When it comes to rankings, Penn usually expects to be in the top 10. This time, Penn is No. 23, but it might not be a completely disappointing result.
Black Enterprise -- a national organization that looks at the intersection of blacks and the business world -- announced the results of its annual survey, which ranks the top 50 colleges and universities for black students. Penn was ranked No. 23, with no change from last year.
Ten of the institutions ranked above Penn are historically black colleges and universities, including the top six ranked schools. Morehouse College in Atlanta took the first place for a second year in a row.
The highest non-HBCU was Stanford University at No. 7. Peer institutions Columbia, Harvard and Duke universities rounded out the top 10.
"Considering how many institutions there are of higher learning ... I certainly don't think [No. 23 is] a bad place to be," Makuu Director Karlene Burrell-McRae said. She pointed out that if HBCUs were not in the rankings, Penn would be ranked No. 13.
But some student activists don't see the situation in quite such a positive perspective.
"These figures are significant. They say something," said Fatimah Muhammad, College junior and political chairwoman of the United Minorities Council. "But what's more important is the student climate. It's something we can feel as Penn students all the time. ... All ethnic minorities in some ways are struggling at institutions like Penn."
The rankings were based on four criteria: five-year graduation rate, percentage of black students, survey score on academic response and survey score on the social environment.
Since the student bodies of HBCUs are predominantly black, these schools fared particularly well under the criteria.
Black Enterprise surveyed nearly 2,000 black higher education professionals "for their assessments of the social and educational environments of the nation's colleges and universities for African-American students," according to information accompanying the survey results.
And although there is no unanimous opinion on whether such a ranking is a positive or a negative, everyone agrees that Penn is trying to improve further.
"Admissions is doing a really good job and is really trying to be creative in recruiting or at least getting more [black] students to apply to Penn," Burrell-McRae said.
She added that recruitment efforts and graduation rates should be priorities for Penn.
"There are lots of different aspects of Penn that are trying to make sure that the environment of Penn is open to all different kinds of students, including black students," Burrell-McRae said.
And Muhammad agreed, adding that Penn should be self-critical and try to foster a friendlier environment for all minorities on campus.
Other Ivy League universities in the top 50 include Cornell University at No. 24, Yale University at No. 38 and Brown University at No. 41.
A total of 482 colleges and universities were surveyed. Eligible colleges either have a minimum of 3 percent black student enrollment or are large and well-known.
This is the fifth year that Black Enterprise has published its survey.
