Richmond ranked most beautiful American liberal arts college

Examiner.com ranked University of Richmond as the most beautiful liberal arts college in America. In a list of 16 colleges, Richmond is tied with Swarthmore College for first place.

Members of the Higher Education Consultants Association and the Independent Educational Consultants Association ranked the colleges. The comments listed about Richmond were, “Classic architecture. Gorgeous, lush ground with lots of pine trees, and a cute little lake as well,” and, “Grounds feel like a country club.”

Susie Reid, the director of operations and maintenance at University Facilities, said she agreed with this ranking. “I’ve been to several campuses myself and realize how much I take the beauty here at UR for granted,” she said. The University Facilities department employs 204 men and women who keep the building and grounds clean and maintained inside and out, Reid said.

Richmond’s beauty is a product of several factors, Reid said. The grounds are maintained to a high standard and the landscaping team really cares about what the campus looks like and that it shows in their work, she said.

Steve Glass, Richmond’s horticulturist and landscape manager, said University Facilities had many dedicated employees who were committed to preserving and adding to the existing beauty of campus. “There must be a great sense of urgency with grounds maintenance to maintain the beauty of the campus, as it only take hours or days for the grounds to become unkempt,” Glass said.

Another reason our campus is so beautiful is the architecture, Reid said. The buildings look “collegial” and how a university should look, “grand, majestic, historical, and traditional," she said.

“The fact that a brand new building can go next door to a 75-year-old building and you have to look hard to see the age difference is a grand accomplishment,” Reid said.

Alex Deabreu, a Richmond freshman, said the campus’ appearance helped him make his college decision. “A lot of schools I was looking at had a nice campus but none have that ‘college-y’ feel like they have in the movies, but I came here and it was exactly what I thought college is with the forest and the nice lake and all the nice views so it really helped me to pick this school,” Deabreu said.

To see the full list of the 16 most beautiful liberal arts colleges in America, visit this link.

Contact reporter Bridget Friendly at bridget.friendly@richmond.edu