To achieve the aspiration that we’ve laid out in our vision statement—“to be one of the nation’s leading colleges, emphasizing academic excellence, global citizenship, personal growth, and responsible leadership”—we must clearly differentiate Rollins from its competitors in the increasingly competitive higher-education market. Over the past several years, we’ve taken the first step in that effort: refining a collection of messages that capture Rollins’ essential nature.
The next step is just as important. We, as a community, must embrace this clear, differentiating message and apply it in a consistent, disciplined way when we communicate about the College. In other words, we all need to sing from the same hymnal. This site is that hymnal.
This digital messaging platform articulates the College’s core messages and supports each with a set of proof points and stories that help reinforce these strategic statements. This site is designed as an internal resource—a tool to help all of us more effectively tell the Rollins story—and it should not be shared outside the College. The site’s proof points and stories, however, are meant to be shared, and we hope you find them a useful resource as you help us share the Rollins story with prospective students, alumni, parents, community members, and others.
The Office of Marketing will continually update the site with new proof points and stories, so we encourage you to bookmark the site and refer to it frequently.
Rollins is courageous.
When Florida had no colleges, we founded one. More than 130 years later, we’re still hard at work, blazing new trails and preparing the next generation of global citizens and responsible leaders to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Rollins is built on a human scale.
We’re powered by relationships, especially the partnerships between inventive, inspiring faculty and motivated, industrious students. Through this intimate and personalized learning environment, students are mentored and challenged by expert faculty every day, helping them unlock their unique potential to make the world brighter, smarter, and more enterprising.
Proof Points
- U.S. News & World Report ranked Rollins the No. 1 regional university in the South in 2020 for undergraduate teaching.
- The average class size at Rollins is 17, and the student-to-faculty ratio is 10:1.
- More than 90 percent of College of Liberal Arts classes are taught by full-time Rollins faculty
- More than 600 students and 100 faculty have participated in Rollins’ Student-Faculty Collaborative Scholarship Program since its inception in 1999.
Stories to Share:
- Two Decades of Discovery: Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Rollins’ Student-Faculty Collaborative Scholarship Program by looking back at 20 of the program’s most significant accomplishments.
- Mentors Matter Most: From original research to globetrotting field studies, explore 11 ways meaningful mentorship will maximize your #Rollins Life.
- Craft Commune: Rachel Simmons ’97’s printmaking studio is a hotbed of collaborative creation.
- Better Together: Students and faculty work side by side to tackle some of their fields’ most pressing issues as part of Rollins’ Student-Faculty Collaborative Scholarship Program.
- Return Engagement: The Rollins way of doing things set these seven alumni professors up for postgraduate success—and pulled them back to teach.
- The Fantastic Dr. Fuse: How physics professor Chris Fuse parlayed his love of the fantastical into a career in science and now uses that passion to inspire his students.
Rollins is globally engaged.
From semester- and summer-long programs to faculty-led field studies throughout the year, Rollins students are empowered to explore the world and test their ability to make it better. Along the way, they gain the courage to put their ideas to work in the world and the know-how to implement them, sharpening their knowledge on the stone of experience.
Proof Points
- More than 75 percent of College of Liberal Arts students study abroad.
- Rollins ranks among the top 10 master’s-granting institutions nationally for the percentage of students who study abroad.
- Rollins offers more than 90 study-abroad programs through its Office of International Programs.
- The U.S. Department of State has named Rollins a top producer of Fulbright Scholars six times. Since 2006, Rollins has produced 50 U.S. Fulbright students.
- International students comprise more than 10 percent of the student body in the College of Liberal Arts (Fall 2019).
Stories to Share
- Partners in Progress: On this field study, students don’t have to move a mountain. But with the help of a Rollins graduate and an entire village, they’re helping transform one.
- Sustainable Roots: Environmental studies professor Barry Allen’s Costa Rican field studies have been preparing Rollins students to become the next leaders in conservation for more than two decades.
- Water Works: Science and service converge in a Rollins field study that has helped bring clean water to the Dominican Republic for more than two decades.
- The Ambassadors: For nearly 70 years, Rollins graduates have served as stewards of international goodwill through the Fulbright Program.
- The Re-Education of Rwanda: Professor Scott Hewit is determined to change education in a small Rwandan village where the lights don’t always turn on and the psychic scars of genocide are all around.
Rollins is entrepreneurial.
When higher education grew static and stilted, Rollins convened a conference to reimagine it. When we saw opportunities to bring our students—to bring education itself—more fully into the world, we seized them. When we don’t see opportunities, we make them.
Proof Points
- In 2015, the College launched Rollins Foundations in the Liberal Arts, an innovative general-education curriculum designed to prepare students to develop solutions to tomorrow’s most pressing problems.
- U.S. News & World Report ranked Rollins among the top 5 most innovative regional universities in the South in its 2020 rankings of Best Colleges.
- Forbes ranked Rollins the No. 11 most entrepreneurial college in America in 2015.
- Rollins is home to Rally, an accelerator program that propels qualified social entrepreneurs to build their ideas into self-sustainable ventures within the Central Florida community.
