Forensic accountant R. Steven Spitzer released an interim report Monday on the finances of Sweet Briar College. In the report, Spitzer said Sweet Briar College’s finances do not support its decision to close after the 2015 summer session.
Saving Sweet Briar, Inc. — the organization working to keep Sweet Briar College open — published a press release summarizing Spitzer’s findings and reproducing his report. According the press release, Spitzer’s report found — as of August 2014 — the college’s finances were stable enough not to warrant closure of the school. Spitzer’s report also said Sweet Briar College ranked well according to several measures which considered the schools’ finances. In a July Forbes study, Sweet Briar College performed better than many other institutions.
“Sweet Briar College received a grade of 3.899 out of 4.50 and was given an ‘A.’ The College ranked 88 out of the over 900 institutions studied,” the report states. “Only four institutions in Virginia ranked higher: Washington and Lee, the University of Richmond, Hollins University and Randolph College. The remaining 23 Virginia institutions ranked by Forbes fell below Sweet Briar College.”
The report also said the statement made by Sweet Briar College’s Interim President James F. Jones, Jr. — which said the school would need an endowment of $250 million to stay open — is a gross overestimate.
“Sweet Briar College has about 700 students. Colleges and universities with $250 million endowments are typically much larger, and include Duquesne University (about 10,000 students), Seton Hall University (about 10,000 students), and Ithaca College (6,723 students),” the report reads. “If Sweet Briar College had a $250 million endowment, as Interim President Jones suggests is required, it would rank third in endowment-funds-per-student in the region — above the University of Virginia. It is difficult to imagine why Interim President Jones would claim that an endowment of this magnitude is necessary to keep Sweet Briar open.”
Sweet Briar College spokesperson Christy Jackson said Spitzer’s conclusions unsurprisingly come very close to those previously made by a group of advisors to Saving Sweet Briar.
“Far from being an independent report, Mr. Spitzer's work is paid for by Saving Sweet Briar,” Jackson said in an email.
Sweet Briar College responded to Saving Sweet Briar’s attorneys in a letter March 30. The college said recent allegations of statutory violation, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud are absurd.
“As much as we would like the financial situation to be different, it is not,” the letter reads. “Sweet Briar College simply cannot survive. With declining enrollment, unsustainable tuition discount rates,and dwindling endowment, Sweet Briar’s closing was inevitable. The only decision for the Board to make was when that closing should occur.”
Saving Sweet Briar spokesperson Eric Cote, said the college’s decision to close is not supported by its finances this past summer. Cote said the next step for Saving Sweet Briar is to see how a suit filed by Amherst County Attorney Ellen Bowyer against Sweet Briar College is decided. The court date for the suit is set for April 14.
“Saving Sweet Briar is very hopeful that the Amherst County Attorney will prevail in her argument,” Cote said. “The County is arguing for a preliminary injunction to stop the college from closure, while this longer term issue is closing.”
Cote said regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, Saving Sweet Briar is working in a multitude of ways to try to stop the closure of the college.
“Saving Sweet Briar continues to raise money to help close the financial gap,” Cote said. “They continue to work to assess ideas to strengthen Sweet Briar College and help to lead it in a new direction.”
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