UF skyrockets to top 5, FIU soars 17 spots, while UM falls behind in college rankings
The University of Florida on Monday became the first in the Sunshine State to rank as one of the top five public universities in the country, according to a highly watched higher education nationwide ranking.
U.S. News & World Report, an online magazine that has been releasing lists of the best colleges and universities in the U.S. since the mid-1980s, posted its 2022 classifications at midnight, naming UF as No. 5 among public universities across the country.
The Gainesville-based university tied with the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and University of California, Santa Barbara. It improved for the fifth year in a row, rising from No. 14 in 2017 to No. 6 last year.
U.S. News has one list that ranks public universities, and another ranking both public and private universities, known as the national list. UF claimed the 28th position on the national list, up from last year’s No. 30.
UF celebrated the long-coveted milestone during a press conference Monday that featured, among others, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called the achievement “something that all Floridians, regardless of your allegiances, should feel proud about.”
He credited leaders like UF President Kent Fuchs and the members of the UF Board of Trustees for the success.
“We have provided support, but they have provided results,” he said. “And I know you guys are not done yet.”
FIU soars in rankings
In South Florida, the largest public university, Florida International University, leapt 17 spots on the same list of public universities nationwide.
The Miami-based institution climbed from No. 95 last year to No. 78 this year — the biggest jump among Florida schools and the third-largest increase among its public counterparts in the nation, said FIU President Mark Rosenberg.
FIU tied with Kansas State University, Oregon State University, University of Arkansas, University of Hawaii-Manoa, University of Maryland-Baltimore County and University of Rhode Island.
At 3:05 p.m. Monday, honoring Miami’s popular area code, FIU went all out with its own festivities, which included lots of gold glitter and balloons, and a spirited performance by the school’s band and cheerleaders.
In an interview Monday with the Herald, Rosenberg said he feels “grateful and energized” by the news, especially because it comes after one of the roughest years in academia due to the pandemic.
“We’ve been very focused here,” he said. “When COVID hit, we didn’t go into a fetal position; we figured out how to get better, even with the challenges, and clearly we did. We did get better.”
Rosenberg said FIU has been trying to excel in the state’s performance indicators, which happen to align closely with the 17 metrics U.S. News uses to judge schools. Those metrics include student-to-faculty ratio and how much debt students face after graduation.
“Ultimately, we felt that that was better for our students,” he said, “to be able to graduate more timely, to be able to get even better jobs, to be able to reduce the cost burden for our students — that those were things that were intrinsically meritorious, not just because of the rankings.”
FIU’s ascent has attracted attention. In June, MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced she had donated $40 million to FIU, the largest unrestricted gift in the school’s 56-year history. Scott’s donation was part of a $2.7 billion charitable spree to 286 organizations across the country announced by Scott and her husband, Seattle science teacher Dan Jewett.
FIU wants to break through the top 50 public universities ranked by U.S. News. Rosenberg said he feels “confident” the momentum will allow FIU to accomplish that soon.
The university is working toward that goal by boosting graduation rates, investing in programs that promote upward mobility for its students and producing research that has both local and national impact, he said. He cited FIU’s research in using coronavirus detection dogs at Miami International Airport and investigating the deterioration of Biscayne Bay.
On the national list, FIU moved from 187th last year to 162nd.
UM drops in national rankings
The University of Miami, which is the largest private university in South Florida and is based in Coral Gables, fell six positions on the national universities list of private and public universities, going from No. 49 last year to No. 55 this year. (Rankings start at No. 1 and rise accordingly.) UM tied with Florida State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and Santa Clara University in California.
Megan Ondrizek, a UM spokeswoman, declined to schedule an interview with an administrator and instead emailed a written statement.
“Our focus is on providing our students a world-class education and a transformative campus experience, and on driving innovative and interdisciplinary research that addresses society’s most complex challenges. And we remain committed to being an engine of opportunity for our South Florida community,” an excerpt from the statement read.
UM may have been hurt by the backlash it received earlier this year after UM President Julio Frenk abruptly fired its popular law school dean, Anthony Varona.
Here are the rankings of some other Florida schools:
▪ Florida A&M University was recognized as the seventh best overall Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the country, its same rating as last year. It stands as the first public HBCU in the nation.
▪ The University of South Florida, in Tampa, remained the same as last year: No. 46 among public universities, No. 103 among public and private schools.
▪ The University of Central Florida, based in Orlando, scored 67th among public institutions, up from 77th last year, and 148th among all national schools, up from 160th last year.
▪ Nova Southeastern University, a private university based in Fort Lauderdale, ranked 213th nationally.
▪ Barry University, a private institution based in Miami Shores, ranked between No. 299 and No. 391 on the national universities list. The range reflects a group of schools within this ranking.
▪ Miami Gardens-based St. Thomas University, a private school, ranked No. 80 among best regional Southern universities.
▪ Florida Memorial University, a private institution based in Miami Gardens, ranked 58th on the list of best regional colleges in the South.
To see all of U.S. News 2022 lists, click here.
A previous version of this story incorrectly indicated Florida A&M University ranked as the seventh best public Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the country, instead of saying it’s the seventh best overall HBCU in the country.
This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 7:13 PM.
