Delaware State University, Dover, has moved up to ninth place among 81 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the annual ranking released by U.S. News & World Report.
The university tied with Clark Atlanta University and Florida A&M University – for the ninth spot.
In the region, DSU joins Howard University (No. 3 ) and North Carolina A&T University (No. 8 ) in the top 10.
DSU President Harry Lee Williams said the University’s rise in the HBCU rankings confirms everything he has believed about Delaware State University since he first arrived as provost in 2008.
“There has never been any doubt in my mind that the continuation of DSU’s rise in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best HBCU rankings has been within our capacity because of some very strategic work by the entire DSU family,” Dr. Williams said. “To move from number 13 to number 9 is a validation of the ongoing successes of our faculty, staff, students, administration and alumni.”
When U.S. News & World Report first published its HBCU ranking in 2008, DSU ranked #22, and rose to #17 in 2009 and 2010. Since Dr. Williams assumed the DSU presidency in 2010, the university has moved up from No. 15.
DSU’s improvements in peer assessments, SAT scores of incoming freshmen, and in the three-year average for freshmen retention rate were among the statistics that are reflected in the University’s continued rise in the ranking. Those improvements reflect that the University is attracting a stronger freshman class than ever before. Peer assessment refers to how other colleges and universities view DSU.
The university is also expanding. It recently assumed the lease on a former Sheraton hotel, which will be used for student housing while dorms are being renovated. (See related photo).
Spelman College of Atlanta, Ga., is ranked as the No. 1 HBCU in the country by the magazine, a ranking it has held since 2008. That school is followed by Morehouse College (#2), Howard University (#3), Fisk University (#4), Tuskegee University and Xavier University of Louisiana (tied for #5), Claflin University (#7), and North Carolina A&T University (#8).
