Interest in Sri Lanka
Sweeney visited Sri Lanka at least three times — in 1967, 1971, and 1988. The 1963 purchase of The Kampong tropical garden — a natural extension of her interest in botany and gardening — could certainly have piqued her interest in tropical parts of Asia. Soon after purchasing the garden, the Sweeneys became friend-ly with Oliver Weerasinghe, Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) Ambassador to the U.S. from 1965-70, and his wife, Christobel. Also, one of Sweeney’s sons, Edward, had a connection to the island nation. His mother-in-law, Elizabeth Stoen, was serving a tour at the U.S. Embassy in Colombo. These factors likely influenced her decision to travel to Sri Lanka, where she further developed her interest in tropical plants and the country.
On Sweeney’s first visit in 1967, Stoen asked her friend tea plantation manager, horticulturalist, and rugby player Larry Schokman to host Sweeney at his plantation. He did and escorted her around the island to share his tropical flora expertise. Schokman married Colleen Sheridan, an American assigned to the embassy. They relocated to Miami in 1974, where he became superintendent and, eventually, director of The Kampong. He passed away in 2017.
Commitment to Wilson
Sweeney, a wealthy Presbyterian who served on many national boards, joined Wilson’s Board of Trustees in 1967 at the invitation of Rev. Edward L. R. Elson, a Wilson Trustee, her minister, close friend, and later U.S. Senate Chaplain. Donation records prior to 1983 are not available, but Sweeney con- tributed $50,000 in the 1980s, a very significant amount at the time. From 1972 to 73, she was a member of the Wilson College Society of Donors and was honored at the annual Donor Dinner in 1993. Paying all expenses for eight Sri Lankan students over the course of 23 years (31 years of tuition/room & board/travel) ended when she passed away.
A point of interest is that there was no formal mechanism that established funding for a scholarship. Sweeney simply paid expenses directly, including travel. In addition, she funded a junior semester in Italy for Natalie Gunawardene-Palleros ’85 and offered to continue paying education costs elsewhere for Premali Wijenaike Munasinha ’81 if the College had closed in 1979. That Sweeney was not an alumna made her commitment to Wilson even more dramatic.
Although Wilson was close to peak enrollment when Sweeney joined the board, the higher education landscape was changing, with most single-sex colleges and universities going coed. As a viable choice for women seeking a women’s only education, Wilson struggled to maintain enrollment at an adequate level. Sweeney was a board member when the vote to close the College took place in 1979. She and other trustees had written a letter requesting a special board meeting to discuss the situation. She attended this March 10, 1979, New York City meeting. Voting records are embargoed until 2029, so we do not know her position. She did accept a seat on a reconstituted board for a year under the leadership of Nan Clarkson, however, and continued to support the College and the Sri Lankan students financially until her death in 1995 of heart failure.