Newsweek Ranks Emory & Henry Among Top Colleges and Universities

In its first-ever college rankings, Newsweek magazine has ranked Emory & Henry fourth among all colleges and universities in the nation in providing service learning and community service.

Emory & Henry was one of 125 institutions – out of more than 3,500 nationwide – included in the ranking by Newsweek, which rated colleges and universities in 12 categories. The top 25 in each category are published in the Fall 2010 Kaplan/Newsweek College Guide: Finding the Right College for You.

Emory & Henry ranked fourth in the category for the "Most Service-Minded" colleges and universities. Topping the ranking was Rhodes College followed by Wofford and Bryn Mawr colleges.

Newsweek praised Emory & Henry for its high rate (80 percent in 2009) of community service among its students and for its Appalachian Center for Community Service, which focuses on economic development of at-risk populations in the local community.

Emory & Henry President Rosalind Reichard said the top-five ranking from Newsweek, a national news magazine, underscores the College's success at becoming a national model for service learning. "Colleges and universities from across the country have taken note of the uniqueness of our approach to service and the significant impact it has on the lives of students and the vitality of communities."

In March of this year, Emory & Henry was honored with the President’s Award for Community Service, the highest national recognition given to a college or university for service learning. Emory & Henry was selected from among approximately 800 institutions competing for the award and became the first Virginia school to win the award since it was begun three years ago by President George W. Bush.

In August, the Washington Monthly ranked Emory & Henry among the top 30 liberal arts colleges and universities in the nation. In acknowledging the College's rise in the rankings, Washington Monthly editors cited the College's successful emphasis on service learning.

"It is a great honor to be ranked so highly in an important category by a well-respected national magazine," Reichard said. "Service learning is perhaps the most significant contribution that colleges and universities can make to the enrichment of students' lives and to the strengthening of a democracy."

Other top-25 categories in the Newsweek ranking included, among others, the following: "Most Desirable Schools in America," "Most Diverse Schools," "Schools for Braniacs," and the "Top Urban Schools."