On Monday, Sep. 18, Florida A&M President Larry Robinson held a news conference to discuss the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings regarding the university’s performance at Lee Hall at 10:00 a.m.
Last year, Florida A&M University ranked #103 among national public universities, #23 on the Social Mobility Index, and #1 for the fourth consecutive year among public HBCUs. The university was aiming to break the top 100 threshold this year.
On Sep. 17, FAMU announced on Instagram that the university has been ranked the #1 Public HBCU in the nation for the fifth consecutive year, ranked #3 Among Public and Private HBCUs in the nation from #7 and ranked #21 for Social Mobility from #23 since last year.
When asked about how he envisions FAMU’s role in shaping the future of higher education in years to follow, Robinson said, “We continue to make sure that every student who crosses the threshold has an opportunity to be successful, no matter how they got to us, no matter what their socioeconomic standards is, race and so forth.”
“We hope that the message that others hear from this institution is that we’re about the business of changing lives and ensuring that students have the opportunity to be great,” Robinson continued.
With being ranked #21 in Social Mobility, Robinson said they’re also taking steps to increase that number and ensure students can get jobs and internships.
“One of the things we did was to make sure that we have so-called wrap-around services to support our students,” Robinson explained. Robinson went on to describe the importance of the university providing internships and jobs on campus to students. “We implemented an undergraduate research program just a couple years ago for students to have the opportunity to get their feet wet [in different areas],” said Robinson.
Over the years, FAMU has become a more prominent HBCU for high school students to apply to. Robinson also addressed this fact during the conference, stating, “We have to focus on the students that we admit and make sure we have the resources to take care of them.”
Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. William Hudson also spoke at the news conference. Hudson gave praise to the FAMU students and their involvement in getting FAMU into the top 100.
“We have an increase in the academic profile of students attending the institution, which also helps because they’re college-ready,” said Hudson. “We are also seeing an increase in our retention rate, especially among students with over a 2.0.”
Robinson and Hudson both agreed that the university is expecting a surge in applicants for the 2024-2025 academic year.
“Last year, we saw a significant increase in applications,” said Robinson. “Florida A&M is very hot right now. Students know the academic programs, they know the social and nurturing environment here.”
To celebrate FAMU’s success, the university will host a celebration at 5:00 p.m. at the Eternal Flame.