This agreement is rooted in the interpretation of the will left by the college’s founder, Indiana Fletcher Williams, who specified that her donation was intended for educating “girls and young women.”
“The phrase must be interpreted as it was understood at the time the Will was written,” stated Sweet Briar President Mary Pope Hutson in a letter to the college community earlier this year.
Williams passed away in 1900, and the college opened its doors in 1901. However, the historical interpretation of the will is complicated. The original will explicitly stated that her gift was “for the education of white girls and young women.”
This language led to Sweet Briar’s effort to seek federal court approval to admit Black students following the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It raises an important question: if the will is interpreted strictly based on its 1900 context, could the college seek to exclude Black and other students of color in the future?
As a private institution, Sweet Briar is not bound by Title IX requirements, but public backlash remains a concern. Many students, faculty, and alumni fear that the policy—which states applicants qualify for admission if their sex assigned at birth is female and they consistently live and identify as women—could narrow the applicant pool.
This issue is significant for the small college, which currently enrolls only 460 students. Sweet Briar faced severe financial challenges in 2015, nearly closing its doors.
Women’s colleges have dwindled from over 200 in the 1960s to just 30 today. Of these, 23 admit some transgender students, according to Genny Beemyn, director of the Stonewall Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Sweet Briar is one of three that explicitly exclude trans women.
Since the court’s decision on Friday, Hutson has not issued a statement, but Miyares shared his perspective.
“Sweet Briar College has a proud and long tradition of providing women’s education,” Miyares said. “As the father of young daughters myself, to see Sweet Briar maintain its unique tradition of integrity and excellence in women’s education is encouraging to say the least. Sweet Briar is a historic institution established for women. I am deeply honored to have played a role in ensuring the college stays true to its founding purpose of educating women.”