The Best Colleges To Work For: Chronicle of Higher Education 2012 List

In the Chronicle of Higher Education's fifth annual survey of faculty and staff, 103 colleges were recognized as "Great Colleges To Work For" based on several categories measuring the schools as a workplace environment.

Endicott College, which made the Chronicle's Honor Roll list, received praise from its employees for its administration's policy of talking through contractual agreements in informal, as well as formal, settings. The employees attributed this policy as one of the factors that altered a once tense and distrustful relationship between employers and employees at the school.

In no particular order, the schools featured in the following slideshow are among the Chronicle of Higher Education's "Honor Roll" list, meaning these 30 schools reportedly have the happiest employees!

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• Austin Peay University

  Clarksville, Tennessee Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=206197592769118&set=a.206197589435785.56413.203292799726264&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Baylor University

  Waco, Texas Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151036896181926&set=a.10151036895491926.451035.61388081925&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• George Mason University

  Fairfax, Virginia Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=393714344996&set=a.283876059996.37510.5625209996&type=1&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Old Dominion University

  Norfolk, Virginia Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150585652127234&set=a.10150585652112234.377763.20650727233&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• The University of Central Oklahoma

  Edmond, Oklahoma Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150635618903995&set=a.10150635567608995.387562.19921173994&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Sam Houston State University

  Huntsville, Texas Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150566437111619&set=a.10150566437106619.369668.25099076618&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

  Ann Arbor, Michigan Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=21396615752&set=a.21396520752.20887.21105780752&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• University of Mississippi

  Oxford, Mississippi Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=56901183284&set=a.429219918284.232129.56900048284&type=1&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• University of Notre Dame

  Notre Dame, Indiana Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=118191353097&set=a.10150099498568098.318040.113174253097&type=1&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Biola University

  La Mirada, California Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150946339589329&set=a.10150946338299329.439065.18379179328&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• California State University - Channel Islands

  Camarillo, California Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150800647862040&set=a.10150800647852040.467613.191124312039&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• College of Saint Rose

  Albany, New York Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150946243951813&set=a.10150577284061813.375905.185647621812&type=1&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• University of Maryland - Baltimore County

  Baltimore, Maryland Photo Credit: Sofia Silva, UMBC

• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at Daytona Beach

  Daytona Beach, Florida Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=327431383984717&set=a.327431380651384.74976.223937047667485&type=1&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Lee University

  Cleveland, Tennessee Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3670842647812&set=o.11381946844&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• McKendree University

  Lebanon, Illinois Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150275491364116&set=a.10150275491129116.353152.107185104115&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Rollins College

  Winter Park, Florida Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151101391881303&set=a.10150726446966303.460767.50447781302&type=1&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Southern New Hampshire University

  Manchester, New Hampshire Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=409778769043141&set=a.274162465938106.65356.251848824836137&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Texas Christian University

  Fort Worth, Texas Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150217166501992&set=o.155151195064&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Endicott College

  Beverly, Massachusetts Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150588998709639&set=a.10150588998704639.383282.240303314638&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• University of the Incarnate Word

  San Antonio, Texas Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=185655279670&set=a.185655264670.125203.91645279670&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Centre College

  Danville, Kentucky Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150965376009875&set=a.10150644802289875.418949.9425834874&type=1&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Hardin-Simmons University

  Abilene, Texas Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=255737957849430&set=a.255237351232824.57633.243719129051313&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Gettysburg College

  Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150452730716036&set=a.10150452729356036.358434.20796006035&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Furman University

  Greenville, South Carolina Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150312611832467&set=a.424451752466.225138.21017482466&type=1&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• New York Chiropractic College

  Seneca Falls, New York Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=48460423103&set=a.48459493103.57677.48454548103&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Juniata College

  Huntingdon, Pennsylvania Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150288269790911&set=a.10150288268815911.337067.121555285910&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Manchester University

  North Manchester, Indiana Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150730947372225&set=a.10150730945007225.416265.174444797224&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Siena Heights University

  Adrian, Michigan Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=50221568560&set=a.50216768560.44882.49471758560&type=3&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

• Ripon College

  Ripon, Wisconsin Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=374344962949&set=a.426494022949.225735.26884862949&type=1&theater" target="_hplink">Facebook</a>

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Comments

[nasknit]

01:33 AM on 08/10/2012

My mistake- California had 2. BTW, 20 of the 30 are East of the Mississippi!

