wfn.org | [LCMS]LCMS schools make 'best' lists

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	September 26, 2003 ............ LCMSNews -- No. 111

	CURF only Synod school
	in top tier of best list

	Concordia University, River Forest, Ill. (CURF)  in the news
lately because of its financial problems  is the only Missouri Synod
college or university to rank in a top tier of U.S. News and World
Reports listings of Americas Best Colleges for 2004.

	For the third year in a row, the magazine ranked all 10 schools
in the Synods Concordia University System (CUS) in best-colleges tiers
for their regions, in the categories of Best Universities--Masters or
Best Comprehensive Colleges--Bachelors.

	CUS schools in the second tier for their regions are the
Concordias at Austin, Texas; Bronxville, N.Y.; Irvine, Calif.; St. Paul,
Minn.; and Seward, Neb. The Concordias at Ann Arbor, Mich.; Mequon,
Wis.; and Portland, Ore., ranked in third tiers. Concordia College,
Selma, Ala., made the fourth-tier ranking for its region.

	CURF returned to the tier-one ranking of Best Universities --
Masters in the Midwest, where it stood in the magazines 2002 ranking.
For 2003, Concordia, Seward, was the only CUS school in a tier-one
ranking.

	We are pleased to receive this outstanding recognition, said
CURF Acting President Manfred Boos. It reflects on the talent of our
students and the continual dedication of our faculty and staff to the
universitys mission, as well as academic excellence.

	Dr. George Heider resigned as CURF president in August because
of the institutions financial situation. At that time, Dr. Ralph
Reinke, CURFs chief executive officer and chief operating officer, said
that the university was exploring ways to restructure its debt of some
$50 million.

	To determine its ranking of 1,400 colleges in the United States,
the magazine says it first categorized the schools by mission or region.
It then gathered data from the schools, which were ranked in each
category based on what the magazine calls indicators of academic
excellence.

	As in past years, U.S. News and World Report announced its
best-colleges rankings in a special edition last month. The lists of its
rankings also are on the magazines Web site, www.usnews.com
<http://www.usnews.com>  .

	This type of national recognition for the Concordias is great,
said Dr. William F. Meyer, executive director of the LCMS Board for
Higher Education and CUS president. I think its extraordinary that all
our colleges and universities continue to excel in the ways that they
do, especially in these times of hard economics.

	*********************************

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contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996 1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996 1230.

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