Sweet Briar College Magazine - Spring 2018

change over time because the faculty
teaching them do.
The changes Sweet Briar has made
in the last year have taken place over
a shorter period of time than they
might otherwise have done, “but,” Rainville
said, “this will allow us to build
programs from the ground up in a
thoughtful way.” And although Sweet
Briar has had a self-designed major
for more than two decades, there
wasn’t always a lot of support for
students who wanted to go that route.
Now, the College’s self-designed major
will be even more effective because
the integrated core will help faculty
become accustomed to teaching in an
interdisciplinary way. “We’ll have fewer
majors,” she said, “but our faculty
are cross-listing courses to integrate
the best from multiple fields of study
and combine them in new and interesting
ways.”
Though these changes have been
challenging to implement, and some
continue to be works in progress, they
will lay the groundwork for Sweet Briar
to thrive, says Woo. “These efforts will
enable Sweet Briar to improve the quality
of its academics. We’re going to be
determined in our efforts to move the
College forward and I have no doubt
that Sweet Briar will thrive.”
spring 2018
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