Agnes Scott College
Decatur, Georgia
“Agnes Scott Believes,” a series modeled after the NPR segment “This I Believe,” is capturing student attention this fall at the Julia Thompson Smith Chapel, the college’s first free-standing chapel dedicated last spring. This is one example of Agnes Scott’s innovative programming recognized by U.S. News & World Report in ranking Agnes Scott ninth among “Schools to Watch.” Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) members are encouraged to apply for the Presbyterian Scholarship valued at $40,000.
Alma College
Alma, Michigan
Alma College welcomed the largest freshman class in its 122-year history this fall and its highest overall enrollment since 2000. Former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, was the keynote speaker for the Robert D. Swanson Responsible Leadership Speaker Series in September. An $18 million campus improvement and building plan includes ground breaking next spring for a new gymnasium/convocation center, additional athletics facility enhancements, and renovations to core academic spaces. A $250,000 grant from the McGregor Fund will expand academic study, research, and internship opportunities for faculty and students in Ecuador.
Arcadia University
Glenside, Pennsylvania
Arcadia University is a top-ranked private university in metropolitan Philadelphia and a national leader in study abroad. The 2007 Open Doors report ranks Arcadia University second in the nation among master’s universities in the percentage of undergraduate students studying abroad. Arcadia University promises a distinctively global, integrative, and personal learning experience that prepares students to contribute and prosper in a diverse and dynamic world. U.S. News & World Report ranks Arcadia University (www.arcadia.edu) in three categories: among the top 25 Best Master’s Universities in the North, among the best Programs to Look for in Study Abroad, and on the Great Schools, Great Prices list.
Austin College
Sherman, Texas
A Global Outreach Program has begun at Austin College. Ten Austin College students worked this summer in Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Pakistan, Peru, and Russia as the college’s first Global Outreach Fellows. The student projects included serving in orphanages, providing medical care, doing construction projects, teaching English, and assisting with physical therapy. Created through a grant from the Todd and Abby Williams Family Foundation of Dallas, the Global Outreach program aims to cultivate the next generation of global leaders by promoting innovative, experiential servant leadership opportunities around the world.
Belhaven College
Jackson, Mississippi
Belhaven is a “Best Buy” Institution. For nine years Belhaven has been recognized as one of America’s Best College Buys, and seeks to continue making college an affordable option for today’s families. With 1,000 traditional students and an 11:1 faculty ratio, Belhaven College stands apart from the crowd, providing a personal, involved approach to your degree. Known for our nationally recognized arts degrees and business school, as well as a diverse out of state and international population, Belhaven’s enduring commitment is to the liberal arts and the integration of the Christian worldview into the classroom.
Buena Vista University
Storm Lake, Iowa
BVU has introduced a new degree program, Bachelor of Applied Studies, starting this fall. This program is designed to meet the needs of graduates of community colleges and other accredited institutions who have completed approved associate degrees in science (AS), applied science (AAS) and applied arts (AAA) and want to earn a baccalaureate degree. The program is also open to students who have earned comparable degrees from foreign institutions with which BVU has sister-school agreements. The degree program is available through the Storm Lake campus and BVU’s Professional & Online Studies program, which has 14 locations throughout Iowa.
Carroll University
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Carroll University has received a $595,000 federal grant to support development of a physician assistant program. The three-year grant, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will help Carroll develop, launch, and assess a program that focuses on training physician assistants in primary care with an emphasis on serving Wisconsin’s growing Hispanic population. Based on current capacity, Wisconsin’s three physician assistant programs will not fill the state’s need over the next decade. Carroll’s program would reduce the shortfall by 60 percent. Current plans, pending external approvals, call for the first students to be admitted in June 2009.
Coe College
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
As a nationally recognized, selective, private liberal arts institution, Coe College has been providing students with a superior education since 1851. During the past few years, numerous new construction projects and facility upgrades have taken place, enhancing the environment on the residential campus. Located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Coe is one of just a few private liberal arts colleges in the nation located in a metropolitan area of 175,000 residents, providing an abundance of internship, cultural and recreational opportunities for students. Coe College is consistently ranked as one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the country.
