By Kevin McCauley
CooperKatz & Co. has picked up Sarah Lawrence College in a competitive pitch to "burnish the brand" of the progressive liberal arts college that has lost a bit of its marketplace luster.
Bronxville, N.Y.-based SLC went co-ed in `68 and was declared "college of the year" by Time in 2000. Awareness of the college has decline "precipitously" since the Time award, according to the RFP.
Possible reasons are: 1) "the college neglected to communicate its strengths and achievements while peer institutions and others did so aggressively;" 2) the decision to drop SAT scores as a entrancement requirement, and 3) the move not to participate in US News & World Report’s liberal arts rankings.
The RFP admits that SLC’s "strong reputational history is manifest only among academics, and to a lesser degree, a small set of guidance counselors whom it regularly calls on."
The general public "beyond the New York metro area and pockets of California" is "largely unaware of Sarah Lawrence." Another headache: a lot of people aware of SLC believe it’s still a women’s institution.
The college, which was founded in 1926, is looking for a national PR program and is also eager to attract student interest from Europe, Asia and Latin America to "capitalize on the growing international interest in liberal arts education." It wants to bolster the profile of college president Karen Lawrence.
Noted SLC graduates include Vera Wang, fashion designer; Alice Walker, writer, and Rahm Emanuel, former Congressman and now President Obama’s chief of staff.
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