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FRANKFORT — Kentucky State University was recently named one of the 50 best Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by College Choice, a leading authority in college and university rankings.

College Choice ranked Kentucky State as the 38th best HBCU in the nation.

“If you want to go to an HBCU that prioritizes students first, then you should look at Kentucky State University (KSU),” according to the College Choice rankings. “Its student-centered philosophy says, ‘In everything we do, our students come first.’ The school also values social responsibility, ethical conduct, and excellence and innovation.”

President M. Christopher Brown II has a proven record of promoting student friendly and community focused campus learning environments. He has assembled a talented leadership team with years of demonstrated outcomes. Brown’s success of record enrollments at Fisk, Alcorn State University and Southern University A&M College reveals his strength of turning around declining enrollments.

Prior to Director of Admissions Justin Mathis arrival at Kentucky State, freshmen registered for the Fall 2017 semester peaked at 194. On Saturday, Aug. 12, Kentucky State welcomed a record number of new freshmen and secured overflow housing to accommodate the influx of students.

The rankings also noted that Kentucky State respects and embraces diversity.

“As a public institution, we are dedicated to excellence in all things including access and affordability,” Kentucky State University President M. Christopher Brown II said. “Our campus environment boasts a deep understanding of various cultures from around the world. We are teaching one another to not only appreciate differences, but to respect and celebrate them. The diversity of program offerings and rigor provides quality learning and engagement opportunities that allow our students to make an impact in Kentucky and globally. Additionally, I’m excited to welcome our new and growing freshmen class. The repositioning of our brand is attracting more talented students.”

Whitney M. Young, Jr., Civil Rights leader and former executive director of the National Urban League, was noted as a famous alumnus, as was Yingluck Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand.

“There are over 100 HBCUs in the United States, and they have had an outsized influence on the entire country,” Christian Amondson, Managing Editor of College Choice, said of the ranking. “Luminaries like Ida B. Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. DuBois, Zora Neale Hurston, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. all attended HBCUs. But it’s not by sticking only to an elite group that HBCUs have produced such amazing thinkers and leaders. In fact, half of all HBCUs have a freshman class with three-quarters of their students from low-income backgrounds.”

According to its website, College Choice developed its list by looking at traditional metrics of institutional excellence such as student-to-faculty ratio, incoming student test scores, and regional accreditation according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics and U.S. News & World Report. College Choice also incorporated data on return on investment, or the difference between tuition costs and expected early career salary, found on Payscale.

ABOUT KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY

Kentucky State University, building on its legacy of achievement as a historically black, liberal arts, and 1890 Land Grant University affords access to and prepares a diverse population of traditional and non-traditional students through high-quality undergraduate and select graduate programs. Located in Kentucky, KSU offers associate (two-year) degrees in two disciplines, baccalaureate (four-year) degrees in 24 disciplines, master’s degrees in eight disciplines, and one advanced practice doctorate in nursing. KSU has 129 full-time instructional faculty members and more than 2,000 students.