Davidson College
Davidson, North Carolina
President Tom Ross has declared 2008-09 as “The Year of Sustainability” at Davidson. The college has formed a permanent sustainability office and seated a sustainability advisory council to help move toward more ecologically friendly operations. The faculty approved an environmental studies concentration in the academic curriculum, there’s a new emphasis on recycling, and the board of trustees has adopted a commitment that all new construction projects meet the stringent LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certification criteria.
Davis & Elkins College
Elkins, West Virginia
Davis & Elkins College is strategically two hours east of Charleston, three hours south of Pittsburgh, and four hours west of Washington, D.C. Situated in the heart of West Virginia’s Potomac Highlands resort and recreation region, Davis & Elkins offers a wide array of educational programs, including Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in more than 30 fields of study. This year, the College welcomes its 13th president, Dr. G.T. “Buck” Smith, who welcomes you to contact him at 304/637-1260.
Eckerd College
St. Petersburg, Florida
Eckerd College is one of only 40 schools listed in Loren Pope’s “Colleges That Change Lives.” With 75% of its 1,800 students housed on campus, the academic program is strongly enhanced by what happens outside the classroom. 21 students have been named NOAA Hollings Scholars – more than any other college or university. Last year, students volunteered nearly 57,000 community service hours to Tampa Bay and beyond. 2008 marks Eckerd’s 50th year of transforming lives.
Hampden Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Hampden-Sydney College is engaged in an unprecedented building program. In August 2007 the $18.5 million library was occupied; in September 2007 the $5.8 million Everett Stadium was opened; $10.6 million in additions and renovations on Gammon Gym will be completed in October 2008. Plans are in development for the renovation of Winston Hall for the Fine Arts Department and Eggleston Hall, the former library, as a student services center. These improvements have been made possible by both record giving and record enrollments. This year we have on campus a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant who will continue the Chinese language program.
Hastings College
Hastings, Nebraska
A record number of students enrolled at Hastings College this fall and arrived on a campus that provides them the opportunity to ‘pursue their passions’ through exploration, attention and participation. Last year, the college was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction. Students volunteered nearly 32,000 hours of service to the local and global community, providing service in India; San Francisco; Greensburg, Kan.; the Rosebud Indian Reservation; and in Hastings, Neb. Six Christian ministry students received awards from the Fund for Theological Education and another student opened a Ten Thousand Villages Store on campus. Renovations in Hazelrigg Student Union feature a cardio/strength training fitness center, a 24-hour computer center, and a convenience store and delicatessen.
Illinois College
Jacksonville, Illinois
In 2008, the college offers many opportunities for experiential learning through study abroad, internships, research with faculty and community service. For the second year in a row, Illinois College was one of three colleges in the state selected for the President’s Honor Roll for Community Service, with Distinction. Illinois College began its 180th year by welcoming its strongest incoming class in many years. The class of 2012 includes students from Ireland, Japan, Ghana, Palestine, Lebanon, Germany and Spain. Our first writer-in-residence, the Yates Fellow Program for first-generation college students and the newly-created Center for Academic Excellence are among new additions to the college this fall. The college carries forth the vision of its founder, the Rev. John Ellis, who started “a seminary of learning” in 1828.
King College
Bristol, Tennessee
King College is a private, comprehensive college founded in the Presbyterian tradition, offering more than 80 majors, minors, concentrations and pre-professional programs. King College welcomed the largest-ever student body for fall 2008, enrolling 1,703 students. This year’s increase marks the ninth consecutive year of growth and a 12 percent increase over the same period last year. U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 edition of America’s Best Colleges lists King among the Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the South. King also received additional recognition in the “Great Schools, Great Prices” subcategory. It is King’s 19th consecutive appearance in the annual publication.
