Washington College Is Recognized as Top Tier Liberal Arts College in U.S. News' Latest Rankings

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Washington College is ranked in the top 100 of the influential U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges guide, which released its 2013 edition this week. The College is listed at #96 among all the national liberal arts schools across the nation (an increase of 10% over last year).  Separate rankings list national universities and regional colleges and universities.  

            A total of 1,391 colleges and universities were surveyed by the “Best Colleges” staff, which considers up to 16 factors, from acceptance and graduation rates to alumni giving. Freshman retention, class sizes and student-faculty ratio are weighed for the rankings, as are professors’ salaries and education levels and the percentage who teach full-time. Another important factor is “academic reputation,” as determined by the opinions of high school guidance counselors and top academic administrators at peer institutions. Lastly, the ranking formula considers the average spending per student, excluding expenditures for sports and dorms.

 “Our ongoing efforts to enhance our beautiful campus, support our dedicated faculty and create opportunities—both inside and outside the classroom—for our talented students are bound to be reflected in these national surveys,” says Washington College president Mitchell B. Reiss.

 “I see a campus that is hitting its stride in every area that matters for a life-changing liberal arts education,” he adds. “I see increased academic rigor throughout the curriculum, an amazing array of enriching speakers and events, signature programs in environmental studies, literature and American history, an increasingly lively arts scene, and a robust career counseling and job placement center. We can all be immensely proud of where we are and where we are going.”

Forbes Ranks Washington College Among America's Top Colleges for Quality and Value

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The annual Forbes list of America’s Top Colleges ranks Washington College in the top 25 percent nationally for student satisfaction and post-graduation outcomes, and puts the Chestertown campus near the very top among Maryland schools.

Nationally, Washington College was listed 146 out of the 650 colleges and universities evaluated. Among Maryland schools, WC ranked fourth, behind the U.S. Naval Academy (ranked at 43 nationally), Johns Hopkins University (67), and St. John’s College (143).

The list, produced by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington, D.C., is based on five categories: post-graduate success, which considers the prominence and pay of alumni and accounts for 32.5 percent of a school’s score; student satisfaction with professors and the overall campus experience (27.5 percent); the amount of debt students carry after graduation (17.5 percent); the four-year graduation rate (11.5 percent); and the number of prestigious scholarships, fellowships and Ph.Ds the students eventually earn (11.25).

Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation.  For more information: http://www.washcoll.edu.

Professor Deckman Named "Affiliated Scholar" At the Public Religion Research Institute

WASHINGTON, DC – Dr. Melissa Deckman, chair of the political science department at Washington College, is one of five “leading academic voices” named as the first Affiliated Scholars of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). She will regularly contribute insights to the Institute’s “Faith in the Numbers” research blog and will work with its senior researchers on peer-review articles.

Founded in 2009 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Public Religion Research Institute has become a leading resource for non-partisan analysis of the role of religion in public and political life and the opinions that members of religious communities hold about topical issues. The creation of the Affiliated Scholars Program enhances the Institute’s ability to provide perspective on the 2012 presidential election and the role religion and religious groups will play in shaping its outcome.

Deckman says PRRI is quickly establishing itself as a major source for news and analysis and she is excited about her new relationship with the organization.  “As a scholar of religion and politics, I am grateful to have access to their excellent survey data, especially as we gear up for an exciting presidential election race this fall.”

The Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs at Washington College, Deckman has written or co-written three books and contributed to dozens of scholarly articles and book chapters. Her 2004 book, School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics, won the American Political Science Association’s Hubert Morken Award for the best work on religion and politics.  She edited a forthcoming volume about the politics of teaching the Bible and religion in public schools (slated for publication this fall), and her current research focuses on the nexus between gender and religion in the Tea Party movement.

Joining Deckman as 2012-2013 Affiliated Scholars at PRRI are Paul Djupe, associate professor of political science at Denison College and co-editor of the Cambridge Journal of Politics & Religion; Kerem Ozan Kalkan, incoming visiting assistant professor of political science at Stony Brook University; Laura R. Olson, professor of political science at Clemson University and editor-in-chief of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; and Mark J. Rozell, professor of public policy at George Mason University.

