HWS News
27 August 2024 • Service HWS Ranks No. 1 in the Nation for Service, 19th Overall By Andrew Wickenden '09
Washington Monthly ranks Hobart and William Smith first for service and 19th for liberal arts colleges, a jump of 13 spots in just one year.
Hobart and William Smith is first in the nation for service and 19th overall among liberal arts colleges according to Washington Monthly’s 2024 College Guide and Rankings. This marks the eighth consecutive year HWS has appeared in the top five service rankings, including two previous back-to-back years as No. 1 in the nation. In the overall liberal arts rankings, HWS jumped 13 spots from last year.
“These recognitions are a testament to Hobart and William Smith’s robust liberal arts and sciences curriculum and the opportunities students have to learn and grow on campus, as well as in communities in our own backyard and around the world,” says President Mark D. Gearan.
Praising the work of the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning and “the extraordinary contributions of our students, faculty and alumni,” Gearan says: “Our longstanding commitment to local and international service is a key aspect of our mission to prepare students to lead lives of consequence. Like research and internship opportunities, community service is a critical way for students to put their education into practice and make a meaningful difference in the world. This is a proud moment for HWS.”
Since 2005, Washington Monthly has rated U.S. colleges and universities in three, equally weighted categories: social mobility, research, and community and national service. The rankings reflect excellence “across the full breadth of our measures, rather than…in just one,” according to the magazine’s methodology. HWS rose from 32nd in the nation to 19th between the 2023 and 2024 rankings.
Service rankings are calculated according to HWS alum service in the Peace Corps; institutional participation in the AmeriCorps Matching Program; the allocation of Federal Work-Study grant funds toward community service programs; and voting engagement.
“Our community and our partners in Geneva, in the Finger Lakes region and around the world work incredibly hard to develop and implement programs that change peoples’ lives for the better,” says Katie Flowers, director of the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning. “I am grateful to see their work recognized once again. Our faculty, staff, administrators, every one of our community partners and of course our passionate students fuel so much of our transformative community work.”
All HWS students participate in community service, service learning and/or community-based research starting in their first week on campus during Orientation. Annually, students contribute more than 80,000 hours of service and engagement and generate approximately $110,000 in fundraising efforts that are directed to non-profit organizations.
Washington Monthly’s social mobility criteria factors in graduation rates, financial data and student body diversity. Research includes the number of full-time faculty, Ph.D. completion rates among graduates and institutional research spending. Read the full rankings and methodology.
Top: Students work in downtown Geneva during Orientation Week's Day of Service.