LaFayette College
Easton, Pennsylvania
Implementing a bold focus — more faculty and smaller classes coupled with less student loan debt — began the school year. Lafayette is giving the most qualified students access to the best possible educational experiences where cost is no obstacle and there is more student-faculty contact in smaller classes, far less student-loan debt, and increased numbers of faculty. At the forefront of progressive action nationally, Lafayette is eliminating or reducing loans in need-based financial aid packages awarded to students from families with incomes up to $100,000. What sets Lafayette apart: while enhancing financial aid, it is simultaneously expanding the faculty by nearly 20 percent without expanding the student body — a move that will lower the student-to-faculty ratio and significantly increase student-faculty contact.
Lees-McRae College
Banner Elk, North Carolina
Lees-McRae College welcomed its freshman class of 284 students, one of the largest in recent history; the entire student body is 700 strong. We look forward to a year filled with academic challenge, social opportunities for building community, and getting Campus Ministries off to a great start! Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and Death of Innocents, was our Convocation speaker on August 27th. Her address opened a discussion of the Christian response to the death penalty that will continue in a variety of ways in and out of class throughout the semester.
Lindenwood University
St. Charles, Missouri
The J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts opened on the Lindenwood University campus in the fall of 2008. The $31 million-dollar facility houses an impressive 1,200-seat theatre, a 150-seat black box theatre, classrooms, a fashion design studio, art gallery space, a high-tech video suite, and vocal and instrumental music halls. The legendary Liza Minnelli opened the Center’s inaugural season of star-studded entertainment on Sept. 11 and 12, wowing fans inside the Broadway-style theatre.
Lyon College
Batesville, Arkansas
The 2009 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges again ranks Lyon College in the “top tier” of national liberal arts colleges. In the report released Aug. 22, Lyon moved up to 15th on the list of 40 “best values” among the 265 “Best Liberal Arts Colleges” in the nation. Lyon is the only college in Arkansas and one of only seven in the South on U.S. News’ list of “Great Schools, Great Prices.” During the fall semester, nearly 140 new students received laptop computers as part of the college’s “Lyon Experience” program, which features the laptops, an “experiential transcript” documenting student achievement outside the classroom and an endowed international studies program that provides two weeks of overseas travel. Lyon College is the first school in the state and one of about 200 nationally that provides entering students with laptops.
Macalester College
St. Paul, Minnesota
Founded in 1874, Macalester is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,884 students. It is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism, and civic engagement. Events this fall include visits by Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, renowned pianist/composer Frederic Rzewski, broadcaster Aaron Brown, and sportswriter and author Dave Zirin. Macalester also opened recently its new athletic and wellness complex, the 175,000 square-foot Leonard Center that will serve the entire campus.
Maryville College
Maryville, Tennessee
The Initiative on Vocation has transformed the student experience of self discovery and the vocational process at MC. For students interested in ministry, church leadership or graduate study in religion, the Center for Campus Ministry and the Initiative on Vocation sponsor a seminary exploration to introduce students to graduate level theological education. Coordinated by campus minister, Anne McKee, past trips have included Columbia Theological Seminary, Emory, Duke, Wake Forest, Union Theological Seminary (VA), Union (NY), and Yale. Fall ’08 will see a return trip to the Chicago area with students visiting the University of Chicago Divinity School, McCormick Theological Seminary, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.
Montreat College
Montreat, North Carolina
The college vision is to become a leading provider of Christ-centered higher education, and all of our programs are moving toward that goal. As Montreat College leads, changes, and grows, our students are also becoming leaders as they are challenged in their academic and spiritual growth. The Fall 2008 academic year began with a record number of students in its 92-year history. Additionally, the college launched its Professional Development Institute, which includes the Team and Leadership Center with a one-of-a-kind challenge course and climbing wall specifically designed to foster team development for any group.
University of the Ozarks
Clarksville, Arkansas
University of the Ozarks reported a 2008 Fall Semester enrollment of 675 students, a 5 percent increase over 2007 and an 8.5 percent increase since 2006. It is the university’s largest enrollment since 2003 and the third largest in the past 15 years. The 195-student freshman class represented a 9.5 percent increase over the 2007 freshman class size. Ozarks was also ranked in the “top tier” by U.S. News & World Report in August in the category of Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the South Region. It is the 10th consecutive year that U of O has been ranked as a “top tier” university.
