FAMU improves its academic profile using "true grit and mother wit"

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The U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) college rankings for 2022-23 were released earlier this week and FAMU was again recognized  as the No. 1 public HBCU in the country for the fourth consecutive year. FAMU ranked No. 7 among all HBCUs in USNWR’s HBCU rankings, and No. 103 among all public universities, and No. 202 among all national universities both public and private.
 
Across the railroad tracks, our Tallahassee neighbor FSU remained locked in a three way tie at No. 19 with the University of Maryland, the University of Washington, and Rutgers. FSU’s ranking about the top 20 universities for the fourth consecutive year.  FSU has made a steady and dramatic rise since a ranking of 43 in the 2016 guidebook – moving to 26 in 2018 and cracking the Top 20 in 2019.

Don’t get it twisted, FSU’s rise in the rankings have fueled in large part to Florida Legislators crafting a performance-based Florida Preeminence Program in 2013 to enable the state’s larger universities to increase their national stature. 

The Preeminence Program has funneled an additional $62 million a year to FSU with some of the money diverted to improve graduation and retention rates.

Since its start, both UF and FSU have used the additional funding to hire top faculty to attract additional research dollars, lower faculty course loads, improve salaries to retain top faculty, improve academic programs, and support student success. 

In recent years, the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida have since been added to the program.

Without any support, FAMU out performs its in-state peers Florida Atlantic University (132), University of North Florida (132), Florida Gulf Coast University (169-227), Florida Polytechnical University (NR), and New College (NR).

Despite the FAMU's stellar showing year-after-year in the USNWR rankings, FAMU has not received, and will not receive, any additional state funding to improve its national ranking, hire additional faculty, lower faculty course loads, improve salaries to retain top faculty, improve academic program, and support student success.

FAMU receives no points on the state’s performance funding metric for out-performing its public HBCU peers.  Nor will the university receive any additional state funding to improve its standing among all HBCUs, public or private.
 
Had Florida incentivized FAMU, the states only public HBCU, just a little bit over the past decade the university could have likely out-performed some of its private HBCU peers like Hampton (No. 6), Xavier (No. 5), and  Morehouse (No. 4).  Had FAMU received additional state support, it likely would have already been a top 100 public university.

As for now, FAMU must continue to push ahead, as it always has, with “true grit and mother wit.”