August 24, 2006

Riverside, CA. - For the fourth consecutive year La Sierra University ranks as 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 2007 issue.

“This national ranking fits La Sierra University well since our motto is "From Diversity, Community."  We really believe that a quality academic program that takes advantage of our diversity gives our students an added edge in an increasingly diverse marketplace,” says Lawrence T. Geraty, president of La Sierra University.  “The only university nation-wide that has a higher score than LSU is Rutgers (NJ) at 0.73 (matched with comprehensive college-classed Patten).  And LSU is tied at 0.72 with only University of Houston and CUNY--Baruch College.  All of these other institutions are in major urban environments while La Sierra's campus is still suburban.”

“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,” according to 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 in each institution’s 2005-2006 student body. The categories we use in our calculations are American Indians and Alaskan Natives (Native Americans), Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, African-Americans who are non-Hispanic, whites who are non-Hispanic, and Hispanics. Our formula produces a diversity index that ranges from 0.0 to 1.0. The closer a school’s number is to 1.0, the more diverse I the student population.”

La Sierra University’s diversity index is 0.72 according to the US News & World Report’s America’s Best College’s 2007 issue.