When White & Case global restructuring head Thomas Lauria learned this spring that Sweet Briar College was planning to close its doors, he already knew something about the tiny all-women's school in rural Virginia.

Three decades ago, Lauria made weekend treks to Sweet Briar as an undergrad at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The schools are about 300 miles apart, across the border and the Blue Ridge Mountains, and Sweet Briar sometimes invited men from Lauria's alma mater to attend dances.

Lauria, who now splits his time between offices in midtown Manhattan and Miami, says those trips left an impression. “The campus is absolutely beautiful,” he says.