Robert P. Jones, CEO of PRRI, says the Institute is “thrilled to be able to provide not only additional original research but also more timely insights for better understanding the role of religion in this fall’s presidential election.” To learn about the Institute and its new Affiliated Scholars Program, visit www.publicreligion.org.

Read her first blog posting, "How an Evangelical College’s Lawsuit Could Help Romney."

Washington College English Professor Rich Gillin Is Recognized as One of America’s Very Best

CHESTERTOWN, MD—A just-released publication from The Princeton Review includes news that students and alumni of Washington College have known for decades—that Richard Gillin is one of the best professors in the country. The 38-year veteran of the English faculty is among those celebrated in The Best 300 Professors (Random House/Princeton Review, $19.99), released today in bookstores and online. “In shaping individuals to become critical thinkers in both his and other disciplines,” the guide says, “Professor Gillin teaches his students to draw insights from English literature that can be useful in their lives.”

The Princeton Review teamed up with the popular ratings site RateMyProfessors.com to develop the list of top teachers, who hail from 122 colleges and universities. The results put Gillin in very good company, indeed. From the initial list of 42,000 professors who were considered, the final group of “best” professors constitutes less than .02 percent of the roughly 1.8 million post-secondary teachers instructing students at colleges and universities across the U.S.

“Rich Gillin really does set the bar for the kind of teaching we value and support at Washington College,” President Mitchell B. Reiss said upon hearing of the honor. “This recognition could not be more deserved.”

Gillin came to the Chestertown campus in 1973 after earning an undergraduate degree from William Paterson College, a master’s from St. John’s University and a Ph.D. from Bowling Green University. As the Ernest A. Howard Professor of English Literature and the Director of the Humanities Program at Washington College, he teaches 18th and 19th century English literature, with a special interest in Romanticism and the English-language literature of post-colonial India and the Caribbean. In addition, he directs the Kiplin Hall Summer Program, a three-week residential course on Literature and Landscape based at a 17th century estate in England.

Students quoted in the guide describe Gillin as “extremely helpful and flexible,” and “the best English professor and kindest soul you’ll ever meet.” They say he “validates, encourages, and inspires,” and is “a model for educators … a man for the Ivory Tower as well as the struggling student.”

Gillin’s colleague Kathryn Moncrief, chair of the English Department, agrees with their assessment. “Rich’s intelligence, generosity, and integrity exemplify the very best of Washington College. He inspires students with his knowledge and love of literature, challenges them to think deeply about and get engaged by what they've read, and guides them as they become better writers,” she says. “He’s known by students as a professor who is both rigorous and kind, someone whose courses are ‘must-takes’ for English majors. And those who accompany him to Kiplin Hall in England to read poetry and hike where Wordsworth and Coleridge did, return utterly transformed.”

Gillin modestly says his first response on hearing of the honor was to “make sure they had the right guy.” He praises the College for what he describes as a nurturing attitude toward good teaching and helping professors expand their own horizons. “They have encouraged me to pursue my interests in the literary world and let me teach without a lot of distractions.” He also has good things to say about his students and their willingness to take on tough new areas of study. “There really is a good-natured quality and intellectual openness among Washington College students,” he says. “They are willing to study areas of literature that are not widely popular or easily accessible.”

Princeton Review publisher Robert Franek says The Best 300 Professors is a tribute to the extraordinary dedication of America's best undergraduate college professors “and the vitally important role they play in our culture, and our democracy. We are truly pleased to recommend them—and the schools at which they teach—to college applicants and their parents who use our resources,” he adds.

The Best 300 Professors is one of nearly 150 Princeton Review books published by Random House. Its flagship guide, The Best 376 Colleges, included Washington College in the 2012 edition, which featured just 15 percent of the nation's colleges and universities. To see the complete lists of the “Best 300 Professors,” visit www.princetonreview.com/best-professors.aspx.