Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 24, 1994 TAG: 9409260024
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CRYSTAL CHAPPELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
While the number of buildings on the campus in Salem has doubled since Garren graduated in 1962, the main reason he stayed at the college has not changed: Faculty members who take a personal interest in students and affect their lives.
That could be one reason why Roanoke College received a No. 1 ranking in U.S. News & World Report's 1995 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges.
Roanoke College was ranked the No. 1 Southern liberal arts college, and Hollins College was included in an article about women's colleges in the Sept. 26 issue, which began selling on newsstands Monday.
Roanoke College tied for first place with Lyon College of Arkansas. A total of 433 colleges were surveyed for the Top 10 Regional Liberal Arts Colleges category.
U.S. News ranked the schools by gathering statistics on student selectivity, faculty resources, financial resources, graduation rate and alumni satisfaction. The data was combined with responses from a survey of administrators at almost 1,400 four-year colleges and universities.
This is the seventh year Roanoke College has been included in the magazine's America's Best Colleges guide.
"Each time, we moved higher in the rankings; and it's gratifying indeed to be recognized now as the No. 1 liberal arts college in the South," Roanoke College President David Gring said.
Over the past 15 to 20 years, Roanoke College has become an "overall better college," Gring said. Facility improvements in that time have included the building of Fintel Library, Olin Hall, Homer Bast Gymnasium and Recreation Center, and the Sutton Student Center. The campus is renovating the old Roanoke County courthouse for use as classrooms and faculty offices.
But the old bell tower on campus still tells students when to change class, and a campus beautification project has kept alive the college's tradition of being a "safe, clean place to be," as was advertised in the 1800s, said Garren, a former math professor who now is the college's dean.
New programs at Roanoke College include a general education program, an honors program and a Summer Scholars independent research program. Traditional programs, such as an almost 30-year relationship with Roanoke's sister city, Wonju, Korea, have expanded. The first Korean to receive a bachelor's degree from an American institution attended Roanoke College, Garren said. "We're really proud of that," he said.
The percent of faculty with doctorates is up to 90 percent, and SAT averages of entering freshmen since 1980 have increased more than 120 points, Gring said.
Full-time enrollment increased by 12 students to 1,472 this year, reflecting more students who remained with the college and more transfer students, Gring said.
A record number of 2,714 students applied for admission to Roanoke College for the 1994-95 academic year, breaking the 1989 record of 2,709 applications, said Teresa Thomas, public relations director.
The magazine's article telling how women's colleges, including Hollins, give students a sense of empowerment was "quite a testament of the importance of women's colleges," said Linda Steele, director of college relations at Hollins.
"It is the new programs combined with the tremendous increase of the popularity of women's colleges that have led to such a great year at Hollins," Steele said.
President Maggie O'Brien pointed to three areas that had contributed to Hollins College's success: an environment focused on the learning and self-esteem of women; career and life planning that includes internships through an alumni network; and the success of Hollins graduates, such as the president of Time magazine.
The college's balance between classroom and practical experience "really works," O'Brien said. A disproportionate number of successful women are graduates of women's colleges, O'Brien said.
"That's a subtle message students pick up on. That's the Hillary Clinton factor in the success equation."
Hollins College's first-year class increased 28 percent in enrollment this year and is the largest in 15 years, Steele said.
Hollins' new programs include an exchange program with Christie's auction house in London, and a writers program with the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington, D.C.
Emory & Henry College in Emory ranked third, and Mary Baldwin College in Staunton ranked fifth on the magazine's list of the Top 10 Regional Liberal Arts Colleges.
The University of Virginia in Charlottesville ranked No. 17 in the Best National Universities category, which included 229 schools.
by CNB