Peace College
Raleigh, North Carolina
Peace College in Raleigh, N.C., has launched a $3.7 million renovation of its Lucy Cooper Finch Library, with the objective of making it a modern learning center. The project includes a 2,100-square-foot addition and complete renovation of the interior. Much of the first floor will be made into a “learning commons,” featuring computer workstations and spaces where students may gather to study. Nearby will be the college’s learning services functions, offering tutoring and other academic services. The renovated library will also feature a coffee bar operated by a national coffee retailer. The project should be completed by next fall. Peace has also adopted a policy that tobacco products may no longer be used anywhere on campus, effective Jan. 1. Smoking cessation classes and individual counseling are being offered.
Pikeville College
Pikeville, Kentucky
As Pikeville College celebrates its 120th year, new opportunities awaiting students this fall include the addition of a Bachelor of Social Work degree, an expanded nursing program and the institution’s first-ever Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program. The Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine begins its 12th year. Since its inception, 450 new physicians have graduated from the institution. In keeping with our mission, 90 percent of our graduates are in primary care and 80 percent in medically underserved areas.
Presbyterian College
Clinton, South Carolina
The Presbyterian College Blue Hose could be known as the Green Hose because of their sustainability efforts. PC President Dr. John Griffith recently announced that the college received a $30,000 gift to establish an environmental sustainability program on campus. A committee will gather volunteers to develop proposals for the program, which will be announced in the spring. In addition, Professor John Inman and his Environmental Science class are working on six green projects. They will sell and plant trees, design and plant a campus garden, determine the campus’ carbon footprint, install a pilot-level bio-diesel operation, compost food from the dining hall, and weatherstrip windows and doors in older dorms.
Queens University of Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Van King has been named the new dean of the School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte. He earned his B.A. in journalism from the University of South Carolina and his master’s in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. The award-winning reporter and editor retired in 2004 after 11 years as the president and publisher of the News & Record in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Editor’s Note: Van King also serves as a member of The Presbyterian Outlook Foundation Board of Directors.) In other news, The Duke Energy Foundation has committed a $5 million lead gift to fund the University’s new Duke Energy Sciences & Health Building. It will boast leading-edge “green” technology, making it one of only a handful of “green” buildings in North Carolina. This semester, Queens University of Charlotte welcomed its second largest incoming class; it serves approximately 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students
Rhodes College
Memphis, Tennessee
Since 2007, Rhodes College students have worked alongside Art Professor David McCarthy and Marina Pacini, chief curator at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, to research, interview, and write catalogue entries for “Photographs from the Memphis World, 1949-1964.” The two-part exhibition mounted by the Brooks and Rhodes’ Clough-Hanson Gallery displays long-considered lost images from the Memphis World, an African American newspaper published 1931-1973. The paper covered education, religion, politics, civil rights, social organizations, the arts, business, and sports. Rhodes’ Dr. Russell Wigginton also contributed an essay to the catalogue accompanying the exhibition on view through January 5, 2009 at Brooks.
Schreiner University
Kerrville, Texas
This fall, Schreiner University’s enrollment surpassed 1,000 for the first time in its history, enjoying 33% growth during the decade. To accommodate more students, while keeping the student to teacher ratio at 13/1, SU has added more faculty, more majors, and expanded facilities. The Mountaineer Center for Health and Fitness and a new freshman residence hall will both open in 2009. Schreiner also has named its inaugural Atkission Professors: Lydia Kualapai, associate professor of English, and Bob Holloway, associate professor of chemistry. Schreiner is known for the quality of its faculty and their commitment to teaching and student success.
St. Andrews Presbyterian College
Laurinburg, North Carolina
Celebrating 50 years in Laurinburg in 2008, St. Andrews Presbyterian College offers an innovative and bold academic venture in its interdisciplinary curriculum. The institution’s undergraduate college press was the first in the nation and it continues to publish chapbooks written by undergraduates. An award-winning pipe band, national caliber equestrian teams, and first-rate scholarship mark the college’s distinctive character. The Fortner Writers’ Forum marks its 41st year of presenting innovative writers and poets. Inspired by Joseph Bathanti’s acclaimed book The High Heart, the artwork of Les Caison III is displayed this fall in the College’s Vardell Gallery.
