Barry McNamara  |  Published September 14, 2016

Town-gown Power

What is good for the city of Monmouth is also good for the college that shares its name.
Monmouth College President Clarence R. Wyatt speaks during the Monmouth Associates luncheon.
Monmouth College President Clarence R. Wyatt speaks during the Monmouth Associates luncheon.
What is good for the city of Monmouth is also good for the college that shares its name.

That was the message Monmouth College President Dr. Clarence R. Wyatt delivered Thursday at the first Monmouth Associates luncheon of 2016-17.

“What is good for the City of Monmouth is good for Monmouth College, and vice versa,” Wyatt told about 70 guests in the Whiteman-McMillan Highlander Room of the College’s Stockdale Center.

Wyatt told the guests about recent news that’s been especially good for the College – its continued climb in several national rankings.

“This is college rankings season, and I typically take the rankings with a grain of salt,” he said. “But when you have a series of rankings in which the College has been positively discussed, that’s when you begin to feel good about it.”

Wyatt said that College officials are especially pleased with the Monmouth’s place in the highly respected Washington Monthly’s College Guide and Rankings. Monmouth moved up 82 spots to No. 77 in the magazine’s “National Universities – Liberal Arts” category.

Wyatt said those rankings are believed to be an accurate assessment of “what we’re about at Monmouth – transforming the lives of young people.”

The college rose eight spots to No. 159 among “National Liberal Arts Colleges” in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 Best Colleges. Monmouth also did very well in rankings recently released by the website CollegeFactual.com. Eight of the College’s academic programs were ranked in the top five percent in the nation, and Monmouth’s “Value Ranking” placed the College in the top six percent in the nation.

Since 2005, Washington Monthly has ranked colleges based on how they educate students and how they benefit society. The publication measures a college’s success in three key areas – students’ social mobility (admitting and graduating low-income students); community service; and students who engage in research and go on to earn a doctorate.

“We’re very proud of that,” Wyatt said. “That’s the core of what we do – helping our students free the possibilities that are inherent in their lives.”

Wyatt said that one reason for the College’s continued success is because of a strong partnership it enjoys with the city.

“You all have created that type of environment. … We are so thankful for all the things the City of Monmouth does for Monmouth College,” he said.

During a question-and-answer period, Wyatt discussed how the College is rethinking its approach toward student recruitment, which has dual goals of strengthening Monmouth academically and financially.

Along with “celebrating Monmouth College more and with greater volume,” he named this year’s incoming class as a top accomplishment of his presidency. The school now boasts a more diverse student body from 33 states and 33 countries.

Student recruitment also factors into one of his main goals: to “generate the resources to support our faculty, staff and students better, in a way they deserve.”
“We can do that in two fundamental ways,” he said. “One is to increase revenue derived from students, and to do it in such a way that there is sustainable growth. The other is to build the endowment, and we are in the beginning stages of working toward that goal. If we achieve those goals, that makes a lot of other things possible.”
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Did you know?

  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College offers unique academic minors in Global Public Health and Global Food Security for students who want to use their education to address global challenges. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/global-public-health/" target="_blank">Global Public Health</a></li><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/global-food-security/" target="_blank">Global Food Security</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> We offer a certified Peace Corps Preparation program that gives Peace Corps bound graduates a leg up in the application process.</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/peace-corps-prep/" target="_blank">Peace Corps Prep</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> 98% of Monmouth graduates were employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation.</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/wackerle-center/career-services/" target="_blank">Career Preparation</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College covers the cost for all current students to get a U.S. passport. Unlock access to over 198 different countries! We’ll even help with the paperwork :)</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/study-abroad/" target="_blank">Study Abroad</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> 99% of Monmouth students received some type of scholarship or financial assistance.</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/offices/student-financial-planning/types-of-aid/scholarships/" target="_blank">Scholarships</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College offers several international trips each year during 2-week Scots Terms in January and May. Recently students have traveled to Botswana, Greece, Scotland, Japan, and more. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_urls"><a href="https://monmouthcollege.edu/offices/global-engagement/" target="_blank">Scots Term</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> We’re no stranger to winning. Last year the Fighting Scots won Midwest Conference championships in Football, Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball and Men’s Track and Field. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_urls"><a href="https://monmouthscots.com/" target="_blank">Fighting Scots</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College has an educational garden and 6.7 acre farm. Students grow and harvest fruits and vegetables to sell at the local farmer’s market. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_urls"><a href="https://monmouthcollege.edu/academics/only-at-monmouth/educational-garden-farm/" target="_blank">Garden & Farm</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College has an active Pipe & Drum Band. Each year on Scholar’s Day in April the bagpipers wake students up at 6:00 a.m. by playing in the residence halls!</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/music/pipe-band/" target="_blank">Pipe Band</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College is proudly test optional. Applicants may choose whether or to submit SAT or ACT scores for admission and scholarship consideration. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/admission/apply/test-optional/" target="_blank">Test Optional</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p><strong>Monmouth College is the birthplace of the women’s fraternity movement. Pi Beta Phi, the first such collegiate women’s organization, was founded at Monmouth in 1867. It was followed three years later by Kappa Kappa Gamma. The two pioneering organizations today boast a total of 275 active chapters nationwide.</strong></p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/student-life/sororities-fraternities/" target="_blank">Sororities & Fraternities</a></li></ul></div></aside>