DePauw ranked 35th in U.S. by new method measuring faculty, alum influence

DePauw University has been ranked among the best liberal arts institutions in the United States by a new system designed to measure the “concentrated influence” of an institution’s faculty and alumni, the university has announced.

DePauw ranked No. 35 out of 1,240 institutions evaluated by Academic Influence, a data analytics company that says it developed its ranking system to gauge academic excellence in an objective way that reflects “real-world educational outcomes.”

“It is wonderful to see the accomplishments of our faculty and alumni recognized in this ranking,” Dave Berque, DePauw’s vice president for academic affairs, said. “I feel fortunate to join my colleagues in contributing to an institution that is having such great impact.”

Academic Influence said on its website that “the people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. That is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call Concentrated Influence,” which is determined by database searches to find the work of faculty members and alumni affiliated with the various institutions.

Academic Influence suggests that students who are weighing their higher education options “should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence.”

The ranking said DePauw is “most influential” in anthropology, political science, biology, sociology, economics, history, education, psychology, philosophy and physics.