because it is the Church school. Through some personal experiences and things I've heard it seems to me that BYU faculty is actually pretty average. BYU doesn't get the best and brightest for various reasons, maybe they get some because they view it as a calling. Having said that I think the student body is high on the intelligence and working hard side of things and is superior to most schools and probably comparable to the best universities in the US. But that student body isn't diverse in culture and thinking. That's the negative I see.