UVa-Wise Ranked Among the South's Top Public Liberal Arts Colleges
September 4, 2000

For the second consecutive year, The University of Virginia's College at Wise has been ranked among the South's top public liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report.

"I'm absolutely delighted with the ranking in U.S. News and World Report but our best days are ahead of us," said UVa-Wise Chancellor Jay Lemons. "We're aiming to be one of the best public liberal arts colleges, not in the South, but in the nation."

UVa-Wise, which tied for second place along with Christopher Newport University and the University of South Carolina-Aiken in the 2000 rankings, occupies second place all alone in the 2001 rankings released on Sept. 1. Mississippi University for Women, again topped the list of the best Southern public liberal arts colleges. Nineteen public liberal arts colleges are included in the list of 130 Southern liberal arts colleges reviewed by U.S. News.

"This ranking comes primarily as a result of the strength of our faculty and our students," Lemons said. "I think it's really a data-driven ranking."

Each school's rank, within its group of peer institutions, is based on the same set of quality measures. Seventy-five percent of the ranking is based on a formula that includes objective measures of academic quality, such as graduation rates, freshman retention, class size, student/faculty ratios, full-time faculty, SAT scores, acceptance rates, and alumni giving rates. The remaining 25 percent is based on a reputational survey conducted in the early spring. The magazine surveys the president, provost and dean of admissions at each school to rate the perceived quality of the academic programs for schools in the same category, including their own.

"It's time Virginia and the rest of the country realize what a jewel we have here in the mountains," Lemons said. "With so many Virginia colleges and universities occupying the top slots in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, it's clear that Commonwealth of Virginia has among the strongest systems of higher education in the United States. UVa-Wise certainly deserves to be listed among the best in Virginia and the nation."

Amelia J. Harris, new dean of the faculty at UVa-Wise, offered the following observation: "This ranking is a validation of the hard work and dedication of our academic community to the ideals of a liberal education.

For more information, contact the Office of College Relations at 540-328-0130.