Young America's Foundation Lists PHC as "Top Conservative College"

March 12th, 2010

By David Halbrook

CONTACT:

David Halbrook Patrick Henry College (540) 441-8722 OfficeOfCommunications@phc.edu

PHC President, Dr. Graham Walker, addresses the Young America's Foundation at the Reagan Ranch

The Young America’s Foundation (YAF) has included Patrick Henry College on its 2010 list of “Top Conservative Colleges,” the sixth annual directory for parents and students seeking quality conservative colleges. The announcement was made this week, March 11, at a special gathering of conservative college presidents, deans, and students at YAF’s Reagan Ranch headquarters outside Santa Barbara, CA.

The 2009-2010 Top Conservative College list named Patrick Henry College among 13 other schools that offer a conservative experience for students. The list also includes: Christendom College, College of the Ozarks, Franciscan University, Grove City College, Harding University, Hillsdale College, The King's College, Liberty University, Regent University, Saint Vincent College, Thomas Aquinas College, Thomas More College, and Wisconsin Lutheran College.

“We produce our list in response to frequently asked questions received from parents and students looking for an alternative to the politically correct state and private universities that are, today, the norm in our country,” said Roger Custer, YAF’s conference director. “The schools on our list offer a more holistic, true liberal education, allowing students to consider all ideas and decide for themselves what’s true and good, rather that just presenting one side of the story, which is usually a leftist side of the story.”

The YAF list, he said, is intended as an alternative to traditional “best colleges” lists, which often feature schools that “deluge students with a culture of political correctness and subject matters peripheral to the values of our country, such as postmodernism, Marxism, feminism, and all manner of gender studies.” Only colleges that foster an atmosphere “friendly to the conservative lifestyle and ideals” are celebrated on YAF’s list.

Patrick Henry College President Dr. Graham Walker traveled to Santa Barbara’s Reagan Ranch this week to receive the award and to address fellow colleagues and college students at the presentation ceremony.

Dr. Graham Walker (fourth from left) sits with other speakers

“The leadership of the Young America's Foundation has honored Patrick Henry College, and they welcomed me warmly at their Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara,” Dr. Walker reports. “In my remarks accepting this honor on the College's behalf, I noted the difference between conservative and liberal colleges:  a truly conservative college offers education, not propaganda.  Liberal colleges typically regard education as mere social conditioning; a truly conservative college features non-partisan learning -- learning that is accountable to objective facts, including the greatest fact of all, God Himself as revealed in the scriptures.  The future of conservatism depends on the credibility that comes from real learning.  I thank God that America has conservative colleges, and that Patrick Henry College is helping to lead the way among them.”

Custer cited the many PHC student interns who have worked alongside the YAF in recent years as winsome proof of the College’s conservative credentials, and as an important factor in PHC’s candidacy.

“A number of PHC interns have attended our programs,” he explained. “We’ve been very impressed with those students and, personally, it just gives me hope for our country that such dedicated young people with conservative principles are learning about the founding principles of our country. Everyone at YAF finds it very encouraging.”

Patrick X. Coyle, Vice President of Young America’s Foundation, presents Dr. Graham Walker with a plaque for Patrick Henry College as a "top conservative college"

Custer explained that the YAF has sought to serve the many conservative students seeking alternatives in higher education who lack resources to help them identify institutions that fit these criteria. The 2009-2010 “Top Conservative College” list, in turn, features institutions that proclaim, through their mission and programs, a dedication to discovering, maintaining, and strengthening the conservative values of their students. Unlike U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” annual list -- which grades institutions based on factors such as peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, and student selectivity while ignoring the overall college experience -- Young America’s Foundation presents only institutions that offer a conservative experience for students. 

“These colleges offer an alternative to the liberal status quo,” YAF ‘s website affirms, “because they allow and encourage conservative students to explore conservative ideas and authors.  They offer coursework and scholarship in conservative thought and emphasize principles including smaller government, strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values.  Furthermore, they avoid trends in academe by continuing to study Western Civilization instead of straying toward the study of Marxism, feminism, sexuality, postmodernism, and other distractions that do not give students a complete understanding of our country, our culture, and its founding principles."

To learn more about Young America’s Foundation, go to the Young America’s Foundation website.