Weekend Reading: In Like a Lion Edition

By Erin E. Templeton. The higher ed landscape was rocked this week with the news of the imminent closure of Sweet Briar College. Inside Higher Ed broke the news on Tuesday afternoon. In the aftermath of the announcement, many questions are being asked. The Christian Science Monitor asks, “Are Women’s Colleges Still Relevant?” (Disclosure, I teach at a women’s college, so for me the answer is a resounding YES). Bloomberg View asserts that Sweet Briar is closing “the right way.” Inside Higher ed tries to explain where the endowment will go. A crowd-funding effort to save the college is underway. Our own Chronicle  suggests “Sweet Briar’s Demise is a Cautionary Tale for Small Colleges. In a more dramatic fashion,, Bloomberg Business claims, “Small U.S. Colleges Battle Death Spiral as Enrollment Drops.” More...