[nasknit]

01:30 AM on 08/10/2012

One in California! Surprised they got that many.

[Y3rMawm]

02:39 AM on 08/10/2012

It's a former mental institution. Just sayin'

[Amanda McWhorter]

12:22 AM on 08/10/2012

WOOO WOOOOOO!!! Go CI!!!!

[heatherox]

11:06 PM on 08/09/2012

I want to know how Ole Miss made the list. So many thoughts ran through my head when I saw that, and I suppose that the most significant thought was, "How could anyone with THAT much education actually LIKE being in Mississippi?" They are the cream of the crop, and they're surrounded by idiocy that most people in most places cannot even begin to fathom. Is it because they like feeling superior in intelligence to almost EVERYBODY, or did they interview the landscapers as well? Judging by the appearance of the Ole Miss campus, they probably pay their landscapers a significant amount of money to keep up foliage and flower beds all year round (and, by "significant" please notate that I'm using Mississippi standards, and that can be exceptionally lower than any other place in a developed country).

[MS Ind]

09:14 AM on 10/31/2012

I would invite you to come to Mississippi and see what it is all about. I think you would be shocked to learn that everyone isn't quite as stupid as you seem to think.

[heatherox]

09:31 AM on 10/31/2012

Actually, I'm from Mississippi. I know all about it. I agree. I know A LOT of extremely intelligent Mississippians. Unfortunately, there is a lot more stupid than there is brilliant.

[Jamie C Moore]

10:32 PM on 08/09/2012

If you come from a state that offers domestic partner benefits, Virginia's schools can be a real slap in the face. Not their fault as the state of Virginia prohibits the benefits. Still, if you are applying in Virginia, beware that not all faculty are treated equally at the benefits office.

[squirrely girl]

06:26 PM on 08/08/2012

Let's go Peay!

[jf12]

05:19 PM on 08/08/2012

I didn't even know there was a Gettysburg College. Maybe surprisingly, I've been to half of these.

[JoeyDee2]

12:09 PM on 08/08/2012

There are no best colleges to work for if you're an adjunct.

[Capncuster]

12:54 PM on 08/08/2012

Any job is a good job these days. Sad...

[getreal23]

12:03 PM on 08/08/2012

Go Juniata.

[chemguy]

12:00 PM on 08/08/2012

The high-end universities are notoriously bad to work for. They attract plenty of talent based on their reputation alone, so the attitude towards junior staff and faculty (postdocs, adjuncts, assistant profs) is an almost explicit "chew them up and spit them out" policy.

[MyrtleJune]

11:49 AM on 08/08/2012

Interesting. Too bad these are in places that are not the best to be. I have to question the methodology of the survey. "Colleges where employees most want to keep their jobs" could also be the title of this survey.....

[rukiddingmerightnow]

01:21 PM on 08/08/2012

Unclear how you would judge best place to be. And the surveys were completed anonymously so no risk to employees

[TooKrunk]

01:54 PM on 08/08/2012

Living in Waco, Texas wouldn't be that great. Just sayin.

[MyrtleJune]

02:24 PM on 08/08/2012

It would not include the South. Nor the East. Nor the midwest. Or any extremist state like OK.

And, have you ever been a university employee? Because there is NO "anonymously" in any survey on campus.

[ricchh]

11:17 AM on 08/08/2012

Where on earth did they get these stats.

[Jackie Dove]

11:35 AM on 08/08/2012

We filled out on-line surveys about job satisfaction.

[dcsmiss]

09:35 AM on 08/08/2012

It is a shame that the best colleges to work for are not the best colleges to attend...

[a okafor007]

11:23 AM on 08/08/2012

LMFAO so true

[jsmith1105]

12:41 PM on 08/08/2012

I don't know, some of those are pretty darn good schools. Not everyone has to go tier 1 or ivy league.

[dcsmiss]

02:17 PM on 08/08/2012

Obviously not... not everyone can be in the top ten by definition.

[mcmutter]

09:34 AM on 08/08/2012

Penn State - Athletics - Football Program

[JakeT]

05:43 PM on 08/09/2012

penn state - jerry sandusky - child rape cover up = no morals

[ProfessorBIGWUN]

09:29 AM on 08/08/2012

the "best" REALLY LARGE colleges? How about Norwalk Community College?