Trinity University
San Antonio, Texas
Trinity University is noted for its exceptional faculty and commitment to the intellectual, civic, and professional preparation of talented students. Located in historic, culturally rich San Antonio, Trinity is a leader among private selective universities and is consistently rated as one of the top colleges by U.S. News and World Report. Trinity offers 38 majors and a host of minors, allowing students to custom design a second major, if they wish. New initiatives include curricular emphasis on interdisciplinary science, East Asian studies, urban studies, entrepreneurial ideas, and Mexico, the Americas, and Spain.
Warren Wilson College
Asheville, North Carolina
The Fiske Guide to Colleges chose Warren Wilson College as one of its 26 “Best Buys of 2009” among private colleges and universities nationwide. The Sierra Club’s Sierra magazine ranked Warren Wilson No. 4 among the “10 Coolest Schools” nationwide in the fight against global warming — the second straight year that the college has made Sierra’s top four. The 2009 edition of “America’s Best Colleges,” published by U.S. News & World Report, recognized Warren Wilson as having one of the nation’s leading service-learning programs. Blue Ridge Outdoors selected Warren Wilson as the Southeast’s “Greenest College” for the second consecutive year.
Waynesburg University
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
In August Waynesburg University welcomed approximately 470 new students. As a response to its steady growth, the university held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for its recent campus additions in September. The ceremonies inaugurated a new residence hall, a nursing simulation lab, and a marine biology lab all completed within the last year. Waynesburg will inaugurate a new fitness center this fall. With more than 40 local and regional agencies and a continuously expanding network of international agencies, Waynesburg University students contribute 44,000 hours of service annually. As a result of the University’s dedication to service, it was named to the 2007 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service
Westminster College
New Wilmington, Pennsylvania
Westminster College, a top-tier liberal arts college in New Wilmington, Pa., offers $64,000 Young Presbyterian Scholarships ($16,000 annually over four years) to deserving Presbyterian students who have at least a 3.5 high school grade point average and are nominated by their pastor. Pastor nominations are due Oct. 31 and the students must apply to Westminster by Nov. 15. More than 200 students from across the country have enjoyed being part of the YPS program at Westminster since 2002.
Westminster College
Salt Lake City, Utah
Westminster College is pleased to announce the creation of the Great Salt Lake Institute (GSLI), an organization that endeavors to increase the appreciation and understanding of Great Salt Lake, with interdisciplinary emphases on research, education, commerce, and the environment. With grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Labor, GSLI has developed programs for biotech industry internships, research experiences for Westminster undergraduates, and educational outreach to K-12 students and teachers. One of the most exciting initiatives underway is an effort to sequence the genes of GSL directly from water samples. Data will be made public through the GSLI Web site and accessible to the scientific community at-large.
Whitworth College
Spokane, Washington
Whitworth University opened the Lied Center for the Visual Arts this fall with a grand opening exhibit featuring notable pieces from the university’s permanent art collection. The 20,000-square-foot facility includes dedicated teaching studios for ceramics and sculpture, glass, drawing, painting, and printmaking, as well as a state-of-the-art computer graphics laboratory. The beautiful Bryan Oliver Gallery will host exhibits from regional and national artists as well as Whitworth faculty and students, while the Cowles Student Gallery provides space for critiques and exhibitions of student work.
Wilson College
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Founded in 1869, Wilson College is a liberal arts college dedicated to the education of women. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. In 1982, it began offering Adult Degree Programs for men and women. Since 2001, it has been nationally recognized as a “best value” for high-quality, yet affordable programs. In 2008-09, 710 students from 20 states and 13 foreign countries are enrolled in Wilson’s 24 areas of bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree of education. Wilson is committed to environmental sustainability and to preparing leaders who will serve their communities and professions effectively.
