Winter 2008 - Virginia State University

4News from University AvenueVSU Named Top PublicMaster’s Level HBCU in AmericaU.S. News & World Report (USN&WR),in its first-ever ranking of 81Historically Black Colleges andUniversities (HBCUs), namedVirginia State University the toppublic HBCU in the country amongmaster’s-level institutions; fifthbest public HBCU overall; and 15thbest HBCU, public or private, inAmerica.USN&WR had previously rankedVSU as the number one, publicHBCU in the Southern Region –Master’s Level in its 2008 BestColleges in America rankings.In its HBCU rankings, USN&WR usedthe same 11 broad categories as inits “Best Colleges” survey. Thesecategories represent six, morespecific areas: peer assessment,financial resources, graduation andretention, student selectivity,faculty resources and alumnigiving. In the HBCU rankings, the81 schools were compared to oneanother. Of these 81 institutions,39 were public.According to study authors RobertJ. Morse and Samuel Flanigan “TheU.S. News rankings system rests ontwo pillars. It relies on quantitativemeasures that education expertshave proposed as reliableindicators of academic quality, andit’s based on our nonpartisan viewof what matters in education.”In 2004, VSU adopted a long rangestrategic plan that included, as oneof its primary goals, a rise throughthe USN&WR rankings. VSUPresident Eddie N. Moore, Jr. said“We set out witha very ambitious,yet eminentlyrealistic, vision”–President Eddie N. Moore, Jr.the USN&WR ranking validates thePlan’s mission. “We set out with avery ambitious, yet eminentlyrealistic, vision,” he said. “Threeyears in, we have completed nearlyVirginia State University gained 19spots in the 2008 U.S. News & WorldReport’s (USN&WR) annual rankingof America’s best colleges anduniversities. VSU’s ranking of 75among master’s universities in theSouthern Region made theUniversity the highest ranked,public, historically black collegeand university (HBCU) and the thirdhighest ranked HBCU in the region.The region in which VSU was placedincludes 119 peer institutionsone-third of our goals and shownsignificant progress on another 40percent of our measurable actionitems.”President Moore said thecornerstones of VSU’s continuedsuccess are enhancing the school’sacademic offerings and attractingtop students. “This past year, wegraduated our first doctoralstudents, our first nursing studentsand our first students in two newmaster’s programs,” he said. “Weinstituted creative financial aidinitiatives, specifically the LowIncome Families with TalentedStudents program, which allowsus to compete with any school inthe Commonwealth for Virginia’sbest students.”For a complete list of theUSN&WR’s HBCU rankings, visithttp://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1_hbcu_brief.php. VSU Surges in U.S. News Rankingsrepresenting 12 states. TheUSN&WR evaluates schools in 11broad categories that represent six,more specific areas:peer assessment,financial resources, graduation andretention, student selectivity, facultyresources and alumni giving.In 2004, VSU adopted a long rangestrategic plan that included, as oneof its primary goals, a rise throughthe USN&WR rankings. At thattime, VSU ranked in the Fourth Tierof the rankings. In the ensuingVIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY