BRIEFS

National Catholic Reporter, Sept 29, 2000

Catholic colleges make U.S. News ranking

Catholic colleges and universities once again made it into U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of the nation's best colleges. As in past years, Catholic schools fared best in the rankings of regional universities, topping the lists in the North and Midwest.

In the national ranking, three Catholic colleges made the top 50, including the University of Notre Dame in Indiana (19th), Georgetown University in Washington (23rd) and Boston College (38th). Princeton University ranked top in the nation with Harvard and Yale coming in second and third.

U.S. News & World Report based its rankings, published in its Sept. 11 edition, on a wide range of factors, including academic reputation, retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.

Among regional universities, Villanova University in Pennsylvania placed first in the North. Providence College in Rhode Island was placed second and Fairfield University in Connecticut followed it in third place.

Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., topped the list in the Midwest, while the University of Dayton in Ohio and John Carroll University in Cleveland tied for fourth.

DePaul Law opens center for capital cases

The DePaul University College of Law in Chicago has opened a Center for Justice in Capital Cases to serve as a training ground for law students interested in working on capital cases.

The center will sponsor programs to provide attorneys with training and consultation resources they need and will represent clients in one or two capital cases each year.

Students will be responsible for investigating cases, drafting memorandums, interviewing clients, conducting research and working with experts.

The center, which received funding from the Illinois State Appellate Defender's Office, is under the direction of Andrea Lyon, former chief of the Homicide Task Force of the Cook County Public Defender. She has also headed the Illinois Capital Resource Center, a training ground and resource center for attorneys providing defense in capital cases.

Teree Foster, dean of DePaul's College of Law, said Lyon's expertise and the firsthand experience for students may "convince some of our brightest students to choose careers in criminal law, a field where talented young people are always needed."

Jubilee gathering for church in higher education

Catholic college students, campus ministers, vocation ministers, young adult and youth ministers, teachers, priests and others are expected to join in the Dec. 28-31 "Gathering of the Church in Higher Education for the Third Millennium" in Louisville, Ky.

The Jubilee Year gathering, with the theme, "Opening Minds and Hearts to Christ," is co-sponsored by the National Catholic Student Coalition, the Catholic Campus Ministry Association and the National Association of Diocesan Directors of Campus Ministry.

Speakers scheduled for the gathering include Auxiliary Bishop Robert F. Morneau of Green Bay, Wis.; Diana Hayes, theology professor at Georgetown University in Washington; Msgr. Joseph Champlin, rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, N.Y.; Auxiliary Bishop Peter A. Rosazza of Hartford, Conn.; School Sister of Notre Dame Catherine Bertrand, who chairs the National Religious Vocation Conference; and Terry Hershey, an expert in leadership development.

Further information about the gathering is available on the Internet at www.geocities.com/jubilee2000ky.

--Catholic News Service