- Posted in All University
- Category: Campus News
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, PA – Lincoln University’s athletics program is among 24 others in the NCAA’s Division II recognized at its national conference in January for its first Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence which highlights institutions who graduate the highest percentage of its student athletes.
The award, which was published in the 2012 NCAA Division II Yearbook, honors athletics programs with a four-year Academic Success Rates (ASR) of 90 percent or better within six years of original enrollment. Lincoln had a 93 percent academic success rate while Saint Michael’s College in Vermont top the list at 99 percent.
“There are 312 NCAA Division II institutions and to be in the top 24 speaks to our commitment to a “student first” philosophy for athletes at Lincoln University,” said Dianthia Ford-Kee, Director of Athletics at the University. “A 93 percent academic success rate informs parents and prospective student athletes that Lincoln University seeks to be first beyond the playing surface.”
While not intended as a ranking, the Division II ASR measures graduation rates for virtually all Division II student athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletic-related financial aid, according to an NCAA report.
Sherese Parker, the Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Services and Student Affairs, is responsible for assisting our students-athletes with focused strategies for academic success, including academic advising, review of academic progress, time management plans, referral to appropriate academic services (Peer Tutoring, Supplemental Instruction, Disability Services, etc), and supervised study table.
“Our students and staff understand the importance of successfully matriculating and the benefits of graduation from college,” Parker said. “The students work hard and we have been working with offices on campus to enhance the academic support collaborations we provide.”
Lincoln University of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, founded in 1854 as the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), combines the elements of a liberal arts and science-based undergraduate curriculum along with select graduate programs to meet the needs of those living in a highly-technological and global society. Today, the University enrolls a diverse student body of approximately 2,000 men and women. Internationally recognized for preparing and producing world class leaders such as Thurgood Marshall, the first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Lillian Fishburne, the first African American woman promoted to Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy, Langston Hughes, the noted poet, Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana and Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President of Nigeria.