EMBARGOED BY U.S. NEWS FOR RELEASE AFTER 12:01 A.M. FRIDAY, AUG. 18, 2006
Contact: Lynn Stewart or Kelsey Johnson, Centenary News Service, 318-869-5120 or 318-841-5165

U.S.News & World Report Once Again Selects Centenary Among Best and Best-value Master's Universities in the South

SHREVEPORT, LA- U.S.News & World Report has once again listed Centenary College of Louisiana among "America's Best Colleges" in its annual rankings announced today (Friday, Aug. 18, 2006). Centenary is ranked at No. 8 among 15 institutions designated as the South's "Great Schools, Great Prices."

In addition to that ranking, U.S. News lists Centenary as tied at No. 13 along with Embry Riddle University in Florida among the 63 top Southern colleges and universities offering master's degrees and listed in its top two tiers. Last year's rankings were No. 5 and 10, respectively, with rankings changing slightly during the 17 years in which Centenary has been chosen among "America's Best Colleges."

U.S. News & World Report, which annually selects its "Best Colleges" based on up to 15 indicators of academic excellence, makes this year's announcements in the magazine's Aug. 28 issue, which is on newsstands Monday, Aug. 21, and in its 2007 edition of the guidebook, America's Best Colleges, which will also be on newsstands beginning Monday.

To determine "Best College" rankings, the magazine's editors and researchers examine colleges' academic reputation, faculty resources, retention rate, class size, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate, student-faculty ratio and percent of alumni giving. Their list of "Great Schools, Great Prices" schools correlates schools' quality ranking with the net cost to a student who receives the average level of financial aid.

"Once again, Centenary has been recognized for its dedication to students and its commitment to excellence. The Centenary experience offers distinctive experiences that allow students to explore, invent and connect in so many meaningful ways." said President Kenneth L. Schwab about the listing. "Such rankings—in U.S. News and in other national publications— simply reaffirm the fact that Centenary students are exceptionally well prepared to excel in their personal and professional lives."

Founded in 1825 and the nation's oldest college west of the Mississippi River, Centenary is located in Shreveport, La. It encourages students to investigate the unfamiliar, to solve problems imaginatively and to create connections to the campus and the rest of their world. A private four-year college with graduate programs in business and education, Centenary offers 43 majors in its Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities divisions.

This year's ranking marks the 17th consecutive year that Centenary has been included among "America's Best Colleges." No other Louisiana schools were named this year among the Universities-Master-s-South best values. Among the Best Universities-Master's insitutions in the South, U.S. News listed Loyola University at No. 7 and Xavier University of Louisiana at 29. Both are located in New Orleans. Listed among Universities-Master's-South fourth tier institutions (schools ranking 99 through 127, alphabetically) were Louisiana State University in Shreveport, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Southern University in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Other categories rank colleges by various classifications and may include other Louisiana institutions.

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