Berea College at Top of Magazine Rankings

Aug. 22–RICHMOND — Signs that fall semester is here: Classes are beginning and football is around the corner, the weather has turned from unbearable to just hot, and Berea College is at the top of a magazine’s rankings.

For the second year in a row, U.S. News and World Report says Berea is the best Comprehensive College for a Bachelor’s Degree in the South.

Other top performers: Asbury College in Wilmore, which was fourth in Berea’s category, and Centre College, tied for 41st among the best liberal arts colleges in the country — the highest ranking a Kentucky college earned in a national category.

“We’re honored to be in a leadership position for Kentucky colleges and universities in the U.S. News rankings,” Centre President John Roush said in a statement.

Berea President Larry Shinn said administrators are gratified by the ranking because it reflects both high marks from their peers at other colleges and objective data such as graduation rates, student/teacher ratios and financial resources.

It’s the 11th time Berea has earned a top ranking in the magazine.

The University of Kentucky tied for 120th among national universities and was in the middle of the pack among Southeastern Conference schools. Vanderbilt, tied for 18th, was the highest-ranked in the SEC.

At Asbury, President Paul A. Rader cheered the news that his college had been recognized for the 13th year in a row.

“This recognition puts Asbury College in front of people across the nation, drawing attention to this Christian liberal arts institution in Wilmore, Ky.,” Rader said in an e-mail, noting that Asbury also was judged a good financial value.

Berea, which does not charge tuition but expects students to work for their education, also was cited for its service-learning and internship programs.

Complete results from the survey will appear on newsstands today.

—–

To see more of the Lexington Herald-Leader, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kentucky.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.