The University of Scranton Named Among Nation’s Top 25 Healthiest Universities
The University of Scranton is ranked in a new listing of “The 25 Healthiest College in the U. S.” The national ranking noted that Scranton had the newest fitness center of the universities recognized. The fitness center in Pilarz Hall opened in October 2011.
The University of Scranton ranked as the 25th “Healthiest” college in the United States, according to a new listing posted on Greatist.com, an online source for health and fitness information.
Greatist.com reviewed nearly 100 colleges noted for “exceptional food, fitness facilities, health services, heath-related programming, and just plain old happy students” to find “The 25 Healthiest Colleges in the U.S.”
The ranking reviewed student satisfaction surveys for food, fitness, health services and programming. Each area was weighted evenly and colleges were given a score based on a number of factors, including price, hours of service, quality and innovativeness.
The University of Scranton and the University of Pittsburgh are the only two schools in Pennsylvania to make the national ranking. Scranton is the only Jesuit university to be listed.
The listing noted that Scranton had the newest fitness center of the schools ranked. The posting also noted student comments that the University offered “good healthy food” as inexpensively as “fast food, encouraging healthy eating.” Students also ranked the quality of the food as “very high.”
In addition to other athletic facilities on campus, The University of Scranton opened a fitness center in Pilarz Hall in October 2011, which includes 46 pieces of cardio equipment, 22 Cybex units and an extensive, state-of-the-art free weight area. The University’s dining options for students, provided by ARAMARK, include the Fresh Food Company and other dining options in the DeNaples Center, as well as a P.O.D. (Provisions on Demand) Market and the Mulberry Food Court, which opened in Montrone Hall in October 2011. The P.O.D. Market is designed to engage students about the foods they eat, offering information about the food item’s place of origin and nutritional value. Also, product cues clearly identify food items as vegan, organic, kosher, locally-grown, gluten-free, low-carb or fair trade.
In July of last year, The Huffington Post ranked The University of Scranton sixth among the “friendliest colleges” in the nation. The University has also been listed in The Princeton Review’s “The Best 376 Colleges” for a decade and among U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 “Best Regional Universities in the North” for 18 consecutive years, among other national rankings.
The list of “The 25 Healthiest College in the U. S.” was published for the first time on April 9, 2012.
