UH Hilo Named One of Outside Magazine's Top 40 Colleges

Outside magazine, a national lifestyle publication, has named the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo one of the 40 best colleges in North America in its September 2003 issue. UH Hilo, the only Hawaiʻi school to make the honor roll, ranked No. 19 among "the coolest places to work, play, study, party and live." The issue is currently available on newsstands.

"We‘ve known for a long time what a special atmosphere we have here in UH Hilo," Chancellor Rose Tseng said. "But the secret‘s out now. This is one of the greatest places in the world for students who embrace an outdoor lifestyle."

Outside enlisted "an able crew of undergrad reporters" and "narrowed the honor roll down to 40 schools that turn out smart grads with top-notch academic credentials, a healthy environmental ethos and an A+ sense of adventure."

UH Hilo student Kelly Clarke, a senior majoring in communication, reported on UH Hilo and the Hawaiʻi Island community for Outside. Clarke waxed joyous about the myriad possibilities for outdoors adventures close to UH Hilo.

"On a typical day, townspeople kayak or paddle canoes on Hilo Bay, jog along Kamehameha Avenue, or surf at nearby Honoliʻi Beach. Farther afield, there‘s hiking in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park…and skiing and snowboarding on Mauna Kea," Clarke wrote.

Clarke‘s report also covered the ethnic and cultural diversity on the 115-acre UH Hilo campus as well as characterizing Hawaiʻi Island itself as "a giant enviro laboratory," mentioning the unique opportunities for those who major in geology, geography, astronomy and marine science.

Other notable schools on the Top 40 list include: UC Santa Cruz (1); University of Colorado Boulder (2); Dartmouth (7); Humboldt State (12); Cornell (14); Stanford (17); Oregon (28); Arizona (33); Princeton (35).

"This is really an honor for us," Tseng noted. "But more than that, it‘s validation."