December 2002: Vol. 82, No. 1December 2002: Vol. 82, No. 1The value of rankings
ike every college and university president in America, I await with a bit of nervousness my early September copy of U.S. News & World Report. This news weekly has been producing the "America's Best Colleges" issue since 1983, and despite what you may be told, all of us in academe pay attention.
At the University of Georgia, the news has been good of late. The hard work of a lot of people here is showing up in a very positive trend: Since 1998, when we were ranked 26th among public research universities, UGA has risen eight spots and has been tied for 18th the past two years. This year, we are listed ahead of Purdue, the University of Minnesota, Ohio State, and Indiana University, among others.
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 Michael F. Adams |
It is important to remember that we are moving in this positive direction and garnering such recognition because we have thought very carefully about where we want to be at the end of this decade. Our strategic plan, developed with campus-wide input, realistically evaluates our current position and sets the course for our future.
Another factor in our momentum is the level of private support we are receiving. Despite the difficult economic environment of the past two years, the supporters of this university contributed in record numbers last year. Continued and increasing private support is critical to the success and progress of public institutions.
As I said when the U.S. News rankings were released this year, it is true that this is one of America's best public universities. The quality of our student body continues to rise, with each freshman class setting records for academic strength and the overall student body performing very well in national competitions for prestigious scholarships such as the Rhodes, Goldwater, Truman and Gates Cambridge.
Our research agenda is on the rise, as evidenced by a 54 percent increase in external funding over the past three years. This is funding that is awarded through a competitive process, so the proposals by UGA researchers are being recognized for their quality. We are also having success in transferring what we discover in our labs to the marketplace, ranking eighth in the number of start-up companies formed and sixth in the effectiveness of our invention licensing and options. Our mission to inquire into the nature of things and create new knowledge is critical both in academic circles and to the economic security and growth of this state.
We are also finding new ways to serve our students and this state in the 21st century. Georgia is a player in the global economy, and our students must be prepared to compete in that setting. We now teach 20 languages, from Arabic to Zulu, on a regular basis and seven more on occasion. We own three residential study abroad sites—in England, Italy and Costa Rica—offering UGA students the opportunity to see the world from outside the borders of this country.
This university is also ranked highly by other publications. Kaplan's has recently praised the services offered by our Career Center. In its spring ranking of graduate programs, U.S. News cited the Terry College of Business, the School of Law and several programs within the College of Education. The Fiske Guide has called UGA "arguably the fastest-rising public university in the country."
Our athletic program is a perennial contender for the Sears Directors' Cup, which recognizes overall excellence in athletic performance. In four of the past five years, we have been in the top 10, and in 1999, we finished second.
I am proud to be part of a university that can boast excellence across the board, in academics and athletics, in students and faculty, in service and in research. The recognition that we are receiving is a by-product of doing things right and the direct result of the commitment and hard work of the students, faculty, staff and administration. This is an institution on the move. You have every right to be proud of your university.
