back of the shirt. To purchase a shirt, or for more information, contact Tiffany Meadows ‘08 at meadows08@sbc.edu . Announcements 2008-05-01T12:00:01-05:00 http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/fergus_t_shirts_for_sale/ http://sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/fergus_t_shirts_for_sale/#When:12:00:01Z Sweet Briar College Friends of the Library is selling T-shirts printed with their favorite veiled chameleon, Fergus. The brightly colored reptile is a favorite with students, staff and faculty and even has its own Facebook group. The T-shirts are light green with Fergus in dark green and aqua, and the artwork (pictured at right) was done by studio art professor Laura Pharis’ son, Buck. Shirts are $15 and all proceeds go to the book fund of the SBC Friends of the Library. For more information or to purchase a shirt, contact Lisa Johnston, associate director of Cochran Library at lnjohnston@sbc.edu or Ext. 6306. In The Garden 2008-05-01T12:00:01-05:00