Kentucky $250M: Forbes Top 100 Centre College Receives $250 Million Donation, Largest Ever Given To U.S. Liberal Arts College, Is This Fair?

Kentucky college gets $250m. How many of you have ever heard of Danville, Kentucky or, Centre College in Danville? Well, according to Forbes Magazine's annual list of America's Top Colleges, teeny Centre College was ranked 80th on the list. Better still for Centre College and it's future students, the institution has just been granted a $250 million gift by a wealthy donor. 

Centre College, with an annual cost of $46,400, total student population of 1,309 and student-to-faculty ratio of 1:11, was ranked No. 80 on the list. Centre also was ranked No. 12 in the south and No. 65 among private colleges.

The rankings look at public and private colleges and universities across the country, and consider teaching quality, career prospects, graduation rates and low student debt as measurements for a school's success.

The donation, from the A. Eugene Brockman Charitable Trust, is the largest given to a liberal arts college, the school said. It is also among the largest ever received by any educational institution in the United States. The largest gift was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's $350 million donation to Johns Hopkins University, announced earlier this year. Bloomberg has given more than $1 billion to the school over the years.

The donation, in the form of stock in Universal Computer Systems Holding Inc., will help fund scholarships, the school said. It is also the lead gift in the school's current fundraising drive, the $500 million Third Century Campaign. 

"The gift marks a fundamental transformation in Centre College's ability to support students whose hard work, character and intellect have demonstrated their potential for leadership," college President John A. Roush said. "The challenges and opportunities confronting our nation and world are increasingly complex, and the Brockman Scholars Program will empower talented young women and men with the knowledge, creativity and integrity necessary to address them."

In evaluating the 650 ranked institutions on the list, Forbes focused on the rapidly changing landscape in higher education as the theme of this year's ratings. Forbes partnered with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in conducting its research. The magazine editors focused on what students are getting out of college when compiling its annual list, according to Forbes.com.

Stanford University was ranked No. 1, followed by Pomona College, Princeton University, Yale University and Columbia. Rounding out the Top 10 are Swarthmore College, United States Military Academy, Harvard, Williams College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

It is the first time in six years that two West Coast schools have been selected No. 1 and No. 2.