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‘Moving forward’: FAMU makes a huge leap to No. 81 in U.S. News & World Report rankings

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‘Moving forward’: FAMU makes a huge leap to No. 81 in U.S. News & World Report rankings

Florida A&M University is steadily climbing up the Top 100 in the U.S. News & World Report’s “2024-2025 Best Colleges” rankings.

After significantly moving up last year, FAMU has made a huge leap once again as it jumped to No. 81 in the latest rankings – 10 spots from 91st place in 2023 when the university rose by 12 spots from No. 103 to meet a long-time goal of joining the Top 100.

But the placement makes it tied with a handful of nine other universities in the No. 81 spot: Montclair State University, Stockton University, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Kansas, the University of Kentucky, the University of Massachusetts (Lowell), the University of Nebraska (Lincoln), the University of North Carolina (Charlotte) and the University of Rhode Island.

FAMU also remains the top public HBCU (historically Black college or university) in the nation for the sixth consecutive year, maintaining its third place – tied with Tuskegee University – among both public and private HBCUs.

“The rankings confirm what we already know – that FAMU is moving forward, and FAMU has the infrastructure to continue to be an even greater university not just for Tallahassee or Florida, but for the world,” FAMU interim President Timothy Beard told the Tallahassee Democrat.

“We change the lives of students every day, and they go out and change the world. That information is obviously getting around, so we’re still attracting students who are the best and the brightest.”

FAMU ranking in 2023: ‘Outstanding’: FAMU breaks into Top 100 in U.S. News & World Report rankings

While FAMU and Tuskegee now hold the No. 3 spot among the nation’s public and private HBCUs — after FAMU knocked Tuskegee down to No. 4 last year — the No. 1 spot continues to be held by Spelman College, with Howard University coming in second place once again.

In addition, FAMU moved up a spot from No. 21 to No. 20 among all national universities on the Social Mobility Index, which measures the ability of universities to alter the economic trajectory of students and their families.

In performance-based funding metric scores this year, FAMU continues to exceed one of the Florida Board of Governor’s main expectations for the state’s institutions to be above an access rate of 30%, which represents the percentage of undergraduates with a Pell Grant. 

Although FAMU is on the board’s watch list when it comes to the performance metrics, it has an access rate of 56.1% – the highest out of the 12 universities.

FAMU Board of Trustees Chair Kristin Harper gave former President Larry Robinson a shout out in her comments on the rankings, which came out a little over two months after Robinson decided to resign as the university dealt with a mishandled major gift that an investigation report found to be fraudulent.

“This tremendous accomplishment is a testament to FAMU students, faculty, administrators,” Harper said in a prepared statement. “Their collective commitment to academic excellence and student outcomes is changing lives and transforming communities, one student at a time.”

Beard also commended Robinson for his work that played a role in FAMU’s upward trajectory in the rankings.

“The improvement in the ranking is indicative of the work that our faculty, staff and administrators have been doing for a while,” Beard said. “Obviously, I believe it predates my return, and I give kudos to former President Robinson, his leadership and the current administration that embedded a culture of high expectations.”

Beard plans to hold a press conference on the at FAMU’s Will Packer Performing Arts Amphitheater Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. to celebrate the university’s strides in the national rankings.

Here are the placements of the Top 10 public and private HBCUs across the nation in the U.S. News & World Report “2024-2025 Best Colleges” rankings:

  • No. 1: Spelman College, private
  • No. 2: Howard University, private
  • No. 3: Florida A&M University, public
  • No. 3: Tuskegee University, private
  • No. 5: Morehouse College, private
  • No. 6: Xavier University of Louisiana, private
  • No. 7: Hampton University, private
  • No. 8 North Carolina A&T University, public
  • No. 9: Delaware State University, public
  • No. 10: Morgan State University, public

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

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