The Sweet Briar College Board of Directors held its first face-to-face meeting today on the Sweet Briar College campus, electing leaders, adopting a formal policy of inclusiveness and transparency and beginning work to establish board governance policies and a committee structure.

Teresa Tomlinson, a 1987 graduate of Sweet Briar and the mayor of Columbus, Ga., was elected chairwoman of the board. Tomlinson electrified the Sweet Briar community with a powerful address at Sweet Briar’s May 16 graduation in which she challenged graduates and alumnae to continue their fight to save the College.

“It is a deep honor to return to campus less than two months after taking part in a commencement that some believed would be our last,” Tomlinson said. “I knew then that we could save our college and today’s board meeting provided a powerful affirmation that Sweet Briar will be open for another 114 years and beyond.”

Sweet Briar College’s new president, Phillip Stone, thanked board members for their commitment to doing everything necessary to ensure Sweet Briar’s long-term success.

“I am grateful to have a board of directors that shares my deep passion for liberal arts education for women. Today’s meeting evidenced that we are all committed to a successful future for the College. We discussed creative solutions such as innovative scholarship programs for our students over the next several years,” Stone said.

The board also unanimously agreed to commit to financially support the college.

In addition to appointing a chair, the board elected the former commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and retired president of Birmingham-Southern College, Gen. Charles C. Krulak, as its vice chair.

“As we help guide Sweet Briar College to a bright new future, we will be steered by the stars and not by our wake,” Krulak said.

Georgene Vairo, a law professor at Loyola of Los Angeles Law School and a member of the Sweet Briar Class of 1972, was elected board secretary. Two additional members of the board were elected today and will begin serving at its next meeting, expected within the next two weeks. They are Sweet Briar music professor Marcia Thom Kaley and Jax Bullet, a 2015 graduate of Sweet Briar.

Amelia Currin, an accepted Sweet Briar first-year and Presidential Scholar who had made plans to attend Hollins University after Sweet Briar’s closure was announced, addressed the board and declared her intention to join the incoming Sweet Briar Class of 2019.

“I would rather be a pioneer in this new era at Sweet Briar than a typical freshman anywhere else,” Currin said. “I urge fellow classmates who were accepted to Sweet Briar to join me in doing the same. Together, we will make history.”