By Joe Garvey
Old Dominion University has been ranked in the top 15% in the nation for overall diversity by College Factual.
ODU placed No. 490 out of 3,514 colleges and universities assessed in the organization's latest rankings.
College Factual calculates an overall diversity score that takes four factors into account: gender, ethnicity, age and home location of students. ODU earned a score of 86.08 out of 100.
"This latest recognition affirms the success of our long commitment to the principles of inclusive excellence and access for all students, faculty and staff," President John R. Broderick said. "It also provides further evidence of why many of our students tell us our emphasis on diversity and inclusion was a significant factor in their decision to attend Old Dominion."
College Factual rated the ethnic diversity of ODU's students, 55.3% of whom are racial-ethnic minorities, as very high and that of the faculty as above average. The disparity between the counts of male and female students is lower than the national average, and the ratio of male to female faculty is rated as excellent. Geographic diversity was on par with the national average, and 42.1% of students were between the ages of 18 and 21 compared with the national average of 60%.
Additionally, the University was rated among the top 15% for diversity among schools in Virginia (No. 13 out of 97 colleges and universities).
Since the inception of the Inclusive Excellence Framework and the establishment of the President's Task Force on Inclusive Excellence in 2014, ODU has undertaken a series of initiatives to advance diversity and inclusion at the University and throughout Hampton Roads. In 2018, Old Dominion received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award from Insight into Diversity and in its 2019 rankings, Forbes magazine named ODU one of America's 100 Best Employers for Diversity.
ODU has also been ranked among the best in ethnic diversity by U.S. News & World Report, placed in the top 10 in the country and top 100 in the world for reducing inequality in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and listed as a top-15 university for African American student success by Education Trust.
