November 25, 2003

La Sierra University was named the top school in the Campus Diversity: Universities-Master’s (West) category according to the US News & World Report’s America’s Best College’s 2004 issue.

“I am excited to be recognized for this success,” says Jennifer Tyner, La Sierra University Vice President for Student Life. “La Sierra has a unique flavor that you might not find outside of southern California. I think we really represent the population we are serving and when you come here you learn about different cultures. It also shows that we are living our motto, the first sentence reads ‘La Sierra University is a diverse community of inquiry, learning, and service rooted in the Christian gospel.’”

“College bound students who believe that studying with people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds is important will want to consider student body diversity when choosing a school,” says the methodology on Campus Diversity in US News & World Report. “To identify colleges where students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from racial or ethnic groups different from their own, US News factors in the total proportion of minority students—leaving out international students—and the overall mix of groups.

Check out the following link concerning La Sierra University and US News and World Report:

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“As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Education decision, we should be proud that La Sierra University is recognized in the US News & World Report “America’s Best Colleges 2004” as the most diverse institution in the western part of the nation,” says Ella S. Simmons, Ed.D., La Sierra University Provost and Vice President for Academic Administration. “Significantly, the legendary Brown vs. Board of Education case was preceded in 1946 by the Méndez vs. Westminster case decision, which is often referred to as the California Road to Brown vs. Board of Education decision. The case illuminated “how race, class, and citizenship marked twentieth century Mexican American history, and is one of the growing efforts by Mexican Americans to cast off a mantle of systemic prejudice” (Ruiz in The College Board Review, 2003, 23) Ruiz has observed further, “Unlike the Brown effort at the K-12 level, never did there emerge a sustained, government-sponsored effort to desegregate the nation’s colleges and universities.” (p. 24) It is at moments such as this that we can reaffirm commitment to our motto: from diversity community. Let us continue the struggle for which so many have paid so much and have La Sierra University be known worldwide as the most diverse institution of higher education in the nation that has also attained the highest academic rating."