Brenau Pres: University remains stable as another women's college closes

LISTEN: Full Interview with President Ed Schrader about Brenau's impact on the economy, financial viability and more.

GAINESVILLE - Women's colleges in the United States have dwindled since the 1960s, but those declining numbers aren't holding back Brenau University in Gainesville.

Tuesday afternoon, Sweet Briar College, a women's college in Virginia, announced the school is closing after graduation in May, leaving only 46 women's colleges in the United States, including Brenau.

University President Ed Schrader said the closing of Sweet Briar doesn't directly impact Brenau, but it does serve as an example of the decline.

Schrader said, however, Brenau has remained viable, especially with the addition of other programs in the 1970s.

"We decided as an institution to continue to support and preserve our women's college, but at the same time to diversify our educational revenue and program lines to include graduate programs that were essentially market driven and co-educational programs that were off-campus, essentially evening and weekend, and satellite campuses."

"The women's college today is a portion of a 3,000 student university," Schrader said. "It's the first portion, if you will, it's the founding member of a much larger institution."

"We're very financially stable, we have a broader financial base than the school has ever had and we're continuing it grow it," said Schrader. However, he said that was not because the Women's College was growing.

"We're happy to keep a steady enrollment in the Women's College between 800-900 students...but it's harder and harder every year to fill those numbers in the Women's College."

And, the impact the university has on the local economy has more than doubled, according to Schrader, in the past decade or so.

"The impact of the local economy, as computed by an outside accounting firm last year, was about $110 million dollars per year," Schrader said. "When I first came, it was around $40 million, so we have more than doubled that in 11 years."

Also, Schrader said the college was in talks with Sweet Briar to make a place for the students and staff that the closure is leaving behind.

"We just started discussing this yesterday, but essentially I'm working with Ray Tatum who is our Vice President for Enrollment Management to offer, officially, to Sweet Briar students enrollment at Brenau at whatever level they currently find themselves at Sweet Briar and honor whatever financial aid they'd been offered by Sweet Briar as they would come to Brenau," Schrader said.

He also said they were also working to provide opportunities for employees from Sweet Briar, if the openings become available within the next year.

"It's sad to see a tradition and traditionally important institution like Sweet Briar, have to make this hard decision," he said. "But I'm very happy Brenau is on the other side of the coin. And the only decision we're making right now is where to best invest our money to support our students in the future."