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August 6, 2001
Christendom Ranked in Top 110 Schools in U.S.

In the 2001 newly revised college guide, Choosing the Right College, composed by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, is listed among the top 110 schools in the U.S.

According to William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities under President Reagan, and Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George H. Bush, "ISI's guide to Choosing the Right College...offers tough-minded analysis of the quality of istruction, the level of academic standards, the campus political atmosphere, and the extent to which the liberal arts tradition is respected and cultivated. It is one of those rare books that cuts through the information glut to the heart of the matter."

Other Catholic colleges listed in the top 110 schools include Georgetown University, College of Holy Cross, University of Notre Dame, and Villanova University.

In speaking of Christendom's mission "to restore all things in Christ," Choosing writes that "this belief in and commitment to truth sets Christendom apart from the great run colleges and universities today, and has led the school to create a challenging and coherent program that turns out exceptionally well-educated and able graduates."

And regarding the curriculum, "Christendom's core goes far beyond what even many ‘good' liberal arts colleges require....With an all-encompassing vision of the liberal arts driving the curriculum, the faculty and administration are at pains to create an educational experience in which each course, major, and rule for community life contributes to an integrated Catholic worldview."

According to Paul Heisler, Christendom's Director of Admissions, the College has recently been gaining much recognition for its "commitment to not only the Catholic Faith, but also providing a rigorous academic education."

In the most recent issue of Insight magazine (8/3/01), a news weekly published by The Washington Times, Christendom was listed among the top 15 colleges in the U.S. which "teach the fullness of the Western academic traditions." In his feature article on the top colleges, Insight writer, Stephen Goode, takes an in-depth look into Christendom's curriculum, as well as its political, moral, and religious atmosphere. Goode encapsulates Christendom's program by stating that the "college's firm stand upon what it believes and its vision of education as something that encompasses the whole of life are likely to inspire many concerned about American higher education."

"What Christendom College is striving for is by no means solely Roman Catholic. It can be the goal of anyone who hopes that education is for more than monetary gain and a prestigious job and who believes that training of the mind can lead arduously but certainly to wisdom," says Goode. "What do Christendom students get for the roughly (and relatively inexpensive) $17,000 it costs to go there for a year? Three years of a core curriculum that includes theology, philosophy, history, math, science and much else, which all students take and which carefully are integrated to supply Christendom graduates with a unified understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition."

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