HU NAMED ONE OF THE BEST

University ranked No. 2 in education of blacks

By Elena Gaona
Daily Press

December 18 2002

Hampton University is one of the best colleges in the nation for African-American students, according to rankings released Tuesday by Black Enterprise magazine.

HU ranked No. 2 in the magazine's list of the 50 best colleges for African-Americans. Morehouse College in Atlanta ranked No. 1.

"We were founded to serve African-Americans as well as Native Americans, and to learn we've been recognized for that is always good," said HU provost JoAnn Haysbert.

Seven of the top 10 universities on the list are historically black colleges and universities, pointing to the important role the schools play in teaching students about the history and culture of black people, said the magazine's publisher, Earl G. Graves Sr.

"These schools continue to hold their own against other institutions of higher learning when it comes to educating African-Americans," Graves said during Tuesday's announcement.

To determine the rankings, a group of 1,855 black college presidents, chancellors, admissions directors and recruiters were asked to rate 482 colleges that have at least 3 percent black enrollment or are a large, well-known college or university.

The schools were evaluated on how well they meet the educational needs of many African-American students, said Andrew Wadium, spokesman for Black Enterprise.

The schools highest on the list emphasize black history and culture, offer individual attention and scholarships to African-American students and graduate black students.

HU enrolls approximately 6,000 students and graduates about 900 each year. Nearly 90 percent of them are African-American.

"I heard HU was a party school," said Chivon Kelly, a first-year public relations student at the university.

"I was very pleasantly surprised to find out they are very strict, and they know us by name."

The African-American student from Brooklyn said she chose to attend a historically black college because she knew that professors would understand obstacles she may have faced growing up and would push her to do well.

"I felt I could grow without losing myself, or hiding myself," Kelly said. "It's like, 'Take me or leave me,' and that gives me confidence."

While three of the schools in the top 10 are predominantly white institutions - Stanford, Columbia and Georgetown - the rankings show that most nonhistorically black schools "have a way to go" in educating African-American students, Wadium said.

Elena Gaona can be reached at 247-7420 or by e-mail at egaona@dailypress.com
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