DePauw's contribution to common good noted in national publication

Washington Monthly magazine has named DePauw University to its new 2011 list of nationally ranked liberal arts colleges that contribute to the public good.

DePauw is ranked No. 41 in the nation out of 249 colleges based on measures of social mobility, research and service.

In individual categories, DePauw ranked 13th among all of the institutions for the percentage of students who perform community service and hours served in those endeavors. DPU is 17th in graduation rank.

"Conventional rankings like those published by U.S. News & World Report are designed to show what colleges can do for you," the editors of Washington Monthly note.

"Since 2005, our rankings have posed a different question: What are colleges doing for the country? Higher education, after all, isn't just important for undergraduates. We all benefit when colleges produce groundbreaking research that drives economic growth, when they offer students from low-income families the path to a better life, and when they shape the character of future leaders. And we all pay for it, through hundreds of billions of dollars in public subsidies. Everyone has a stake in how that money is spent."

The magazine rates schools based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: Social mobility, which involves recruiting and graduating low-income students; research, which is indicated by the amount of cutting-edge scholarship produced and the number of graduates who pursue advanced degrees; and service, which involves measures of students who "give back" to their country.

Founded in 1837, DePauw is recognized as one of America's top liberal arts colleges. Its 2,300 undergraduates are taught by faculty members, not graduate assistants, in classes that average 15 students.