Sweet Briar College will shut down this summer because of financial issues.
The private women's college in Sweet Briar announced the Aug. 25 closure Tuesday in a news release. The college says its board of directors approved the closure on Saturday.
Sweet Briar attributed the decision to what it calls "insurmountable financial challenges.''
President James F. Jones says in the release that he, the board and several alumnae have searched for solutions. But they concluded they couldn't change two realities.
Jones says one reality is a decline in the number of students who choose to attend small, rural, private liberal arts colleges. The other is the unsustainability of an increase in the college's tuition discount rate.
"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,” added Paul Rice, Sweet Briar College board chair.
Sweet Briar is located in Sweet Briar, Virginia, about 12 miles north of Lynchburg.
