By Bella Grimaldi Staff Writer Framingham State University has received recognition as a College of Distinction for AY 2024-25, according to a press release from the University. Colleges of Distinction is a non-profit founded in 2000 with the mission of recognizing colleges across the United States “with a unique strength to offer the next generation of college-bound students,” according to their website. The University was recognized as an overall College of Distinction, as well as a College of Distinction in the areas of public colleges, career development, diversity and inclusion, business, and education, according to the press release. The award acknowledges institutions that “deliver on four overarching distinctions” and help prospective college students find schools that are right for them, according to the Colleges of Distinction’s website. The four overarching distinctions are student engagement, teaching, community, and outcomes. President Nancy Niemi said the Colleges of Distinction does not rank colleges but grants them recognition. “The Colleges of Distinction awards, we found, are … more specific to different areas of emphasis in the University, and they do a much better job,” Niemi said. “Unfortunately, with U.S. News & World Report … those rankings come out, and inevitably, the richest schools in the country, for the most part, are always at the top,” she added. The “authenticity” of the Colleges of Distinction award was the main reason the University applied. “That's what I like about the Colleges of Distinction… they are much better at assessing the kinds of things that we value,” Niemi said. Niemi said Iris Godes, vice president of enrollment management, and Dan Magazu, executive director of marketing and communications, discovered and applied for the award. Godes said she knew about the award from previous work with other colleges and thought the University should apply. Godes said the Colleges of Distinction organization reached out to her inviting the University to apply. “They'll reach out to schools if they think you're a good candidate that meets their requirements, and then you go through an application process,” Godes said. According to Godes, the application process took multiple stages. First, applicants apply to be a College of Distinction. Then, applicants have the option of applying for specific recognitions such as Diversity. Godes and Magazu coordinated with different members of the University’s executive staff to pull data to submit to the Colleges of Distinction, according to Godes. “We basically filled out this big application, I actually sent it around. It was a Google Doc, and various offices contributed to it based on their area of expertise. From there, it was approved, and we became a member,” said Magazu. “It was really just making all those connections around campus, getting that application completed, submitting it, and then we waited, and the turnaround time was pretty quick,” Godes said. According to Magazu, there is an annual fee the University will pay. This fee of $3,600 allows the University to be promoted on the organization's website as well as FSU’s. The funds for this fee will come from the University’s marketing budget. Magazu added, “The Colleges of Distinction’s website gets a fair amount of traffic from prospective students, so now that they will see us on there when they're looking at colleges. I think it stands out on our web page.” According to Magazu, promoting this award to prospective students will reinforce “the quality of the education we provide.” Niemi said the Colleges of Distinction validates the University’s claims about the work being done and the programs offered. “We are distinctive in the areas that we claim we are, and somebody else has also found us to be distinctive in those ways,” she said. “No matter what awards you have, no matter what you say on a tour or what friends you have who go here, you don't know what's going to ultimately attract people and whether or not one particular thing makes a bigger difference than another,” Niemi said. According to Niemi, the University has developed a page on the FSU website that shows all of the awards the University has won. “We have a lot of eyes on our University and on our work, and we are proud of being able to show it off.” Godes said the award is another aspect of the University she will be able to communicate to prospective students and their families. “I added, for example, a new slide to our open house welcome presentation, and the slide was just filled up with all of the icons of all of these different things.” Godes added, “We all get pride in this. You get to feel like, ‘I am at a University that's being recognized for excellence,’ and that should make you feel good. You're at a great place.” Jeffrey Coleman, vice president of diversity, inclusion and community engagement, said, “It's reaffirming that the work that we're doing is needed and it's also reaffirming that the work that we're doing has a societal presence. “I think it's just going to motivate us to raise our bar even higher. … I'm always looking at, ‘How can we be even better? How can we have an even larger impact? How can we be even greater?’ And so each year, we strive to do it even better,” added Coleman. Freshman Derrick Yancey Jr., said he believes this award is deserved, especially the recognition for diversity at the University. “There's people from all backgrounds here. I'll look outside the window - I'll see people from all across the world, all in one spot.” Freshman Emma Schor said, “There are a lot of things within our University that are great and definitely deserve this award. Are there some things that could be better? Yes, but I feel like for the aspects that we have so far, it's definitely deserving.” She added she thinks diversity is a notable quality of the University. “We have quite a few deaf and hard-of-hearing people at this school. As somebody who is a hearing person, but also involved with American Sign Language and learning about the Deaf culture, I like how this school is able to recognize those differences and advocate for them as well.” Junior Tahnyia Black said, “I have seen an increase in diversity since I've been here. I got here in 2021, and I feel very comfortable here. I feel like I’m seeing people that look like me all the time. It's great.” Junior Sarah Campbell said, “I think that we've got a very diverse population as well as diverse courses and programs.” Freshman David Forgione said, “The campus is a good community. There's not a lot of fighting or people getting in trouble. I think it's a lot of people trying to get a degree. I think it's a good school.” He added this award is a good representation of how hardworking professors, students, and staff are. Freshman Aubrey Waterman said, FSU has a “very good community, and it is very diverse. They are clearly a public school, but they pride themselves on academic achievement.” [ Editor’s Note: Emma Schor is a Staff Writer for The Gatepost. ]