By Ralph Derickson

"The university is pleased with this recognition and we believe it reflects the high quality of the faculty at UK as well as the success the institution is having educating its students. The rating indicates that the university's improving graduation rates and overall quality of students are being recognized and rewarded at the national level."

-- Michael T. Nietzel, UK acting provost

Sept. 13, 2002 (Lexington, Ky.) -- The University of Kentucky was listed in the top 50 public national universities in rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report magazine.

UK was tied with two other schools -- Michigan Technological University and the University of Arizona -- for the 50th place in the often-cited U.S. News annual issue of national rankings of colleges and universities.

The University of California-Berkeley was listed number one in the ranking, which rates schools with doctoral programs. The University of Virginia was ranked number two. Tied for third place were the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

This is the first time UK has broken into the top 50 in the U.S. News rankings, and it is the only Kentucky public institution so ranked.

U.S. News judges universities' rankings by assessment of administrators at peer institutions, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and graduation rate performance (the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion who actually do).

"The university is pleased with this recognition and we believe it reflects the high quality of the faculty at UK as well as the success the institution is having educating its students," said Michael T. Nietzel, UK acting provost. "The rating indicates that the university's improving graduation rates and overall quality of students are being recognized and rewarded at the national level."