Faculty analyze sales of homes located near sex offenders

A research paper that examined how the location of homes near registered sex offenders affects sales attracted widespread news coverage and attention from academic and professional organizations.

“Estimating the Effect of Crime Risk on Property Values and Time on Market: Evidence from Megan’s Law in Virginia” was the work of three faculty in the College of Business and Economics: Dr. Ray Brastow, professor of economics; Dr. Bennie Waller, associate professor of finance and real estate and chair of the Department of Accounting, Economics, Finance and Real Estate; and Dr. Scott Wentland, assistant professor of economics.

Based on an analysis of more than 20,000 real estate listings in central Virginia between 1999 and 2009, the paper appeared on the Social Science Research Network website and was presented at a national conference of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association. Coverage of the professors’ research included stories in the Washington Examiner and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and on WSET-TV in Lynchburg.

U.S. News, Forbes, Princeton Review recognize quality of Longwood education

Longwood was cited in three prestigious publications that were released in August 2010.

For the 13^th straight year, Longwood was ranked among the best in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report survey. The U.S News’ “America’s Best Colleges” report ranked Longwood  No. 9 in the category “Top Public Universities-Master’s” in the South. Among all Southern Universities-Master’s (public and private), Longwood remained within the top tier at  No. 27.

Longwood was again one of the best colleges and universities in the Southeast according to The Princeton Review. The education services company selected Longwood as one of 133 institutions it recommended in its “Best in the Southeast” section of its 2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region survey.

For the first time, Longwood was included as one of the best colleges in the United States in the annual survey published by Forbes magazine. The list of undergraduate institutions, compiled with research from the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, is based on 11 factors measuring the quality of the education each school provides, the experiences of its students and the achievements of its graduates. Longwood was ranked 462 out of 610 colleges across the nation that made the list.