According to the U.S. News and World Report’s 2007 list of best national institutions, the university is now one spot closer to the nation’s top 50 schools and its business school has reclaimed its spot in the list of the 20 best programs in the country.
The university was ranked the 54th best national university in the report, which was released in the Aug. 28 issue. This marks a one-spot increase from the 2006 rankings, in which the university was given a national rank of 55.
“You can’t afford not to pay attention to it,” said university President Dan Mote. “Americans are crazy over these lists.”
The university also appeared in the top 50 national public institutions and the best business school lists. According to the 2007 report, the university is now the 18th best public university and also has the 18th best business school in the nation.
“It seems to me we’re a hair’s breadth from being [ranked] 13th,” said Provost Bill Destler.
In previous years, the Robert H. Smith School of Business has lingered in the top 20 business schools nationally, but suffered a blow in rankings in the U.S. News and World Report’s first set of undergraduate school rankings released in May. The preliminary report listed the business school as No. 36 in the nation, a drop from the No. 17 spot in 2004 and the No. 22 spot in 2005.
“We’re pleased to see the Smith School’s undergraduate program among the nation’s best,” said Howard Frank, dean of the business school in an Aug. 18 press release. “It’s especially noteworthy to see the school recognized in virtually all of its key areas.”
Each year, U.S. News and World Report judges national universities based on such factors as academics, graduation rates, faculty to student ratios, selectivity and financial resources.
The university’s gains toward the top 50 national universities is a small triumph for Mote, who has made it his personal mission to secure a spot in the top 10 public universities. When Mote arrived at the university in 1998, the university held the No. 30 spot among other national public universities, but has since remained in the No. 18 spot since 2002 with the exception of a No. 17 rank in 2003.
Although the university continues to sit in the 18th spot, Mote said last May he expects a top ten rank by 2010 or 2011.
“Top 15, top 10, those are the numbers I’m looking for,” Mote said. “Since people use this list, we need to be in the top 10.” He added he was optimistic about next year because 2006 was fiscally promising for the university.
Princeton University was ranked the No. 1 national university, and the University of California at Berkeley received the best public national university honor. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business was ranked No. 1 among other business schools. Also released last week was the Princeton Review’s list of top 20 party schools in the nation, in which the university was ranked No. 20 for the second consecutive year. The University of Texas at Austin was ranked the No. 1 party school in the report, which was released as a part of the Princeton Review’s 2007 Best 361 Colleges rankings.
“That’s one where we don’t want to be at the top of the class,” Destler said. “I’m not sure you should put a lot of credence in that ranking.”
“I think it’s more sort of tongue-in-cheek,” he added.
Destler said according to a national ranking conducted by Shanghai Jiaotong University in Hong Kong, the university was ranked 12th among public universities in the U.S.
“From an international standpoint, we’re increasingly viewed as one of the great institutions of the world,” Destler said.
Contact reporter Kelly Whittaker at whittakerdbk@gmail.com.
