Set on 3,250 acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, women’s liberal arts college Sweet Briar College has remained unswerving in its mission to prepare women for the workplace and guide them to become responsible global citizens.
Throughout its 118-year history, Sweet Briar has provided its students with an open learning environment that nurtures problem-solving skills. The college is also one of just two women’s colleges in the country with a fully accredited engineering program. The 2019 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges Rankings named Sweet Briar one of the most innovative schools in the country.
“Our engineering program is small, but it is wickedly good. Its track record in employment is nearly 100 percent,” said SBC President Meredith Woo, who spent her high school years in Tokyo and served on former President Bill Clinton’s Commission on U.S.-Pacific Trade and Investment Policy.
As Japanese manufacturers continue investing in the United States, specifically in the southeastern states, Sweet Briar wants to strengthen links with the manufacturing industry and provide it with highly qualified graduates.
Already with long-running ties with schools in Japan, like Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts, SBC wants to form new partnerships with more Japanese schools and organizations. It is confident that its affordable tuition and modern liberal arts curriculum will keep SBC among the top choices of high school graduates everywhere.
“Sweet Briar’s changes to its curriculum and tuition model were strategic. We based them on the college’s existing areas of excellence in order to set the institution apart and make it relevant for the 21st century. Our institutional innovations are intended to prepare women leaders to innovate and provide their own solutions to global problems,” Woo said.