Wellesley Rated No. 1 Liberal Arts College for Asian American Students

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Wellesley Rated No.1 Liberal Arts College for Asian American Students

August 15, 1997

Wellesley, MA -- Wellesley College is the No. 1 liberal arts college in the country for Asian American students, according to a newly-published survey in the August/September issue of A. Magazine: Inside Asian America, a national magazine aimed at college-age students and young professionals.

A. Magazine editors Karen Lam and Jim Cho conducted a survey of 218 colleges and universities, using a written questionnaire, while also interviewing students, educators and other experts. The published findings are discussed and analyzed in an article called "An Asian American Guide to Colleges: Where to Go Now."

Wellesley's top rank, higher than its most recent No. 4 rank in the U.S. News &#038 World Report annual survey of top liberal arts colleges, reflects its strong multicultural environment and a 90-year tradition of welcome for Asian and Asian American students. Asian American students make up a quarter of Wellesley's student body, while 6.9 percent of its faculty is Asian American.

The criteria used to rank the colleges and universities in the survey included the percentage of the Asian population at the school, the academic rank (by the U.S. News &#038 World Report and other college guides), the percentage of Asian American faculty, the percentage of Asian American administrators, the acceptance rate of admitted Asian Americans and the retention rate for Asian American students.

Bettina Yip, class of '96, says: "Wellesley has a lot of Asian American classes, more so than most schools. I took courses on Chinese American culture and Asian women in America. Then I met an Asian American history professor who was really nurturing and encouraging. That's what made me think about American history as a major."

Wellesley College also offers an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental program in Asian American Studies including courses on Asian American Women in Film and Video, Asian American Women Writers, Asian American Experience, Asian Settlement in North America, Asian American Literature, and The Problem of Reading Asian American Literature: Genre v. Gender. Related courses in the program include, among others, Ethnicity and Social Identity, Representations of Women of Color in the U.S., and the Politics of Minority Groups in the United States.

Nancy Kolodny, Wellesley College academic dean, told the magazine that the fervent approach many Asian American students take toward their education matches the educational philosophy of the women's colleges, providing "every opportunity," rather than "equal opportunity."

"It comes as little surprise that with its history of academic excellence and openness to diversity, Wellesley is a favorite for Asian American women (and number one on our A-dometer)," wrote Lam and Cho.

Behind No. 1-rated Wellesley, 14 other liberal arts colleges were ranked as follows: Occidental College (2), Pomona College (3), Williams College (4), Pitzer College (5), Swarthmore College (6), Barnard College (7), Amherst College (8), Claremont McKenna College (9), Bryn Mawr College (10), Bowdoin College (10), Scripps College (12), Oberlin College (13), Wesleyan University (13), Macalester College (13).

Lam and Cho also praised leading women's colleges, such as Wellesley, Barnard and Bryn Mawr, for fostering a spirit of sisterhood that encourages diversity. "Wellesley and Bryn Mawr, for instance, can trace alumnae back to China and Japan in the 1800s. including graduates with illustrious names, like Madame Chiang Kai-shek," they wrote. [Madame Chiang Kai-shek, then Mayling Soong, graduated from Wellesley in 1917.]

In other categories, the survey found that the University of California/Irvine ranked No. 1 among large universities, while Brown University ranked No. 1 among Ivy League universities.

Recent Wellesley students praised Wellesley for educating them in all areas of their adult identity. Wei-Lin ('96), who grew up in San Francisco , said: "I don't think I came into consciousness of myself as an Asian American until I got to Wellesley and took a course on Asian American women."

According to Wellesley College President Diana Chapman Walsh, the increasing number of Asian American courses in U.S. colleges and universities, and the hiring of Asian American faculty and staff, reflect a growing demand by students for a richer, more diverse educational environment for the entire student body. These major changes "speak most directly to our vision of a liberal arts education for the 21st century," the President said.

A. Magazine, founded in 1990, is a New York-based, bi-monthly publication targeting American people between the ages of 18 and 30 of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Southeast Asian, Indian, Pakistani, and other Asian origins.

<UL>

<LI>Jennifer Heilig jheilig@wellesley.edu

<LI>Public Affairs

<LI>Date Created: November 4, 1997

<LI>Last Modified: November 4, 1997

<LI>Expires: December 31, 1998

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