United Methodist
varsities score
high in rankings

By KATHY GILBERT

NASHVILLE -- Nearly 30 United Methodist-related schools are listed among America's top institutions in the 2005 edition of US News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges".


Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, tied for fifth place (with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University), behind Harvard, Princeton, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania. The report compared 248 national universities.


"We're pleased to see Duke ranked once again in the top tier of national universities and cited for so many of its programmes," said Duke Provost Peter Lange. "This is wonderful recognition for our faculty, programmes and students, who are arriving back on campus to begin a new semester."


Emory University in Atlanta is ranked 20th. Other United Methodist schools on the top national list are Syracuse (New York)University (tied for 52nd); Boston University (tied for 56th); Southern Methodist University, Dallas (tied for 71st); and American University, Washington (tied for 86th).


"Each time the US News and World Report (guide) is published, I look eagerly to see where the United Methodist-related colleges and universities are listed, and I am proud when I see rankings that indicate the quality of our educational institutions has improved or been maintained," said Ms Wanda Bigham, staff executive with the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

"At the same time, I realise that academic institutions are diverse, as are students, and that it is important for prospective students and their families to sift through the data to determine what's important to them - small classes, graduation rates, full-time faculty, and costs, for example."


The establishment of schools has been part of the Methodist tradition since the earliest days of the movement. Today, there are 123 United Methodist-related schools.


Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is the highest-ranked United Methodist-related school among the 217 US liberal arts institutions. It is tied at 40th. United Methodist-related DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, is 43rd.


Other denomination-related institutions among the top liberal arts schools are Drew University, Madison, New Jersey; Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama; Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas; Albion (Michigan) College; Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, Virginia; Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi; Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio; and Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia.


Among universities providing doctoral degrees, three United Methodist-related schools rank in the top 10 of the Midwest: Hamline University, Saint Paul, Minnesota (8th); Baldwin-Wallace University, Berea, Ohio (10th, tie); and University of Evansville, Indiana (10th, tie). Centenary College, Shreveport, Lousianna, ranks 11th in the South.


Duke University (8th) and Emory (27th) were also listed as best values among national univerities.


"As much as we welcome such news, we recognise the limitations of these kinds of surveys and urge high school students and their families to use them as only one factor in deciding where to apply to college," Mr Lange said.


For more information on United Methodist-related schools contact the Board of Higher Education and Ministry at 615-340-7406, P.O. Box 340007, Nashville, Tennessee 37203; Web site: www.gbhem.org - United Methodist News Service.

QUOTE:

A TRADITION

The establishment of schools has been part of the Methodist tradition since the earliest days of the movement.