Sweet Stories in the Dell

In the final episode of our podcast series, Caperton Morton '85 explores the history and architecture of Ralph Adams Cram and his work for Sweet Briar College. You'll hear from professor emerita Aileen "Ninie" Laing '57, who wrote the exhibition booklet that accompanied the 2001 exhibition of Cram's drawings in 2001 for the College's Centennial, "Dreams to Reality." Travis McDonald, renowned architectural historian and director of architectural restoration at Poplar Forest, also weighs in to address the architectural significance of Sweet Briar's campus to Cram's career.Finally, you'll hear from Eric Kuchar, the project manager for Sweet Briar's historic assessment at Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker Architects about the assessment itself as well as future plans for historic preservation at Sweet Briar.If you enjoy this episode of the podcast, be sure to go back and listen to the previous episodes on your preferred Apple or Android podcast app.

For the past few months, Caperton Morton ’85 has been working on this very special 2-part episode of “Sweet Stories in the Dell,” Sweet Briar’s podcast. In this episode, Caperton talks with Prof. Dwana Waugh, who is a professor of history specializing in American history and desegregation. Prof. Waugh teaches “History Detectives,” a course formerly known as “Doing Sweet Briar History,” which investigates the history of Sweet Briar through research conducted by students. You will also hear from Ashanti Brown ’24, granddaughter of Preston Brown and descendant of some of Sweet Briar’s enslaved families, including Nannie Christian. Ashanti takes what she learned in the classroom and conducts her own oral history interview, which you’ll also hear in this episode.

In the second part of “Sweet Briar’s 21st Century Equestrian Program and Its Historic Roots,” you will learn the history of the Sweet Briar IHSA and NCEA teams, and how horsemanship positively adds to our students' experiences and helps them grow as leaders.

This episode explores Sweet Briar's historic riding program, which recently celebrated a century of equestrian education. Hear from Merrilee "Mimi" Wroten '93, current director of the riding program, Katie Balding '21, a current senior and equestrian, and Paul Cronin, beloved former director of the riding program.

This episode of Sweet Stories in the Dell explores the College's Margaret Jones Wyllie ’45 Engineering Program, which fosters the growth of students interested in engineering and its many fields of study. Dr. Bethany Brinkman, Associate Professor and Director of the Engineering Program, speaks to the program's creation and its students' accomplishments. If you know a young woman interested in engineering, please share this episode with her and point her in the direction of Sweet Briar's engineering program at sbc.edu/engineering.

In this episode, Caperton Morton '85 interviews Lisa Powell, associate professor of environmental studies and director of the Center for Human and Environmental Sustainability. Lisa shares how her students, including Abby Cahill '22, are reaping the benefits of a transformative education at Sweet Briar, from courses in the classroom to hands-on experience in the College's new greenhouse.

In this episode, we explore the creation and implementation of Sweet Briar College's three Centers of Excellence. Caperton Morton '85 jumps into the centers with an interview with Carrie Brown, director of the Center for Creativity, Design and the Arts and professor of English and Creative Writing.Additional music credits:https://www.bronte.org.uk/contemporary-arts/artists-in-haworth/ailis-ni-riainhttps://www.ailis.info/bronte-lingerhttp://www.andreaclearfield.com

This episode explores Sweet Briar's Women's Leadership Core Curriculum. In this episode, Caperton interviews President Meredith Woo, professors Carrie Brown and Jeff Key, and students Cailey Cobb '20 and Lucy Wasserstein '22 about their experiences in their Core courses.