By Althea Peterson
The Norman Transcript
 

While the University of Florida might have won national championships in football and basketball, it is second to OU in something else: National Merit Scholars.

The University of Oklahoma continued to retain its number one rank in the nation in the number of freshman National Merit scholars enrolled per capita among public universities for at least the fourth year in a row, said LeeAnn Victery, director of the OU National Scholars Program.

This year’s 140 freshman National Merit scholars represent 26 states and comprise 4.2 percent of the freshman class at OU. Of the 140, only 58 are from Oklahoma, Victery said. However, a majority of National Merit scholars at OU overall are from Oklahoma.

“Oklahoma is our primary target for National Merit scholars,” she said.

The University of Florida and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, rank second at 3.8 percent of their freshman classes, followed by the University of Texas, Austin, at 3.7 percent and Georgia Institute of Technology at 3.2 percent.

Victery said in September, OU sends the 16,000 semifinalists information about OU and an invitation for personalized campus visits. She said students also have the opportunity to visit with Honors College staff, tour facilities and learn about education abroad opportunities. If they choose OU, Victery said the National Scholars Program office helps them until they graduate.

“National Scholars Program assists with these students’ needs and concerns as they arise, and the office serves as a central resource for them to ensure a good experience while at OU,” she said.

Robert Con (R.C.) Davis-Undiano, dean of the OU Honors College, said the rank didn’t surprise him.

“I think the word has really gotten out about the excitement on campus,” Davis-Undiano said. “What part pleases me about the National Merit Scholars ranking is the students. … We had a student, now in med school, who we got an internship at Mayo Clinic. She discovered a gene that relates to a rare kidney disease. Because of her work, there may be a treatment available in a few years that wasn’t available before.”

A total of about 600 National Merit scholars are enrolled at OU. This year marks the 17th consecutive year for OU to be in the top 20 among all institutions, both public and private, in the number of freshman National Merit Scholars enrolled.

Davis-Undiano, noting that a majority of National Merit scholars enroll in the OU Honors College, said the key to having such students at OU is leadership and quality programs such as the Honors College Leadership Center led by OU Vice President for Students Chris Howard.

“Since (OU President David Boren) came here, he set the bar very high,” Davis-Undiano said. “But nothing supports future development like student success. … I like to brag about our students. I think the world needs to know about the students here. I just see their high intellectual daring all the time.”

Boren noted that OU’s National Merit Ranking was not the only recognition OU’s received.

“Attracting students of such high caliber has positively impacted OU’s national reputation and is one of the reasons that The Princeton Review ranks OU among the top 10 public universities in the nation in terms of academic excellence and cost for students,” he said.