Pomona College is currently ranked sixth out of all colleges on The Global Language Monitor’s TrendTopper MediaBuzz College and University Rankings.
The report, released biannually, ranks colleges and universities in terms of their presence in international print and electronic media. The report is meant to assess schools’ media awareness and global reputations.
Pomona rose from its position of 21 in the spring 2009 college rankings to sixth this previous fall. The top-ranked college was Wellesley College, while the University of Michigan topped the university rankings.
“During 2008-09, Pomona College was mentioned more than 2,800 times in print, broadcast, and on online news sites, a record for the nine years we’ve been tracking,” said Cynthia Peters, Director of Media Relations at Pomona College.
Peters said Pomona’s large media presence was a result of the school’s reputation as a leading liberal arts college as well as its policy of faithful media responsiveness.
“This ranges from the availability of executive staff to answer reporters’ questions to the hard work and time of faculty media ‘stars’ who have done their best to meet media requests when their expertise areas have exploded in the news,” she said.
President David Oxtoby and Vice President Bruce Poch, for example, are oft-quoted on the topic of college admissions.
“In 2008-09, Professor Dru Gladney and Professor Miguel Tinker Salas each were interviewed or quoted in the media more than 350 times,” Peters said. “Gladney was quoted primarily on the ethnic unrest in Tibet and Xinjiang, China, as well as the life of minorities in China. Tinker Salas was interviewed primarily in Spanish language media about the U.S. presidential election, U.S. foreign policy toward Mexico and Latin America, and political events throughout Latin America.”
Peters said the Office of Communications is constantly working to connect with the media—speaking with reporters, setting up meetings for journalists with faculty and administration, and writing news releases about various Pomona programs, events, and achievements.
“We always respond to media calls quickly with an understanding of their needs and deadlines,” she said. “The other part of the media relations mission is to get the information out there about the wonderful people and programs here at Pomona.”
Peters said this ranking reflects well on Pomona’s student body, faculty, and administration.
“Pomona’s media ‘buzz’ tells me that the College is recognized by the media as one of the nation’s best liberal arts colleges, and the place to find faculty expertise on a variety of interesting subjects; smart, articulate students able to comment on local and world events; and innovative new programs and approaches in higher education,” she said.