Reputation and Campus Culture
The university established a program in civil discourse, including the journal Reason and Respect, which brought in speakers such as Salman Rushdie, David Gergen, First Minister and Nobel Prize–winner David Trimble, Khaled Hosseini, author of Kite Runner, Bob Geldof of Live Aid, and others to campus. The university has established campuses in London and Florence; collaborates with sister institutions in France, Brazil, Vietnam, and Hong Kong; features a broad portfolio of study-abroad opportunities encompassing over 30 countries; and is home to a Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy, which brings together engineering, architecture, technology, economic development, and international relations for a common purpose. Furthermore, it was recently recognized as a non-governmental member of the United Nations.
Enrollment is currently at an all-time high. In addition, RWU was recently ranked for the first time as one of the top ten Comprehensive Colleges in the Northern U.S. by U.S. News & World Report. It was ranked ninth in 2007, up one spot from the previous year.
In January 2009, a group of Communication majors worked to create a catalog of video vignettes on sustainability issues; a portion of that work appeared on the PBS special Planet Forward. One of those students, Kyle Toomey, also appeared on the Planet Forward special, which aired on April 15, 2009.
In 2010, according to The Hawk's Herald, "As of Aug. 31, RWU owed over $146 million in bonds outstanding. This figure reflects a slight decrease in university debt compared to the previous year's figure of over $150 million in bonds owed."
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Famous quotes containing the words reputation and/or culture:
“From the moment a child begins to speak, he is taught to respect the word; he is taught how to use the word and how not to use it. The word is all-powerful, because it can build a man up, but it can also tear him down. That’s how powerful it is. So a child is taught to use words tenderly and never against anyone; a child is told never to take anyone’s name or reputation in vain.”
—Henry Old Coyote (20th century)
“The aggregate of all knowledge has not yet become culture in us. Rather it would seem as if, with the progressive scientific penetration and dissection of reality, the foundations of our thinking grow ever more precarious and unstable.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)