PEC Update, January 23, 2007

By now you may have heard that Judge Leyburn Mosby of the Lynchburg Circuit Court granted the College’s motions to dismiss the contract and trust suits this afternoon. Surprisingly, Judge Mosby ruled immediately from the bench in both cases, though the arguments were complicated and the statutory and case law support offered by both sides filled several notebooks.

Obviously we are disappointed, but those of you familiar with the legal world know that when it comes to litigation there are no guarantees, even when the cases are solid. The legal battle is far from over, and PEC will consider with counsel the advantages of appealing the dismissed suits as well as the opportunities for additional suits in Virginia and other jurisdictions. We will keep all of you informed as these efforts proceed.

From the beginning, we have all recognized that to secure the preservation of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College as a college for women we need to work on many fronts: legal, financial, student activism, donor support, and alumnae intervention. We hope that all of you remain undeterred in your commitment to see this through. It is more important than ever to get a critical mass of alumnae, students, faculty, and friends of R-MWC to work together to provide unified opposition and strong resistance to turn this around. Every voice counts - especially now! So please continue your efforts to inform all of your R-MWC friends about the problems that the strategic plan will bring to R-MWC and how they can help by joining their voice with all of ours.

We are single-minded in our focus to restore Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and we count on the justness of our cause and the gratifying support of our contributors to see us through.

Vita abundantior,

PEC Board

Gail Ballou (R-MWC '64)
Carol Curcio Lang (R-MWC '68)
Diane U. Montgomery (R-MWC '85)
Anne Yastremski (R-MWC '05)
Martha McClerkin Durnett (R-MWC '85)

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