Dear Colleagues,
Chapman has been one of the fastest-rising universities for the past three decades, and today we celebrate another milestone on our incredible trajectory: Chapman University has successfully reached the top 100 of the U.S. News & World Report Best National Universities for the first time.
External rankings are only one small part of how we evaluate our success at Chapman – and that is why I rarely ever write about this topic – but this historic threshold deserves some recognition. To put it into context, when Chapman College became Chapman University in 1991, we were No. 61 just among regional universities in the West region. Over the next few decades, we climbed all the way to No. 5 in the regional rankings before breaking into the national rankings in 2019. We debuted at No. 125 nationally and just climbed to our highest ever recognition at No. 100.
I want to thank each and every one of you and all of our colleagues along the way who got us here. All of you have played a key role in reaching this momentous achievement. I am inspired by, and incredibly grateful for, all that you do to fuel our success.
At Chapman, the focus on student success and academic excellence is part of who we are. Our focus is and always has been on our mission, not our rankings, but our approach and collective efforts have led to this moment. The quality of work – day in, day out, year after year – is reflected in an upward trend line that matters. Indeed, the trend line is more significant than the actual number because we all know that rankings can fluctuate from year to year. But our trajectory is strong and indisputable, which is also evident in other successes like our student outcomes, our alumni achievements, our faculty and staff recruitment, and our financial strength.
President Emeritus Jim Doti set us on this journey more than 30 years ago to rise in the regional rankings. President Emeritus Daniele Struppa catalyzed our progress as Chapman became an R2 research university and vaulted into the national rankings. The journey has been a collective effort marked by sustained success, an evolution, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a resolute belief in what makes Chapman University special and different. We accomplished this together.
So let’s pause for a moment of reflection and celebration. But we are not done. We are not done with our rise in prominence. And we are not done with more fully deepening our mission. Chapman has an even brighter future ahead of it. Let’s continue on this exciting journey together to take this special university we love to even greater heights.
I want to thank each and every one of you again for all that you have done – and will continue to do – to help elevate this great university. I could not be more proud to be your colleague. In that spirit, I hope you will join us in celebrating this occasion on Friday, Oct. 2 at 11:30 a.m. for a picnic lunch and celebration on the Aitken Arts Plaza in front of the Musco Center for the Arts. An email invitation will follow.
Best,
Matt