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The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Board of Trustees voted Oct. 22 to designate a 56-acre undeveloped tract north of University Drive as the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Forest, a dedicated land preserve and natural area. The action protects the largest remaining intact forest in the Town of Â鶹ÊÓƵ and safeguards thousands of species of plants, animals and other organisms.

Through a special Facebook project, many members of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ family have written personal tributes to those who bring light into the our community. Read what they have to say, watch a special video to get into the spirit, and then leave your message. Take time to give a simple gift, and let someone at Â鶹ÊÓƵ know how much they contribute to life at our university. Links to the video and the Facebook page are below…

A special report by the Chronicle of Higher Education on graduation rates at 1,400 four-year colleges and universities highlights Â鶹ÊÓƵ's improving rates at a time when many other schools are experiencing declining numbers. In this study, Â鶹ÊÓƵ ranked #16 out of more than 300 private master's-level universities, the top school in the Southeast in this category.

Heather Couture ’10 realized halfway through her studies at Â鶹ÊÓƵ that a public relations career simply didn’t fit her interests. The fashion industry, however, was a different story, and a senior year visit to Career Services led to her involvement with the Macy's Buying/Planning Executive Development Program in New York City.

Alumni have made more than 100 gifts to the university after viewing Â鶹ÊÓƵ's Real Alumni of Genius video, the second in a series of videos this year that will highlight the importance of annual giving. Check out this new video featuring three Â鶹ÊÓƵ presidents and one faculty rock star:

Parents, students, community leaders and Â鶹ÊÓƵ administrators gathered Tuesday for a half-day conversation on the future of Jewish culture on campus as the number of Jewish students continues to grow and as the university embarks on a commitment to global engagement and diversity in its newest strategic plan.

A special Residential Campus Committee has spent the past year drafting a plan that will transform Â鶹ÊÓƵ's living-learning environment. Through a new website, the committee is inviting a campus conversation about the details of this initiative, a major goal of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Commitment strategic plan.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has ranked Â鶹ÊÓƵ among the nation’s top 50 best values in private higher education and the #9 university in lowest total costs, a distinction published in the magazine’s December edition. The 2010-11 ranking is the fifth consecutive top-50 placement of Â鶹ÊÓƵ by Kiplinger’s.