Calvin Named Great Place to Work by The Scientist

November 4, 2005 == MEDIA ADVISORY

Calvin College has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Academia by
The Scientist, a magazine for the life sciences now in its 20th year. Calvin
is one of 15 institutions in the U.S. so honored.

Topping the U.S. list for 2005 is Clemson University, located in Clemson,
South Carolina. Internationally, Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science earned
top honors.

"What makes the results of this survey so valuable is that professionals are
providing unfiltered insight into their workplace," says Richard Gallagher,
publisher of The Scientist. "Our participants feel free to express their true
opinions about their employers, and that's what's so significant."

The more than 2,600 academics who responded to this year's survey rated
relationships with their peers, a sense of accomplishment in their work and
access to research resources as the ingredients that make for a great
workplace.

Longtime Calvin biology professor David DeHeer says Calvin brings together
motivated, hard-working students and top teachers in the contemporary,
up-to-date facilities that scientists need for education and research.

"There is a real satisfaction that comes from working with young people as
they discover their gifts and grow as young scientists," says DeHeer, "and that
is a significant part of what makes Calvin a dynamic workplace."

This year's survey by The Scientist also suggests a correlation between job
satisfaction among academic scientists and the size of the city in which their
institution is located: of the top 15 universities in the United States, nine
are located in cities with a population of less than 200,000 and six are in
cities of less than 50,000. Seven schools are in metropolitan areas where the
overall cost of living index is below the national average.

Among other institutions in the top 15 in the U.S. are the University of
Florida, Vanderbilt University, the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Cornell
University, Purdue University and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in
Memphis, Tenn.

For the full story see http://www.calvin.edu/news

For more information about The Scientist's Best Places to Work surveys, see
http://www.the-scientist.com/bptw/bptw_home

Members of the press can contact pr@the-scientist.com

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Received on Fri Nov 4 12:00:14 2005