CHAPMAN HONORS, RANKINGS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2008-2009 Chapman University Rankings, Honors and Top News

• Chapman University was ranked #10 in its category in U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges,” ranked #2 in student selectivity, and was rated one of the “Best Values” in the nation in the same report.
• The George L. Argyos School of Business and Economics was named one of BusinessWeek’s Top 50 Undergraduate Business Schools.
• Chapman University School of Law continued its rise in the rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s “Nation’s Best Law Schools,” and the Chapman tax law program was ranked #17 in the nation.
• Chapman University recruited to its faculty a world-renowned physics and computational sciences team, including Yakir Aharonov, Ph.D., Wolf Prize winner and frequent Nobel nominee and co-discoverer of the Aharonov-Bohm Effect, one of the cornerstones of modern physics.
• Chapman’s new Economic Science Institute, which includes Nobel laureate Vernon L. Smith, Ph.D., moved into its permanent home in Wilkinson Hall and began work on its groundbreaking laboratory experiments in economic behavior. The Institute also initiated a lecture series featuring distinguished speakers involved in economic sciences.
• Chapman University announced the establishment of its new Schmid College of Science, thanks to the generosity of Don and Dick Schmid, sons of one of Orange County’s most visionary farming and business leaders, Walter Schmid.
• Chapman’s new $24 million Erin J. Lastinger Athletics Complex opened on Homecoming Day, October 4, with crowds of appreciative alumni, students and supporters touring the impressive new home of Panther athletics, including 2,000-seat Ernie Chapman Stadium, the Zee Allred Aquatics Center and Olympic Pool, and the Nancy and James Baldwin Family Pavilion.
• The 2008 American Celebration Gala, held on Nov. 4, honored Broadway legend Tommy Tune (Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award) and Kelly and Jim Mazzo (Corporate Citizens of the Year). The event netted $2.1 million for student scholarships, continuing its run as Orange County’s most successful fund-raising gala.
• The Chapman University School of Law established a first-of-its-kind law clinic aimed at serving military personnel and their families. The Chapman AMVETS Clinic provides military personnel with free legal advice and representation in civil matters.
• Chapman University was recognized again by Entrepreneur Magazine and The Princeton Review again as one of the nation’s Top Ten entrepreneurial universities in both the graduate and undergraduate programs.
• The Chapman University Choir toured Italy, receiving remarkable acclaim from the European press and acting as outstanding musical ambassadors for the university. The grand finale of the tour was a performance before Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.
• Marilyn Harran Ph.D., Stern Chair in Holocaust Education and director of Chapman’s Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education, was named the 2008-09 winner of the prestigious Ann Frank Award for Holocaust scholars.
• A Chapman dance student, Katee Shean, was named the Best Female Dancer on the Fox hit TV series “So You Think You Can Dance?” A former Chapman dance student, Stephen “Twitch” Boss, was the show’s male runner-up.
• Chapman University School of Law added Ronald D. Rotunda, one of the nation’s most influential legal minds, and his wife Kyndra Rotunda, a nationally recognized expert on military law, to its list of distinguished faculty. Former U.S. Congressman and California State Senator Tom Campbell also joined the law faculty as Presidential Fellow and 2010 Fletcher Jones Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law.
• Chapman’s Argyros School of Business and Economics began partnerships with Reutlingen University in Germany and the Anglo-American University in Prague, Czech Republic, to offer Chapman programs through both schools.
• Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts launched a documentary film program in Cambodia, which seeks to shed light on important yet underrated issues shaping our global culture. The film school also announced that it would partner with Ngee Ann Polytechnical University in Singapore to offer an innovative two-year program in Creative Producing.
• Chapman’s men’s lacrosse team claimed the Western Collegiate Lacrosse league title and soared into the National Championship game, finishing second in the nation.
• Chapman’s baseball team earned a berth in the NCAA Division III National Championships and finished sixth in the national finals. Two players were selected for the Major League Baseball national draft: Kurt Yacko (Colorado Rockies) and Mike Vass (Milwaukee Brewers). Chapman baseball spent 11 straight weeks ranked #1 in the nation and won school-record 20 consecutive games.

Chapman students won many major regional and national awards in 2008-09, including:

• The computer science team excelled in the Microsoft Imagine Cup and competed in the world finals in Cairo, Egypt.
• The Food Science College Bowl team won the Mountain West College Bowl and took third place in the national competition.
• The Chapman University Guitar Duo and Quartet won first place at the prestigious national guitar competition just held at the University of Texas.