Graduation success

For the 12th consecutive year, the University of Virginia has posted the highest graduation rate for African-American students among major public institutions, according to an annual survey by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.

The journal’s data show that the six-year graduation rate for African-American students who entered U.Va. in the fall of 1998 is 86 percent. Nationwide, the graduation rate for black students is 42 percent.

“Of all the things U.Va. does well,” said Arts & Sciences Dean Ed Ayers, “the continued success of our black students gives us special reason to be proud. They excel across the range of our broad curriculum, and in many of our departments the study of the African-American experience is a central part of the academic mission. Regardless of field, our faculty share in the joy of the academic success of our students.”