- Rollins’ social entrepreneurship program was the first in the world to earn accreditation from AACSB International, the world’s leading association of business schools.
- Adam Schwartz ’11 ’12MBA, the founder and CEO of multimillion-dollar startup FRESHeTECH, was recently named to Entrepreneur magazine’s Entrepreneur360 list and Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.
- In 2018, a team of Rollins students advanced to the finals of the Hult Prize, the world’s most prestigious collegiate competition for social innovation startups.
Stories to Share
- Future Proof: Why a Rollins education is perfect prep for our ever-evolving world.
- Showered with Success: Adam Schwartz ’11 ’12MBA’s Orlando-based startup is gaining national attention.
- Power Play: Four Rollins social entrepreneurship students are literally bringing power to the people with a portable upcycled battery that harnesses renewable energy for those who need it most.
- Sisters Sehar ’16 and Shaffaq ’18 Noor founded a computer lab that is helping bring the internet to women in rural Pakistan.
- Fashioning His Future: How Phillip Denizard ’16 turned a simple class project into a career at one of the world’s top fashion brands.
Rollins is civic-minded.
Our faculty-led field studies, student-led Immersion programs, and initiatives in leadership and community engagement have won national recognition. Our innovative, interdisciplinary core curriculum allows students to engage with some of the world’s most pressing issues. We’re proud to be agents of change, in our backyard and around the world.
Proof Points
- SPARC Day—the College’s annual day of service—is meant to ignite interest and passion in first-year students, encouraging them to ask tough questions about themselves, others, and the issues facing communities in the 21st century.
- In the 14 years since SPARC Day was established, nearly 10,000 Tars have contributed more than 40,000 hours of service to an average of 24 community organizations each year.
- Rollins was ranked No. 1 in the nation for the highest percentage of students who participate in alternative breaks for the 2018-19 academic year. It was the seventh consecutive year that Rollins has ranked in the top five and the fifth time the College has held the top spot.
- Rollins is one of just 37 colleges and universities in the world to earn Ashoka U’s Changemaker Campus designation.
- Florida Campus Compact named Rollins the Most Engaged Campus of 2018.
- In 2020, Eliane Heller ’21 became the seventh Rollins student to earn Campus Compact’s Newman Civic Fellowship, which recognizes and supports students committed to achieving social change.
Stories to Share
- Vet With a Cause: Marissa Cobuzio ’19 is pursuing a career in mission-based veterinary medicine because she loves animals—and people.
- Champions for Change: A prestigious leadership development program backed by the United Nations is putting Rollins students on the front lines of today’s most challenging issues.
- 15 Rollins Students Selected for U.N.-backed Millennium Fellowship
- 15 Reasons Rollins is Florida’s Most Engaged Campus
- Rollins Ranked as a Leader in Alternative Breaks
- Restoration With a View: A group of Rollins students went on an alternative spring break Immersion to Moab, Utah, for a service learning experience of a lifetime.
- Behind the Scenes: SPARC Day 2017
- Cool Class: Strategies for Changemakers
Rollins is rigorous.
Rollins is a comprehensive liberal arts college committed to providing a transformative education in a healthy, responsive, and inclusive environment. We are dedicated to scholarship, academic achievement, creative accomplishment, cultural enrichment, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship. Our graduates leave Rollins as global citizens and responsible leaders empowered to lead meaningful lives and forge productive careers.
Proof Points
- U.S. News & World Report ranked Rollins the No. 1 regional university in the South in its 2020 rankings of “Best Colleges.”
- For 25 consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Rollins among the top 2 regional universities in the South.
- Forbes ranked Rollins’ Crummer Graduate School of Business the No. 1 MBA program in Florida and the No. 51 MBA program in the nation.
- College Consensus, a school rankings and student review aggregator, rated Rollins the No. 1 college in Florida in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
- Rebecca Charbonneau ’16 was one of just 35 U.S. students to earn a 2018 Gates Cambridge Scholarship. She is pursuing her PhD in the history of science at the University of Cambridge.
- Lauren Neldner ’20 earned a 2019 Goldwater scholarship, the preeminent undergraduate award in the fields of mathematics, engineering, and the natural sciences. In 2017, Alyssa DeLucia ’18 was one of 240 U.S. students to earn a 2017 Goldwater Scholarship.
- Isaac James ’19 was 62 U.S. students to earn a 2019 Truman Scholarship, the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the U.S.
- In 2016, the Rollins College Debate Team won the National Parliamentary Debate Association’s Novice Nationals Championship Tournament.
Stories to Share
- We’re No. 1! Rollins is one of the nation’s best colleges, but don’t just take our word for it. Explore some of the ways college experts rank Rollins No. 1.
- Persistently Prestigious: Rollins’ academic excellence combined with unmatched personalized attention prepares our students to land some of the world’s most competitive opportunities.
- Space to Explore: How Rollins prepared Rebecca Charbonneau ’16 to thrive at two of the world’s most prestigious universities
- Nelder ’20 Earns Goldwater Scholarship
- James ’19 Earns Truman Scholarship
- Rollins Ranked Among the Nation’s Best Colleges
- Rollins Ranked No. 1 College in Florida
- DeLucia Earns Goldwater Scholarship
- Rollins Ranked No. 1 in Leadership Development
Rollins is committed to excellence on and off the field.
