Wayne State University is a national leader in two categories of degrees awarded to African-American students in the 1990s, according to a recently published 1995 summary report on doctorate recipients from U.S. universities.

The report was compiled by the National Research Council and funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

WSU was third in the nation in granting baccalaureate degrees to African-Americans who received doctoral degrees in the years 1991-95.

A total of 69 African-American doctoral degree recipients in that time frame earned bachelor's degrees from WSU. The University of Michigan was 13th with 45and Michigan State University was 15th with 43.

Those three universities are the only ones in the top 20 that are not historically black institutions. The data were gathered from 862 U.S. institutions offering the baccalaureate degree.

Also from 1991-95, Wayne State was fourth nationally in doctoral degrees awarded to African-Americans with 128. A total of 282 doctoral degree-granting institutions responded to the survey.

The rankings apply only to research and applied research doctorates, all of which are referred to as "Ph.D." Professional degrees are not included.

The data cover 89.2 percent of all U.S. minority Ph.D.s in this period. Another 9.4 percent -- mostly naturalized Asians and Hispanics -- received baccalaureates from foreign institutions and the remaining 1.4 percent either did not earn a baccalaureate degree or did not report the information.

"These figures speak for themselves," says Walter Edwards, associate dean of WSU's Graduate School. "Here at Wayne State we are producing a significant number of African-American Ph.D.s. People interested in the academic destiny of African-Americans should feel heartened."

As a non-historically black university, the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to those going on to receive doctoral degrees is "quite an honorable distinction," Edwards says, and demonstrates Wayne State's continued commitment to its urban mission.

Internally, he says, the report should provide encouragement to deans and department heads.

"This level of success is an indication that with adequate funding and mentoring, African-Americans can realize their educational potential."