Tech Valley News
Tech Valley Colleges Among "New Ivies"
Learn more at 25 New Ivies
Two Tech Valley colleges have been named to Kaplan/Newsweek’s “New Ivies” list. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Skidmore College were among 25 schools to receive the honor. These are colleges whose first-rate academic programs, combined with a population boom in top students, have fueled their rise in stature and favor among the nation’s top students, administrators and faculty - edging them to a competitive status rivaling the Ivy League.
Kaplan/Newsweek based its selections on admissions statistics and interviews with administrators, faculty and alumni.
RPI - the nation’s oldest technological university - offers degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology, architecture, management, humanities and social sciences. RPI is well known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life, protect the environment and strengthen economic development.
Skidmore College - an independent, coeducational liberal arts college located on a beautiful 650-acre campus - offers a wide array of academic majors in the liberal arts as well as in career-specific fields such as business, social work, education and the fine and performing arts.
According to the publication, RPI students benefit from “the school's state-of-the-art facilities” and a co-op program that lets them work at companies like IBM. Outside of the classroom, students enjoy one of the country’s best college hockey teams and a close proximity to skiing in the Adirondacks and Catskills.
“It is wonderful to receive this recognition of Rensselaer's historic strengths and validation of the extraordinary advances we have made,” said RPI President Shirley Ann Jackson. “We have been making major investments in our research and education facilities and in the overall quality of the student experience. These investments are paying off, attracting new faculty, students and research partners from around the world. It is, indeed, an exciting time to be at Rensselaer.” Among the recent highlights on the RPI campus in Troy: the new Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, which opened in September 2004; the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), still under construction; and a $100 million partnership with IBM and New York state to create the world's most powerful university-based supercomputing center. Applications to RPI were up 23 percent in 2005 which Kaplan/Newsweek attributed to the school’s “reputation as an educator of scientists and engineers.” The class of 2010 is 29 percent female. Kaplan/Newsweek cited Skidmore’s location, curriculum, performing arts programs and international study opportunities among the school’s strengths. “Consider the location: a picturesque small city (with good restaurants) that's three hours from New York, Boston and Montreal. That's great for students who don't want to study in an urban area, yet want access to big cities. Skidmore offers a broad curriculum, with traditional majors in the liberal arts and sciences, but also in subjects like management and business.” Skidmore is located in Saratoga Springs which offers students many recreational and cultural outlets including the oldest Thoroughbred racetrack in the country and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center which is the summer home to the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
“I think national recognition builds on the exciting momentum we have felt at Skidmore and speaks for the academic excellence,” Mary Lou Bates, dean of admissions and financial aid, told The Saratogian. This past year, the school accepted just 39 percent of the 6,750 enrollment applications it received.
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