Ohio Wesleyan Recognized for ‘Contribution to the Public Good’
Washington Monthly magazine has recognized Ohio Wesleyan as one of the top U.S liberal arts colleges ‘acting on behalf of the true public interest’ in areas including service. Here, student Kelsey Ullom ’14 works with children at an Indian orphanage. (Photo courtesy of Kelsey Ullom ’14)
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University ranks 39th in the nation for liberal arts colleges “acting on behalf of the true public interest,” according to Washington Monthly’s 2013 College Guide and Rankings.
“We rate schools based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories,” according to the magazine’s editors, “Social Mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), Research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs), and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country).”
The annual rankings, featured in Washington Monthly’s September/October edition, include 255 schools in the liberal arts category. Ohio Wesleyan and Oberlin College are the only Ohio-based schools ranked in the Top 50.
“The categories are significant, in that they touch upon many essential elements of the Ohio Wesleyan experience,” said Kevin Paskvan, director of financial aid. “Regarding ‘Social Mobility,’ we work hard to make an OWU education possible, with more than 78 percent of our students receiving need-based financial aid and more than 95 percent receiving need- or merit-based aid.”
Regarding “Research,” Ohio Wesleyan’s 10-week Summer Science Research Program has been pairing students with faculty mentors for more than two decades, said program director Barbara Andereck, Ph.D., professor of physics and astronomy.
“That work often results in students collaborating with professors to present at professional meetings or prepare manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals,” Andereck said. “In addition, 50 percent of our graduates pursue advanced degrees within five years of graduation; their acceptance rate into law school is well above the national average, and their five-year acceptance rate into medical or dental postgraduate programs is nearly twice the national average. Our young alumni often tell us that their graduate schools are amazed at the breadth and depth of research they have conducted here.”
Finally, regarding “Service,” OWU students have earned recognition for five consecutive years on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.This includes Ohio Wesleyan being chosen as one of three schools nationwide in 2009 to earn a Presidential Award for Excellence in General Community Service – the highest honor a school can receive for volunteering, service learning, and civic engagement.
“Our students spend nearly 45,000 hours a year helping others,” said President Rock Jones, Ph.D. “Those levels of scholarship and service clearly contribute to the public good, making the nation – and the world – a better place.”
In addition to being recognized by Washington Monthly, Ohio Wesleyan is one of only 40 U.S. higher education institutions to be included in every edition of the highly regarded guidebook “Colleges That Change Lives.”
Ohio Wesleyan also is included in the Top 100 of U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 ranking of the “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” and among the best of the best in The Princeton Review’s publication of “The Best 378 Colleges: 2014 Edition,” Forbes magazine’s “America’s Top Colleges,” and the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2014.”
The Fiske Guide includes comments from current students, including one Ohio Wesleyan scholar who sums up the OWU experience by stating: “Ohio Wesleyan is a place where the education goes well beyond the classroom. The family atmosphere and the opportunities that the college provides you in a diverse environment enrich the entire college experience.”
Learn more about attending Ohio Wesleyan at www.owu.edu.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private, coed university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world practice. OWU’s 1,850 students represent 42 states and 37 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.