A senior class from Cornerstone Christian School outside Birmingham, Ala., takes a tour of Lee University's
campus in Cleveland, Tenn. Hosting junior and senior classes for a day is the newest trend in college recruiting.WASHINGTON, D.C. - Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., has been ranked as a "top tier" college in the 2015 "Best Colleges" edition of U.S. News & World Report.
Lee was also ranked in the 2015 "Up-and-Comers" list, which comprises only 47 institutions nationwide. These are institutions that "have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus, or facilities," according to the report.
This is Lee's third appearance on the U.S. News list in the past 10 years.
Also in the U.S. News report, Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., ranked third in the Southern Regional University ranking; Belmont University in Nashville ranked fifth on that list and Lipscomb University in Nashville came in at eighth.
The Regional College Ranking for the South placed Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga., as No. 6; Aquinas College in Nashville, as No. 14; Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn., as No. 22 and Southern Adventist University in Collegedale at No. 34.
Vanderbilt University moved up to 16th after five years as 17th. Vanderbilt shared the number 16 ranking with Brown and Notre Dame.
The University of Tennessee's nationwide ranking dropped three places, to 50th, among public universities, according to the report.
Democrats to meet Saturday
JASPER, Tenn. - The Marion County Democratic Party will hold its monthly meeting at 10 a.m. CDT on Saturday at the County Commission Building, 5520 U.S. Highway 41, Jasper, Tenn.
The agenda will include congratulations to Democratic winners in the August general election; introduction of Democratic candidates in upcoming elections; planning for the future and the announcement of two new Democratic projects.
Society meeting focuses on Emery
DALTON, Ga. - The focus of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society's Sept. 21 meeting will be the "The Emery Center -- Past, Present & Future."
The meeting will take place at 2:30 p.m. at the Emery Center, 110 W. Emery St., Dalton, Ga. The public is invited to tour the Emery Center along with members of the Society.
The Emery Center was built in 1866 as the Emery Street School for African-American children, according to a news release from the society. The school escaped demolition in 1999 and city leaders voted to preserve it. Today the center continues to offer a variety of services to Dalton and Whitfield County residents.
Funds requested for universities
ATLANTA - The University System of Georgia Board of Regents is requesting $1.99 billion for its 2016 budget and a separate $254.8 million for facilities.
University system officials say the budget request is $46.4 million higher than the state's appropriation for fiscal year 2015.
The request includes $19.2 million for the Georgia Public Library System to fund computer replacement, repairs and more.