Rollins knows athletics is about more than winning games. It’s about building relationships, developing character, and learning to lead. These traits help our student-athletes set the pace—in competition and in the classroom. With the highest academic success rate in the Sunshine State Conference, Rollins ranks among the nation’s best in blending academic and athletic success.
Proof Points
- Rollins has won 23 national championships, 93 Sunshine State Conference Championships, and 10 Sunshine State Conference Mayor’s Cup Championships.
- Rollins has earned the Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence for nine consecutive years.
- Rollins student-athletes have posted a cumulative GPA above 3.0 for more than 34 straight semesters.
- Julian Grundler ’18, a chemistry major and goalkeeper on the men’s soccer team, earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, a prestigious award given to student-athletes who excel in both academics and athletics.
- Lizzie Berry ’19 and Greg Taicher ’19 were named Sunshine State Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
Stories to Share
- Julian Grundler ’18 Earns NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
- Valedictorian Becca Wilson ’18 reflects on what drove her to excel—in the classroom and on the court.
- Rollins Ranked Nation’s No. 1 DII Women’s Golf Program
- Jakobi Bonner ’20 Selected for NCAA Leadership Forum
- Captain of (New) Industry: Former tennis team captain Matt Umbers ’05 is leveraging his leadership skills to champion new technology
- Lizzie Berry ’19 Named Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- Greg Taicher ’19 Named Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Rollins is ideally located to deliver a 21st-century liberal arts education.
Our idyllic residential campus is situated in the heart of Winter Park, a friendly cosmopolitan community on the edge of Orlando, one of the fastest-growing metro areas nationally and one of the most diverse and innovative cities in the U.S. Rollins grads are ready to lead anywhere in the world, but they don’t have far to look for opportunity.
Proof Points
- Rollins is consistently ranked among the country’s most beautiful campuses. In 2015, The Princeton Review named Rollins the No. 1 most beautiful college campus in the nation.
- In 2018, Forbes ranked Orlando the No. 6 best big city in the U.S. for jobs and the No. 1 metro area with the most STEM job growth.
- Orlando was ranked the No. 1 city in the U.S. for job growth in 2015 and 2016 by the U.S. Department of Labor.
- WalletHub ranked Orlando as the No. 3 best city for jobs and the No. 4 best city in which to start a career.
- WalletHub ranked Orlando as the No. 2 city for college students in the country and the No. 1 midsize college city in the U.S.
- WalletHub has ranked Orlando in the top 10 for internships per capita, and Rollins has an entire office dedicated to helping Tars secure the best resume-builders in The City Beautiful.
- WalletHub ranked Orlando No. 2 on its list of the most fun cities in America.
- More than 150 international companies representing 20 countries do business in the Orlando area.
Stories to Share
- 11 Reasons Orlando is the Best College City in America
- Proving Grounds: Spring 2018 Internships
- Groundwork for Greatness: Summer 2018 Internships
- 50 Reasons Tars Love Winter Park and Orlando
- Clinical Trials: For a decade, an intensive shadowing program at Florida Hospital has helped prepare Rollins undergrads for careers in medicine.
- Blogs & Brews: An opportunity for first-year students to work with a real-world client delivers big gains on both sides.
Rollins is a diverse and inclusive community of learners.
Rollins fosters a diverse and inclusive campus community and celebrates the open exchange of ideas within a climate of civility and mutual respect. We view differences—from race and ethnicity to sexual orientation and political perspectives—as rich opportunities for understanding, learning, and growth.
Proof Points
- The Rollins student body includes students from more than 60 countries and more than 40 states.
- Rollins has an active Diversity Council and several other diversity-related organizations that promote multicultural awareness and inclusiveness.
- Rollins boasts more than 100 student organizations, from the Asian American Student Association and Black Student Union to Spectrum (LGBTQ+) and Voices for Women.
Stories to Share
- Home Away from Home: From photos and passports to politics and perspectives, find out what international students bring to Rollins.
- EMBARK, a new peer-orientation program, is helping first-year students acclimate to Rollins and embark on their college journey.
Rollins is an engine of opportunity.
Rollins believes every student should have access to a transformative education. Through its College of Liberal Arts, Crummer Graduate School of Business, and Hamilton Holt School, Rollins offers an immersive learning experience to meet the unique needs of a wide array of students.
Proof Points
- More than 95 percent of College of Liberal Arts students receive some form of financial aid.
- Each year at Rollins, students receive more than $75 million in state, federal, and institutional resources.
- The average aid package for enrolling first-year students with demonstrated need is $35,000.
- Rollins offers a multitude of partial merit scholarships that range from $10,000 to $30,000.
- Since 2005, Rollins has awarded more than $16 million through the Alfond Scholars Program.
Stories to Share
- Investing in Opportunity: Rollins Professional Fellows
- Rollins Named a Best Value School
- Rollins Named a Best College for Merit Aid