America's Best Colleges

Orientation is over. Next week, it's the real thing. In the interim, I have a tremendous amount of reading to do, which makes me wonder, why am I spending precious time with my blog? Answer: To keep me centered and sane.

According to statistics from the ABA, the student workload at LU School of Law is in the top 1% of all ABA-approved law schools. For example, at most law schools the 1Ls are taking three classes; some are taking four. I am taking six. You know, if we had to be No. 1 (or close to it), I would prefer it be in athletics. ;-)

There are benefits to this rigorous schedule. They have been explained, and I agree with the logic. So, it's time to get to work and quit whining.

In the meantime, in case you haven't heard, Liberty University has made the 2007 edition of America's Best Colleges published by U. S. News & World Report. That's impressive for a school that's less than 40 years old. I have copied below an excerpt from commentary by Jerry Falwell on www.worldnetdaily.com with more details:

On newsstands this week, U.S. News & World Report's 2007 edition of "America's Best Colleges" highlights three universities: UCLA, Cornell and Liberty. It is truly an honor for Liberty to be featured in this manner, especially when one considers that Cornell (which started in 1865) and UCLA (which started in 1919) have been around for so long.

The USN&WR article, titled "They Pray as they Go," is very complimentary. It underscores Liberty's rules (no co-ed dorms, no drinking or smoking, etc.) and features interviews with some of our students and faculty, including Dr. Ergun Caner who calls an education at Liberty "Green Beret training for Christians."

The article also focuses on things that make Liberty unique: dorm prayer groups, a Christian environment (even in the classroom) and our university debate team (which is No. 1 in the nation in all three national debate tournament polls, which no other school has ever achieved).

Some may be amazed that, in just 35 years, Liberty has risen to such a prominent position in the world of higher education.

Another great feature of Liberty is its diversity. With no quotas or affirmative action in place, we will welcome this fall students reflecting many cultures, backgrounds and ethnicities. In fact, our student body includes young people from 83 nations. Our students are connected by one common goal: to impact the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As a result, Liberty continues to rapidly grow. This summer, we built five new apartment-style dorms, which house 420 students. We will quickly begin more new dorms this fall and are mapping out designs to open more classroom space.

Readers who would like to see the article in full should purchase the 2007 edition of "America's Best Colleges," now on newsstands.