CONWAY, Ark. (Aug. 20, 2009) – Hendrix College is listed as the nation’s top “Up-and-Coming” liberal arts college in the September issue of U.S. News & World Report. Over the last five years, Hendrix has garnered increasing attention as it launched the Odyssey Program and made significant progress toward its $100 million goal in A Commitment to National Leadership: The Hendrix Campaign.
Hendrix is among 13 liberal arts colleges recognized as having “recently made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities,” and “firmly focused on improving the job they’re doing today.” Tied for second on the list are Agnes Scott College in Georgia, Davidson College in North Carolina, and Furman College in South Carolina.
“As witnessed by all the attention we are receiving nationally, the momentum at Hendrix is exceptional and the accomplishments of our faculty and students are extraordinary,” Hendrix President J. Timothy Cloyd said. “We welcomed a freshmen class of students this week who come from New York to California, and they are preparing for the educational rides of their lives.”
The college’s $100 million capital campaign, which has already surpassed $90 million and is scheduled to be completed by December 2010, has resulted in a state-of-the-art $24 million Wellness and Athletics Center, an innovative $26 million Student Life and Technology Center (scheduled to open in January), and will fund the college’s Odyssey Program, which has allowed hundreds of students the opportunity to establish their own learning experiences.
Since its inception five years ago, the Odyssey Program has provided more than $1 million for students to complete their Odyssey experiences. This past summer, Hendrix students completed a variety of Odyssey projects, from exploring the mysterious history and culture of Easter Island to working on organic farms in France to researching foreign and domestic business techniques in China. Students have also performed a number of educational outreach programs in Arkansas, including the popular Ridin’ Dirty with Science program for children in Conway.
The U.S. News announcement comes just a day after the New York Times highlighted Hendrix for its innovative approach to offering campus visits to prospective students, and two weeks after The Princeton Review ranked Hendrix among the 371 best colleges in America. Evidence of Hendrix’s national reach was also demonstrated in the freshman students who arrived on campus this week, representing 35 states and six countries. The freshmen class has an average ACT score of 29 and an average high school grade point average of 3.82.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is an undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is profiled in Loren Pope’s book Colleges That Change Lives. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.